BIOGRAPHY
Michel L. Tremblay is a Distinguished McGill University Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and at the Goodman Cancer Institute. He is also an Associate Member to the departments of Microbiology and Immunology, and Medicine at McGill University, and holds the Jeanne and Jean-Louis Lévesque Chair in Cancer Research at McGill University. He completed his graduate studies of the Université de Sherbrooke (MSc) and a Ph.D. at McMaster University, before joining for his post-doctoral training in the field of embryonic stem cells at the NIH – NICHD in Bethesda, Maryland. He joined McGill University in 1992 and served as Director of the McGill Cancer Centre/Goodman Centre from 2000 to 2012, after which he stepped down to dedicate his efforts full-time to academic research. Dr. Tremblay’s laboratory focuses on characterizing the function and regulation of several members of the Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase (PTP) gene family using both biochemical and genetic approaches. He has more than 30 patents and over 220 publications in the PTP field. He is recognized worldwide for his work in relation to this gene family and its function in cancer, diabetes, and neuroscience. In 2012, he completed a one-year sabbatical at the Immunology Frontier Research Center at Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
Dr. Tremblay has served on several scientific boards of foundations and companies, including three companies, which he founded. He continues to be involved with two of them, MISPRO Biotech Inc. and Kanyr Pharma Inc. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Fonds de Recherche en Santé du Quebec (FRSQ) and a coordinator of the Quebec node of the Terry Fox Research Institute. He was also a member of the first Scientific Committee of the CQDM. He was elected and joined McGill University’s Senate from 2017-2019. In 2018, he was a cofounder and the first director of the McGill Regenerative Medicine Network until December 2021.
A recipient of a FRSQ National Scientist Award, Dr. Tremblay was named Fellow in 2007, Chair of the Life Science Division (2015-2020) and is President of the Academy of Sciences of the Royal Society of Canada (2022-2025). As volunteer, he acted as Chair of the scientific committee of the Cancer Research Society and on the ACOR committee of the Canadian Cancer Society. On the international scene, he was a member on the Scientific Advisory Board of the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium until 2021 and served on the Luxemburg Health Institute Oncology Advisory Committee. Through the years, he has obtained several awards and prizes. These included the Michel-Sarrazin Prize (2012) from the Quebec Clinical Research Club, the Robert L. Noble Prize for outstanding achievement in cancer research by the Canadian Cancer Society, the celebrated Prix Armand–Frappier (2013), and the Prix du Québec for his contribution to the advancement of science and the building of a research institution. In view of these actions, the Quebec Government named him Knight of the Order of Quebec in June 2015.
Michel L. Tremblay received the prestigious 2017 McLaughlin Medal from the Royal Society of Canada for the sustained excellence in his medical science research. In recognition of his services to McGill University, he was also honoured in April 2018 by receiving the status of Distinguished James McGill Professor, and from his Alma Mater, Université de Sherbrooke, the title of Grand Ambassador in May 2019. In the fall 2021, he received a second Prix du Quebec, the Walter-Penfield Prize, for his contributions in the field of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases. Recently, he was awarded a Honoris Causa Doctorate from the Université de Bordeaux (May 2022) for his sustained work in biomedical research and his work on the protein tyrosine phosphatases.