Gauthier Marc A.

Biography

Teacher. Marc A. Gauthier obtained his PhD in polymer chemistry at the University of Montreal in 2007 under the supervision of Profs. Julian X Zhu and Thomas H Ellis. Following a postdoc at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) with Prof. Harm-Anton Klok, he became a Research Associate at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) in 2009 with Prof. Jean-Christophe Leroux. In 2013 he joined the EMT Research Center of the National Institute of Scientific Research (INRS) in Canada where his work focuses on developing new types of dynamic covalent bonds, designing therapeutic protein-polymer conjugates, establishing new technologies for drug discovery, and investigating new opportunities for physically actuating therapeutic bioconjugates using non-ionizing radiation.

Research Interest

Tremendous advances in medicine attest to how research in chemistry and biology irrevocably alters our quality of life. The mounting costs of healthcare hamper the capacity of healthcare providers in Quebec and Canada to effectively treat disease, thus providing impetus for developing less expensive, more effective, and even personalized medicine. There is growing consensus within the pharmaceutical sector that issues of drug cost and efficacy can be addressed using biomolecules such as proteins or nucleic acids (i.e., so-called “biologics”) as drugs, and as platforms for drug discovery and development. This is, in part, because their chemical and structural complexity allows e.g., enzymes to efficiently catalyze specific reactions, monoclonal antibodies to strongly bind to target molecules, and nucleic acids to selectively alter protein expression levels. In addition, tools for sequencing DNA, screening huge libraries of proteins, and mass-producing optimized lead molecules are now all realities. Presently, ~25% of all new drugs approved by the American Food and Drug Administration are peptides or proteins, and the global markets for therapeutic monoclonal antibodies ($58 billion by 2016) and enzymes ($3.9 billion by 2017) are enormous. Furthermore, the once abandoned field of gene therapy has become a hotbed, with 11 different companies raising at least $618 million from venture capitalists and the public markets since the beginning of 2013 (Forbes.com). However, as classes of molecules, proteins and nucleic acids suffer from inherent shortcomings that can limit their efficiency as therapeutics. More specifically, proteins, even large ones, fold into compact structures that are rapidly eliminated from the body by renal filtration within one to two days following systemic administration. Furthermore, many proteins are derived from non-human organisms and have the potential to induce an immune response, which can range from mild allergy to anaphylactic shock. Nucleic acids, on their side, do not readily cross cell membranes and are thus very difficult to deliver intact into cells. Finally, both proteins and nucleic acids are sensitive molecules that are susceptible to hydrolysis and can be digested by enzymes.