Ren茅 St-Arnaud (PhD)
Professor, 黑料不打烊 University
PhD
Currently supervising students
We are interested in the control of gene expression in bone cells as well as in vitamin D metabolism. My laboratory uses state-of-the-art techniques in molecular biology and molecular genetics to identify and characterize regulators of gene expression in osteoblasts and to develop animal models of metabolic bone disease. My group has made significant contributions to our understanding of bone cell differentiation and function: we have cloned the 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1-alpha-hydroxylase gene (Cyp27b1), characterized the role of the aNAC transcriptional coregulator molecule in bone, isolated and characterized the Factor Inhibiting ATF4-mediated Transcription, and cloned a novel membrane receptor for 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. Our long-term goals include the study of the molecular mechanisms and signal transduction cascades involving the genes that we have cloned, in order to identify 鈥榙ruggable鈥� targets for the treatment of fractures and metabolic bone diseases
- Cell and Molecular Biology
- Genetics
My integrated research program is aimed at identifying, characterizing, and validating targets for pharmacological intervention and development of rational, effective novel therapeutics for bone regenerative medicine. We use an integrated approach with biochemistry, molecular / cell biology, mouse molecular genetics and preclinical science to cover the full bench-to-bedside spectrum: target identification and characterization, high-throughput screening of small molecules for drug development, and validation of lead compounds.