The Early Career Award in Cancer 2012

The CIHR Institute of Cancer Research is very pleased to offer its heartiest congratulations to Dr. Marc-Étienne Huot as the 2012 awardee of the Early Career Award in Cancer.

This award was established to recognize the excellence of research being conducted in Canada by a new investigator (under five years as an independent researcher) in the field of cancer.  Dr. Huot’s project entitled “RNA Binding Protein Regulation of Cellular Migration and Adhesion During Cancer Cell Dissemination and Metastases Formation” received the highest ranking (by percent (%) rank) in the 2012 Fall Operating Grant Competition.

We also take this opportunity to congratulate all the 2012 recipients of the ICR Institute Community Support Program grants and awards.

Dr. Marc-Étienne Huot Research Interest

Cancer cell dissemination is a complex process by which cancer cells leave the primary tumor to colonize distant tissues and to form secondary tumors (metastases). Cellular dissemination necessitates a large number of interconnected biological mechanisms such as cell proliferation, adhesion and migration to invade distant tissues. The RNA-based control of these biological processes has always been overlooked. To overcome this, Dr Huot research team investigates how RNA-binding proteins regulate many of the aforementioned steps in order to influence metastatic cancer cells homing toward specific tissues, which leads to metastase formation. Dr Huot research interests include the elucidation of the mechanisms regulating RNA binding proteins during focal adhesion site maturation, cellular morphology and migration process in normal and transformed cells. Growing evidence reveals that tissue microenvironments secreting specific growth factors greatly modulate the implantation potential of migrating cancer cells at specific sites. By using advanced in vitro and in vivo models, he is assessing the direct functions of selected RNA-binding protein in critical steps of cell dissemination and how RNA binding proteins can modulate the metastatic cell interaction with specific microenvironments. Dr Huot research could offer new therapeutic strategies to block cancer progression, and potentially lead to metastasis prevention with the ensuing increase in patient survival.