Launched in 2024, the New Faculty Start Up funding program offers competitive start-up packages, complementing those provided by faculties, to attract researchers of the highest caliber for tenure-track positions related to D2R. As part of this program, 91社区 and Universit茅 de Sherbrooke will establish new tenure-track positions reserved for newly hired faculty whose primary research focus aligns with D2R. Recruitment for these positions is expected to take place from 2024 through to 2028.

The following new faculty are a result of the program's efforts so far. Recruitment of new faculty follows standard procedures for tenure-track positions, incorporating best practices in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Recruitment is led by the relevant Dean in close collaboration with D2R鈥檚 Research Steering Committee.

Universit茅 de Sherbrooke

Taha Azad

Using Synthetic Biology Approaches to Develop Novel RNA Anti-Cancer Therapeutics

Academic Title: Assistant Professor
Hiring department and faculty: Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Award start date: August, 2024
D2R Foundational Axes: RNA Therapeutics (Axis 2), Bioprocessing, Biomanufacturing, and Nanotechnology (Axis 3)

Our research aims to revolutionize cancer treatment using self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) therapeutics. These unique RNA molecules replicate within cells, enhancing the expression of therapeutic proteins and potentially reducing treatment costs and frequency. We have curated a diverse library of saRNAs from nature and engineered them to target cancers. By characterizing saRNA behavior in various cancer cells and optimizing their interaction with immune pathways, we aim to develop highly effective and personalized saRNA-based treatments. Our innovative approach promises to advance RNA therapeutics, providing new hope for cancer patients.

Karine Choquet

Improving disease prognosis and treatment by elucidating pre-mRNA splicing dynamics

Academic Title: Assistant Professor
Hiring department and faculty: Biochemistry and Functional Genomics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
D2R award start date: August, 2024
D2R Foundational Axes: RNA Therapeutics (Axis 2), Population Studies and Genomic Medicine (Axis 1), Data Science, Bioinformatics, and Computing in Personalized Medicine (Axis 5)

Premature messenger RNAs (pre-mRNA) must undergo a process called splicing to become the mature messenger RNAs that are used to produce proteins, which are the building blocks of the cell. Splicing defects contribute to many human diseases. Splicing can also be modified to treat genetic diseases. Human pre-mRNAs are very long, but splicing has only been studied for one short section of a pre-mRNA at a time. My program will investigate how splicing of different parts of a pre-mRNA is connected and how this impacts the consequences of genetic mutations and the efficiency of splicing-based therapies for rare muscle diseases.

Mathieu Quesnel-Valli猫res

RNA splicing as an oncogenic factor and as a therapeutic target

Academic Title: Assistant Professor
Hiring department and faculty: Immunology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
D2R award start date: August, 2024
D2R Foundational Axes: Clinical Research, Acceleration, and Implementation (Axis 4), RNA Therapeutics (Axis 2), Data Science, Bioinformatics, and Computing in Personalized Medicine (Axis 5)

Immunotherapy is new form of therapy that consists in activating the patient鈥檚 own immune system against their cancer. The tremendous potential of this new type of cancer therapy has recently been demonstrated in the clinic, but not all patients respond and some cancer types lack good targets to develop new immunotherapy. Our research uses DNA and RNA sequencing methods with computational and experimental analyses to identify the molecular differences that exist between cancer and normal cells and leverage these differences to teach immune cells how to recognize and kill cancer.