Congratulations to Sami Sedraoui, post-doctoral researcher in experimental medicine at the Meakins-Christie Laboratories
SOURCE: The Institute
May 5, 2025
Sami Sedraoui, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in experimental medicine at the Meakins-Christie Laboratories at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (The Institute), is the April 2025 winner of the Relève étoile Jacques-Genest award from the Fonds de recherche du Québec–Santé (FRQS). His award-winning publication, "Lack of compensatory mitophagy in skeletal muscles during sepsis," was published in the Journal of Physiology in 2024.
For Sedraoui's PhD project, a collaboration between the University of Carthage in Tunisia and the University of Laval, he studied the extraction and purification of antioxidants from palm date fruit to test their effect on preserving skeletal muscle mass and integrity. As a post-doctoral fellow with Sabah Hussain, MD, PhD, Senior Scientist in the Translational Research in Respiratory Diseases (RESP) Program and member of the Meakins-Christie Laboratories, Sedraoui's research focuses on the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating skeletal muscle autophagy and mitophagy under normal and pathological conditions like sepsis, denervation, starvation, and mechanical ventilation.
This publication is among the first to show how the process of mitophagy (a process our cells use to remove damaged or old mitochondria) breaks down during sepsis. A buildup of broken mitochondria can make muscles weaker and less able to function. This is important because it shows that muscle weakness in sepsis may be due to a failure to remove damaged mitochondria, not just general muscle breakdown.
"The research suggests that stimulating mitophagy in a 'precision medicine strategy' could be a promising new way to protect muscle health in ICU patients with sepsis," explains Sedraoui. "The data are very exciting and we are proud to be able to contribute to the literature and hopefully have a real impact on patients' recovery in the future."
"We are very proud and commend Sami Sedraoui for the excellent and innovative work that has been accomplished. This will open new doors for further studies to understand how the process of mitophagy is regulated during catabolic conditions like sepsis so we can adapt our therapeutic strategies," adds Dr. Hussain.
The Relève étoile award is presented to student-researchers by each of the three Fonds de recherche du Québec. The FRQS Relève étoile award is now named after Dr. Jacques Genest as a tribute to this great researcher and builder.
About the study
Sami Sedraoui, Jean-Philippe, Leduc-Gaudet, Dominique Mayaki, Alaa Moamer, Laurent Huck, Gilles Gouspillou, Basil J Petrof, Sabah Hussain, Lack of compensatory mitophagy in skeletal muscles during sepsis, The Journal of Physiology, 2024 Jun; 602(12):2823-2838.
DOI: 10.1113/JP286216
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