Montreal scientist named head of Human Proteome Organization

Montreal, QC October 14, 2003 Dr John M Bergeron has been appointed to the position of incoming president of the the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO). Dr Bergeron’s two-year term will begin in June 2004. The announcement was made at the First Joint World Congress of the Human Proteomic Organization (HUPO) and the International Association of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB), held in Montreal this month.

Dr Bergeron is world-renowned for his work in proteomics and cellular biology. Professor and chair of the department of anatomy and cell biology at the faculty of medicine of McGill University, he received his PhD from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Dr Bergeron is founder, scientific advisor and former chief scientific agent of Caprion Pharmaceuticals, and he is the director of Genome Quebec/Genome Canada Montreal Proteome Centre.

Dr Bergeron has published more than 190 refereed articles and has been an invited speaker to numerous conferences and symposiums. He was elected fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1995. He has served as a committee member for the National Cancer Institute of Canada, Canadian Institute of Health Research, Fonds de la Recherche en Sant du Qubec, US Public Health Service, International Human Frontier Science Program, US Army Medical Research for Breast Cancer Research Program and is on the editorial board of several journals.

“Proteomics is without question the field of science, within life studies, that will experience the greatest rate of growth over the next ten years”, says Dr Bergeron. “I am grateful to HUPO’s board of directors for their vote of confidence. Their decision will provide me with the opportunity to play a very active role in promoting large international research projects sponsored by the organization.”

In addition, HUPO has announced the establishment of its international head office in Montreal. The organization is an international not-for-profit body whose mission is to coordinate and support the efforts of national and regional entities involved in proteomic research.