Systems Biology
Over the past few decades, biomedical research has unveiled the immense complexity of biological systems. Systems biology is a new, rapidly expanding research area that examines globally, among other things, the expression of the 21,000 human genes and the interactions of the proteins they encode, in order to gain a better understanding of the way cells function. These modern approaches are available to IRCM investigators as we have recently set in place state-of-the-art technologies in the fields of proteomics, genomics and screening of chemical compounds, along with bioinformatic procedures for the analysis and integration of large datasets.

The research groups working in this program address questions that are central to understanding normal cell function, including gene transcription, RNA maturation, DNA replication and repair, the structure of chromatin, cell division, cell motility, cell death (apoptosis) and cell differentiation. In addition, some researchers from this program are part of an ambitious international project, the Human Protein Interaction Initiative (HuPII), whose aim is the systematic analysis of protein interactions networks in normal and diseased tissue.

Although systems biology is still an emerging discipline, it already has a sizeable impact on biomedical research. The Institute intends to seize this opportunity to play a leading role in this “revolution.”

Medicinal Chemistry
The Medicinal Chemistry Program at the IRCM focuses on chemical biology, an area of interdisciplinary research at the crossroads between chemistry and biology. This is where expertise in synthesizing organic molecules is applied to solving problems in cell and molecular biology.

The identification of new therapeutic approaches is an important component of the IRCM mission statement. Several of our investigators are experts in the design, synthesis and use of small organic molecules that act on biological targets. While the small modulating molecules that chemists and biochemists are able to identify may not immediately be considered medications, they can be used to obtain information on how cellular and viral targets work. This knowledge may eventually lead to the development of new therapeutic methods.