Dr. Amélie Fradet-Turcotte, Ph.D., owns a Canada Research Chair in molecular virology and genomic instability and is an assistant professor in the Department of molecular biology, medical biochemistry and pathology of the Laval University School of Medicine. Recruited to the CHU de Québec research center in September 2015, she is a member of the St-Patrick Research Group in Fundamental Oncology and of Laval University’s Cancer Research Center (CRC).     

The main interest of Dr. Fradet-Turcotte’s laboratory is to understand how the mechanisms that safeguard genomic integrity in our cells are challenged during viral infections. Her laboratory uses a combination of molecular biology, biochemistry, and cellular biology to determine how the infection by DNA viruses such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) impacts the genomic integrity of the infected cell and to tackle how viruses usurp the DNA-damage machinery to promote the viral life cycle. Specifically, the work in her laboratory aims at elucidating the following questions: 1) What is the interplay between HPV and the DSB signaling and repair proteins, and how does it change during carcinogenesis? 2) How does HPV impact the functions of the reader of ubiquitylated chromatin in cancer cells? 3) What are the consequences of viral infection on DSB signaling and DNA repair pathway choice, and how does this affect the resistance of HPV+ cancer cells to current chemo- and radiotherapies?

Every day, many different types of DNA damage threaten the integrity of our genome. A failure to properly repair these alterations can result in the acquisition of hallmarks of cancer such as translocations and somatic mutations, or can lead to cell death. By using HPV as a model, the outcomes of these studies will not only improve our understanding of the mechanisms that safeguard genomic stability in our cells, but they will also have important implications for HPV-dependent cancer biology (cervical and oropharyngeal cancers), as well as for our understanding of the viral life cycle.

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Galloy M, Lachance C, Cheng X, Distéfano-Gagné F, Côté J, Fradet-Turcotte A

Approaches to Study Native Chromatin-Modifying Complex Activities and Functions.

Journal Article

Front Cell Dev Biol, 9 , 2021.

Abstract | Links:

Krassowski M, Pellegrina D, Mee MW, Fradet-Turcotte A, Bhat M, Reimand J

ActiveDriverDB: Interpreting Genetic Variation in Human and Cancer Genomes Using Post-translational Modification Sites and Signaling Networks (2021 Update).

Journal Article

Front Cell Dev Biol, 9 , 2021.

Abstract | Links:

Sitz J, Blanchet SA, Gameiro SF, Biquand E, Morgan TM, Galloy M, Dessapt J, Lavoie EG, Blondeau A, Smith BC, Mymryk JS, Moody CA, Fradet-Turcotte A

Human papillomavirus E7 oncoprotein targets RNF168 to hijack the host DNA damage response.

Journal Article

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 116 (39), 2019.

Abstract | Links:

Salamun SG, Sitz J, De La Cruz-Herrera CF, Yockteng-Melgar J, Marcon E, Greenblatt J, Fradet-Turcotte A, Frappier L

The Epstein-Barr Virus BMRF1 Protein Activates Transcription and Inhibits the DNA Damage Response by Binding NuRD.

Journal Article

J Virol, 93 (22), 2019.

Abstract | Links:

Weitzman MD, Fradet-Turcotte A

Virus DNA Replication and the Host DNA Damage Response.

Journal Article

Annu Rev Virol, 5 (1), 2018.

Abstract | Links:

Canny MD, Moatti N, Wan LCK, Fradet-Turcotte A, Krasner D, Mateos-Gomez PA, Zimmermann M, Orthwein A, Juang YC, Zhang W, Noordermeer SM, Seclen E, Wilson MD, Vorobyov A, Munro M, Ernst A, Ng TF, Cho T, Cannon PM, Sidhu SS, Sicheri F, Durocher D

Inhibition of 53BP1 favors homology-dependent DNA repair and increases CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing efficiency.

Journal Article

Nat Biotechnol, 36 (1), 2018.

Abstract | Links:

Krassowski M, Paczkowska M, Cullion K, Huang T, Dzneladze I, Ouellette BFF, Yamada JT, Fradet-Turcotte A, Reimand J

ActiveDriverDB: human disease mutations and genome variation in post-translational modification sites of proteins.

Journal Article

Nucleic Acids Res, 46 (D1), 2018.

Abstract | Links:

Ho TH, Sitz J, Shen Q, Leblanc-Lacroix A, Campos EI, Borozan I, Marcon E, Greenblatt J, Fradet-Turcotte A, Jin DY, Frappier L

A Screen for Epstein-Barr Virus Proteins That Inhibit the DNA Damage Response Reveals a Novel Histone Binding Protein.

Journal Article

J Virol, 92 (14), 2018.

Abstract | Links:

Kitevski-LeBlanc J, Fradet-Turcotte A, Kukic P, Wilson MD, Portella G, Yuwen T, Panier S, Duan S, Canny MD, van Ingen H, Arrowsmith CH, Rubinstein JL, Vendruscolo M, Durocher D, Kay LE

The RNF168 paralog RNF169 defines a new class of ubiquitylated histone reader involved in the response to DNA damage.

Journal Article

Elife, 6 , 2017.

Abstract | Links:

Jacquet K, Fradet-Turcotte A, Avvakumov N, Lambert JP, Roques C, Pandita RK, Paquet E, Herst P, Gingras AC, Pandita TK, Legube G, Doyon Y, Durocher D, Cote J

The TIP60 Complex Regulates Bivalent Chromatin Recognition by 53BP1 through Direct H4K20me Binding and H2AK15 Acetylation.

Journal Article

Mol Cell, 62 (3), 2016.

Abstract | Links:

34 entries « ‹ 1 of 4 › »
Signaler des ajouts ou des modifications

Active projects

  • Deciphering the impact of chromatin modifications on DNA repair processes., from 2016-04-01 to 2022-03-31
  • Defining the molecular basis of chemoradiation sensitivity in HPV+ head and neck cancers, from 2017-04-01 to 2022-03-31
  • Fonds Jeanne-et-Jean-Louis-Lévesque en soutien à la Chaire de recherche en virologie moléculaire et instabilité génomique, from 2017-03-01 to 2022-02-28

Recently finished projects

  • Characterisation of PTM-associated mutations that alter signaling network in breast and ovarian cancers, from 2019-09-01 to 2021-08-31
  • Efficient and reliable shearing of chromatin for highthroughput analysis, from 2019-03-28 to 2020-03-31
  • Engineering HPV oncoprotein E6 for inhibitors of cancer progression, from 2019-08-01 to 2021-07-31
Data provided by the Université Laval research projects registery