Département de microbiologie-infectiologie et d’immunologie, Université Laval Protein trafficking to the apical complex of the malaria parasite Malaria is one of the world’s most common infectious diseases, with approximately 274 million cases each year and 1 million deaths, and thus represents one of the most devastating global public health problems.
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Marie-Ève Tremblay, PhD
Département de médecine moléculaire, Université Laval Microglial relationships with synaptic elements in Alzheimer’s disease A series of recent discoveries have challenged our view of microglia, the brain immune cells, showing unexpected roles in the active maintenance of neuronal circuits throughout the lifespan. Contributing to this nascent field of investigation, this project aims at exploring the…
Alexandre Douplik, PhD
Physics Department, Ryerson University Surface-enhanced Raman fiber sensor for endoscopic early detection of tumor-related biomolecules in gastroenterology The goal of the project is development of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy fiber probes for high sensitive and rapid non-invasive diagnostics including malignancy detection. Optical sampling of biological molecules can detect specific Raman “fingerprints” including cancer “signatures” with high…
Carl Ernst, PhD
Department of Psychiatry, McGill University Functional analysis of the 16p11.2 locus using patient-derived induced-pluripotent stem cells Large deletions of DNA on chromosome 16 are associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in about 1% of all Canadians with autism, and many more Canadians with intellectual disability. I have recruited and clinically assessed two independent families carrying…
Dennis Jensen, PhD
Department of Kinesiology & Physical Education, McGill University Physiological mechanisms of dyspnea relief and improved exercise tolerance after treatment with oral morphine in patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive disease of the lungs and airways, causing shortness of breath (dyspnea) and exercise intolerance. Conventional efforts…
Martin Lévesque, PhD
Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Université Laval Molecular mechanisms of axon guidance mediated by PlexinC1 in dopamine neuron axonal projections Degeneration of midbrain dopaminergic neurons (mDA) is the principal cause of Parkinson’s disease. Grafts of dopaminergic neurons newly generated from stem cells represent a promising therapeutic avenue. However, inappropriate re-innervation of the grafted neurons represents…
Michelle Scott, PhD
Department of Biochemistry, Université de Sherbrooke Characterization of a novel function of small RNAs in alternative splicing The process of alternative splicing allows the production of multiple distinct proteins from a single gene, in a manner that can be cell-type specific. Alternative splicing requires an extensive and complex regulation. Diverse human diseases can be caused…
Marcelo Berlim, MD
Department of Psychiatry, McGill University Remediating decision-making deficits in depressed subjects at high risk for suicide with transcranial magnetic stimulation We aim to assess whether high frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, a safe and non-invasive method for modulating the activity of specific brain regions, when applied over the left region of the forehead (ie, the…
Simon Lees, PhD
Faculty of Medicine, Lakehead University The IL-6 paradox in the development of insulin resistance Paradoxically, elevated IL-6 is associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, while at the same time strong evidence supports the notion that IL-6 may facilitate improved insulin signaling as a result of physical activity.
Tara Moriarty, PhD
Matrix Dynamics Group, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto Vascular adhesion mechanisms of the Lyme disease spirochete Blood-borne spread (dissemination) of pathogens is a critical step in the development of serious infectious disease, and is responsible for most of the mortality due to bacterial infection. The dissemination mechanisms of many bacterial pathogens are largely unknown.
Takako Niikura, DVM PhD
Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University Regulation of amyloid beta metabolism In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), progressive brain atrophy and dementia appear because of neuronal cell death and synaptic dysfunction in brains. Amyloid beta plays a central toxic role in AD pathogenesis.
Jonathan Perreault, PhD
INRS – Institut Armand Frappier Regulation in the opportunistic pathogen Burkholderia by the MAEB RNA motif Aside from their role in storing hereditary information, DNA and RNA are now known to have many more functions. Living organisms have a plethora of RNAs that control numerous processes in cells. One such RNA, named MAEB, was recently…