Nicolas Cermakian

Academic title(s): 

Professor

Nicolas Cermakian
Contact Information
Address: 

Douglas Research Centre
Perry Pavilion, Room E-2108
6875, boulevard LaSalle
Montreal, QC  H4H 1R3
Fax : 514-762-3034

Phone: 
514-761-6131 Ext 4936
Email address: 
nicolas.cermakian [at] mcgill.ca
Division: 
Associate Members
Branch: 
Molecular Biology
Graduate supervision: 

ACCEPTING GRADUATE STUDENTS

See more details.

Biography: 

Research Interests

Circadian rhythms, clock genes.

Background

Nicolas Cermakian, PhD, completed postdoctoral work at the Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire in Strasbourg, France. He joined the Douglas Research Centre in 2002 in order to conduct research on circadian rhythms and on the “internal clocks” that generate these rhythms. People tend to become aware of their internal clocks in special situations, such as when experiencing jet lag. With chronic disruptions to a person’s internal clock (which can be caused, for example, by shift work) severe sleep or mood disorders may emerge, but also cancer, increased susceptibility to infections, metabolic syndrome, and other diseases. Nicolas Cermakian is studying the molecular mechanisms underlying circadian rhythms, how these clocks control physiology, including immune responses, and how clock dysfunction leads to disease.

Research program deals with:

  1. Circadian rhythms and the immune system. We study the circadian control of immune responses. Notably, we investigate the circadian control of the response of T lymphocytes to antigen presentation (in collaboration with Dr. Nathalie Labrecque, Université de Montréal, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital) and the circadian regulation of parasitic infections (in collaboration with Dr. Martin Olivier, McGill, RI-MUHC). 
  2. Clock genes, behaviour and mental health. Using a combination of molecular, cellular and behavioural approaches, we study the molecular bases of circadian clocks, and the links between the clocks, environmental light and behaviour. This extends to work on mouse models of mental disorders.
  3. Expression of clock genes in humans and implications for shift workers and other populations at risk. The study of clock genes in white blood cells of human subjects in time-isolation laboratory (with Dr. Diane Boivin, Douglas Research Centre) allows us to ask questions on the environmental, physiological and pharmacological control of human clocks, with impact on possible treatment for shift workers.

Appointments

  • Director, Laboratory of Molecular Chronobiology at Douglas Research Centre
Selected publications: 
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