Philippe Tessier

Philippe Tessier completed his graduate studies at Laval University, the John Curtin School of Medical Research at the Australian National University, and the University of Adelaide in Australia. He then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London. Since 1999, he has been a researcher at the CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Center and a professor in the Department of Microbiology, Infectiology, and Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine of Laval University.

Professor Tessier’s team studies the functions of the S100A8 and S100A9 proteins, two intracellular proteins expressed by neutrophils, monocytes, and activated endothelial and epithelial cells. These proteins are secreted during inflammatory responses and activate the immune response. Their studies focus on the roles of these proteins in autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and Crohn’s disease, in immune responses to solid tumors, and in the differentiation of leukemia cells. Professor Tessier’s team has shown that these proteins have opposing activities: S100A8 is anti-inflammatory and inhibits the differentiation of myeloid cells, while S100A9 is pro-inflammatory and stimulates the differentiation of neutrophil and monocyte precursors. Their results have demonstrated the therapeutic potential of the S100A9 protein for the treatment of cancers and leukemias, and of anti-S100A9 antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. This work has led to the creation of InflammatoRx Inc., a biotechnology company dedicated to the development of anti-S100A9 antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.