Transforming Research: Making Room for Excellence

(Photo: Owen Egan)

McGill’s Life Sciences Complex was opened in September 2008, ushering in a new area of collaborative research. Two new buildings – the Cancer Research Building and the Francesco Bellini Life Sciences Building – are now home to 60 principal investigators and 600 researchers.

One of those researchers is Dr. Marc Fabian, a post-doctoral fellow in the Nahum Sonenberg lab of the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Centre. A molecular biologist, Fabian aims to fight cancer by studying the mechanics of microRNAs, a relatively new area of cancer research.

The beautiful new facilities make a big difference to Fabian and others like him. “Before, you’d have separate, closed-door labs,” he explains. “Now, people from different labs are working in close proximity in this new open-concept design. And we have the massive glass windows bringing in a lot of sunlight.”

Fabian did his undergraduate and doctoral work in biochemistry and virology at York University, and came to McGill in 2006 for the chance to work with Dr. Sonenberg. A recipient of the prestigious Tomlinson Fellowship, Fabian says “that support was very special. It allowed me to collaborate with other young scientists from many different disciplines.”

He acknowledges his work may very well take a lifetime, but says: “I love the type of work I do in the lab. And the fact that it’s for this great cause makes it that much more worthwhile.”