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May 28, 2020 From the cancer vaccine to the COVID-19 vaccine
IRIC recently announced that Dr. Claude Perreault and his team had won the Discovery of the Year Award by Québec Science. A promising project involving the eventual development of a cancer vaccine, the result of the work of an entire team. Tariq Daouda was still a member of that team not so long ago. Today, the young investigator is flying solo and is currently a Research fellow at Harvard Medical School. He, in turn, is now leading a promising research project that uses artificial intelligence to help develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
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May 26, 2020 Veil gets lifted on the cell cycle
The cell cycle has not delivered its whole secret yet. The team of Philippe Roux, in collaboration with the teams of Sébastien Carréno and Michel Bouvier from IRIC, have recently published a study revealing a new mechanism for the regulation of this process. Indeed, to pursue its progression into the phase called “mitosis”, the cell cycle needs a green light. This one is given by the RNA-binding proteins, NF45 and NF90, that allow mRNA expression of genes that are essential for mitosis.
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May 21, 2020 Telomeres: More than just chromosomes caps!
Telomeres are particular DNA sequences at the end of chromosomes that serve as caps to protect against degradation, fraying, and fusion with other chromosomes. Long, intact telomeres are maintained by an enzyme called telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and are essential for cell viability. As TERT expression and activity levels decrease with age, telomere erosion eventually leads to chromosome loss, rearrangements, and cell death or arrest.
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May 21, 2020 Major donation of $500,000 for a cancer vaccine
The Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Université de Montréal would like to highlight the extraordinary donation made by the Fondation Famille Diane et Léon Gosselin. As a result of their generosity, the substantial amount of $500,000 will be donated to the Fonds vaccin thérapeutique contre le cancer and will allow the research teams headed by Dr. Claude Perreault, Sébastien Lemieux and Pierre Thibault to complete the crucial final steps that will lead to the clinical trials of a cancer vaccine. Mr. and Mrs. Gosselin have been supporting IRIC’s activities for over 10 years.
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May 14, 2020 A disruptive method for developing cancer vaccines, put forward by the team headed by IRIC’s Dr. Claude Perreault, is voted 2019 Scientific Discovery of the Year by Québec Science!
IRIC announces that the project carried out by the teams led by Dr. Claude Perreault, Sébastien Lemieux and Pierre Thibault has been named 2019 Scientific Discovery of the Year by the readers of Québec Science. Choosing from the 10 most impressive Quebec discoveries of the past year, the public voted for the potential therapeutic cancer vaccine, which garnered 40% of the votes cast.
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April 27, 2020 Support our Emergency Fund
The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has created upheaval in our lives and has impacted our activities as well as those of the entire country.
Our Institute is not immune to the situation. We too are deeply affected by the forced stoppage of part of our activities. Many of our laboratories are on hold and the future of our young investigators, along with the completion of several promising projects, are therefore greatly jeopardized.
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April 24, 2020 Cancellation of Audacious: IRIC’s annual flagship benefit event
Out of respect for the policies implemented by our governments related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in order to help eradicate the crisis, IRIC made the difficult decision to cancel the event. Nonetheless, the Institute would like to take the time to thank all those who worked so hard, before the crisis, to make the Audacious 2020 event a success.
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April 24, 2020 COVID-19: The IRIC community comes together thanks to IVADO’s support
IRIC proudly announces the commitment of several of its team in this health crisis, as a result of a spontaneous call for proposals initiated by IVADO, aimed at supporting digital intelligence data science initiatives. The projects retained will be able to rely on funding, scientific support and access to various resources.
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April 24, 2020 Michael Tyers’ team and collaborators contribute to COVID-19 research
We are excited to underscore the commitment made by the team headed by Michael Tyers, Principal Investigator in IRIC’s Systems Biology and Synthetic Biology Research Unit. In collaboration with the teams led by Gerard Wright and Matthew Miller, both of whom are Principal Investigators at McMaster University, the mandate of Michael Tyers’ lab is to identify new therapeutic targets in order to provide better treatment for patients suffering from COVID-19.
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April 24, 2020 Collection of medical supplies for the healthcare system
Several Université de Montréal units came together recently, following an appeal from the government, to collect medical supplies. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the purpose of the initiative is to reduce the risk of shortages in the healthcare system.
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March 24, 2020 Context COVID-19: IRIC puts its research expertise to good use
In this context of an exceptional crisis, IRIC wishes to advise its community that we are carefully monitoring the latest developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic and complying with all of the policies that our governments have implemented to stop the virus from spreading. Because our priority is the health of our students, employees and of course our partners and collaborators, we are systematically applying each one of the measures indicated for the good of our entire society.
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March 19, 2020 COVID-19: IRIC adapts its activities and salutes all of the research efforts made
Given the exceptional circumstances currently surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and out of respect for the policies implemented by our governments, which have declared a state of health emergency, all IRIC staff members are continuing with their activities remotely whenever possible. In this context of a major crisis…
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January 15, 2020 Launch of the brand new « Fonds vaccin thérapeutique contre le cancer »
A few weeks ago, Dr. Robert Patenaude, who has been a chronic myeloid leukemia survivor for almost 40 years thanks to the great care and determination of Dr. Claude Perreault, announced the creation of the brand new Fonds vaccin thérapeutique contre le cancer, along with his generous $25,000 donation. The fund is intended to support the investigators involved in the project, namely the team led by Dr. Claude Perreault, in collaboration with the teams led by Sébastien Lemieux and Pierre Thibault, who work tirelessly and with conviction to change the life of people affected by cancer.
