Dr. Dan Drucker, of the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, and the University of Toronto, is a diabetes treatment pioneer (Figure 1). Drucker’s early work explored the biosynthesis, secretion, and action of glucagon, and he later went on to delineate the novel mechanisms of action of glucagon-like peptides (GLP) 1 and 2. His work on GLP-1 and-2 agonists as well as DPP-4 inhibitors provides the foundation for the largest spectrum of drugs for both gut disorders and type 2 diabetes. To see the full interview, including his early stumbles in the lab and his prediction that his next five to ten years in the lab will be very boring, see www. jci. org/videos/cgms.

JCI: Can you tell me a little bit about your parents and what you were like as a kid? Drucker: My parents were Holocaust survivors. They found each other in Israel after the war and moved to Montreal in 1953. I grew up in Montreal until I was about 13 years old, and my dad then got a job for the federal government, based in Ottawa. My dad was an engineer and an architect and a builder. My mom was trained as a dietitian and later transitioned to interior design. She did whatever she could to make a living.