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Three McGill researchers rank high in Québec Science's "Discoveries of the Year"

Published: 15 January 2008

Three eminent McGill University researchers are among the 2007 winners of the Ten Discoveries of the Year award compiled by Québec Science magazine. Research teams led by Dr. Michel L. Tremblay, director of the McGill Cancer Centre, and Dr. Nahum Sonenberg and Dr. Thomas Duchaine of the Biochemistry Department and the McGill Cancer Centre scored highly in this prestigious annual ranking.

Combating Cancer

Dr. Michel L. Tremblay, his colleague Sofi Julien and their Cancer Centre colleagues carried out fundamental cancer research which uncovered the role played by a gene associated with the propagation of breast cancer in two of five affected women.. The researchers discovered that halting the activity of this gene in mice predisposed to cancer significantly slowed the growth of — and in some cases, prevented — tumours. . In February, 2007 this discovery also earned Dr. Tremblay’s team a Personality of the Week mention in La Presse.
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Dr. Nahum Sonenberg and Dr. Thomas Duchaine, also of McGill’s Cancer Centre and their research team made the Québec Science list for their discovery of the key element in the control of messenger ribonucleic acid (Messenger RNA or mRNA), one of the major gene regulator in life.
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In both cases, these major cancer research breakthroughs are likely to lead to major improvements in the detection and treatment of cancer and other diseases.

On the web: McGill Cancer Centre

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