Isabelle Plante, PhD

13 Aug 2024

Address

Research interests

  • Mammary gland biology and development
  • Toxicology
  • Development of alternative models

Normal breast development requires close interaction not only between stroma and epithelium, but also between the different cell types making up the mammary epithelium. We have demonstrated that intercellular junctions, which are strongly involved in these interactions, form a dynamic nexus whose composition varies according to the different developmental stages of the mammary gland, suggesting not only different functional needs, but also precise regulation, probably linked to hormonal changes. Furthermore, deregulation of intercellular junctions is associated with developmental and functional abnormalities, and with breast cancer.

In recent years, a growing number of studies have demonstrated that exposure to endocrine disruptors (EDs) results in developmental abnormalities and pathologies. EDs are exogenous substances that alter the functions of the endocrine system, inducing harmful effects on the health of an organism or its descendants. Thus, organs whose development and function are strongly influenced by hormones, including the mammary gland, are particularly affected by EDs. Our previous studies have demonstrated that several EDs affect the regulation of cellular interactions. Based on these data, my research program has two main components:

1) Fundamental component on cellular interactions in the development and biology of mammary glands, aimed at identifying the regulatory mechanisms and the role of communication in mammary glands and the events leading to their deregulation during pathologies;

2) Toxicological component on the effects of EDs on mammary gland development and breast cancer, aimed at determining the effects of exposure to EDs on mammary gland development and breast cancer, and identifying the toxicity mechanisms involved.

Members of the laboratory

Marie-Caroline Daguste
MSc student
marie-caroline.daguste@inrs.ca

Alec McDermott, MSc
PhD student
alec.mcdermott@inrs.ca

David Tovar
PhD student
David.Tovar@inrs.ca

Jysiane Cardot, MSc
PhD student
jysiane.cardot@inrs.ca

Madeleine Lépine, MSc
PhD student
madeleine.lepine@inrs.ca

Melany Juarez, MSc
PhD student
melany.juarez@iaf.inrs.ca

Publications

SEE SCOPUS

Daniel Cyr, PhD

26 Jul 2024

Address

Research interests

  • Epididymis
  • Stem cells
  • Environmental toxicology

Spermatozoa are formed by spermatogenesis in seminiferous tubules of the testis.  In mammals, testicular spermatozoa cannot swim or fertilize an ovum. These abilities are acquired in the epididymis during sperm maturation. The luminal environment of the epididymis necessary for sperm maturation is created in part by modulation of pH, secretion of sperm-binding proteins by the epididymis, and the presence of the blood-epididymis barrier, which regulates the transport of selected molecules across the epithelium and their release in the lumen. The development and differentiation of the epididymal epithelium is critical for male fertility.

Our research program aims to understand cellular differentiation of the epididymis, a process which remains poorly understood.  Our laboratory has developed unique tools to study the cellular and molecular regulation of cell differentiation in the epididymis.  These include unique cell lines and organoid models using epididymal basal stem cells to assess the role of cell-cell interaction in the epididymis and how environmental contaminants, such as nanoplastics can alter these interactions leading to male infertility.

Members of the laboratory

Sara Yim
BSc student
sara.yim@inrs.ca

Unnikrishnan Kannan
MSc student
unnikrishnan.kannan@inrs.ca

Chen Zhu
MSc student
chen.zhu@inrs.ca

Paloma Medeiros
PhD Student
paloma.medeiros@inrs.ca

Julie Dufresne, MSc
Research assistant
julie.dufresne@inrs.ca

Mary Gregory, MSc
Research assistant
mary.gregory@inrs.ca

Publications

SEE SCOPUS

Xianming Zhang, PhD

19 Jul 2024

Address

Research interests

  • Organics contaminants
  • Environmental and analytical chemistry
  • Environmental and molecular modeling
  • Environmental sources, processes and impact of organic contaminants
  • Long-range transport and long-term impact of Persistent Organic Pollutants
  • Passive sampling techniques for monitoring trace organics in the environment
  • Gas chromatography, liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry for organic analysis
  • Model development and applications to simulate environmental processes, exposures and impact of organic contaminants
  • Human exposures to organic contaminants in daily life

Members of the laboratory

Asma Syeda
Undergraduated student
syeda.asma1427@gmail.com

Samira Norouzi
MSc Student
samira.norouzi@concordia.ca

Faraz ILiaee
MSc Student
faraziliaee@gmail.com

Cassandra Johannessen
PhD Student
cassandra.johannessen@mail.concordia.ca

Publications

See Scopus

Laurence Charton, MSc, PhD

18 Jul 2024

Address

Research interests

  • Human reproduction
  • Human infertility
  • Biosocial factors

Through the study of the transition to parenthood and the place of the child in contemporary societies, my research aims to identify the strategies by which human groups manage to ensure the continuity, renewal and reproduction of social structures, and have been able to adapt to change. My research focuses on social and family imaginaries, the temporality and modalities of entry into parenthood, motivations for renouncing or refusing a child, and naming and prenaming practices. They are based on an intersectional approach and multidisciplinary methods, notably in sociology and demography.

