How time flies! As 2024 gets underway, it's time to look back at some of the milestones, significant events and advances that punctuated the scientific, community and clinical life of the IRCM in 2023. The challenge for this edition was to choose from among the constellation of news items that punctuated a particularly prolific year. Here are just a few of the highlights, before we continue on our merry way.
A brand-new RNA Center of Excellence
The first item on this list is the announcement of the long-awaited and meticulously prepared creation of our Sidney-Altman Therapeutic RNA Hub. Revealed with a bangs at the Foundation's highly successful annual Gala, and built around the invaluable legacy of the 89 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, Sid Altman. This federating initiative, focused on the therapies of the future, will bring together the driving forces of the field in Montreal in the service of life-saving therapies.
We also recognized Dr. Sidney Altman's legacy at this event, awarding him the IRCM Medal of Merit. Here's a video dedicated to his memory, produced by our teams.
Top-notch up-and-coming scientists make their mark here at home
It was a great success, a celebration of the excellence of the next generation of scientists: the grand finale of the provincial science popularization and communication competition Science POP, organized under the aegis of the Fonds de recherches du Québec- santé (FRQS), that came came to a close on May 28 at the IRCM. In front of a delighted audience, the event pitted finalists from 15 Quebec research institutions against each other in high-level jousting, at the end of which nine winners of three separate challenges were selected. A date has already been set for another edition in November 2024.
A renewed Asso
IRCM's strength also lies in its up-and-coming scientific community. Congratulations to the ASSO on its new committees! The IRCM's student and post-doctoral community met on October 6 to elect the members of its new executive committee and sub-committees representing the IRCM's next generation of students. This year, nearly thirty students from fourteen labs are involved in the vitality of their institute!
Help for our students
In order to support students with scholarships that reflect current realities, help the student community meet the challenges of inflation, and ensure equity among students, the IRCM has instituted a new harmonized student scholarship policy, effective April 2023.
Foundation support and Recognition
After a two-year absence, the IRCM Recognition Event was back on December 14, 2023. In a packed Jean-Davignon Atrium decked out in festive colors for the occasion, the IRCM Foundation joined forces with the IRCM's Communications and Human Resources Departments to honor members of the internal community who make the Institute's mission possible, through their talent, dedication and human qualities.
In February, the Foundation had already given out 313 000 dollars to young scientists. And in the past year, the Foundation donated $3.4 million in biomedical research to the IRCM.
MCM
A look back at a varied and rich cohort of Master's students in Cellular and Molecular Medicine (MCM), ready to acquire a solid scientific training in molecular biology. A banner year.
An exceptional scientific harvest
Among the exceptional wealth of work carried out by IRCM researchers, we would like to mention a few highlights, all of which were of interest to the public and the media.
Important work carried out by Dr André Veillette's team at the IRCM, in collaboration with a group of researchers, published in Nature Immunology, identified a previously unknown pathway that prevents phagocytosis, a process that promotes the immune system's response to cancer.
Published just before World Diabetes Day, new work by Dr. May Faraj, Director of the Nutrition, Lipoproteins and Cardiometabolic Diseases Research Unit and Full Professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Université de Montréal, establishes for the first time a new mechanism and role for LDL in the development of type 2 diabetes (T2DM), in addition to its traditional role in the development of cardiovascular disease in humans.
Dr. Jennifer Estall's team recently published a study that provides new insights into two major metabolic diseases: diabetes and fatty liver disease.
The Cellular Neurobiology research unit headed by Dr. Michel Cayouette has identified a key mechanism involved in the growth of nerve cells that are essential for mediating binocular vision, which enables us to see the world in 3D.
Brand-new work from the Pragmatic Health Ethics Research Unit highlights the colossal challenges faced by people living with one or more rare diseases, both in terms of care and in their personal and professional spheres.
A team at the Institute led by Dr. Javier Di Noia, Director of the Molecular Biology of B Cells Research Unit, recently discovered a mechanism underlying the generation of effective immune responses, with great potential for application in lymphoma therapy.
New work by Dr Hideto Takahashi, Director of the Synapse Development and Plasticity Research Unit, and his team, has recently uncovered a new mechanism that could play an important role in the development of pathologies known as synucleinopathies, including Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia, among others. This work, published in the journal Cells, could help pave the way for new therapeutic options for Parkinson's and related diseases.
A new study led by Dr Mohan Malleshaiah's team discovers a promising way to enhance the potential of pluripotent stem cells, such as embryonic stem cells, commonly used for regenerative medicine applications. The research team has discovered that these stem cells can be chemically reprogrammed (or taken back in time) to the very beginning or earliest stage of embryonic development, thereby enhancing their developmental or differentiation potential.
In a salutary advance in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying diabetes, a pathology affecting 1 in 11 people worldwide and which remains incurable, Dr Mathieu Ferron's team has identified a new role of vitamin K and gamma-carboxylation in beta cells, and their potentially protective role against diabetes, achieving a first in fifteen years of fundamental research. The results of this research are published in the journal Cell Reports.
The team led by Dr. Frédéric Charron, Director of the Molecular Biology of Neural Development Research Unit, in collaboration with Dr. Myriam Srour of the Montreal Children's Hospital, has just achieved a promising breakthrough in our understanding of the origins of mirror movement syndrome. Carried out by first authors Dr. Sabrina Schlienger, postdoctoral fellow, and Dr. Patricia Yam, research associate, the study has been published in the prestigious journal Science Advances.
