Title:
Professor

Institute:
Laval University

Department:
Molecular Medicine

Province:
Quebec

Training:
Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Chemistry, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick
Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Molecular Biology, Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec
PhD, Institute of Molecular Biology at the Bulgarian Academy of Science, Sofia, Bulgaria
MSc, Faculty of Biology, University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria
BSc, Faculty of Biology, University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria

Research interests:
Molecular Mechanisms of Ovarian Cancer Chemoresistance
DNA methylation alterations in ovarian cancer: impact on cancer initiation, progression and response to therapy

Career highlights:
Important contributions in revealing mechanisms and biomarkers linked to ovarian cancer chemoresistance.
Identification of some genes with aberrant DNA methylation in ovarian cancer that could contribute to disease progression and response to therapy.
Responsible for the organization of a FRSQ-Réseau cancer-supported ovarian tumor bank at the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec Hospital, and Head of the FRSQ-Réseau Cancer Core Genomic Facility in Quebec City.

Research Projects

Project title:
Characterization of the hypomethylation status of the RUNX1 and RUNX2 genes in advanced ovarian cancer: possible role of RUNX1 and RUNX2 in ovarian cancer progression, invasion/metastasis and chemoresistance

Funding period: 
2011-2013

Program:
Operating Grant (Basic Research)

Summary:
Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the Western world, the second most common gynecological cancer and the leading cause of death from gynecological malignancies. A better understanding of the EOC initiation and progression as well as novel and improved therapies for advanced EOC disease are paramount to improving treatment and survival for EOC patients. The proposed research project aims to characterize two novel EOC potential oncogenes, RUNX1 and RUNX2, and to examine the functional implications of these genes in EOC invasion, metastasis and chemoresistance. This research could yield clues to new mechanisms implicated in EOC progression and chemoresistance, which could lead to the development of novel and improved EOC treatment strategies.

CRS publications:

L’Esperance, S., Popa, I., Bachvarova, M., Plante, M. Patten, N., Wu, L., Têtu, B. and Bachvarov, D. Gene expression profiling of paired tumor samples obtained prior to and following adjuvant chemotherapy: molecular signatures of chemoresistant tumors. Int J Oncol. 2006; 29(1):5-24.

Bachvarov D, L’Esperance L, Popa I, Bachvarova M, Plante M, Têtu B. Gene expression patterns of chemoresistant and chemosensitive ovarian serous adenocarcinomas with possible prognostic value in response to initial chemotherapy. Int J Oncol. 2006;29(4):919-933.

L’Esperance, S., Bachvarova, Têtu, B. Mes-Masson, Bachvarov D. Global gene expression analysis of early response to chemotherapy treatment in ovarian cancer spheroids. BMC Genomics. 2008;9(1):99.

Tetu B, Popa I, Bairati I, L’Esperance S, Bachvarova M, Plante M, Harel F, Bachvarov D. Immunohistochemical analysis of possible chemoresistant markers identified by micro-arrays on serous ovarian carcinomas. Modern Pathol. 2008;21:1002–10.

Mercier P-L, Bachvarova M, Plante M, Gregoire J, Ghani K, Têtu B, Bairati I, Bachvarov D. Characterization of DOK1, a candidate tumor suppressor gene, in epithelial ovarian cancer. Mol Oncol. 2011 Jul 26. [Epub ahead of print].

Past CRS projects:

2003-2006 (CRS Strategic Grant in Genomics and Proteomics of Metastasic Cancer) Molecular mechanisms of chemoresistance in advanced ovarian cancer: a pharmacogenomics approach

2007-2009 (Co-applicant) Green tea intake for maintenance of complete remission in women with advanced ovarian cancer

2007-2009 Identification of novel epigenetic targets in ovarian cancer by functional epigenomics

2010-2012 (Co-applicant) Assessment of novel markers with potential prognostic significance in ovarian cancer