Jean-Yves Masson
Professor
Laval University Cancer Research Center and CHU de Québec-Université Laval
Canada
Biography
Jean-Yves Masson is an internationally recognized expert in DNA repair mechanisms. Throughout his career, Dr. Masson focused on radiation and chemicals that impede DNA replication to induce DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Failure to remove these breaks leads to cell death, genetic mutations, gross chromosome rearrangements, and to cell transformation and cancer. He is one of the few world experts on PALB2, a protein which is getting scientific and public attention as PALB2 mutations increase breast cancer by 6-8 folds. He established that PALB2 deficient cells are very sensitive to PARP inhibitors, a very promising therapeutic avenue for breast/ovarian cancer. Dr. Masson was recently inducted as a Canadian Academy of Health Sciences fellow.
Research Interest
DNA double-strand break repair and human diseases. DNA repair and studies aimed at manipulating DNA repair pathways for therapeutic benefit. Basic science studies in the laboratory focus mainly on the characterization of the MRE11-RAD50-NBS1 complex, breast/ovarian PALB2 and BRCA2 proteins and Fanconi anemia enzymes in DNA double-strand break repair by homologous recombination.