News
McGill duo honoured by the Royal Society of Canada
Dr. MĂ©lanie Guigueno wins RSC Alice Wilson Award
Published: 19 September 2017
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) announced today that Professor Michel Tremblay (Department of Biochemistry and the Director of the McGill Cancer Institute) has been awarded the McLaughlin Medal for important research of sustained excellence in medical science. Recognized for his leading-edge work on the role and function of particular enzymes in the development of cancer, Professor Tremblay is among the 12 Canadian researchers honoured with an RSC medal or award this year. Also among the RSC 2017 award winners is Dr. Mélanie Guigueno, a researcher for McGill’s Department of Natural Resource Sciences. Dr. Guigueno has been awarded the 2017 Alice Wilson Award (NSERC nomination) for her outstanding academic qualifications in evolutionary biology, neuroscience and ecology.
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The RSC first established the prestigious McLaughlin Medal in 1978 with an endowment from the R. Samuel McLaughlin Foundation. The annual award is bestowed upon candidates with distinguished achievements in any branch of medical sciences in Canada. ProfessorĚýTremblay is the third McGill researcher to win the medal since 2013, joining previous medal winners Professor Philippe Gros and Professor Nahum Sonenberg.
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The RSC bestows the Alice Wilson award annually upon three women of exceptional academic accomplishments in the Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences or Science who are entering a career in scholarship or research at the postdoctoral level. Recipients are selected from the year’s female winners of postdoctoral fellowships from three granting councils – CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC.
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“Professor Michel Tremblay’s research contributions have changed the way the world understands a broad spectrum of diseases and conditions affecting Canadians and people worldwide,” said Professor Martha Crago, Vice-Principal (Research and Innovation). “I want to express my sincere congratulations to Professor Tremblay on this achievement and thank the Royal Society of Canada for awarding him the prestigious McLaughlin Medal. McGill is equally proud of Dr. Melanie Guigueno, a rising research star and winner of the Alice Wilson Award. We can expect important discoveries to continue to emerge from Dr. Guigueno’s studies in years to come.”
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ProfessorĚýTremblay investigates the role of protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) in the development of cancer. PTPases are a group of enzymes that regulate various signaling pathways in cells, a process that plays an essential role in many biological and pathological processes. PTPases have been implicated in a variety of cellular processes such as cell growth and differentiation. His research has successfully shown that PTPases play key roles in diabetes, obesity, spinal cord injury and infectious diseases as well as in diverse cancers. His research will lead to the development of new treatments for a broad range of human diseases. ProfessorĚýTremblay directs the Michel L. Tremblay Lab within McGill’s Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Centre. His lab has been operating since March 1992 with over 60 researchers, students, postdoctoral fellows and supporting staff committing to the lab’s research projects. Under ProfessorĚýTremblay’s leadership, the McGill Cancer Institute also investigates the role of the PTP1B enzyme in diabetes, obesity and cancer.
