Frédérique Tesson

Frédérique Tesson is a molecular geneticist and professor. She teaches in the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences in the Faculty of Health Sciences and is cross appointed to the Faculty of Medicine. Before joining the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2009, she worked at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and at the Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière in Paris, France. She also studied and completed her Ph.D. of sciences in Paris.

Her research is focused on the contribution of the genome in the development of heart disease, as well as the analysis of the interactions between the genome and the environment as risk factors for cardiovascular illnesses. Presently her research, conducted in collaboration with Canadian and international researchers and clinicians, relates to the following:

• The study of genetic and molecular mechanisms that lead to heart failure.
• The study of genetic and molecular mechanisms involved in weight loss due to poor calorie intake or an exercise program.
• The study of the contribution of the genome in high-blood pressure linked to sodium consumption.

Her lab is located near the University of Ottawa’s Roger Guindon Hall. Her team comprises a research co-ordinator (who spearheads the recruitment campaigns for patients and their families), a lab technician, postdoctoral fellows, as well as students from both undergraduate and graduate levels. Her research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the University of Ottawa.

She is a member of the evaluation committee for CIHR and the Fonds de la recherche en Santé du Québec.

Studies of genetic and molecular mechanisms leading to heart failure:

• Sylvius N., Bilinska Z.T., Veinot J.P., Fidzianska A., Bolongo P.M., Poon S., McKeown P., Davies R.A., Chan K.L., Tang A.S.L., Dyack S., Grzybowski J., Ruzyllo W., McBride H., Tesson F. In vivo and in vitro Examination of the Functional Significances of Novel Lamin Gene Mutations in Heart Failure Patients. J. Med. Genet 42 (2005) 634-642.
• Sylvius N., Tesson F. Lamin A/C and Cardiac Diseases. Curr. Opin. Cardiol. 21 (2006) 159-165.
• Gollob M.H., Jones D.L., Krahn A.D., Danis L., Gong X.-Q., Shao Q., Liu X., Veinot J.P., Tang A.S.L., Stewart A., Tesson F., Klein G.J., Yee R., Skanes A.C., Guiraudon G.M., Ebihara L., Bai D. Somatic mutations in the Connexin 40 Gene (GJA5) in Atrial Fibrillation. N. Engl. J. Med. 354 (2006) 2677-2688.
• Bilińska Z.T., Sylvius N., Grzybowski J., Fidziańska A., Michalak E., Walczak E., Walski M., Bieganowska K., Szymaniak E, Kuśmierczyk-Droszcz B., Lubiszewska B., Wagner T., Tesson F., Rużyłło W. Dilated cardiomyopathy caused by LMNA mutations. Clinical and morphological studies. Polish Heart Journal 64 (2006) 812-818; discussion 820-821.
• Fidziańska A, Bilińska Z.T., Tesson F., Wagner T, Walski M., Grzybowski J., Rużyłło W., Hausmanowa-Petrusewicz I. Obliteration of cardiomyocyte nuclear architecture in a patient with LMNA gene mutation. J. Neurol. Sci. 271 (2008) 91-96. Epub 2008 May 27.
• Sylvius N., Hathaway A., Boudreau E., Gupta P., Labib S., Bolongo P.M., Rippstein P., McBride H., Bilinska Z.T., Tesson F. Specific contribution of lamin A and lamin C in the development of laminopathies. Exp. Cell Res. 314 (2008) 2362-2375. Epub 2008 May 10
• Paczkowska A., Szperl M., Malek L., Mazurkiewicz L., Skora E., Grzybowski J., Roszczynko M., Bilinska Z.T., Tesson F., Ruzyllo W. Polymorphisms of the beta-1 and beta-2 adrenergic receptors in Polish patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Polish Heart Journal 67 (2009) 235-41.
• Gupta P., Bilinska Z.T., Sylvius N., Boudreau E., Veinot J.P., Labib S., Bolongo P.M., Hamza A., Jackson T., Ploski R., Walski M., Grzybowski J., Walczak E., Religa G., Fidzianska A., Tesson F. Genetic and Ultrastructural Studies in Dilated Cardiomyopathy patients: a Large Deletion in the Lamin A/C Gene is Associated with Cardiomyocyte Nuclear Envelope Disruption. Basic Res. Cardiol. In Press

Studies of genetic and molecular mechanisms involved in weight loss due to poor calorie intake or an exercise program:

• Adamo K.B., Sigal R.J., Williams K., Kenny G., Prud’homme D., Tesson F. Influence of Pro12Ala PPARγ2 Polymorphism on Glucose Response to Exercise Training in Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetologia 48 (2005) 1503-1509. Epub 2005 Jun 29.
• Adamo K.B., Tesson F. Genotype-specific weight loss treatment advice: how close are we? Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 32 (2007) 351-366.
• Adamo K.B., Dent R., Langefeld C.D., Cox M., Williams K., Carrick K.M., Stuart J.S., Sundseth S.S., Harper M.E., McPherson R., Tesson F. Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor gamma 2 and Acyl-CoA Synthetase 5 Polymorphisms Influence Diet Responsenorth_eastexternal link. Obesity 15 (2007) 1068-1075.
• Adamo K., Tesson F. Gene-environment interaction and the metabolic syndrome. Novartis Found Symp. 293 (2008) 103-119; discussion 119-127.
• Teng A.C.T., Adamo K., Tesson F., Stewart A.F.R. Functional characterization of a promoter polymorphism that drives ACSL5 gene expression in skeletal muscle and associates with diet-induced weight loss. FASEB J. 23 (2009) 1705-09. Epub ahead of print. Feb. 13

Studies of the contribution of the genome in high-blood pressure linked to sodium consumption:

• Tesson F., Leenen F.H.H. Still building on candidate-gene strategy in hypertension? Hypertension 50 (2007) 607-608. Epub 2007 Aug 20.
• Shehata M.F., Leenen F.H.H., Tesson F. Sequence Analysis of Coding and 3’ and 5’ Flanking Regions of the Epithelial Sodium Channel α, β, & γ Genes in Dahl S versus R rats. BMC Genetics 8 (2007) 35. Epub ahead of print.