IRIC - Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer

Published on May 14, 2021

Exceptionally this year, the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Université de Montréal presented a virtual formula of its traditional Audacious fundraising event: Les Rendez-vous Audace. For the occasion, approximately 615 people from 8 countries attended the three free conferences and close to 20 sponsors supported the event. Thanks to the generosity of our partners and donors, a total of $320,000 was raised to accelerate the discovery of better therapies for the benefit of patients.

Le temps d’une découverte

For nearly 20 years, the Institute’s scientists have been working creatively to find new ways to fight cancer. They are working outside the box to make a difference in the training of emerging researchers, the genesis of new knowledge and the discovery of innovative therapies. The current pandemic has reminded us of an important lesson that also applies to IRIC’s research activities: it’s all a matter of vision, determination, time and funding in order to generate innovations that can have an impact.

The three conferences of Les Rendez-vous Audace, hosted by Catherine Cardinal, Communications Director at IRIC, and featuring seasoned and visionary scientists, were held under the theme: Le temps d’une découverte.

• IRIC: from a vision to a revolution (an interview with Daniel Jutras, Rector of the Université de Montréal, and Dr. Guy Sauvageau, Principal Investigator at IRIC, hematologist at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital (HMR) and Professor in the Faculty of Medicine of the Université de Montréal).
• AI: an engine for accelerating research (an interview with Sébastien Lemieux, Principal Investigator at IRIC, and Yoshua Bengio, Scientific Director of the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute (Mila)).
• From the lab to the patient: the crucial stages of research (an interview with Anne Marinier, Principal Investigator and Director of the Drug Discovery Unit at IRIC, and Dr. Guy Sauvageau).

These conferences gave rise to promising exchanges that provide great hope in cancerology.

“I was very pleased to take part in Les Rendez-vous Audace. IRIC is one of the proudest achievements of the Université de Montréal. Its model, based on inclusive and collaborative research, fits perfectly with the University’s vision and its scientists have demonstrated that they have the ability to take their discoveries to the clinical trial stage, which in itself is quite unique in the world of university research,” said Daniel Jutras, Rector of the Université de Montréal.

“I salute and thank the speakers, sponsors, donors, partners, volunteers and participants for coming together for this special edition. Despite the current context which brings its share of challenges, I am proud to see that we were able to rethink the formula, and that it generated impressive results, while at the same time bringing us together for a moment. We hope that Les Rendez-vous Audace 2021 allowed you to discover IRIC, to learn more about our achievements, about the work of women and men who have the strength to dream big and defy time to accelerate the discovery of better therapies for cancer patients,” added Michel Bouvier, Chief Executive Officer and Principal Investigator at IRIC.

Links to view the conferences:

Conférence 1 – L’IRIC : d’une vision vers une révolution

Conférence 2 – L’IA : un moteur d’accélération de la recherche

Conférence 3 – Du labo au patient : les étapes cruciales de la recherche