Full professor
Pharmacy - Direction
Faculty of Pharmacy

Professor Roxane Pouliot is a regular researcher at the CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Center and a full professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Université Laval. As a regular member, she is also part of the Center for Research on Advanced Materials (CERMA) and the Quebec Center on Functional Materials (CQMF). Her research interests target a better understanding of the structures and functions of skin tissue, through refined models of tissue reconstruction. Her team recently developed a model of immunocompetent psoriatic skin substitute reconstructed from human cells, a major advancement in this field.

Prof. Pouliot is the recipient of the 2016 Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Supervision Award from Laval University.

Understanding the complexity of skin tissue structures and functions

In vitro skin diffusion tests are one of the first steps pursued in the development of a transdermal drug. For this purpose, a robust model of skin biomaterial is desired for the precise study of the mechanisms of diffusion of therapeutic molecules. Advanced lipidomic characterization of tissue-engineered samples is essential for understanding the complex lipid domain of the skin, which is still poorly reproduced in vitro. However, the quality of biomimicry currently developed within Prof. Pouliot’s research team allows for the refinement of models to achieve qualities comparable to those found in native skin, whether healthy or pathological.

Modeling psoriasis and developing new pharmacological strategies

Skin diseases such as psoriasis are complex diseases whose development and persistence involve multiple processes and cell types. Over the past few years, her research team has developed a unique world-class model of reconstructed psoriatic skin. Through tissue engineering, it becomes possible to reconstruct, using the self-assembly method, a completely autologous pathological skin, i.e., without exogenous material, composed of both dermis and epidermis. This model of pathological skin substitute offers the more than interesting opportunity to separately study the players involved in the development of psoriasis and therefore becomes a powerful tool in the mechanistic analysis of this complex pathology. Distinctively, this model is three-dimensional, designed from psoriatic human cells, and develops in a highly physiological environment.