McGill Announces 2014 Winner of Bloomberg Manulife Prize

$50,000 research award to promote active health goes to Dr. David J.A. Jenkins – inventor of the glycemic index and inspiration behind low-cholesterol diets

MONTREAL, Dec. 11, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - McGill University, in association with Lawrence and Frances Bloomberg and Manulife, is pleased to announce that David J.A. Jenkins, University Professor and Canada Research Chair in Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Toronto, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Director of the Risk Factor Modification Centre and Scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, is the winner of the 2014 Bloomberg Manulife Prize for the Promotion of Active Health. The award is given to a researcher whose work has broadened our understanding of how physical activity, nutrition or psychosocial factors influence personal health and wellbeing.

Dr. Jenkins, the first Canadian to win the prize, has dedicated his career to understanding the nutritional value of foods and to helping people make healthy eating choices that can lower cholesterol and blood glucose, prevent chronic disease and provide long-term health benefits. His groundbreaking research led to the development of the glycemic index, a revolutionary tool which identifies the glycemic effect of carbohydrate foods, leading to the creation of diets that can effectively treat chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

Dr. Jenkins will accept the prize at a special ceremony at the MaRS Centre in Toronto on Monday, January 19, where he will also take part in a conversation about his research. This will be followed by a moderated discussion on Wednesday, January 21 at McGill University in Montreal.

The $50,000 Bloomberg Manulife Prize was founded in May 2011 by McGill University alumnus, Toronto-based investment manager Lawrence S. Bloomberg and corporate sponsor Manulife.

To read the full text of this press release, go to: https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/node/21737

SOURCE: McGill University

For further information: Valerie Khayat, Communications Officer, Bloomberg Manulife Prize, McGill University, 514-398-3230, [e-mail]