معرفی
Pascale Legault is a Full Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at Université de Montréal, serving as Department Director. Her research focuses on RNA structure and function, particularly non-coding RNAs like ribozymes and microRNAs. She combines structural biology techniques (NMR, X-ray crystallography) with biochemical and bioinformatics approaches to study RNA-protein interactions and their roles in gene regulation and disease.
Education: B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Université de Montréal and University of Colorado Boulder. Postdoctoral work with Nobel laureate Thomas Cech (University of Colorado) and later at the University of Georgia. Joined Université de Montréal in 2003.
Research Interests: Structure/function of ribozymes, microRNA biogenesis, RNA engineering, and applications in nanomedicine. Active in structural biology infrastructure development, including leading the Université de Montréal Structural Biology Platform funded by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI).
Awards: Canada Research Chair in RNA Structural Biology, CIHR and FRQS scholarships, and Parkinson Canada funding for miRNA studies in neurodegenerative diseases. Over 70 peer-reviewed publications and several patented methods like ARiBo RNA purification technology.
Grants: Multiple CFI, CIHR, and NSERC grants totaling millions, including infrastructure funding for advanced imaging tools. Collaborations with groups like the SNC (Signal Transduction) and GRUM (Drug Research) networks.
Labs/Teams: Directs the Pascale Legault Lab, focusing on RNA structural biology and translational applications. Mentored over 20 graduate students/postdocs, including recent PhDs Alix Salvail-Lacoste (2023) and Gunjan Dadhwal (2023).
