Dr. Yannick Benoit has been racking up accolades for his strong work at the uOttawa Faculty of Medicine since his arrival in 2017. He’s earned an Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research; his lab has received coveted grants; he’s published in high-impact scientific journals.
The principal investigator and assistant professor in the Cellular and Molecular Medicine (CMM) department has just received his latest honour – and it’s a big one. He’s being recognized by the Gairdner Foundation for his exceptional research achievements so far and his future potential.
Dr. Benoit is one of six national winners of Gairdner’s 2022 Early Career Investigator competition. It’s the second year that the Gairdner Foundation – established in 1957 with the aim of recognizing international excellence in research that impacts health – is shining a specific spotlight on extraordinary young scientists across Canada.
“I was very surprised to be selected! There are so many great early career investigators across the country. It makes this distinction even more significant in my eyes,” Dr. Benoit says.
He will present his work as part of the foundation’s laureate symposium in Toronto later this month. Dr. Benoit was selected by two new Gairdner laureates – one of the top honours in medicine – for his promising research on the epigenetic mechanisms affecting cancer cells in colorectral tumours.
Dr. Benoit’s team is working to unveil how epigenetic “markers” effectively turn genes on or off and govern stem cell identity in colorectal tumours and in tissues lining the intestines. A major goal is the development of novel anticancer agents that can target epigenetic features of colorectal cancer stem cells.
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