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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Latest news

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Weitzman MD, Fradet-Turcotte A

Virus DNA Replication and the Host DNA Damage Response.

Journal Article

Annu Rev Virol, 2018, ISSN: 2327-056X.

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, 2018, ISSN: 0022-538X.

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), pp. D901-D910, 2018, ISSN: 0305-1048.

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), pp. 95-102, 2018, ISSN: 1087-0156.

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, ISSN: 2050-084X.

Abstract | Links:

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Active projects

  • Centre de recherche sur le cancer, Subvention, Institutionnel - BDR, BDR - Centres de recherche reconnus, from 1996-05-01 to 2023-04-30
  • Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec - CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Subvention, Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec - Université Laval, Centres de recherche affiliés, from 2017-01-01 to 2099-12-31
  • Deciphering the impact of chromatin modifications on DNA repair processes., Subvention, Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et génie Canada, Subventions à la découverte SD (individuelles et d'équipe), from 2016-04-01 to 2021-03-31
  • Defining the molecular basis of chemoradiation sensitivity in HPV+ head and neck cancers, Subvention, Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada, Subvention Projet, 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, Subvention, Fondation de l'Université Laval, from 2017-03-01 to 2022-02-28
  • Programme de soutien aux nouveaux chercheurs de la Faculté de médecine, Subvention, Université Laval - Soutien à la recherche, Fonds de soutien aux professeurs-chercheurs bénéficiant d’une Chaire de recherche du Canada, from 2017-05-01 to 2019-04-30

Recently finished projects

  • (FRQS 69896)Régulation de la signalisation de cassures d'ADN double brin dans le cancer cervical. Fond de démarrage., Subvention, Fondation du CHU de Québec, from 2015-09-01 to 2016-08-31
  • (FRSQ 75282)«Détermination du rôle du virus du papillome humain dans la résistance des cancer cervical aux traitements de chimio­radiation», Subvention, Fondation du CHU de Québec, from 2016-08-01 to 2017-03-31
  • Discovery and validation of ubiquitin-associated mutations in the DNA-damage response pathway in breast cancer, Subvention, Société de recherche sur le cancer, Subvention de fonctionnement, from 2016-04-01 to 2018-03-31
  • Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Genomic Instability, Partenariat, Secrétariat des programmes interorganismes à l’intention des établissements, Fonds des leaders John-R.-Evans - CRC (anciennement : Chaires de recherche du Canada - infrastructure et Fonds des leaders - Volet 2), from 2017-01-01 to 2018-06-30
  • Régulation de la signalisation de cassures d'ADN double brin dans le cancer cervical., Subvention, Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé, Établissement de jeunes chercheurs - Juniors 1, from 2015-09-01 to 2018-08-31
  • Soutien à la recherche pour le recrutement de Amélie Fradet-Turcotte pour l'achat d'un irradiateur Faxitron. (Fonds en cancérologie), Subvention, Fondation de l'Université Laval, from 2015-09-01 to 2016-04-30
  • Understanding 53BP1 Deregulation in Cervical Cancer., Subvention, Société de recherche sur le cancer, Subvention de fonctionnement, from 2015-09-01 to 2017-08-31
Data provided by the Université Laval research projects registery