Biography
Research
Dr. Tommy Alain is a Senior Scientist and the Program Director of the Cancer, Infection and Arthritis Therapeutics Approach at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute. He is also Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Ottawa. His training is in virology, innate immune responses, cell biology, and oncology. He received a BSc (2000) in Biochemistry from Université Laval in Québec City and a PhD (2007) in Medical Science from the University of Calgary. During his Ph.D., Dr. Alain studied the virology and the oncolytic potencies of reovirus, vesicular stomatitis virus, herpes simplex virus and myxoma virus against brain cancers. From 2007 to 2013, he then pursued post-doctoral work at McGill University studying mRNA translation control and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway, linking both viral immunity and oncology research. His research program at the CHEO Research Institute and the University of Ottawa focuses on developing novel immunotherapeutic approaches and exploiting mRNA translation control to modulate innate immune responses to viruses and augment the efficacies of cancer therapeutics.
Selected Publications
• Song KH, Xiang X, Lee SH, Woo JK, Enkhtaivan G, Giraldo CR, Lee YR, Jeong YJ, Pashangzadeh S, Sharifi N, Yang AD, Hoang HD, Cho NH, Lee YS, Park DG, Alain T. The reovirus variant RP116 demonstrates oncolytic efficacy in immunocompetent models and generates reduced neutralizing antibodies to Type 3 Dearing. Mol Ther Onco. 2024 Jun 29;32(3):200846.
• Kurmasheva N, Said A, Wong B, Kinderman P, Han X, Rahimic HF, Kress A, Liu Z, Wang C, Carter-Timofte M, Holm E, van der Horst D, Kollmann CH, Liu Z, Wang C, Hoang HD, Kovalenko E, Chrysopoulou M, Twayana KS, Ottosen RN, Svenningsen EB, Begnini F, Kiib AE, Weiss H, Di Carlo D, Muscolini M, Higgins M, Kinderman P, van der Heijden M, Bardoul A, Tong T, Ozsvar A, Hou WH, Schack V, Holm CK, van Grevenynghe J, van Montfoort N, Kalucka J, de la Vega L, Elghaer WA, Korshoj AR, Lin R, Hiscott J, Poulsen TB, O’Neill LA, Roy DG, Rinschen MM, van Montfoort N, Diallo JS, Farin H, Alain T, Olagnier D. Octyl-Itaconate enhances VSV51M oncolytic virotherapy via targeted inhibition of antiviral and inflammatory pathways. Nat Commun 2024 May 15;15(1):4096.
• Said A, Hoang HD, Earl N, Xiang X, Siddiqui N, Côté M, Alain T. High-pressure delivery of oncolytic virus via needle-free injection preserves oncolytic activity in mouse tumour model. Cancers 2023 Nov 30;15(23):5655.
• Hoang HD, Said A, Vaidya N, Gilchrist V, Malone K, Kabilan U, Topshee S, Xiang X, Yang AD, Mossman K, Olagnier D, Beug ST, Workenhe ST, Graber TE, Alain T. Adaptation of mRNA translation boosts transgene expression and the anticancer efficacy of oncolytic HSV1. Journal of Immunother Cancer. 2023 Mar;11(3):e006408.
• Tamaddondoust RN, Wang Y, Jafarnejad SM, Graber TE, Alain T. The highs and lows of ionizing radiation and its effects on protein synthesis. Cell Signal. 2021 Oct15:110169.
• Jia JJ, Larh RM, Solgaard MT, Moraes BJ, Pointet R, Yang AD, Celluci G, Graber TE, Hoang HD, Niklaus MR, Pena IA, Hollensen AK, Smith EM, Chaker-Margot M, Anton L, Dajadian C, Livingstone M, Hearnden J, Wang XD, Yu Y, Maier T, Damgaard CK*, Berman AJ*, Alain T, Fonseca BD. mTORC1 promotes TOP mRNA translation through site-specific phosphorylation of LARP1. Nucleic Acid Research 2021 Jan 4:gkaa1239.
• Hoang HD, Graber TE, Jia JJ, Vaidya N, Gilchrist VH, Xiang X, Li W, Cowan KN, Gkogkas CG, Jaramillo M, Jafarnejad M, Alain T. Induction of an alternative 5’ leader enhances translation of the ciliopathy gene Inpp5e and resistance to oncolytic virus infection. Cell Reports 2019 Dec 17;29(12):4010-4023.