An EconoTimes perspective

Thomas Durcan

Assistant Professor, Neurodegenerative disorders, McGill University

Assistant Professor, Neurodegenerative disorders, McGill University As an assistant professor at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) and McGill University, my research focus is on applying patient-derived stem cells towards the development of phenotypic discovery assays and 3D mini-brain models for both neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders. As group leader of the iPSC platform at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), I oversee a team of 30 research staff and students and growing, committed to applying novel stem cell technology, combined with CRISPR genome editing, mini-brain models and new microfluidic technologies towards elucidating the underlying causes of these complex disorders. Leading the SGC tissue platform, NeuroSGC; I oversee a team committed to assay development, in parallel with leading the establishment of NeuroCDRD, towards the automation of our open assays for small molecule screens. In addition, I am also part of antibody validation efforts between the MNI, Oxford and the Karolinska to generate CRISPR KO cell-lines for validating commercial antibodies against high-value ALS targets. Combined with new approaches in the group towards building multiomic profiles on the patient-derived IPSC cells within the group, the long-term strategy over the coming years is to identify new personalized precision therapies that can be applied towards building clinical trials on a dish.