Manon Defaye

Dr. Manon Defaye is a researcher within the Neuroscience Axis at the CHU de Québec – Université Laval Research Center, and an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval.

She completed a PhD in Neurogastroenterology at Université Clermont Auvergne (France), under the supervision of Drs. Frédéric Delbac and Frédéric Carvalho. Her research focused on the role of Blastocystis, the most prevalent protist in humans, in the development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). She then pursued postdoctoral training at the University of Calgary (Canada), under the supervision of Dr. Christophe Altier. Her work has contributed to a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in the transition from acute to chronic pain.

Pain Resolution

Pain and inflammation are integrated biological responses that alert an organism to the presence of injury or infection. Acute pain, associated with actual or threatened tissue damage, is adaptive and protective. However, under pathophysiological conditions, this response can persist even after the resolution of inflammation, leading to chronic pain. Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are chronic, relapsing gastrointestinal (GI) disorders associated with visceral pain [1]. While the primary goal of IBD therapy is to prevent flares and control inflammation, many treated patients continue to experience visceral hypersensitivity (heightened sensitivity to stimuli) despite the absence of intestinal inflammation (i.e., endoscopic remission) [2,3]. Currently pain management typically relies on opioids, which produce substantial central and GI adverse effects and a risk of abuse. Therefore, it is imperative to understand how pain resolves during the resolution of inflammation to prevent the development of chronic pain during endoscopic remission.

Dr. Defaye’s laboratory at the CHU de Québec – Université Laval Research Center conducts translational and multidisciplinary research with two main objectives 1) understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the resolution of visceral pain; 2) identify the role of the gut microbiota in this process. To address these goals, her team utilizes animal models of visceral pain, including transgenic and germ-free (axenic) mice. The lab employs a range of complementary experimental approaches, such as behavioral analysis in rodents, viral-based neuronal tracing techniques, biochemical methods including Western blotting and qPCR, as well as immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy.