Past Award Recipients
Recognizing the strides and achievements of proteomics researchers.
CNPN-Tony Pawson Proteomics Award
This award recognizes remarkable achievements in the fundamental understanding and/or practice of proteomics in biological sciences. Formerly called the “CNPN Distinguished Researcher Award”, the award was renamed in 2014 in recognition of the seminal contributions to the proteomics field of one of the most influential Canadian scientists of all time, the late Prof. Tony Pawson who received the CNPN award in 2013.
Dr. Brian Raught is a Senior Scientist, at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network (UHN), and a Full Professor in the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. His work is focused on: (i) the development of powerful mass spectrometry (MS) – based techniques to identify and characterize protein-protein interactions and post-translational modifications (PTMs); (ii) using these techniques to better understand fusion proteins implicated in cancers, and the ubiquitin (Ub) and ubiquitin-like protein (Ubl) systems (e.g. SUMO, UFM1, NEDD8, etc.), and; (iii) working with many excellent collaborators to better characterize individual proteins, protein complexes and (membrane-bound and membrane-less) organelles. Dr. Raught has published >175 papers that have been cited 28,963 times.
Leonard Foster, PhD, is a Professor and the Chair of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology department at the University of British Columbia. The Foster lab studies a variety of host-pathogen combinations. They use quantitative proteomics, employing stable isotope labeling and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) but also use other high-throughput methods, such as high content screening and massively parallel sequencing. To fill in the gaps they then turn to more focused biochemical and cell biological methods. Recently they have described a novel method for mapping the protein interaction network within cells (the interactome) that drives the time and cost involved in such an analysis down by nearly two orders of magnitude; this technique will play an important role in many current and future projects.
The Foster Lab runs the Proteomics Core Facility that offers a broad range of services from mass confirmations to large-scale quantitative proteomic screens, along with all the associated bioinformations.
Dr. Daniel Figeys obtained a B.Sc. and a M.Sc. in chemistry from the Université de Montréal. He obtained a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Alberta under the supervision of Dr. Norman Dovichi. He did his postdoctoral studies at the University of Washington in Molecular Biotechnology with Dr. Ruedi Aebersold. Daniel was previously Senior Vice-President at MDS-Proteomics and more recently co-founder of MedBiome. Daniel is a Professor and a Distinguished Research Chair in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology at the University of Ottawa. He is the co-founding director of the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica-University of Ottawa Joint Center in Systems and Personalized Pharmacology and a Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) President’s International Fellow. He was the founding director of the Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology. His research focuses on the development and applications of mass spectrometry based bioanalytical technologies to study human health. More recently, his laboratory has been developing technologies and bioinformatic tools to study the human microbiome. Daniel has published over 200 publications were cited more than 17,000 times. Daniel was awarded the 2021 the Ricardo Aroca Award from the Chemical Institute of Canada.
Dr. Gingras is the Canada Research Chair in Functional Proteomics, the Lea Reichmann Chair in Cancer Proteomics and a Senior Investigator at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health System. A Full Professor in the department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto, she also serves as deputy editor of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, and as a co-director of the Network Biology Collaborative Centre (a Genome Canada technology platform). Her lab focuses on the study of signaling pathways using systematic approaches and the development of quantitative proteomics technologies. She has developed computational tools that enable better analysis and visualization of proteomics results, and contribute to training the next generation of proteomics researchers. Using the tools that she developed, her group has identified new protein complexes and signaling components that provide a better understanding of perturbations associated with cancer and rare diseases. Dr. Gingras has published over 240 research articles and reviewed articles that have already been cited more than 40,000 times. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, an elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), and was recently awarded the CSMB Jeanne Manery Fisher Memorial Lecture (2019), the HUPO Discovery Award (2019), and the CNPN Tony Pawson Award (2020).
Dr. Van Eyk is a Professor of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Director of the Basic Science Research in the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center and Director of the new Advanced Clinical Biosystems Institute where she recently moved from the Johns Hopkins University. She obtained her PhD at the University of Calgary and did her postdoctoral studies in Chicago and Heidelberg where she rapidly moved from basic research to biological mechanisms and biomarker development. A remarkable achievement is that she started her first company during her appointment as Assistant Professor at Queen’s University. She recognized the need for translational expertise and honed her skills in biotechnology as a Chief Scientific Officer at Cardiomics Inc. from 1999 to 2005. She has held Professorial appointments at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where she was also Director of the NHLBI Innovation Proteomics Group. Dr. Van Eyk recently was recruited to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre to start the Advanced Clinical Biosystems Research Institute with the motto “From Discovery to Clinical Care”. She also directs the new Cedars-Sinai Precision Biomarker Laboratories which is comprised of two synergistic laboratories. These labs provide targeted protein and metabolite assays for large scale epidemiology and population sciences via a contract service lab and for physicians via a CAP/CLIA lab. She is the winner of the 2019 The Donald F. Hunt Distinguished Achievement in Proteomics Award, US Human Proteome Organization; the 2015 International human proteome organization (HUPO) Translational Science Award; and the 2014 American Heart Association (AHA) Functional Genomics Translational Biology Council Medal of Honor for exceptional science.