Members of the laboratory

Publications

Véronique Ouellet

Véronique Ouellet, PhD

22 Apr 2021

Address

Research interests

  • Physiology
  • Adaptation
  • Resilience

Professor Véronique Ouellet’s current research focuses on the interactions between the animal and its thermal environment, both pre- and post-natal. Her areas of expertise include lactation and stress physiology, dairy cattle nutrition and adaptation to climate change. Her work has helped demystify the effects of heat stress in continental climates, better understand the impact of heat stress on the mammary gland and placenta during dry-off and on the growing fetus, and establish heat tolerance thresholds in dry cows and calves.
In addition, his laboratory is now tackling issues related to water quality on dairy farms and its implications for animal health and dairy herd performance.
Through her applied and fundamental research, collaborations, involvement in the farming community and numerous knowledge transfer activities, Véronique Ouellet aims to optimize the resilience of farm animals to climate change through a systemic, applied and collaborative approach.

Members of the laboratory

Alexandra Boucher, MSc
PhD student
alexandra.boucher.4@ulaval.ca

Bouthayna Khliff, MSc
Research assistant
bouthayna.khlif.1@ulaval.ca

Marie-Michel Déry
Research assistant
marie-michel.dery.1@ulaval.ca

Marie-Michèle Cyr
Research assistant
marie-michele.cyr.1@ulaval.ca

Publications

SEE SCOPUS

Maritza Jaramillo, PhD

28 Oct 2019

Address

Research interests

  • Congenital toxoplasmosis
  • mRNA translation
  • Trophoblast and macrophage biology

The main interest of the laboratory is to study the molecular basis of translation control (i.e. the regulation of the efficiency of mRNA translation) during the exposure of placental cells to factors of environmental stresses such as inflammatory mediators and infectious agents. Indeed, translational control has been shown to provide immune cells with a rapid response to external triggers or signals without de novo mRNA synthesis. However, how specific changes in mRNA translation influence normal and impaired placental functions remains largely unexplored. To address this, we study the impact of dysregulation of RNA translation efficiency on the placenta during congenital toxoplasmosis, a vertically transmitted infection that leads to severe birth defects or abortion.

We advance the hypothesis that aberrant mRNA translation in infected placental cell populations contributes to modification of gene expression programs required for normal embryo nesting, placental development and function. To test our hypothesis, we combine various “OMICS” approaches in human villous and extravillous trophoblasts. In parallel, we perform in silico analyzes and mechanistic studies in engineered trophoblast cell lines to define the signaling pathways and trans-acting factors leading to translational repression or activation of specific transcripts. Overall, these studies will provide a better understanding of the role of translational control in normal and pathological placental function.

Members of the laboratory

Leonardo Cortazzo da Silva
MSc student
Leonardo.Cortazzo@inrs.ca

Camila Almeida Cardoso
MSc student
camila.cardoso@inrs.ca

Laura Marcela Garcis Prada, MSc
PhD student
laura.garcia@inrs.ca

Carolina Maria Vargas Leon, MSc
PhD student
carolina.vargas@inrs.ca

Aurore Lebourg, MSc
PhD student
aurore.lebourg@inrs.ca

Visnu Chaparro, PhD
Postdoc fellow
visnu.chaparro@inrs.ca

Louis-Philippe Leroux, PhD
Research Associate
louis-philippe.leroux@inrs.ca

Publications

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Aimee Ryan, PhD

7 Sep 2018

Address

Research interests

  • epithelial barriers and morphogenesis
  • claudin family of tight junction proteins
  • neural tube closure

Mutations in several genes and a variety of environmental factors are known to cause birth defects. Prevention of these defects depends on identifying the molecules involved in embryonic development and understanding what they do. My lab studies the claudin family of tight junction proteins during embryogenesis.  Claudins are well-known for their roles in regulating paracellular movement of ions and small molecules between cells of epithelial and endothelial layers.  However, we have shown that they also play important roles in regulating cell movements and cell shape changes during embryonic development.  These functions are dependent on claudin’s intracellular interactions with apical complexes at the lateral membrane. We are particularly interested in how claudins coordinate tissue morphogenesis during neural tube closure and establishing the left and right sides of the embryo.  In human embryos these events happen in the first three to four weeks after fertilization.

