- Awards and Distinctions
The researcher is one of the few specialists in the study of muscle stem cells in the world.
Professor Marie-Claude Sincennes, a specialist in rare diseases of muscle tissue, has been awarded the Banting Discovery Award – Jarislowsky Fellowship by the Banting Research Foundation. The researcher is a member of the Joint Research Unit in Sustainable Health of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) and the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC). She is one of seven recipients of the 2023 Discovery Award in Canada.
The award, aimed at researchers in the early stages of their careers, is given in recognition of the significant impact of their innovative projects in the field of health and biomedical sciences. The seven winners will receive up to $30,000 to support their research.
“ I am honoured to receive this grant from the Banting Foundation. These funds will be used to build and consolidate our research team at INRS-UQAC Joint Research Unit, and to establish collaborations with other specialists around the world studying muscle stem cells. Our ultimate goal is to accelerate discoveries in neuromuscular diseases such as oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy, which affects 1 in 1,000 people in Québec ”.
Marie-Claude Sincennes, Professor at INRS and member of the INRS-UQAC Joint Research Unit
Marie-Claude Sincennes, INRS
Banting Discovery Award –
Jarislowsky Fellowship 2023
“We are delighted to support these outstanding early-career Canadian researchers and help them launch their programs of discovery and impact. Their commitment to improving human health and well-being is truly inspiring, and we’re confident that their research and leadership will have a lasting impact,” said Catharine Whiteside, Chairwoman of the Board, Banting Research Foundation.
Large-scale work on the infinitely small
A professor at INRS’s Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie Research Centre and currently based on the UQAC campus, Marie-Claude Sincennes has been studying rare diseases for the past 10 years, focusing on the infinitely small. Using molecular and cellular biology techniques, she studies the role of genes in the onset and progression of muscular dystrophy and rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of childhood cancer.
She is one of a handful of specialists worldwide working on muscle stem cells to identify better therapeutic targets.
Her research focuses on neuromuscular diseases, in particular oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD), a rare disease that is widespread in Québec populations due to a founder mutation. Professor Sincennes plans to study the role of loss-of-function mutations of PABPN1, the gene associated with OPMD, in muscle stem cell biology. She will use both proven and novel cellular and molecular techniques to investigate her hypothesis.à
INRS-UQAC Joint Research Unit in Sustainable Health
Alongside her fellow INRS-UQAC Joint Research Unit members, notably Amadou Barry and Charles Gauthier from INRS, and Simon Girard, Catherine Laprise and Jean Legault from UQAC, she is tackling the problems and issues of sustainable health in a comprehensive way, by studying several aspects of the field.
To know more about Jarislowsky Fellowship – Banting Discovery Award
To see the video
Congratulations to the awardee!
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