Title:
Assistant professor

Institute:
Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC), Université de Montréal

Department:
Pathology and Cell Biology

Province:
Quebec

Training:
Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
PhD, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
MSc, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Centre, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
BSc, Department of Biological Sciences, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

Research interests:
Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer cell growth and proliferation; identifying critical molecules within signalling pathways activated by the Ras oncogene; characterizing the RSK family of protein kinases as potential anti-cancer therapeutic targets

Recognitions:
Career Development Award, Human Frontier Science Program
Canada Research Chair in Cell Signalling and Proteomics

Career highlights:
Identification of a molecular link between the Ras proto-oncogene and the mTOR signalling pathway; identification of the RSK protein kinases as determinants of cancer cell growth; development of novel proteomics mass spectrometric methods for large-scale profiling of phosphorylation events in vivo.

Research Projects

Project title:
Regulation and Function of the RSK Family in Breast Cancer

Funding period:
2011-2013

Program:
Operating Grant (basic research)

Summary:
Regulation of cancer cell growth involves activation of genes (oncogenes) that promote cell growth and survival, and the inactivation of other genes (tumour suppressors) that negatively regulate these critical cellular processes. The major focus of this CRS proposal is to evaluate the role of the RSK (pronounced "risk") family of proteins in breast cancer. This family includes four members, termed RSK1-4, which were found to be hyperactivated and overexpressed in breast cancer. The first objective of the proposal is to characterize the mechanisms by which RSK promotes cancer cell growth and proliferation. The second objective of the proposal will evaluate the role of each RSK family member (RSK1-4) in breast cancer cell proliferation and tumour growth. A better understanding of RSK will be required to determine if these proteins are important for breast cancer cell proliferation and whether they are valuable therapeutic targets for this prevalent disease.