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May 5, 2020 Giving Tuesday Now: Support IRIC’s Emergency Fund
Exceptionally, May 5, 2020, is devoted to a global day of Giving Tuesday Now. In a show of solidarity towards organizations that are suffering from the repercussions of the pandemic caused by COVID-19, the Giving Tuesday Now day was set up to create a surge of generosity and civic commitment.
Proud partner of this initiative, IRIC is joining the movement and making an appeal to its community!
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February 25, 2020 Vimentin, SUMO’s new friend; together they have an impact on the motility of cancer cells
The research teams of Pierre Thibault and Gregory Emery from IRIC have just opened up a new avenue to better understand how cancer cells migrate and move. They published an article in Nature Communications detailing their discovery, where they leveraged mass spectrometry and cell motility assays.
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February 25, 2020 The double life of Kif2C
Among the arsenal of drugs used in chemotherapy, those that damage DNA or disrupt the formation of microtubules, a major cellular protein filament, prove to be among the most effective, especially if they are used in combination. Why? This is a question that has remained unclear until now…But IRIC researchers and collaborators believe they have identified part of the answer.
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February 17, 2020 Marie-Josée Coutu appointed honorary member of IRIC’s Board of Directors
IRIC is pleased to announce the appointment of Mrs. Marie-Josée Coutu as an honorary member of its Board of Directors. The appointment underscores Mrs. Coutu’s unwavering commitment, exceptional support to the cause and longstanding contribution to the success of IRIC’s activities. It is the first acknowledgement of its kind bestowed by the Institute. Mrs. Coutu’s last mandate as an IRIC Board member ended in December of 2019.
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February 17, 2020 Appointment of Sylvain Fortier to the Board of Directors of IRIC
IRIC is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Sylvain Fortier as a new member of its Board of Directors following a session of the Executive Committee of the Université de Montréal held on November 12, 2019. Mr. Fortier’s first mandate became effective December 1, 2019, for a period of three years.
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February 4, 2020 World Cancer Day
February 4 is World Cancer Day. Every year, it’s a day that is celebrated all over the world to highlight the incredible advances in cancer research that help save more and more lives and create undeniable hope. In memory of those we love who have left us too soon or in honour of those who are currently fighting the disease, let’s all emphasize this Day, the progress that we have made and the progress left to be made.
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January 23, 2020 Renewal of the Richard and Edith Strauss Foundation’s commitment
IRIC is extremely grateful for the second donation, this time of $ 50,000, from Richard and Edith Strauss Foundation, specifically dedicated to the Pediatric Leukemia Project of IRIC Principal Investigator, Brian Wilhelm, and Dr. Sonia Cellot, Pediatric Hematologist at CHU Saint-Justine.
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January 23, 2020 Appointment of Mr. Richard Martin as Assistant General Director – Operations and Finance
IRIC is proud to announce the appointment of Mr. Richard Martin, Director of Administration of the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Université de Montréal since 2011, to the position of Assistant General Director – Operations and Finance.
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January 15, 2020 The testimonial of Robert Patenaude
In 1980, over 100% of patients suffering from leukemias would die within two years. At that time, bone marrow transplants were just beginning on an experimental basis and were only being offered to young leukemia patients who had compatible donors. The cure rate was somewhere around 20%, with most patients dying from relapses, severe rejection reactions, infections or hemorrhaging.
During that same time, while I was a second year medical student, during a routine physical, it was discovered that I was severely anemic… -
January 13, 2020 Vimentin: filaments whose role is far from trivial
A collaboration between European investigators and the team led by Philippe Roux of IRIC resulted in discovering the unsuspected role of vimentin intermediate filaments in cell division. That discovery is now the subject of an article in the prestigious scientific journal Developmental Cell.
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January 9, 2020 A project carried out by IRIC research teams nominated by Québec Science
As we begin 2020, IRIC is very proud to announce that the project from the team headed by Dr. Claude Perreault, aimed at developing a therapeutic cancer vaccine, has been nominated as one of the 10 most impressive Quebec discoveries of the past year, a list put forward by Québec Science. The project was carried out in collaboration with the teams headed by Sébastien Lemieux and Pierre Thibault, who are also Principal Investigators at IRIC.
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December 13, 2019 A potato virus helps uncover a new regulation mode for gene expression
The team led by Katherine L.B. Borden of IRIC, and spearheaded by Drs. Coutinho, Volpon, Culjkovic-Kraljacic and Osborne, accomplished nothing short of discovering a new mode of regulation and possibly production of proteins in cells. Curiously, this finding resulted from a protein structure from a virus that attacks, of all things, potatoes! Investigators unveiled their story in an article published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (P.N.A.S.).
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November 22, 2019 The project led by Michel Bouvier and Domain Therapeutics with the support of CQDM is awarded the RSRI Recognition Award at the ADRIQ Innovation Prize Gala
CQDM is proud to announce that the project led by Michel Bouvier from the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Université de Montréal and the biotech Domain Therapeutics was awarded the RSRI Recognition Award during the ADRIQ Innovation Prize Gala held on November 21st.
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November 14, 2019 Planned donation from Michel Bouvier and Muriel Aubry
On this National Philanthropy Day, IRIC salutes the exceptional commitment made by its Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Michel Bouvier, and his partner, Prof. Muriel Aubry, by announcing their testamentary donation in support of the Université de Montréal and the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC).
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November 4, 2019 Blood cancers: a “new generation” stem cell transplant significantly reduces complications for patients
In a Phase One-Two clinical trial, the great majority of patients with blood cancers are on the road to recovery, thanks to the UM171 molecule, discovered at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Université de Montréal.