Rate My Professor Andrea Haqq

Andrea Haqq, MD, MHS, FRCP(C), FAAP, is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science at the University of Alberta. She practices as a Pediatric Endocrinologist at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton. Dr. Haqq obtained her MD from the University of Calgary, completed pediatric residencies at BC Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, and pursued her pediatric endocrinology fellowship at Oregon Health and Science University. Before relocating to the University of Alberta in July 2009, she maintained a clinical and academic position at Duke University Medical Center.

Dr. Haqq's research centers on the hormonal regulation of food intake, with a particular emphasis on childhood obesity and Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). Her investigations address the pathogenesis of PWS, gut microbiota in PWS, the healthy obese phenotype, and anti-obesity agent development. She has conducted one of the first controlled clinical trials of growth hormone in PWS, evaluated a ghrelin-O-acyltransferase (GOAT) inhibitor, assessed setmelanotide for obesity and hyperphagia in Bardet-Biedl syndrome, and analyzed carbetocin for hyperphagia and obesity in PWS. Her team has documented elevated plasma ghrelin levels and distinct gut microbiome profiles in children with PWS. Dr. Haqq oversees a large cohort of children with PWS and other genetic obesity syndromes from Western Canada and leads participation in industry trials of novel anti-obesity drugs. Her contributions have shaped international research priorities, training, and clinical practices in pediatric obesity. Notable publications include The Complexity and Stigma of Pediatric Obesity (2021) and Prader-Willi Syndrome: Genetics, Metabolomics, Hormonal Function, and Potential Therapy (2016).