Pathology Scientific Lecture Series-X marks the spot by Dr. Léon C.L.T. van Kempen,

                   X marks the spot

  When:  May 15, 2017 12:00 to 13;00
Where:  MUHC Glen Site Room EM 13509
Also available at Duff Medical Building Room 112

Léon C.L.T. van Kempen, PhD
Assistant Professor Department of, Pathology, McGill University, Montreal, QC
Chief Operating Officer, Molecular Pathology Center,
Jewish General Hospital
Clinical Molecular Biologist, Department of Pathology, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands

Gender is a main prognostic factor for different cancer types, including melanoma, but the underpinning molecular mechanism is poorly understood. A recent break-through was made with our discovery that the X-chromosome status is critical for the expression of a novel gonosomal melanoma tumor suppressor gene, i.e. PR70 (Science TM, 2016).  In this lecture, I will describe how expression of X-linked genes can be deregulated in melanoma, how loss of PR70 activity contributes to melanoma progression, and novel approaches to identify and target PR70-regulated proteins as means to develop the prognostic biomarker value of PR70 into a predictive biomarker for novel treatment options that are not limited to melanoma.

Dr. Léon C. van Kempen studied molecular biology and biochemistry at the Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands. As part of his PhD program, he elected for a 1 year training in melanoma molecular biology at the Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, and obtained his PhD cum laude in 2001. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California in San Francisco focused on the of the microenvironment in cancer, he returned to the department of Pathology at the University Medical and was appointed associate professor in 2008 with research topics in melanoma, vulvar carcinoma and head and neck cancers.  In 2010, he was recruited to McGill’s department of Pathology to co-develop a research program in melanoma and help build the Molecular Pathology Center (MPC) at the Jewish General Hospital.  He is the MPC’s chief operating officer since its opening in 2013. In 2017, Dr. van Kempen was appointed assistant professor at McGill’s department of Pathology, and also holds a position as clinical molecular biologist in pathology at the University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands.