Full professor
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Faculty of Medicine

Pr. Fawzi Aoudjit is a full professor in the Department of Microbiology-Infectiology-Immunology, Faculty of Medicine at Laval University (Québec, Canada), and a regular researcher at the CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Centre. Pr. Aoudjit attended Laval University, where he received a Ph.D. in molecular endocrinology and physiology (1996). Afterwards, Pr. Aoudjit completed two post-doctoral fellowships at the Institute Armand-Frappier in Montreal and at the Burnham Institute in La Jolla, California, after which he was appointed as an assistant professor at Laval University in Québec (2001).

His research interests include basic immunology, immune cell signaling, apoptosis, autoimmune diseases, and hemato-oncology and cancer immunology. Pr. Aoudjit’s research focuses on how cell adhesion mediated by extracellular matrix via integrin receptors shapes T cell responses in autoimmune diseases and in cancer. Recent work by Pr. Aoudjit’s team significantly contributed to understanding the importance of integrins in regulating T cell activation and the development of the immune response. In this regard, they showed that the collagen-binding integrin alpha2beta1 is a major pathway of Th17 cell activation and is critical for the development of inflammatory arthritis. Pr. Aoudjit received several recognitions, among which is the Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Award, and is regularly solicited as an expert by funding agencies in Canada and abroad.

Current work by Pr. Aoudjit aims at understanding the crosstalk between collagen receptors in regulating T cell responses in autoimmune diseases and anti-cancer immunity, and in the development of T cell leukemia with an emphasis on leukemia dissemination and drug resistance; two major obstacles in anti-cancer therapies.

Several models, including human samples, preclinical models of autoimmunity and leukemia, and models of anti-cancer coupled with various methods including omics, are being used as well as collaboration with clinicians.

In addition to generating new knowledge, the work by Pr. Aoudjit has the potential to lead to the discovery of new therapeutic targets and treatments in autoimmune diseases and cancer.