Guillaume Bourque

Guillaume Bourque is a Professor in the Department of Human Genetics at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine. He serves as an Investigator at the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Institute of Genomic Medicine and as the Scientific Director of the Canadian Centre for Computational Genomics (C3G). His laboratory is based at 740 Dr Penfield Ave, Room 6103, Montréal, Québec, Canada, H3A 1A4, where he leads research in computational genomics and bioinformatics.

Professor Bourque's research focuses on understanding mammalian genomes using comparative genomic and epigenomic analyses. His lab investigates the evolution of regulatory sequences, the role of transposable elements in gene regulation, and the impact of genome rearrangements in evolution and cancer. His team develops computational methods and resources for the functional annotation of genomes with special emphasis on sequencing-based assays including ChIP-seq, RNA-Seq, exome- and whole-genome sequencing, and single-cell analysis. The lab's work involves examining billions of DNA base pairs to interpret how variation impacts basic biology and disease.

Recent publications (2024-2025) demonstrate Bourque's leadership in pangenome graph construction, transposable element analysis, epigenomic profiling, and cancer genomics. His work spans multiple disciplines from basic genome evolution to clinical applications in cancer and infectious disease. Notable projects include the development of tools like DeepPolisher for genome assembly polishing and contributions to understanding the genomic basis of long COVID.

Bourque's laboratory is actively recruiting postdocs and graduate students with backgrounds in programming or statistics. The lab emphasizes quantitative approaches to biology, requiring applicants to have experience in quantitative biology as a plus. His collaborative work extends across multiple institutions and international consortia, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of modern genomic research.