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| > Sophie Roy, 1977 |
| > Marc Ouellet, 1980 |
| > Sabrina R. Perri, 1991-1996 |
| > David Laflamme, 1996-2000 |
| > Frédérick Moreau, 1997-2000 |
| > Francis Boulva, 1997-2001 |
> Alexis Lussier-Desbiens,
1997-2001 |
| > Romina Perri, 1998-2001 |
> Alexandra Sorocéanu,
1998-2001 |
> Marie-Claude Bilodeau and
Sébastien B.Bergeron,
1999-2000 |
| > Cédric Houdayer, 1999-2000 |
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Sophie Roy, 1977 Science Fair |
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The following information is taken from Portraits
de lauréats created by the Conseil du loisir scientifique
in partnership with the ministère de la Recherche, de la Science
et de la Technologie du Québec.
 |
Sophie Roy, 1977 |
Sophie Roy was introduced to science and research
by her father at a very young age. She has always enjoyed science. She
even dreamed of becoming an astronaut, but travel sickness caused her
to change her mind.
In Secondary II, she heard about the Science Fair from Lizette Laroche,
a biology teacher at Montreal's Polyvalente Pierre-Laporte.
Sophie decided to participate. She and a classmate prepared a project
on the sense of smell in mice. The two girls presented their project
in 1977, at the Montreal Science Fair, which was held at Cégep
Maisonneuve-Rosemont.
The aim of their experiment was to determine whether a mouse could
smell anything. "We built a model in the form of a labyrinth
with three compartments. The first compartment contained some cheese
while the second contained some alcohol. The third compartment was
for the mouse. We watched to see whether the mouse headed for the
cheese or the alcohol. We concluded that the mouse was not influenced
by its sense of smell, because it headed as much for the cheese as
for the alcohol.
Sophie, whose project was classified among the best, was happy to have
her work recognized. "At my school," she recalls, "it really
wasn't cool to be smart! At the Science Fair, I had the chance to meet
other kids who were interested in different aspects of science and that
really encouraged me."
This experience really had an effect on Sophie. "We conceived
and designed our project by ourselves. The whole process allowed me
to discover what researchers must feel as they explore the unknown.
It's a good thing, too, because in college and university, the laboratory
work is all planned. There's nothing to think about and even less
to discover because we know the results ahead of time. It was during
my graduate studies that I rediscovered the joy of the unknown. If
I hadn't experienced the feeling while preparing my Science Fair project,
I never would've believed that it was possible."
A taste for research
Sophie began her university studies at the department of microbiology
and immunology of McGill University in 1982. Three years later, she earned
a B.Sc. "I spent the last eight months of my Bachelor's degree in
the lab. I really enjoyed that!"
She continued her studies at McGill University in the same department.
She completed her M.Sc. in 1987. She changed departments for her Ph.D.,
moving to biochemistry so that she could work with HIV. In 1991, Sophie
completed her Ph.D., but still had a desire to learn. She received
a government scholarship to do postdoctoral research. "The scholarship
was designed to encourage students to leave the country in order to
gain experience elsewhere."
This former Science Fair participant headed for the University of California
at San Francisco, where she studied hepatitis B in the department of microbiology
and immunology. She stayed two and a half years. She then did additional
postdoctoral research at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.
She wanted to learn more about cancer. Her supervisor was Dr. Harold Varmus,
head of the National Institute of Health and a 1989 Nobel Prize winner
for his discovery of oncogenes. Sophie remained there almost two years.
"Dr. Varmus really taught me a lot. He is a very well-balanced
scientist and a tremendous athlete who believes that the brain works
better when the body is in shape. He also knew that he wasn't infallible
and he admitted when he made mistakes. It was a great lesson in humility."
Sophie and the team of researchers were looking for other genes that
played a role in breast cancer. They discovered a receptor that was
overexpressed at the surface of cancerous cells. "The most exciting
part about research is formulating hypotheses and then validating
them. You discover how things work and you realize that the pieces
fit together perfectly. It's simple, yet functional."
Merck Frosst
At the end of her second postdoctoral research position, Sophie
wanted to return to Canada. She sent her resume to several universities
and mentioned her plans to people that she met at various conferences.
Merck Frosst offered her a position in basic medical research. After much
hesitation, having imagined herself in a university setting, Sophie accepted
the offer. "My motivation was to be able to participate in the discovery
of a new drug." She has been working at the Merck Frosst Centre for
Therapeutic Research in Kirkland since December 1995.
After occupying the position of Senior Research Biologist and Research
Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, she
is now a Director in the pharmacology department. She works with a
team of chemists, biologists and pharmacologists. "Teamwork is
extremely important! You can't work on your own; it's important to
establish ties with others and try to work together. Everyone has
a slightly different view of the world!"
Sophie and her team are studying biochemical processes that control the
life and death of human cells. They are currently working on a family
of enzymes, caspases, that cause cell death, and they are examining the
possibility of inhibiting these enzymes in order to prevent the death
of cells that cannot regenerate. "If we could inhibit cell death
in neurons, for example, we could slow or even prevent such neurodegenerative
diseases as Alzheimer's disease," she says, with a twinkle in her
eye.
A project of this magnitude must take place over several years. According
to Sophie, you have to take it one step at a time. "Every month,
we learn something more about the mechanisms that cause cell death. The
small steps are important and they have to be recognized," states
Sophie, who is passionate about her work.
Honours
In addition to having earned several scholarships, Sophie received
a gold medal from the Governor General of Canada. This medal is awarded
to students who receive the highest marks in their institution. That
same year, she also received an award of excellence from the Académie
des Grands Montréalais sponsored by the Montreal Board
of Trade and Bell Canada.
"With this prize, I experienced my fifteen minutes of fame!"
Sophie was invited to attend a gala that brought together 1200 people.
"At the final stage of the competition, I found myself in a small
room with a dozen business men who had no science background and I had
to explain my research to them. I simplified my explanations as much as
possible in an effort to interest them and hold their attention. It was
a little like presenting a project at the Science Fair, where simple explanations
are so important."
During the final year of her Ph.D., Sophie had hypothesized that the mutation
of a tumour-suppressing gene could result in the development of tumours.
Her idea went a long way. After she left, her colleagues at the university
produced successful results and requested a patent. This patent was issued
in September 1997 and includes Sophie's name.
With an article entitled "Apoptosis or Cell Suicide," in
which she popularized the cell death cycle, Sophie was named the 1998
author of the year by the Association canadienne-française
pour l'avancement des sciences. Now in her mid-thirties, Sophie
insists that a career in science ensures that you stay young your
whole life. "There's always something new to learn and discover.
It's a life-long project! A science education can seem long, but I
realized during my Ph.D. that I was doing exactly what I was studying
to do."
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© 2002, Conseil de développement du loisir scientifique
(CDLS). This document is distributed by the Conseil de développement
du loisir scientifique.
For more information, visit our Web site at www.cdls.qc.ca. |
The opinions
expressed in this section are those of the authors and do not
necessarily
reflect the opinions of Merck Frosst or its employees. |
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