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Nahum Sonenberg, Ph.D.

Academic title(s): 

Professor/Professeur
James McGill Professor
Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute
Department of Biochemistry
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
McGill University

Nahum Sonenberg, Ph.D.
Contact Information
Address: 

1160 Pine Avenue West
Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A3
Office: Room 615
Lab: Room 611
 

Phone: 
514-398-7274 (Office)
514-398-7275 (Lab)
Fax number: 
514-398-1287
Email address: 
nahum.sonenberg [at] mcgill.ca
Link(s): 
Sonenberg Lab website
Awards, honours, and fellowships: 

Dr. Sonenberg has been recognized at each stage of his scientific career by prizes and salary support awards that recognize his excellence as a cancer researcher.

  1. Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada, Academy of Science since 1992;
  2. Robert L. Noble Prize, National Cancer Institute of Canada, 2002;
  3. Killam Prize for Health Sciences, 2005;
  4. Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2006;
  5. Elected Fellow of The Royal Society of London (UK) since 2006;
  6. Katharine Berkan Judd Award, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 2007;
  7. Gairdner Foundation International Award, 2008;
  8. RiboClub Lifetime Achievement Award, 2009;
  9. Officer of the Order of Canada, 2010;
  10. The Centenary Award, Biochemical Society (UK) Awards, 2011;
  11. The Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Science, Brandeis University, 2012;
  12. Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2012;
  13. Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, Governor General of Canada, 2013;
  14. McLaughlin Medal, The Royal Society of Canada, 2013;
  15. Wolf Prize in Medicine, Wolf Foundation, 2014;
  16. Canadian Cancer Research Alliance (CCRA) Award for Outstanding Achievements in Cancer Research, 2015;
  17. Elected Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), 2015;
  18. Elected International Member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), 2015;
  19. Honorary Doctorate from the Université Laval, 2016;
  20. Leadership Impact Award, Rosalind & Goodman Cancer Research Centre Gala, 2016;
  21. Prix du Québec, prix Wilder-Penfield – Recherche biomédicale, Government of Quebec, 2018
Selected publications: 

Recent publications

 

Current research: 

Nahum Sonenberg’s research focuses on a common aim – to reveal how the central and fundamental process of protein synthesis is controlled in animal cells, and the means by which this control is subverted by pathogens, and in diseases such as cancer, virus infections and neurodevelopmental disorders. There are therapeutic applications to many of his discoveries including novel gene therapy approaches, drug targets for cancer treatment, and antiviral therapeutics. He made important discoveries concerning the basic mechanism and regulation of translation in eukaryotic systems that impact on a large range of biological mechanisms.

Dr. Sonenberg’s cancer related research program:

1) Translational control of cancer:
a) binding to repressor proteins, the eIF4E-binding proteins (4E-BPs)
b) phosphorylation by ERK signalling (MNK1/2)
c) translation regulation by mTORC1.

2) Basic understanding of translation initiation and scanning mechanism.

3) Translation control during viral infection and it’s therapeutic potential.

4) Mechanism of miRNA action in translation and mRNA decay.

5) Translation control during stem cell and pluripotency.

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