We are also involved in collaborative projects investigating the role of claudins in differentiated organs, including the Sertoli cell tight junction barrier in the testes and the epithelial barrier in kidney nephrons.

Members of the laboratory

Enrique Gamero-Estevez, MSc
PhD student
enrique.gameroestevez@mail.mcgill.ca

Amanda Vaccarella, BSc
MSc student
amanda.vaccarella@mail.mcgill.ca

Liz legere, BSc 
MSc student
elizabeth-ann.legere@mail.mcgill.ca

Jenna Haverfield, PhD
Postdoc
jenna.haverfield@mail.mcgill.ca

Publications

Voir Scopus

Sophie Petropoulos, PhD

11 Jul 2018

Address

Research interests

  • Investigate how the early ex vivo environment modify the methylome, transcriptome and noncoding RNAs of the first three lineages (TE, EPI and PE); thus potentially programmi the placenta and developing fetus for disease and disorder later in life
  • Unravel fundamental aspects of preimplantation embryo development and RNA biology
  • Investigate the role of noncoding RNAs in the lineage formation and programming of the human embryo at a single-cell resolution

It is now well accepted in the field of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD), that the pre-conceptual, intrauterine, and early life environments can have a profound and lasting impact on the developmental trajectories and longer-term health outcomes of the offspring. Studies in both humans and animals have demonstrated that ‘insults’ such as nutritional imbalances, stress and environmental toxins can negatively impact the offspring and perturb development, ultimately ‘programming’ the offspring for an increased incidence of disease and disorder development later in life.  In particular, increased incidences of diabetes, obesity, hypertension, neurocognitive disorders and attention deficit disorder have been reported. Subfertility affects 1 in 6 couples and the use of Artificial Reproductive Technology (ART) is on the rise globally. During ART, particularly in vitro fertilization (IVF), the embryo is cultured ex vivo; an environment that exposes the embryo to numerous sources of ‘preimplantation stress’ – for instance: altered oxygen levels, altered nutrient levels, exogenous hormones and adjuvants therapies, in an attempt to increase live birth rate. Given the dynamic developmental events that occur during the this window, such ‘insults’ may affect not only the viability of the embryo and ability of the blastocyst to implant, but also the developmental trajectory of the cell lineages ultimately influencing placental development and function (the life source for the fetus in utero) and/or the embryo itself.  Such biological alterations may lead to imprinted disorders; altered metabolic and growth pathways; skewed X-inactivation; altered neurodevelopment and suboptimal downstream lineage development and thus organ development; ultimately impacting the long-term health outcome of the child.  Strong scientific evidence investigating the molecular alterations in the embryo during ART are currently lacking and the safety of adjuvant therapies and additives utilized to increase the success rate of IVF and implantation remain to be meticulously investigated.  Studies in the mouse suggest that the environment such as culture media can have a profound impact on placental development, leading to low birth weight; which in itself is associated with suboptimal developmental outcomes.  Studies in children born from ART suggest an increased incidence of imprinted disorders, hypertension, obesity, and metabolic syndrome.   Merging the fields of DOHaD, Single-Cell Genomics and ART is of critical importance given the potential to unintentionally reprogram future generations with an increased risk for disease and disorder development.

Members of the laboratory

Bouchra Bourdache
BSc student
bouchra.bourdache@umontreal.ca

Katherine Vandal, MSc
PhD student
katherine.vandal.lenghan@umontreal.ca

Savana Biondic, MSc
PhD student
savana.biondic@umontreal.ca

Jesica Canizo, PhD
Postdoc
jesica.romina.canizo@umontreal.ca

Alexandre Brodeur
Lab manager
alexandre.brodeur.chum@ssss.gouv

Cheng Zhao, PhD
Bioinformatician
cheng.zhao@ki.se

Pauline Bazelle
Bioinformatician
pauline.bazelle.chum@ssss.gouv.qc.ca

Publications

SEE SCOPUS

Sarah Kimmins, PhD

4 Jun 2018

Address

Research interests

  • Infertility in men
  • Epigenomics
  • Environmental effects on the epigenome & offspring development and health

Dr. Sarah Kimmins received her Ph.D. from Dalhousie University in 2003 and completed her post-doctoral training at the Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moleculaire et Cellulaire in Strasbourg, France.  She was appointed to the Department of Animal Science in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in September of 2005 and is a tenured Associate Professor. She is an associate member of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine at McGill.

