About Dr. Barre
I was born in Barrie, Ontario where I lived until finishing high school. My B.Sc. (Honours) in Biology was completed at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, my M.Sc. in Kinanthropology at the University of Ottawa and my Ph.D. in Human Nutrition at the University of Guelph. My wife, Kazimiera, and I reside in Sydney River and have two adult children.. Emily graduated on 10 May 2008 with an Honours B.Sc. in Biology from CBU, took a gap year teaching English as a second language in Japan, and then obtained a B.Ed. at Queen's University (June 2011). Presently, Emily has a full-time permanent position in an Ontario secondary school teaching biology and chemistry. Alex graduated from secondary school on 26 June 2014 and then took a gap year volunteering (Canadian Ski Patrol at Ben Eoin and St John Ambulance (Sydney)). During the summers of 2015-2017 inclusive, Alex worked as a sailing instructor at Northern Yacht Club in North Sydney. Alex graduated from the primary care paramedicine programme at Holland College in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on 13 May 2017 and worked for almost 3 years as a primary care paramedic in Nova Scotia before returning to Holland College to study for his advanced care paramedic credential which he obtained upon his graduation on 15 July 2021. Alex is currently working full-time as an advanced care flight paramedic in Nunavut and also holds a casual position as an advanced care paramedic in Nova Scotia.
After I completed my Ph.D., we moved in 1992 to Dallas, Texas where I completed 3 years of post-doctoral fellowship training (2 years in the Centre for Human Nutrition and 1 year in Cardiology) at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre at Dallas. Next we lived in Illinois for 5 years where I worked as a Research Scientist at Baxter Healthcare in their Renal Division, located about 70 kilometres north of Chicago, in a laboratory focussed on improving peritoneal dialysis. In August 2000, we moved to Saskatoon where I held a one year contract as an assistant professor in Human Nutrition at the University of Saskatchewan. In August 2001, I came to the University College of Cape Breton (now CBU) after I was offered a position as an assistant professor. Since 28 May 2002, I have held adjunct faculty status in the Department of Human Nutrition at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. On 1 July 2005, I was granted tenure and promoted to associate professor at CBU. On 1 October 2005, I was appointed to the Department of Health Sciences and Emergency Management (now the Department of Health Sciences) and cross-appointed to the Department of Chemistry. On 1 July 2015, I was promoted to full professor. On 12 May 2017, I was awarded the President's Award for Excellence in Research. I have been twice nominated for the Cape Breton University Alumni Association's Distinguished Teaching Award.
My current research involves the application of nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics to flaxseed derived nutraceuticals' prevention and post-onset management of type 2 diabetes in humans with a view to the reduction of polypharmacy. I, in collaboration with others, am also attempting to find the molecular cause(s) of type 2 diabetes. Other collaborative efforts have included utilising an ammonia lyase to synthesise a potential pharmaceutical and optimising conditions to maximise the yield of product, researching why Cape Bretoners suffer from among the highest incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Canada and how to reduce such, the impact of dietary pulses on plasma lipid/lipoprotein/apolipoprotein B management, glycaemic index impact on low density lipoprotein oxidation management via improvements in plasma antioxidant management in overweight and obese persons as well as in gestational diabetes patients, and improvements in the clinical management of type 2 diabetes from both pre- and post-onset perspectives in first nations populations across Canada.