Principal Investigator

Michael Tyers

Systems Biology and Synthetic Biology

After earning his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at McMaster University, Michael Tyers completed postdoctoral training at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, in New York. He began his career as a teacher in 1992, in the Department of Medical Genetics and Microbiology of the University of Toronto, then held the position of Principal Investigator at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute. In 2007, he became Director of the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance and taught systems biology at The University of Edinburgh.

Upon his return to Canada, he joined the IRIC as Principal Investigator of the Systems Biology and Synthetic Biology Research Unit. Michael Tyers is also a Professor in the Department of Medicine of the Université de Montréal.

Principal Investigator, Systems Biology and Synthetic Biology Research Unit, IRIC

Professor, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal

Research unit on systems biology and synthetic biology

Pavillon Marcelle-Coutu, 4306-3

Phone (office)
(514) 343-6111, ext. 6668
Email
md.tyers@umontreal.ca
Apply for a M.Sc. or a Ph.D.

Systems Biology and Synthetic Biology

Michael Tyers and his team use biochemistry, genetics, chemical biology, microscopy, mass spectrometry and informatics to decipher how cellular networks are organized and controlled.

Research topics

Publications

  • 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.

  • February 12, 2021

    PRMT5 inhibition disrupts splicing and stemness in glioblastoma.

    Sachamitr P, Ho JC, Ciamponi FE, Ba-Alawi W, Coutinho FJ, Guilhamon P, Kushida MM, Cavalli FMG, Lee L, Rastegar N, Vu V, Sánchez-Osuna M, Coulombe-Huntington J, Kanshin E, Whetstone H, Durand M, Thibault P, Hart K, Mangos M, Veyhl J, Chen W, Tran N, Duong BC, Aman AM, Che X, Lan X, Whitley O, Zaslaver O, Barsyte-Lovejoy D, Richards LM, Restall I, Caudy A, Röst HL, Bonday ZQ, Bernstein M, Das S, Cusimano MD, Spears J, Bader GD, Pugh TJ, Tyers M, Lupien M, Haibe-Kains B, Artee Luchman H, Weiss S, Massirer KB, Prinos P, Arrowsmith CH, Dirks PB
    Nat Commun 2021-02-12 ;12( 1 ):979.

  • January 7, 2021

    UM171 Preserves Epigenetic Marks that Are Reduced in Ex Vivo Culture of Human HSCs via Potentiation of the CLR3-KBTBD4 Complex.

    Chagraoui J, Girard S, Spinella JF, Simon L, Bonneil E, Mayotte N, MacRae T, Coulombe-Huntington J, Bertomeu T, Moison C, Tomellini E, Thibault P, Tyers M, Marinier A, Sauvageau G
    Cell Stem Cell 2021-01-07 ;28( 1 ):48-62.e6.

  • January 1, 2021

    The BioGRID database: A comprehensive biomedical resource of curated protein, genetic, and chemical interactions.

    Oughtred R, Rust J, Chang C, Breitkreutz BJ, Stark C, Willems A, Boucher L, Leung G, Kolas N, Zhang F, Dolma S, Coulombe-Huntington J, Chatr-Aryamontri A, Dolinski K, Tyers M
    Protein Sci 2021-01-01 ;30( 1 ):187-200.

  • November 19, 2020

    ALDH2 Mediates 5-Nitrofuran Activity in Multiple Species.

    Zhou L, Ishizaki H, Spitzer M, Taylor KL, Temperley ND, Johnson SL, Brear P, Gautier P, Zeng Z, Mitchell A, Narayan V, McNeil EM, Melton DW, Smith TK, Tyers M, Westwood NJ, Patton EE
    Cell Chem Biol 2020-11-19 ;27( 11 ):1452.

  • November 6, 2020

    Viral protein engagement of GBF1 induces host cell vulnerability through synthetic lethality.

    Navare AT, Mast FD, Olivier JP, Bertomeu T, Neal M, Carpp LN, Kaushansky A, Coulombe-Huntington J, Tyers M, Aitchison JD
    bioRxiv 2020-11-06 ;.

  • October 5, 2020

    Crippling life support for SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses through synthetic lethality.

    Mast FD, Navare AT, van der Sloot AM, Coulombe-Huntington J, Rout MP, Baliga NS, Kaushansky A, Chait BT, Aderem A, Rice CM, Sali A, Tyers M, Aitchison JD
    J. Cell Biol. 2020-10-05 ;219( 10 ):.

  • September 7, 2020

    G1/S transcription factors assemble in increasing numbers of discrete clusters through G1 phase.

    Black L, Tollis S, Fu G, Fiche JB, Dorsey S, Cheng J, Ghazal G, Notley S, Crevier B, Bigness J, Nollmann M, Tyers M, Royer CA
    J. Cell Biol. 2020-09-07 ;219( 9 ):.

  • 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.

  • June 11, 2020

    Metabolic Regulation of the Epigenome Drives Lethal Infantile Ependymoma.

    Michealraj KA, Kumar SA, Kim LJY, Cavalli FMG, Przelicki D, Wojcik JB, Delaidelli A, Bajic A, Saulnier O, MacLeod G, Vellanki RN, Vladoiu MC, Guilhamon P, Ong W, Lee JJY, Jiang Y, Holgado BL, Rasnitsyn A, Malik AA, Tsai R, Richman CM, Juraschka K, Haapasalo J, Wang EY, De Antonellis P, Suzuki H, Farooq H, Balin P, Kharas K, Van Ommeren R, Sirbu O, Rastan A, Krumholtz SL, Ly M, Ahmadi M, Deblois G, Srikanthan D, Luu B, Loukides J, Wu X, Garzia L, Ramaswamy V, Kanshin E, Sánchez-Osuna M, El-Hamamy I, Coutinho FJ, Prinos P, Singh S, Donovan LK, Daniels C, Schramek D, Tyers M, Weiss S, Stein LD, Lupien M, Wouters BG, Garcia BA, Arrowsmith CH, Sorensen PH, Angers S, Jabado N, Dirks PB, Mack SC, Agnihotri S, Rich JN, Taylor MD
    Cell 2020-06-11 ;181( 6 ):1329-1345.e24.

  • 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.

  • January 12, 2021

    UM171: the molecule that keeps on giving

    In a study published in Cell Stem Cell, a research team of 15 scientists led by UdeM hematologist Guy Sauvageau demonstrates the cancer-fighting molecule’s mechanism of action.

  • 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.

  • June 17, 2020

    Race for the discovery of COVID-19 medications: A multidisciplinary project takes shape!

    Génome Québec, in partnership with IRIC, Université de Montréal, Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute and McMaster University, is proud to announce funding for a new research project intended to accelerate the discovery of antiviral COVID-19 medications. Spearheaded by professors Michael Tyers (IRIC / Université de Montréal), Yoshua Bengio (Mila / Université de Montréal) and Anne Marinier (IRIC / Université de Montréal), the $1 million project was launched in fast-track mode on June 1, 2020.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • July 8, 2019

    Treatment of leukemia: IRIC Investigators publish in Cancer Cell

    Researchers at UdeM have discovered a molecular process implicated in the action of anti-leukemia drugs, opening new avenues for the development of effective treatments for this disease.

  • November 13, 2018

    Renewal Michael Tyers’ Canada Research Chair

    Michael Tyers, Principal Investigator at IRIC and Professor at the Faculty of Medicine (Université de Montréal) obtained the renewal of his research chair in Systems and Synthetic Biology.

  • See all news