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null Simon Rousseau, PhD

Scientist, RI-MUHC, Glen site

Translational Research in Respiratory Diseases Program

Centre for Translational Biology

Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University

Department of Medicine, Division of Respiratory Medicine, MUHC

 

Keywords

cystic fibrosis • bacterial infections • signal transduction • protein phosphorylation • inflammation • COVID-19 • biobanking • systems biology

Research Focus

My research focuses on investigating the molecular mechanisms evolved by the host to respond and fight infections in the airways. Infections are a major cause of morbidity in humans, and over time the complex interaction between pathogens and their hosts has led to adaptations on both sides. A major focus of our recent work has been to understand the role of chronic infections in lung tissue destruction in cystic fibrosis (CF) to slow or halt the decline in lung function of CF patients.

Recently, with the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 infection leading to COVID-19, we focused our attention on integrating artificial intelligence with high throughput experimental (-omics) data from biological material and clinical data from the Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19) to define the molecular endophenotypes associated with the different clinical trajectories of COVID-19 and to identify populations vulnerable to COVID-19 complications.

Research initiatives
Canadian Respiratory Research Network (CRRN)
Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19)
Quebec Respiratory Health Network Biobank

Selected Publications

Click on Pubmed to see my current publications list

  • Ding J, Hostallero DE, El Khili MR, Fonseca GJ, Milette S, Noorah N, Guay-Belzile M, Spicer J, Daneshtalab N, Sirois M, Tremblay K, Emad A, Rousseau S. A network-informed analysis of SARS-CoV-2 and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis genes' interactions points to Neutrophil extracellular traps as mediators of thrombosis in COVID-19. PLoS Comput Biol. 2021 Mar 8;17(3):e1008810. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008810. PMID: 33684134.

  • Su C, Rousseau S, Emad A. Identification of transcriptional regulatory network associated with response of host epithelial cells to SARS-CoV-2. Sci Rep. 2021 Dec 14;11(1):23928. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-03309-5. PMID: 34907210.

  • Mizutani M, Bérubé J, Ahlgren HG, Bernier J, Matouk E, Nguyen D, Rousseau S. Corticosteroid-resistant inflammatory signalling in Pseudomonas-infected bronchial cells. ERJ Open Res. 2017 Jun 19;3(2):00144-2016. doi: 10.1183/23120541.00144-2016. PMID: 28656134.

  • Roussel L, LaFayette S, Nguyen D, Baglole CJ, Rousseau S. Differential Contribution of the Aryl-Hydrocarbon Receptor and Toll-Like Receptor Pathways to IL-8 Expression in Normal and Cystic Fibrosis Airway Epithelial Cells Exposed to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2016 Dec 22;4:148. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2016.00148. PMID: 28066767.

  • Roussel L, Houle F, Chan C, Yao Y, Bérubé J, Olivenstein R, Martin JG, Huot J, Hamid Q, Ferri L, Rousseau S. IL-17 promotes p38 MAPK-dependent endothelial activation enhancing neutrophil recruitment to sites of inflammation. J Immunol. 2010 Apr 15;184(8):4531-7. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.0903162. Epub 2010 Mar 12. PMID: 20228195.