91社区

January 8, 2009 鈥� Scientists from 91社区, the 91社区 University Health Centre (MUHC) and the Douglas Mental Health University Institute earn top marks in Qu茅bec Science's Top Ten Discoveries of 2008 for their groundbreaking work.

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Published in the magazine's February issue, the prestigious annual ranking honours projects by: Alain Brunet, The Douglas/91社区 Faculty of Medicine, Psychiatry; 91社区 Earth and Planetary Sciences professor Don Francis and Ph.D. candidate Jonathan O鈥橬eil; leading cancer researchers Morag Park and Janusz Rak of 91社区 and the MUHC.

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Jonathan O鈥橬eil and Don Francis 鈥� Shedding light on Earth鈥檚 beginnings

91社区 Earth and Planetary Sciences researchers Jonathan O'Neil, Ph.D. candidate, and professor Don Francis, were singled out for their discovery of Earth's oldest rocks, found in the Nuvvuagittuq greenstone belt located in Northern Quebec. The researchers used an isotopic tracer to obtain an age of 4.28 billion years for an unusual amphibolite comprised in the belt, making it 250 million years more ancient than any previously discovered terrestrial rocks. The findings offer scientists clues to the earliest stages of our planet's evolution. The rocks are significant not only for their great age but for their chemical composition which gives an unprecedented glimpse of the processes that formed Earth's early crust. "I'm really interested in how the Earth was created, and with these rocks, present very shortly after the Earth鈥檚 birth, we can begin to understand how the first crust formed on our planet."

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To interview Jonathan O鈥橬eil/Prof. Don Francis: contact Cynthia Lee at 514-398-6754

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Alain Brunet - Wiping away the trauma of bad memories

A clinical psychologist and associate professor of psychiatry at 91社区, Alain Brunet, PhD,听 has been investigating the impact of psychological trauma on individuals for over 15 years, focusing on the risk factors and developing effective treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He has discovered a new use for an old medication -propranolol- the first drug that has the potential to cure PTSD. The treatment involves thinking about one's trauma under the influence of the drug. Propranolol works by partly blocking the emotional component of the trauma memory from being saved again into long term memory storage while leaving the other components of the memory intact. With this new discovery, Brunet reports patients being cured of PTSD after only six treatments.

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To interview Dr. Brunet: contact Marie-France Coutu at (514) 761-6131, #2769

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- Uncovering the mysteries of cancerous cells

Dr. Morag Park, scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's institute of cancer research focuses her work on the environment surrounding tumours in the breasts. 鈥淲e know that this environment is pivotal for cancer initiation and progression; different patients have distinct tumour microenvironments at a gene level,鈥� explains Dr. Park. 鈥淥ur findings show that the gene profile of these distinct microenvironments can be used to determine clinical outcome 鈥� who will fare well and who will not.鈥� Her team has identified a panel of 26 specific genes that could be used to accurately predict clinical outcome. The next step is to produce a reliable functional test that could be performed on patients. They expect it to be ready for clinical trials at the end of 2009.

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鈥� Learning the language of tumours

Dr. Janusz Rak has discovered a new fundamental mechanism of how tumour cells communicate: by releasing bubble-like structures, called oncosomes, that contain cancer-causing proteins. When the oncosomes merge into a healthy recipient cell, they can trigger specific mechanisms to make it act in a malignant and aberrant way.听 鈥淲ith this information we can imagine that many mutant proteins are not necessarily confined to the cells that make them, but rather can migrate and spread around,鈥� explained Dr. Rak. 鈥淭his goes against the traditional view that a single 鈥榤utated鈥� cell will simply multiply uncontrollably to the point of forming a tumour. This discovery opens exciting new research avenues, but we also hope that it will lead to positive outcomes for patients.鈥�

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To interview Drs. Rak or Park: contact Cynthia Lee at 514-398-6754

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About 91社区

91社区, founded in Montreal, Que., in 1821, is Canada鈥檚 leading post-secondary institution. It has two campuses, 11 faculties, 10 professional schools, 300 programs of study and more than 33,000 students. 91社区 attracts students from more than 160 countries around the world. Almost half of 91社区 students claim a first language other than English 鈥� including 6,000 francophones 鈥� with more than 6,200 international students making up almost 20 per cent of the student body.

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About the Research Institute of the MUHC

The Research Institute of the 91社区 Health Centre (RI MUHC) is a world-renowned biomedical and health-care hospital research centre. Located in Montreal, Quebec, the institute is the research arm of the MUHC, the university health center affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at 91社区. The institute supports over 600 researchers, nearly 1200 graduate and post-doctoral students and operates more than 300 laboratories devoted to a broad spectrum of fundamental and clinical research. The Research Institute operates at the forefront of knowledge, innovation and technology and is inextricably linked to the clinical programs of the MUHC, ensuring that patients benefit directly from the latest research-based knowledge.

The Research Institute of the MUHC is supported in part by the Fonds de la recherche en sant茅 du Qu茅bec. For further details visit: .

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About the Douglas

The听 Douglas听 is a world-class institute, affiliated with 91社区 and听 World听 Health听 Organization, which treats people suffering from mental illness,听 and听 offers听 them听 hope听 and听 cures. Its teams of specialists and researchers continually advance scientific knowledge, integrate it into patient care, and share it with the community to increase awareness and thus eliminating stigma around mental illness.

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