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Frederic Sorgeloos

Areas of expertise

Study of Host-Pathogen Interactions , High-throughput transcriptomics and proteomics , Innate immune system , Molecular and cellular biology , Molecular virology

  • Regular professor

Email

frederic.Sorgeloos@inrs.ca

Phone

+1 450-687-5010 ext 4363

Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie Research Centre

531 des Prairies Blvd.
Laval, Quebec  H7V 1B7

See the research centre

Research interests

My research interests focus on the complex relationships between viruses and their hosts, with a particular emphasis on innate immunity and short linear motifs (SLiMs). As obligate intracellular parasites, a fundamental aspect of virus biology is their need to hijack cellular machinery at every step of their replication. Thus, they must extensively interact with the cellular proteome to reconfigure existing protein-protein interactions for their benefit. In doing so, they target and subvert almost all aspects of biology, not only within the cell itself but also across the entire organism, for example by countering antiviral immunity or altering its behavior. Consequently, understanding how viruses manipulate their hosts enables us to identify key stages of infection and to develop new antiviral strategies, whether prophylactic, such as vaccines, or therapeutic, in the form of antiviral drugs. Ultimately, studying host-pathogen interactions will be crucial for better preparing against emerging viruses and future pandemics.

In this context, one of the lab’s research areas focuses on identifying and studying the influence of short linear motifs (SLiMs) encoded by pathogens during infection. Another research area aims to deepen our understanding of the mechanisms that allow Caliciviruses to replicate and evade the innate immune response. In order to characterize these interactions and understand their mechanisms, we employ a multi-dimensional approach that combines bioinformatics, molecular virology, biochemistry, as well as high-throughput transcriptomics and proteomics.

Mitochondrial targeting of TMEV L* protein.

L inhibits RSK dephosphorylation by phosphatases.

Volcano plots representing differentially expressed genes from RNA-Seq analysis comparing gene expression levels in HuNoV-infected organoids compared to mock treatment results.

Dr. Frederic Sorgeloos obtained his Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the Université de Louvain (Belgium) in 2004 and pursued his studies with a Master of Advanced Studies in Health Sciences completed in 2007. Frederic’s scientific journey continued in the lab of Professor Thomas Michiels where he earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2012. His doctoral research focused on the multifaceted persistence mechanisms of Theiler’s virus in the central nervous system of mice. Following the completion of his Ph.D., Dr. Sorgeloos embarked on a series of postdoctoral positions in the field of host-pathogen interactions. He first moved to the University of Cambridge (UK) to pursue his training in the laboratory of Professor Ian Goodfellow who mainly focuses on the biology of the Caliciviruses. There, his work spanned diverse topics lying at the interface between the mechanisms of calicivirus translation and the host innate immune responses. During his time in Cambridge, he also joined, as a visiting scientist, the lab of Leo James at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) where he worked on the identification of avian TRIM21 orthologs. Following this fruitful experience, he moved back to Belgium where he reintegrated the lab of Pr. Thomas Michiels where he resumed the exploration of the relationships between host RSK kinases and microbial virulence factors. Transitioning to an academic position at Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie (AFSB) of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), Dr. Sorgeloos currently focuses on the subversion of the cellular homeostasis through small linear peptides encoded by viral and bacterial pathogens.
  • Member of the The Belgian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • Member of the Belgian Society for Virology
  • Membre de la Société Francaise de virologie
  • Member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Publications