François RousseauM.D., M.Sc., FRCPC, FCAHS

Dr. François Rousseau is a medical biochemist, subspecialized in human molecular genetics. He obtained a Bachelor of Medicine (1983), a Doctorate in Medicine (1984) and a Master’s in Molecular Ontogenetics (1987), all from Laval University. He completed a three-year postdoctoral training in human molecular genetics at Louis-Pasteur University in Strasbourg (1989-1991), where he contributed to the discovery of the fragile X syndrome gene, the most common cause of hereditary mental retardation. He is an expert member of several national and international committees on diagnostic tests, for the National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services (INESSS) where he chairs the scientific committee on medical biology analyses. He is the author of more than 130 scientific publications that have been cited nearly 10,000 times and is associate editor of the most important Textbook in Laboratory Medicine and Molecular Diagnostics. He chaired, for the maximum term of 6 years, the molecular diagnostic committee of the International Federation of Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) which counts over 80 countries. He has been a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences since 2014. Since 2005, he has also chaired the Department of Laboratory Medicine of the CHU-  Laval University which counts over 110 laboratory physicians, 600 laboratory technologists and produces 11% of all the laboratory test results for the Province of Québec.

His research has focused on the prevalence of X-fragile syndrome gene mutations in the general population, and the evidence for the transfer of findings from human genetics and genomics to clinical medicine. He is the co-founder of the Health Economics Screening Simulation Laboratory, which assesses the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of healthcare innovations to inform decision-makers in our healthcare system. He was the Principal Investigator for the CIHR-funded Research Consortium (30 researchers and 4 countries) funded by CIHR on Genetic Health Services Research (2005-2013), which focused on the validation and transfer of genetic and genomic innovations that lead to improved health outcomes and are cost-effective for the health system. He is also the leader of the Genome Canada funded PEGASUS project (2014-2017) on the true comparative effectiveness of genomic technologies for non-invasive prenatal screening. He has over 120 peer-reviewed publications and is a member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He has also been a Clinical Laboratory Accreditation Auditor for Accreditation Canada, since 2009. His research focuses on translating findings from the Human Genome Project into the healthcare system, as well as evidence-based laboratory medicine, health technology assessment of genomic technologies, and their added value to the healthcare system.