Catharine Whiteside

Catharine Isobel Whiteside is a Canadian physician and medical researcher. She is Director, Strategic Partnerships of Diabetes Action Canada and Chair of the board of the Banting Research Foundation.

Education 1972 BSc Victoria College (University of Toronto) 1975 MD University of Toronto Whiteside was graduate coordinator for the Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS) at U of T. In 2003, IMS established the annual Whiteside award in her honour to be presented to a recently graduated MSc student who had made outstanding scholarly contributions.

Whiteside was Dean of Medicine at the University of Toronto from 2006-2014. She is a founding member and former president of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Whiteside was Executive Director of Diabetes Action Canada from 2016-2021. As Director of the CIHR Strategic Patient-Oriented Research Network for Diabetes and Related Complications, she stated that "Our mission is to improve patient experience, population outcomes and health professional experience, and to reduce health care costs related to diabetes". In 2022 she became Director, Strategic Partnerships for Diabetes Action Canada.

Research Whiteside conducted doctoral research on kidney physiology. Her subsequent research examined the effect of diabetes and glucose levels on the interactions of glomerular cells during injury and healing.

Whiteside’s research suggests that early damage to the kidney from high glucose occurs through increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS generation may be a consequence of activation of the polyol pathway and is amplified by protein kinase C (PKC) signalling. PKC activation increases the level of growth factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy, including disassembly of F-actin stress fibres in glomerular mesangial cells.

Whiteside studies potential therapeutic mechanisms to reduce the effect of diabetic nephropathies.

Whiteside also studies the management of health sciences in academia.

Awards and distinctions 2007 Kidney Foundation of Canada Medal for Research Excellence 2009 Canadian Medical Association May Cohen Award for Women Mentors 2016 Ontario Medical Association Advocate for Students and Residents Award