Profiles in Research Excellence: DR. BRIGITTE THERIAULT

Even windblown she was beautiful

 

Eureka, 2008

As promised, from time to time I am going to “profile” a young cancer researcher; specifically, those that have received a grant from the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research.  To kick off the series we consider Dr. Brigitte Theriault, Ph.D. 

Dr. Theriault currently works for the University Health Network, in Ontario, Canada.  She earned her Ph.D. from Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, in 2007 at – judging from her recent youthful photo –  about the age of 16.    She later Post Doc’d at the University of Toronto.  She has published 13 papers on ovarian cancer in the last few years, received several awards (including ours – MRC) and helped organize  an important conference on ovarian cancer.  It should give us confidence in the eventual extinction of ovarian cancer that people like Brigitte Theriault are on the job. 

I would like to give you the biochemical lowdown on Dr. Theriault’s work, but – quite frankly – I don’t understand it.  Instead, I will quote from two documents describing her research – documents that quite  obviously are not meant for the likes of me.

Her efforts focused on studying how differential regulation of autocrine transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ)/bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) superfamily signalling between ovarian cancer and normal ovarian surface epithelial cells regulates cellular processes such as proliferation, adhesion and migration.  This from her Ph,.D. work in Halifax.

And this, from the MRC citation:

Brigitte Thériault, PhD

Ontario Cancer Institute

Modulation of KIF14 overexpression in ovarian cancer

Dr. Thériault's lab had previously discovered that the gene KIF14 is present in high amounts in the majority of ovarian cancers, and that patients with high KIF14 have much worse survival than patients with low KIF14. KIF14 is normally found in cells that are growing and dividing and is usually not found in adult human tissues. Her prior research in cell cultures and in animal models has shown that accumulation of KIF14 leads to tumor spread and blocking KIF14 causes tumor cell death. Dr. Thériault's goal in this project is to understand how tumors accumulate such high amounts of KIF14 so that she can find ways to block KIF14 production, stop tumor cell growth, and improve the survival of ovarian cancer patients.

All I can say is that, although I may not understand what she’s doing I can tell she’s dedicated, smart, young and energetic – and I wish her Godspeed.