Dr. Mélanie Laurin is a regular researcher in the Oncology axis of the CHU of Quebec – Laval University Research Center. She is also an associate professor in the Department of Molecular Biology, Medical Biochemistry and Pathology at Laval University. Her research activities focus on understanding the molecular mechanisms that orchestrate skin embryonic development and how these can contribute when deregulated to skin cancer progression. Throughout her career, Dr. Laurin’s work has been published in prestigious journals. Notably, one of her breakthroughs received a best publication award from the CIHR Institute of Cancer Research and was identified as a Top 10 discoveries funded by the Canadian Cancer Society in 2013. She is currently a Co-chair for the Skin Cancer Working Group of SkIN Canada and an active member of the Training Committee for SkIN Canada.

1. Who has influenced your choice of research field the most? And how? I fell in love with the skin while doing my postdoctoral training at the Rockefeller University in the lab of Dr. Elaine Fuchs, a pioneer of skin stem cell biology. During that time, I realized how powerful the skin was as a model system to address fundamental biology questions. My overarching goal as a scientist is to understand what are the molecular mechanisms that orchestrate tissue development and what happens in adult tissue when these mechanisms are perturbed. The mouse skin is an ideal model to tackle these questions since it is highly available, trackable and we have the unique ability to quickly modify gene function in this tissue, which allows us to test the consequences of these genetic perturbations on the barrier formation.

2. What are the greatest challenges you have faced or are facing in your research area? Unfortunately, like the majority of researchers, funding is a main concern. I am thoroughly grateful for all the opportunities that my team has obtained since the beginning of my career, but the level of funding remains an issue in Canada. This is why I believe that part of our duty as researchers is to share our research with the public into a more impactful message. By doing so, people will become more educated on its importance, and this will eventually translate into a clear message and request to our government to improve funding.

3. What can be done to grow the impact of skin research in Canada? I believe that the Skin Investigation Network of Canada (SkIN Canada) is doing an outstanding job at bringing fundamental and clinician scientists together. I was lucky to be introduced to the network early in my career and my interactions with its members have helped shape my research. I developed several fruitful collaborations. By promoting the network to early career investigators and trainees, and by including them in the skin research community, we will create a collaborative environment that will allow skin research to thrive.

4. If you have worked with patients as part of the research team, what did you learn? If you have not yet, what are you looking forward to learning from patient research partners? I had the opportunity of working with patients’ partner, but also to meet several via my participation to the SkIN Canada training workshops. These exchanges have always been fruitful and enriching. For example, when thinking about the identification of new therapeutics target for the treatment of skin disease, my interaction with patients has really shaped my thinking. I can now appreciate that in addition to finding new targets; we need to ensure that we identify solutions that will be compatible and that will favor patient’s adherence to treatment. Moreover, discussing with patients and partners really force scientists to move away from the usage of scientific jargon and this can only improve our ability to communicate with the public, which is essential as I mentioned earlier.

5. What are the key factors that attract trainees and early career investigators to choose skin research as their field of study? From a developmental biologist point of view, there is so many fundamental biology questions that can be ask when you study the skin. Stem cell biologists will be fascinated by the ability of skin stem cells to balance differentiation and self-renewal throughout our life to renew our barrier and repair wounds. The hair follicle is also the perfect mini organ to study their interaction with their microenvironment. The use of skin stem cells to treat burn patients is also a testament to the power of research in regenerative medicine. I could continue on and on… there is just so many questions and research avenues that can be taken!!!