The general public has discovered the role of ribonucleic acid (RNA) in COVID-19 vaccines and PCR tests, but researcher Jonathan Perreault is working on the immense potential that remains to be exploited with this genetic fingerprint. . It works to establish new means of diagnosing diseases whose detection remains complex and costly for the time being.
Posted yesterday at 5:00 p.m.
It was almost by chance that Jonathan Perreault got into RNA research. As a bachelor’s student at the University of Sherbrooke, he wanted to continue his studies by focusing on research. It is the visit to a laboratory that will be decisive: that of Jean-Pierre Perreault, unrelated to him, one of the pioneers of research on the properties of RNA molecules.
His career in the world of RNA led Jonathan Perreault to the laboratories of Yale University for his postdoctoral internship, before taking up a professorship at the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS) in Laval. . Faced with the potential offered by RNA, the researcher admits to being spoiled for choice. “There are so many things to do! says the man who is now director of his laboratory at INRS. “The challenge is to choose what we are going to work on. »
Facilitate diagnostics
His choice, he focused on the regulation of genes by non-coding RNAs in bacteria. Clearly, this consists of developing biosensors to help establish diagnoses. “These are new approaches that make it possible to detect pathogens more efficiently,” explains the associate professor.
Very little is yet known about the full potential of RNA. We are only at the tip of the iceberg. It’s a fantastic area!
Jonathan Perreault, professor at the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS)
The researcher uses the properties of RNA to detect the characteristic sequences of a target. “These biosensors allow detection without going through an analysis laboratory”, illustrates Jonathan Perreault. Although his laboratory has filed patent applications, his biosensors have not reached the market. But demand has exploded in recent years. And the potential of RNA opens up great prospects for facilitating the establishment of rapid and inexpensive diagnostics, compared to what is practiced today.
Some of his work, in collaboration with Concordia University and McGill University, has made it possible to target RNAs responsible for hereditary diseases. “We have results in hand, but which have not yet been published in specific articles”, specifies Jonathan Perreault.
In his laboratory, fundamental research and applied research work side by side. “The challenge is to go from carrying out a laboratory test, under controlled conditions, to a standardized product that works in the hands of a non-professional”, underlines the laboratory director, inexhaustible as soon as he it’s about talking about the potential of RNA. “Having an idea is one thing, but even if it’s good, it has to be applicable in real life and with more advantageous characteristics than what already exists. Otherwise, there is no reason for people to change their habits for what they are offered. »