Principal Investigator

Lea Harrington

Telomere Length Homeostasis and Genomic Instability

Lea Harrington established her laboratory in 1995, and after obtaining a professorship at the University of Toronto and subsequently at the University of Edinburgh in the field of telomere and genomic instability, she was recruited to the Université de Montréal as a professor in the Faculty of Medicine.

For her contributions to cancer research, Dr. Harrington has received a Terry Fox Young Investigator Award and an International Scholar Award from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Since 2017, she has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Basic Science of Oncology Clinical Teaching Manual, 6th Edition (McGraw-Hill) and Co-Chair of the Medical Review Panel for the Gairdner Foundation.

Principal Investigator, Telomere Length Homeostasis and Genomic Instability Research Unit, IRIC

Professor, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal

Visiting Professor, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh

Research unit on telomere length homeostasis and genomic instability

Pavillon Marcelle-Coutu, 1306-11

Phone (office)
(514) 343-6111, ext. 6729
Email
lea.harrington@umontreal.ca
Apply for a M.Sc. or a Ph.D.

Telomere Length Homeostasis and Genomic Instability

Lea Harrington’s team seeks to demystify the mechanisms underlying telomere maintenance and fidelity. It is particularly interested in the enzyme called telomerase (TERT: telomerase reverse transcriptase), and its dosage sensitivity to factors that act to protect telomeres and genome integrity.

Research topics

Publications

  • April 13, 2021

    Heritable variation in telomere length predicts mortality in Soay sheep.

    Froy H, Underwood SL, Dorrens J, Seeker LA, Watt K, Wilbourn RV, Pilkington JG, Harrington L, Pemberton JM, Nussey DH
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021-04-13 ;118( 15 ):.

  • March 4, 2021

    A novel p53 regulator, C16ORF72/TAPR1, buffers against telomerase inhibition.

    Benslimane Y, Sánchez-Osuna M, Coulombe-Huntington J, Bertomeu T, Henry D, Huard C, Bonneil E, Thibault P, Tyers M, Harrington L
    Aging Cell 2021-03-04 ;e13331.

  • October 14, 2020

    Catechin from Burkea africana Hook. Exhibits in vitro inhibition of human telomerase activity.

    Eboji OK, Borges G, Harrington L, Lin W, Sofidiya MO, Sowemimo AA
    Nat Prod Res 2020-10-14 ;1-5.

  • September 16, 2020

    Re-equilibration of imbalanced NAD metabolism ameliorates the impact of telomere dysfunction.

    Sun C, Wang K, Stock AJ, Gong Y, Demarest TG, Yang B, Giri N, Harrington L, Alter BP, Savage SA, Bohr VA, Liu Y
    EMBO J 2020-09-16 ;e103420.

  • September 3, 2020

    Genome-Wide Screens Reveal that Resveratrol Induces Replicative Stress in Human Cells.

    Benslimane Y, Bertomeu T, Coulombe-Huntington J, McQuaid M, Sánchez-Osuna M, Papadopoli D, Avizonis D, Russo MST, Huard C, Topisirovic I, Wurtele H, Tyers M, Harrington L
    Mol Cell 2020-09-03 ;79( 5 ):846-856.e8.

  • April 16, 2020

    Telomere dysfunction cooperates with epigenetic alterations to impair murine embryonic stem cell fate commitment.

    Criqui M, Qamra A, Chu TW, Sharma M, Tsao J, Henry DA, Barsyte-Lovejoy D, Arrowsmith CH, Winegarden N, Lupien M, Harrington L
    Elife 2020-04-16 ;9:.

  • February 11, 2020

    Qualitative Changes in Cortical Thymic Epithelial Cells Drive Postpartum Thymic Regeneration.

    Dumont-Lagacé M, Daouda T, Depoërs L, Zumer J, Benslimane Y, Brochu S, Harrington L, Lemieux S, Perreault C
    Front Immunol 2020-02-11 ;10:3118.

  • February 1, 2020

    Editorial overview: The instability of the cancer genome: it starts at the end.

    Harrington L, Baird DM
    Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. 2020-02-01 ;60:iii-vi.

  • May 28, 2019

    Petite Integration Factor 1 (PIF1) helicase deficiency increases weight gain in Western diet-fed female mice without increased inflammatory markers or decreased glucose clearance.

    Belmonte FR, Dedousis N, Sipula I, Desai NA, Singhi AD, Chu Y, Zhang Y, Bannwarth S, Paquis-Flucklinger V, Harrington L, Shiva S, Jurczak MJ, O'Doherty RM, Kaufman BA
    PLoS ONE 2019-05-28 ;14( 5 ):e0203101.

  • March 5, 2018

    In medio stat virtus : unanticipated consequences of telomere dysequilibrium.

    Harrington L, Pucci F
    Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. 2018-03-05 ;373( 1741 ):.

  • See all publications

News

  • April 26, 2021

    Genome-wide screens identify a novel gene that tapers the DNA damage response in human cells with eroded telomeres

    Telomeres are DNA sequences that serve as critical caps to protect the ends of chromosomes against degradation, fraying, and fusion with other chromosomes. They play an important role in maintaining genome integrity but in most cells in our body, telomeres become shorter with each cell division as the activity of the telomere maintenance enzyme (TERT) is repressed. After sufficient telomere shortening, the protective telomere structure is lost, activating the tumor-suppressor gene p53 and the DNA damage response. This leads to a non-proliferative state in normal cells called senescence, or to cell death in cancer cells. These inhibitory effects upon cell proliferation are thought to be an important mechanism to prevent the proliferation of damaged cells and the formation of tumors.

  • August 6, 2020

    Genome-wide screens reveal that resveratrol induces replicative stress in human cells

    Resveratrol (RSV) is a natural compound found in many plants, including the skin of grapes (and in wine), blueberries, raspberries, mulberries and peanuts. It has attracted considerable research attention due to its reported beneficial properties in experimental models such as yeasts, nematode worms, fruit flies and mice, including lifespan extension under certain conditions. A causal role of RSV in human health has not yet been established.

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Awards and distinctions

  • Personal Chair in Telomere Biology, University of Edinburgh, 2009

  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Scholar Award, 2007

  • Terry Fox Young Investigator Award, 2001