Chantal GuillemettePh.D.

Dr. Chantal Guillemette holds a Canada Research Chair in pharmacogenomics. She is a Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy at Laval University and co-director of the Cancer Research Center (CRC) at Laval University.

Dr. Guillemette is one of the leaders in the field of the pharmacogenomics of phase II enzymes, with a focus on glucuronidation by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase enzymes (UGTs). Her international leadership comes from ground breaking discoveries in precision oncology that positioned her lab at the forefront of the global research on the most important pathway for the human body’s elimination of frequently prescribed drugs, also regulating hormonal drivers of cancer. Dr. Guillemette, along with her coworkers and external collaborators, have significantly advanced several areas of drug metabolism and cancer biomarkers. She has published over 130 papers, the majority as a senior author and her students as first authors. She also offers a productive, creative and dynamic training environment (>125 high qualified personnel) supported by a strong record of trainees (>60) and future scientists while educating undergrads and health professionals in pharmacology and personalized medicine. Her work has improved our understanding of the mechanisms contributing to variations in biotransformation by UGTs, and how this affects drug response and disease. This led to knowledge translation strategies for the clinical use of genetic information on drug metabolism by UGTs. Her work has also extended to the discovery of cancer predisposing genes and more recently, to the discovery of new prognostic markers uncovered for hormone-related cancers such as prostate cancer.

Her focus is now on two objectives well integrated with clinical unmet needs in high-incidence cancers (leukemia, prostate and lung) to address the mechanisms underlying variability in anticancer drugs and steroid metabolism and how this affects patients’ responses, disease progression and patients’ survival. A first objective comprehensively investigates the molecular mechanisms that underlie variability in anticancer drugs and steroid metabolism by UGTs using complementary models that integrate research on genomics, splicing and post-translational processes using cutting-edge technologies. These findings will greatly contribute to achieve the required mechanism-based evidence to propel progress in the field and their potential clinical applications, with an impact on a larger set of prescribed drugs and broad clinical settings. A second objective aims to establish, through translational studies of patients diagnosed with high-incidence cancers, the clinical implications of variability in steroid and anticancer drug metabolism pathways. Genetic, hormonal and pharmacological markers will be tested as part of predictive tools that can identify individuals more likely to suffer adverse reactions to novel anticancer substrates of UGTs and those who are more likely to respond to therapy. We also address how variability in steroid and drug metabolism pathways can help improve prognostic signatures for recurrence and cancer patient’s survival after initial treatment. This research is reinforced by a strong and efficiently balanced collaborative network of scientists supported by the active roles of clinicians. This research has the potential to improve personalization of oncology treatment and prognostication for frequent cancers.

En tant que titulaire de la Chaire de recherche du Canada en pharmacogénomique, Chantal Guillemette poursuit trois principaux objectifs à long terme. Tout d’abord, elle tente de déterminer les marqueurs génétiques qui permettent de maximiser la réponse aux médicaments tout en limitant les effets secondaires associés à certaines pharmacothérapies du cancer. Elle analyse ensuite les caractéristiques des tumeurs, ce qui lui permet de définir les processus moléculaires liés à la réponse ou à la résistance au traitement.

En second lieu, la chercheure entend identifier des biomarqueurs génétiques ou biochimiques qui permettraient de déceler rapidement le cancer et les patients qui sont les plus susceptibles d’en être atteints. Enfin, l’objectif de Mme Guillemette vise à favoriser une meilleure compréhension des fonctions et des effets des variations génomiques, ce qui pourrait permettre d’intégrer la pharmacogénomique dans les études cliniques et permettre un transfert de connaissances plus rapide en clinique afin de maximiser et de personnaliser la pharmacothérapie.