Dion Vincent

Biography

Vincent Dion started his scientific career in 1999 as a summer student in Stanley L. Miller’s laboratory at UCSD (USA). He also spent time as an undergraduate in the laboratory of David H. Evans at the University of Guelph (Canada), where he got a B.Sc. in 2002. In 2007, he obtained his PhD from Baylor College of Medicine (USA), under the supervision of John H. Wilson, for defining the role of DNMT1, a DNA methyltransferase, in preventing disease-causing CAG/CTG repeat expansions.

Research Interest

Because we breathe oxygen and that most of our body is made out of water, our DNA is being damaged at a rate of about 100 000 lesions per cell per day. This enormous amount of damage must be repaired efficiently and accurately if the genetic information contained in the genome is to be maintained. This fundamental process of DNA repair is the focus of the laboratory. Mutations in several DNA repair genes greatly increase cancer predisposition and the malfunction of several caretakers of the genome lead to neurological disorders (1). These observations highlight the importance of maintaining genome stability for human health.