Here is the portrait of the recipient of the 2025 Bernard-Têtu scholarship, Arnaud Driussi, a doctoral student in molecular medicine in Dr. Philippe Joubert's team. The CRC scholarship program is made possible thanks to the funding of our centre by Université Laval as well as the support of the Cancer Research Fund of Université Laval.
Arnaud Driussi is currently a doctoral student in the laboratory of Prof. Philippe Joubert, a recognized pathologist at the Quebec Heart and Lung Institute (IUCPQ). After acquiring a solid engineering background at the École Polytechnique Universitaire de Marseille and completing a Master's degree specialized in oncology at the University of Aix-Marseille, Arnaud continued to enrich his academic career by completing an internship in a pharmaceutical company developing an immunotherapy, then a master's degree at Université Laval in the laboratory of Prof. Solange Landreville.
During his career, he has developed expertise in oncology, immunology, histology image analysis and big data processing. His PhD project focuses on studying the relationship between phenotypic characteristics of tumor cells and tumor cell composition, using state-of-the-art technologies to extract and analyze detailed information about cell identity, location, and interactions. The phenotypic characteristics that Arnaud is studying (stemlike cancer, epithelial–mesenchymal transition) are associated with resistance to certain treatments and the ability of cells to move, associated with the risk of metastases.
Arnaud is deeply involved in the scientific life of the CRC. He was treasurer and organizer of the student committee's social activities from 2022 to 2023, and is currently responsible for the social activities of the CRC’s comité relève (since 2024) as well as a site representative at the IUCPQ for the past three years. He was also responsible for the guest speaker for the Student Science Day 2025. His involvement extends beyond the CRC to other associations such as the Association of Student Researchers at the Faculty of Medicine (Association des Chercheuses et Chercheurs Étudiant à la Faculté de Médecine, ACCEM), in which he was vice-president of internal affairs, or the Office of Student Life (Bureau de la vie étudiant, BVE) and the Office of Respect for the Person in which he volunteers.