Professor Sherif Abou Elela, Ph.D.
| Canada Chair in RNA Biology and Cancer Genomics |  |
| Professor, Departement of microbiology & infectiology of the Faculty of Medecine and Health Sciences of the University of Sherbrooke |
| 1994-1997 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Center of RNA biology, UCSC, California, USA |
| 1988-1994 | Ph.D., Molecular Biology and Genetics, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada |
| 1984-1988 | B.Sc., Biochemistry/Zoology, University of
Qatar, Qatar |
| Courses: | |
| BCH 718 | Biochimie et biologie moléculaire de l'ARN |
| BCH 720 | Structure et Mécanisme des molécules biologiques |
| MCR 715 | Design Expérimental en biologie moléculaire |
| MCR 716 | Transcription et maturation post-transcriptionnelle |
Prof. Abou Elela aims at understanding the basic mechanism that controls the synthesis and stability of RNA in eukaryotic cells in order to understand how genes are regulated.
Dr. Abou Elela obtained his Ph.D. from University of Guelph in 1994 where he generated a system for studying ribosomal RNA processing in vivo and demonstrated the role of rRNA in translation. During his postdoctoral study at the University of California Santa Cruz he revealed the function of the first orthologue of eukaryotic RNase III and demonstrated its role in pre-rRNA processing. Prof. Abou Elela joined the Université de Sherbrooke in 1997 and became a member of the oncology group of the Centre de recherche clinique and the RNA group. Few years later he became the director of Sherbrooke laboratory of functional genomics, the scientific director of Genome Quebec RNomics platform, and the coordinator of the RiboClub. In 2013 Prof. Abou Elela became Canada Research Chair in RNA Biology and Cancer Genomics.
Recent work in Abou Elela lab demonstrated that RNA is a major source of cancer biomarkers and may predict tumour behaviour and drug resistance. His research has also indicated that messenger RNA is programmed to respond to cellular signals and degrades rapidly under exposure to drugs and other cellular stresses. Abou Elela aims to develop a model to explain how RNA production and degradation can influence cellular functions.