Aurélie Rose De Rus Jacquet

Dr. de Rus Jacquet is a researcher in the Neurosciences axis of the CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Center, and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences in the Faculty of Medicine at Université Laval. She obtained her PhD in Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology from Purdue University (USA) in 2016, during which she undertook an ethnopharmacological approach rooted in the valorization of First Peoples’ knowledge and discovered neuroprotective botanicals that attenuated Parkinson’s disease-related pathology. She then joined the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to train in the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in the laboratory of Dr. Randall Moon (2016-2017, Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, USA). Subsequently, she completed two postdoctoral trainings on the neurobiology of Parkinson’s disease with Dr. Erin O’Shea (2017-2020, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA), and with Dr. Francesca Cicchetti (2020-2023, Université Laval, Canada). Her work has highlighted the role of glial cells, and astrocytes in particular, in the progression of Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. de Rus Jacquet’s team is working to better understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases, and in particular Parkinson’s disease. She is also interested in developing culturally-appropriate approaches to healthcare to improve the quality of life of First Peoples’ patients suffering from these devastating diseases.

The fundamental role of glial cells in Parkinson’s disease

How do neuronal and non-neuronal cells interact? How is immune communication between the brain and the periphery regulated, and what is the role of the blood-brain barrier? What changes occur in Parkinson’s disease that alter this fine-tuned balance? These fundamental questions are being investigated using state-of-the-art modeling approaches (iPSCs, organ-on-chip, organoids) that enable us to reproduce the complexity of the brain in the laboratory.

Natural health products and culturally safe healthcare for healthy aging

Thanks to collaborations with neurologist colleagues and members of First Peoples communities, the laboratory is interested in better understanding the benefits and risks associated with the use of natural health products and food-derived polyphenols to mitigate symptoms associated with neurodegenerative diseases.

This work is funded by the Parkinson’s Foundation, Réseau Parkinson Québec, INAF and Fondation CHU de Québec.