Newswise — Carino Gurjao, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at UdeM, joins IRIC’s Genomic and Integrative Medicine Research Unit as a principal investigator.
His training background is impressive: he conducted research projects at Institut Curie, MIT, and Harvard (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Broad Institute). At the University of Paris, his doctoral thesis demonstrated, for the first time in humans, the mutagenic effect of red meat consumption on colorectal cancer.
More recently, as a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University in New York, he led the DNA analysis of the largest cohort of African American colorectal cancer patients to date. His publication record already includes more than twelve articles in recognized journals. In 2022, he was named by Forbes as one of the 30 most influential personalities under 30 in the health field.
Professor Gurjao generously agreed to answer a few questions:
What led you to research? And more specifically, cancer research?
Cancer cells are originally healthy human cells, which makes them much more complex to eliminate than a virus or bacteria, which are fundamentally external to the human body. This complexity immediately fascinated me the first time I heard about it, to the point of thinking about it even outside class!
I did not grow up in an academic environment – there are no academics in my family – and it was only much later, at university, that I discovered academic research. It was then that I realized that thinking about cancer could be a career in its own right.
How did you come to specialize in omics analysis?
Cancer can be seen as a disease of the genome: one or more mutations can occur in a cell, predisposing it to proliferate abnormally. As DNA can be studied not only as a molecule, but also as a sequence of letters or a physical polymer, the study of the cancer genome lies at the crossroads of multiple disciplines. This was perfect for me: I did not have to choose between mathematics, computer science, physics or biology! I could approach the question from different angles, depending on the problem being studied and my interests.
Moreover, recent technological advances have created a particularly favorable environment for omics research: DNA sequencing has become much more affordable, and huge quantities of data are now accessible. This opens up exciting prospects for a better understanding of cancer.
What will be the main research themes of your laboratory at IRIC?
My laboratory will focus on two main areas related to DNA. On the one hand, I am interested in precision prevention, i.e. using DNA to better understand the origin of tumors. For example, UV rays, smoking and diet leave distinct imprints on DNA. By analyzing these imprints, we can not only identify the causes of cancer, but also better predict which people are at risk.
My team will also be working on precision treatments, which aim to tailor treatments to each patient’s genetic profile. Rather than administering a drug according to the type of disease, we can personalize it according to the genetic characteristics of the cancer and the person affected. This optimizes treatment efficacy and reduces therapeutic uncertainties.
Your greatest wish for the coming years?
I would like to deepen my role as a mentor! I was lucky enough to have some excellent mentors at the start of my career, who helped me enormously to develop professionally without ever forcing me down an academic path. Now it is my turn to return the favor to my future students.
