Functional genomics of host responses: Precision drug target discovery

You are invited to attend a special seminar hosted by the Institute of Parasitology.

Dr. David Langlais completed his Ph. D. with honours in Molecular Biology in 2011 at Université de Montreal, and is currently pursuing postdoctoral research in Dr. Philippe Gros laboratory at McGill University. He is now studying the role of the transcription factors IRF8 and IRF1 in the interferon gamma (IFNg) response to infection. He is also evaluating the role of these transcriptional networks in human tuberculosis and malaria infections, still two of the most deadly diseases world-wide. This work may pave the way toward the identification of novel therapeutic targets against these infections

Cerebral malaria (CM) is a severe complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection, claiming a young life every 2 minutes. The pathophysiology is poorly understood, but clearly implicates an overwhelming neuroinflammatory response in non-immune individuals. By investigating the possible causative mechanisms, we have shown that genetic inactivation of IRF8 and IRF1 transcription factors confers protection against CM. Furthermore, through functional genomics studies, we highlighted the pivotal role of their transcriptional program not only in CM pathology, but also in chronic inflammatory diseases. Altogether, I will describe how functional genomics is leading to the identification of new potential therapeutic targets against pathological inflammation and to novel treatments, a critical issue for CM patients.