News
CSMB honours Sylvie Mader and Guy Sauvageau
Published on March 21, 2024
IRIC congratulates Sylvie Mader and Guy Sauvageau, recipients of awards from the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences (CSMB). Sylvie Mader, Director of IRIC’s Molecular Targeting in Breast Cancer Treatment Research Unit, is the 2024 recipient of the Jeanne Manery-Fisher Memorial award. Guy Sauvageau, Director of IRIC’s Molecular Genetics of Stem Cells Research Unit, is the recipient of the Arthur Wynne Gold Medal award.
Recognizing a career in research and teaching
Sylvie Mader was selected in honor of the late Jeanne Manery Fisher, renowned biochemist, remarkable teacher and agent of change for women in science.
Sylvie Mader has headed a breast cancer research program for nearly 30 years, and joined IRIC at its very beginning, in 2005. Since then, she has dedicated herself to better understanding breast tumors and identifying new, more effective therapies. She held the CIBC Chair in Breast Cancer Research from 2002 to 2018.
In addition to her research work, Sylvie Mader is involved in training the next generation of scientists. Since 2006, she has directed IRIC’s Summer School in Systems Biology, which is integrated with the Université de Montréal’s M.Sc. and PhD programs in molecular biology. She has also supervised a large number of graduate students in her laboratory.
Significant contributions to molecular biosciences
Guy Sauvageau receives the Arthur Wynne Gold Medal from the SCBM, which recognizes careers of major significance, for his outstanding scientific contributions.
A Principal Investigator at IRIC and hematologist at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Guy Sauvageau has been unravelling the molecular basis of blood stem cell self-renewal for several years. His leadership has rallied expertise to generate numerous large-scale projects. IRIC, the Leucegene project and the Montreal Center for Cellular Therapy are all initiatives that would not have been possible without his involvement.
This visionary approach to research led, among other things, to a breakthrough in 2014: the discovery of the UM171 molecule, which enables ex vivo multiplication of umbilical cord blood stem cells. More than 100 people with blood diseases have now been treated with UM171-based cell therapy.
Sylvie Mader and Guy Sauvageau will receive their awards and give lectures at the SCBM annual conference, to be held in Winnipeg, May 6-8, 2024. Congratulations!