Promising work by the team led by Dr Michel Cayouette, Director of the Cellular Neurobiology Research Unit, was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS). The study offers new hope for the eventual restoration of vision in patients suffering from degenerative retinal disease.
A team led by Woong-Kyung Suh, Director of the Immune Regulation Research Unit, has published an important study that could provide new therapeutic perspectives in the field of immunology, and sheds new light on the critical role of the ICOS protein in the immune response, notably in the development of certain autoimmune diseases.
Substantial work by Nicolas Chofflet, under the supervision of Dr. Hideto Takahashi, in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, sheds light on how structural changes in neuronal adhesion molecules are involved in regulating the development of neuronal circuits and synaptic connectivity.
Research teams from the IRCM and CHU Sainte-Justine have unveiled a breakthrough that will help optimize the search for solutions to HIV. This work is the result of a collaboration between Dr. Elie Haddad, clinical researcher at CHU Sainte-Justine, and Dr. Éric Cohen, Director of the Human Retrovirology Unit at the IRCM.
Finally, in a crucial step towards understanding the mechanisms involved in cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, a research team led by Dr Nabil Seidah has achieved a world first: it has identified the molecular mechanism by which the PCSK9 protein degrades low-density lipoprotein receptors, the richest cholesterol particles in the blood.
Please note that these are just a few of the highlights of a year particularly rich in research.
Prizes and awards galore!
Dr Michel Cayouette was awarded the Prix Reconnaissance en recherche (fundamental/mid-career) by the Université de Montréal Faculty of Medicine.
Dr. Jean-François Côté was named Great Scientist 2023 by the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation.
Mathieu Ferron, Director of the IRCM's Molecular Physiology Research Unit, Associate Professor at Université de Montréal and Assistant Professor at McGill University, who officially received the Prix jeune chercheur André-Dupont 2023 from the Club de Recherches Cliniques du Québec (CRCQ). He also received the Prix Reconnaissance Recherche-début de carrière from the Université de Montréal Department of Medicine.
And Dr. Nabil G. Seidah was awarded the prestigious J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine. This is also the first time this prize has been awarded to a Quebec scientist.
Dr. Eric Lecuyer will co-direct a double chair in Artificial Intelligence in Health and Digital Health with Dr. Mathieu Blanchette of McGill University. Funded to the tune of $1.5 million, this cutting-edge research chair is one of three announced by the Fonds de recherches du Québec en santé on June 5, for a total of $4.5 million.
IRCM also warmly congratulates Dr. Javier Di Noia and Dr. Tarik Möröy on their success with the Spring 2023 CIHR awards.
It should be noted that IRCM's researchers and students have achieved notable success in the FRQS training, career and research grants for 2023-2024.
Dr. Jennifer Estall is one of the winners of Diabetes Canada's End Diabetes research competition. This important research project aims to understand how a human mutation is involved in diabetes and its complications.
Sauvageau and Estall were awarded two grants from the National Research Council's (NRC) New Beginnings program. In addition to furthering our knowledge of certain serious pathologies, these funded projects will enable us to establish proof of concept and develop new RNA therapies, a niche of excellence for the IRCM.
And let's not forget the substantial grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to Dr. Tarik Möröy for his research, Non-coding RNA ELDR in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Finally, Dr. Emilia Liana Falcone will co-lead the biomedical team of the Long COVID Web, the pan-Canadian network on long COVID, in addition to acting as co-principal investigator and member of the steering committee.
Notable promotions at IRCM
IRCM nurtures the professional and scientific development of its members.
Dr. Jennifer Estall is promoted to IRCM Full Research Professor. Dr. Estall is also Director of the Diabetes Molecular Mechanisms Research Unit;
Dr. Mohan Malleshaiah is promoted to IRCM Research Associate Professor. He is also Director of the Stem Cell and Cell Reprogramming Research Unit;
Dr. Amélie Robert is promoted to senior research associate in Dr. Jean-François Côté's laboratory;
Dr. Konstantin Khetchoumian is promoted to Senior Research Associate in the laboratory of Dr. Jacques Drouin.
New faces, talents to discover
The IRCM has welcomed several new members, both in research and among its staff and management.
Among these, we would like to highlight the arrival of Dr. Yasaman Aghazadeh as Research Assistant Professor. Dr. Aghazadeh will lead a new research laboratory dedicated to the study of beta cells and the development of cellular therapies for type 1 diabetes.
We also welcomed Dr. Jane Yardley, whose cutting-edge research focuses on understanding the effects of physical activity on type 1 diabetes, as well as sex and gender differences associated with this disease. Recruited through a partnership with the Université de Montréal, Dr. Yardley is now a professor at the School of Kinesiology and Exercise Science and will conduct the majority of her work in her IRCM laboratory.
Finally, we welcome Dr. Nadia Dubé to the position of Vice-President, Development and Administration. Her arrival is an important element in consolidating the Institute's management team.
IRCM in the media
2023 was an exceptional year for IRCM’s expertise in the media, be it specialized or mainstream. Our institute was mentioned, and its work was covered 1153 times. This is in addition to the multiple interviews granted by all our experts. Not too shabby!
A Scientific Forum rich in science and humanity
To conclude this brief overview, we'd like to take a look back at the traditional retreat of the IRCM scientific community, which took place on June 8 and 9 in the idyllic setting of the Hôtel Lac Carling, in Grenville-sur-la-rouge.
Made possible thanks to the IRCM Foundation and supported by a generous contribution from BMO Financial Group, this 5th edition welcomed nearly 150 members of the IRCM community, in a warm atmosphere, for fruitful exchanges.
On that note, happy new year 2024!
