• B.Sc. Biochemistry - Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
• Ph.D. Molecular and Cellular Biology - Université Laval

My research team and I are interested in the molecular and cellular events involved in the initiation, execution and regulation of cell death in mammalian cells. We  focus on two main facets of this problem:

1) a fundamental aspect, where we investigate the intracellular signals triggered by the amino acid L-glutamine, and which lead to cell survival. This research has recently found immediate application to medicine, since glutamine is an important amino acid for the survival of several types of cancers.

2) a more applied focus, where the impact of the modulation of cell death on the behaviour of cells of biotechnological interest is investigated.

• Control of late apoptotic events by the p38 stress kinase in L-glutamine-deprived mouse hybridoma cells.
• GADD153 expression does not necessarily correlate with changes in culture behavior of hybridoma cells.
• Rapid induction of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway by L-glutamine starvation.
• Oxidative stress is not required for the induction of apoptosis upon glutamine starvation of Sp2/0-Ag14 cells
• Bcl-xL expression interferes with the effects of L-glutamine supplementation on hybridoma cultures