Abstract:

The major focus of Professor Rousseau’s research programme is systems biology of host-pathogen interactions in lung diseases, making the first description of the presence of intracellular P. aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis lungs and describing several endotypes of COVID-19 used to predict clinical trajectories and improve understanding of pathogenesis.

Bio:

Trained as a biologist, Simon obtained his Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology in 2000 from Université Laval in Québec City, Canada, where he studied the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) signalling pathways. He spent eight years in Philip Cohen’s lab in the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit at Dundee, studying the signalling pathways involved in pro-inflammatory cytokine production by macrophages before becoming an Assistant Professor in the Meakins-Christie Laboratories at McGill University Health Centre, Montreal.

Since his promotion to Associate Professor, he led the Cystic Fibrosis strategic research group before becoming the Multi-institution Biobank Co-director in 2015 and its Director in 2018. At the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, he was named the co-director of Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19), a $22M provincial initiative established by FRQ-S and Génome Québec to help the research community investigate and mitigate the outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infections. He became Director of the Canadian Respiratory Research Network (CRRN) in January 2023, the largest network of researchers and clinician-scientists working in the field of respiratory health in Canada. In 2023 he launched shAIRe, a CRRN-led initiative to promote the sharing of data on respiratory health across Canada. These networks are committed to open science and knowledge transfer.

His non-scientific interests include nature photography, fly fishing and long-distance trail running.