Samer HusseinPh.D.

Dr. Samer Hussein is a researcher at the CHU Research Centre of Quebec – Laval University, and is part of the St-Patrick group of research in fundamental oncology. He is also Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology, Medical Biochemistry and Pathology of the Faculty of Medicine, Laval University.

His research aims to understand the molecular mechanisms that establish and regulate pluripotent cell states, particularly the role of long non-coding RNAs in gene networks, as well as the transcriptional events responsible for cancer initiation and progression.

Defining gene networks and their interactions that govern pluripotent states

Pluripotency is defined as the ability of a cell to generate all the cell types found in an organism. The three transcription factors Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog represent the central pillars of the gene regulatory network associated with the maintenance of a pluripotent state. Through cellular models of pluripotency and reprogramming, and the use of high-throughput technologies (proteomics, RNA-seq and ChIP-seq), this project aims to understand how interactions between transcription factors of pluripotency and chromatin regulators determine cell fate and cell transition to specific lineages in embryonic development, as well as cancer development.

Defining the role of certain long non-coding RNAs in cell identity

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) constitute an entire class of RNA, characterized by the fact that they do not encode any known protein and that they are composed of at least 200 base pairs. LncRNAs are implicated in gene regulation and maintenance of cellular identity, but their mechanism of action involved in the establishment of pluripotency remains unknown. The objective of this project is to understand the role of lncRNAs in the regulation of pluripotent states and the reprogramming of embryonic stem cells.