Dr. Gilles Lajoie is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario. He is the Founder and Director of the Biological Mass Spectrometry Laboratory at Western. His research encompasses several areas from the synthesis of non-proteinaceous amino acids, peptide chemistry, design of enzyme inhibitors, to biological mass spectrometry and proteomics. His group was one the first in Canada to perform the characterization of biomolecules by mass spectrometry. With colleagues in the Department of Computer science he was instrumental in the development of a de novo software for the elucidation of peptide sequences from MS/MS data. He applied new proteomics techniques to the study of human embryonic stem cells. More recently he used proteomic approaches to determine the mechanism by which mesenchymal stem cells lead to the formation of insulin-producing Beta-cells. This finding may have significant impact for the treatment of juvenile diabetes.
Dr. Thibault brings his combined expertise in bioanalytical mass spectrometry and protein chemistry to the development and implementation of new technologies in proteomics and cell biology. In multidisciplinary research, these tools provide a deeper understanding of molecular mechanisms and post-translational modifications, which regulate the function and translocation of proteins involved in immunity and signalling in cancer cells.
Dr. Tyers is an international leader in proteomics and systems biology recognized for his seminal insights into mechanisms of phosphorylation-dependent protein degradation by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. His contributions to the charting of protein, gene and chemical interaction networks and the systems genetics of cell growth and division have provided numerous clues as to the functioning of the eukaryotic cell. Dr. Tyers also recognized early on the necessity to archive biological knowledge into accessible databases and he pioneered the development of informatics tools and database resources for the computational analysis of biological interactions.
Dr. Poirier is internationally known for his studies of poly ADP ribose polymerase, cell death and DNA repair. He has been the driving force in establishing a sustaining an innovative proteomics platform in Quebec city as early as 1991. Dr. Poirier has published > 300 peer-reviewed papers which have collectively been cited > 28,000 times. Since 2002, he holds the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Proteomics. Amongst his numerous awards, he received in 2014 a doctorate honoris causa from the Université de Rennes (France) and he was awarded the Diamond Prize for Research from Centre de Recherche du CHU de Quebec for his contributions to the understanding of cell death.
Dr. Overall is an international leader in proteomics recognized for his seminal contributions to the field of degradomics, the systems level investigation of proteolysis, for which he actually coined the term. His focus has been on understanding the role of matrix metalloproteinases in various diseases and pathologies, most particularly in cancer and inflammations. He holds the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Metalloproteinase Proteomics and Systems Biology, and has won several national and international awards, including CIHR Researcher of the Year award (2012) and lifetime achievement award from the International Proteolysis Society and the Matrix Biology Society of Australia and New Zealand.
Dr. Pawson was an international leader in proteomics recognized for his pioneering work on the mechanisms that underlie intracellular signal transduction. Through his original identification of the archetypal protein interaction module, the SH2 domain, and his subsequent embracement of technologies for mapping protein interactions, Tony Pawson has played an essential role in powering the successful wave of proteomics research and in nurturing the many outstanding proteomics scientists in Canada.
The scientific community mourned the loss of Tony Pawson who passed away unexpectedly on August 7, 2013 at age 60.
His pioneering work on subcellular proteomics led to the first molecular definition of the phagosome, an organelle that evolved from a phagotrophic compartment into a cellular structure fully competent for antigen presentation. His seminal contributions provided further understanding of the molecular mechanisms conferring specialized functions to mammalian phagosomes linking innate and adaptive immunity.
His studies on protein-protein interactions and on the fundamental mechanisms regulating gene expression in bacteria, viruses, yeast, and human cells gave rise to remarkable achievements that inspired many others in the field. His seminal work on protein interactions network and the molecular dissection of important machineries such as the RNA polymerase and the chromatin remodeling complexes represent outstanding contributions that defined the landscape of protein complexes and its functional relevance in yeast and other model systems.
His ground breaking contributions in proteomics led to a high definition of the protein composition of important organelles such as the Golgi apparatus and the endoplasmic reticulum that provided valuable biological insights on the secretory pathway. He also led various organizations including Montreal Proteomics Network, Human Proteome Organization, and Human Proteome Initiatives.
CNPN-New Investigator Award
This recent initiative of the CNPN recognizes the contributions of an outstanding early career researcher to the fundamental understanding and/or practice of proteomics in the biological sciences. This award will help new investigators gain visibility in the field and encourage early-stage Investigators to consider how proteomics may be used in their research.
