Marc Therrien

Biography

1989: First prize Boehringer-Manheim for excellence in research, CFBS meeting, Calgary 1989: IRCM Roger-Boucher Excellence Award, Research Day 1991: Simon-Pierre-Noël Excellence Award, Department of Biochemistry (UdeM) 1993: Academy of Great Montrealers Award (Montreal Chamber of Commerce), Best Thesis (PhD) in Biomedical Sciences 2004: Canada Research Chair 2009: Canada Research Chair 2011: Mention among the ten discoveries of the year in Quebec by the journal Quebec Science for our work (Ashton-Beaucage et al., 2010. Cell 14: 251-62) on the characterization of the complex EJC in the control of the RAS / MAPK signaling.

Research Interest

Marc Therrien and his team are studying the mechanisms involved in cell proliferation and differentiation, more specifically those controlled by the oncogene Ras. The disruption of these mechanisms is at the root of a large number of cancers. This research will identify new therapeutic targets or open new avenues of research in the treatment of cancer. Cells use complex networks of molecules to relay signals from the cell membrane to the nucleus. One of these networks, called the RAS signaling pathway (named after a proto-oncogene that is frequently mutated in some cancers), is essential for transmitting signals of proliferation, differentiation and cell survival. This network contains more than twenty proteins. The function of many of them remains unknown and there is still more to discover. Our laboratory uses Drosophila genetics in conjunction with biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology techniques to identify and characterize the function of novel signaling proteins involved in the RAS pathway. In particular, we are investigating the function of two recently identified proteins in a RAS-dependent genetic screen: Kinase Suppressor of RAS (KSR), a new kinase required in the MAPK pathway and Connector Enhancer of KSR (CNK), a new type of multi-sensor function downstream of RAS. Since disturbances of the RAS pathway are closely related to tumorigenesis in humans, it is likely that the elucidation of the signaling mechanisms of this pathway will lead to the development of new methods of cancer interventions.