Globally the prevalence of diabetes, obesity and other chronic diseases such as cancer, and cardiovascular disease are on the rise. These increases have occurred at rates that cannot be due to changes in the genetic structure of the population and are likely caused by environmental factors that modify gene function via epigenetics. Kimmins leads a research program focused on determining how the environment (nutrients and toxicants) impacts the health of parents and offspring. Her research involves long-term multi-generational studies to identify the mechanisms implicated in epigenetic inheritance. In 2013, her research group linked a father’s diet to development of the embryo. This research highlights the possibility that the father’s pre-conception health may be equally as important as the mother in terms of having healthy babies. This ongoing line of research has the potential to impact child health worldwide in terms of prevention of birth defects and chronic disease. This line of research is being translated into human studies with long-term studies to follow parents and their offspring in relation to environmental components.

Members of the laboratory

Anne-Sophie Pépin, BSc
Master student
anne-sophie.pepin@mail.mcgill.ca

Ariane Lismer, BSc
Master student
ariane.lismer@mail.mcgill.ca

William Sluman
PhD candidate
william.sluman@umontreal.ca

Olusola F. Sotunde, PhD
Postdoc
olusola.sotunde@mcgill.ca

Marie-Charlotte Dumargne, PhD
Postdoc
marie-charlotte.dumargne@mcgill.ca

Christine Lafleur, MSc
Lab manager
christine.lafleur@mcgill.ca

Romain Lambrot, PhD
Research associate
romain.lambrot@mcgill.ca

Vanessa Dumeaux, PhD
Bioinformatics consultant
vanessa.dumeaux@mcgill.ca

Publications

SEE SCOPUS

Guylain Boissonneault, PhD

5 Apr 2018

Address

Research interests

  • Genetic instability of spermiogenesis
  • Nuclear-mitochondrial crosstalk in chromatin dynamics
  • Sperm genetic integrity test

Although meiosis is a well-known source of genetic instability and diversity, our research activities over the past 15 years have focused on the haploid spermatids. Spermatids undergo a striking change in chromatin structure and our working hypothesis is that this important transition represents a major source of genetic instability that has probably been overlooked by reproductive biologists. We have shown that elongating spermatids display transient DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) that are part of the developmental program of these cells. As these endogenous breaks cannot be repaired by homologous recombination but by an error-prone end-joining process, we hypothesize that the chromatin-remodeling steps in spermatids is intrinsically mutagenic. Our goal is to determine the origin of the transient DSBs, their genome-wide distribution, their mutagenic potential and the DNA repair mechanism involved. Our initial genome-wide screening of DSBs hotspots suggest that neurodevelopmental genes as being preferentially targeted pointing to the possible etiology of the male transmission of cognitive disorders. Histone hyperacetylation is apparently necessary for the formation of DSBs and the nuclear addressing of mitochondrial carnitine acetyltransferase may impact the pool of nuclear acetyl- CoA. We have established that the post-meiotic DSBs are also observed in yeast pointing to the striking conservation of the process and providing a simplified eukaryotic model to investigate its mechanism and impact on the genetic landscape.   We hope that this research program will confirm that this sensitive chromatin transition adds up to meiosis as a crucial determinant of genetic diversity with important consequences for evolution.

Members of the laboratory

Rebecka Desmarais
MSc student
Rebecka.Desmarais@USherbrooke.ca

Chloe Lacombe-Burgoyne
MSc student
Chloe.Lacombe-Burgoyne@USherbrooke.ca

Tiphanie Cavé, MSc
PhD student
tiphanie.cave@usherbrooke.ca

Lois Mourrain, MSc
PhD student
lois.mourrain@usherbrooke.ca

Niloofar Sadeghi, PhD
Postdoc
Niloofar.Sadeghi@USherbrooke.ca

Amina Lekehal, MSc
Research assistant
Amina.Merwa.Lekehal@USherbrooke.ca

Martine Migneault, MSc
Research assistant
Martine.Migneault@usherbrooke.ca

Publications

Voir Scopus
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