GUY SAUVAGEAU, M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.P.(C), F.R.S.C.

Dr. Guy Sauvageau is the Principal Investigator of the Molecular Genetics of Stem Cells research unit at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC). He is also a practicing hematologist at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in the bone marrow (stem cell) transplantation program. Dr. Sauvageau completed his MD and Hematology training at Université de Montréal and his PhD at UBC in the department of Experimental Medicine (stem cell biology and genetics) under the supervision of Drs. Keith Humphries, Peter Lansdorp and Connie Eaves at the Terry Fox Laboratory. He is also the recipient the Bégin-Plouffe Chair in chemogenomics at Université de Montréal.

Sauvageau team focuses on the characterization of the mechanisms by which normal (and leukemia) blood stem cells uniquely undergo self-renewal divisions, a process deemed critical for successful stem cell transplantation and leukemic outgrowth. Using a well articulated combination of genetic, chemical and bioinformatics tools, members of his laboratory, representing more than 125 trainees over the last 30 years, have identified several key determinants of this mechanism of action. This notably led, in collaboration with Dr. Anne Marinier at IRIC, to the development of the small molecule UM171 that promotes the expansion of human cord blood-derived stem cells ex vivo. This breakthrough finding has been successfully translated to the clinic under the leadership of Drs. Sandra Cohen and Jean Roy in Canada and Filippo Milano in the US. More than 100 patients have been transplanted with UM171 expanded grafts with outstanding clinical results. In 2023, this data was packaged by ExCellThera, a small biotechnology company co-founded by Guy Sauvageau, to submit a request for accelerated approval in Europe for patients that lack a suitable donor.

Dr. Sauvageau is also the leader of the Leucegene initiative, co-led by Drs. Josée Hébert (cytogeneticist), Anne Marinier (chemist), Vincent Lavallée (clinical molecular genetics), Sébastien Lemieux (bioinformatician) and several other co-investigators. Leucegene, largely supported by Genome Canada/Québec, stands as one of the most extensive initiatives aimed at understanding the genetics of acute myeloid leukemia and advancing new therapeutic approaches for the disease.

Dr. Sauvageau is a highly collaborative and creative scientist, a team builder, and a visionary. In 2003, he spearheaded with Dr. Pierre Chartrand and several other scientists the development of a new system biology institute called IRIC which he led as scientific director and eventually general director for 12 years. During this period, he recruited 27 principal investigators at IRIC. He also played a major role as a co-founder of the center for cell therapy of Montréal at Hopital Maisonneuve-Rosemont with Drs. Jean Roy and Denis-Claude Roy (director) and co-founder of the Québec Leukemia Cell Bank with Dr. Josée Hébert (director).