Luc Vallières

Pr. Luc Vallières has nearly 30 years of experience in immunology. His career has been marked by seminal discoveries about immune mechanisms that are central to autoimmune neurological diseases, brain cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, postnatal neurogenesis, and anaphylaxis.

Notably, he discovered a population of leukocytes that patrol the brain vasculature by crawling on its surface, demonstrated the first physiological role of the pyrin inflammasome, identified ASPRV1 as both a marker and therapeutic target for neutrophil-mediated inflammatory disorders, and unveiled a role for neutrophil-derived histamine in IgE-mediated anaphylaxis.

His current research on antibody-producing cells and autoantibodies provides a proof-of-concept for innovative autoantibody-blocking therapies, addressing a long-standing challenge in immunology (see the video “Disarmed” autoantibodies). More specifically, he is developing drugs for the treatment of neurological autoimmune diseases involving autoantibodies.

Furthermore, his laboratory is fully equipped and a reference for bone marrow transplantation, super-resolution microscopy, flow cytometry, single-cell RNA sequencing, RNA transfer using lipid nanoparticles, and antibody engineering.

He has given a rich and solid training to numerous graduate and undergraduate students who now hold important positions in the biomedical field. His commitment to promoting scientific communication and collaboration was recognized in 2023 when he received the Event of the Year award at the Quebec City Convention Centre for organizing the 16th congress of the International Society of Neuroimmunology.