Mathieu Lavallée-Adam is an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology and is affiliated to the Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology. He obtained a B.Sc. in Computer Science and a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Bioinformatics option, from McGill University. He then performed his postdoctoral research at Scripps Research. His research focuses on the development of statistical and machine learning algorithms for the analysis of mass spectrometry-based proteomics data and protein-protein interaction networks. He also designs computational methods mining proteomics datasets for biological information through their integration with genomics data. Dr. Lavallée-Adam is a recipient of the John Charles Polanyi Prize in Chemistry, rewarding the impact of his bioinformatics algorithms on the mass spectrometry community. One of his publications was also recognized as the 2018 Highlight of the Year by an early career researcher at the Human Proteome Organization World Congress. He was named the 2021 Early Career Researcher of the Year by the Ottawa Institute for Systems Biology. He is also Co-Chair of the HUPO Early Career Researcher Initiative and a member of the HUPO Executive Committee, in which he develops training activities, advocates for junior investigators in proteomics, and organizes events highlighting their research on the international stage. As VP Operations of the CNPN, Dr. Lavallée-Adam also mentors the CNPN Operations Management Team, which builds a set of online activities to bring Canadian proteomics researchers together all year round.
Jennifer Geddes-McAlister, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph. Dr. Geddes- McAlister’s interest in scientific research and academics began during her undergraduate degree at the University of Lethbridge, where she investigated the impact of fungal pathogens on agricultural development and performed her first proteomics experiments. This amazing experience led her to a PhD in the laboratory of Dr. Jim Kronstad at the University of British Columbia, where she applied quantitative proteomics to comprehensively profile the cellular proteome and secretome of the fungal pathogen, Cryptococcus neoformans. Her fascination with mass spectrometry-based proteomics and pathogenesis provided her foundation for a postdoctoral fellowship supported by NSERC and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Matthias Mann at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Munich, Germany. During her postdoctoral fellowship, she combined her expertise in microbiology and proteomics with experimental systems immunology to profile the interplay between Salmonella and its host during infection. Now, at the University of Guelph, her research group blend cutting-edge proteomics technologies with a systems biology perspective to explore host-pathogen interactions. Her team is interested in characterizing the mechanisms of pathogenesis, adaptation, and survival in fungal and bacterial microbes from a systems biology perspective through mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics.
The research group of Dr. Röst uses computational approaches to understand clinical phenomena on a personalized level and study biological phenomena from a systems perspective. He develops experimental and computational approaches for mass spectrometry (MS) that drive improved identification and quantification of small molecules and peptide analytes. He specifically focuses on next-generation mass spectrometry approaches using a combination of high mass resolution and fast scan speeds MS to comprehensively acquire information about a biological specimen. In particular, he has developed methods and software for data-independent acquisition (DIA) mass spectrometry, most notably the OpenSWATH and TRIC software which allow automated analysis of SWATH mass spectrometry data. The software is developed as open source and the Rost lab is one of the core developers of the OpenMS C++ framework. In his lab, he combines robust software engineering with advanced signal processing and machine learning methods to extract information from highly multiplexed MS data (specifically DIA data). Dr. Röst applies these methods to acquire comprehensive data about protein or small molecule analytes in complex biological samples such as whole cell lysates or tissue samples. In his lab, he studies cellular systems to gain deeper insight into the exact molecular causes of disease and the genotype to phenotype relationship. Secondly, he uses proteomics and metabolomics approaches in a personalized medicine context to study human subjects in a longitudinal fashion throughout disease progression, specific perturbations and medical interventions. Ultimately, his lab is interested in systematically profiling human specimens in health and disease to gain deeper insight into molecular causes of disease. The SWATH-MS method that he co-developed has been widely adopted in the field and now multiple other MS vendors (Thermo Fisher, Waters, Bruker) are offering the method on their instruments. Dr. Röst is a frequent invited speaker at major international conferences in the field (Dagstuhl (Germany), ASMS (US), HUPO (international), EuBIC (international), US-HUPO (US) and CNPN (Canada)). For his work, Dr. Röst has received the 2018 US HUPO “Gilbert S. Omenn Computational Proteomics Award” for achievements in computational proteomics.
Dr. Lambert is an expert in the use of functional proteomics and mass spectrometry-based techniques. His research program aims to better understand the loss of transcriptional flexibility found in numerous cancer cells and how this change can be targeted for clinical benefit. His group develops and employs novel proteomics and genomics approaches, in additional to an array of molecular, biochemical and imaging techniques, to explore modes of transcriptional regulation and how their deregulation leads to cancer. To do so, he has developed numerous experimental pipelines allowing for the characterization of protein complexes associated with chromatin and deployed them in multiple biological systems. He has also significantly contributed to the integration of Data Independent Acquisition (DIA) approaches in functional proteomics allowing for the detailed quantification of modulated protein-protein interactions. Dr. Lambert has published > 60 research and review articles which have been cited ~ 6000 times. The quality of his work has been recognized through multiple fellowships, a Scholarship for the Next Generation of Scientists from the Cancer Research Society and Early Career Award in Cancer from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research-Institute of Cancer Research.