Here is the portrait of the recipient of the 2025 Normand-Marceau scholarship, Laurence Carignan, a doctoral student in cellular and molecular biology in the team of Professors François Bordeleau and Stéphane Bolduc. 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.
Laurence was first introduced to the world of research during her bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences at Université Laval, where her internships allowed her to explore several research areas. With a particular interest in oncology and tissue engineering, she then pursued graduate studies under the co-supervision of Dr. François Bordeleau, a specialist in cancer mechanobiology, and Dr. Stéphane Bolduc, an expert in urogenital tissue production.
Her project focuses on optimizing a 3D tissue-engineered model of bladder cancer, composed exclusively of human cells and the extracellular matrix they secrete. In particular, she is interested in cancer cell–derived extracellular vesicles to increase the stiffness of the model, with the goal of more faithfully reproducing the highly rigid environment of human tumors. This model will serve as an innovative and promising tool for fundamental research, clinical research, and personalized medicine. The project advanced throughout her master’s degree and, following an accelerated transition, now forms the core of her doctoral research.
In addition to her main project, Laurence has contributed to several related projects. Notably, she co-led and later took over a project exploring the relationship between the contractile phenotype of bladder cancer cells and their invasive potential. This work paves the way for the development of biomechanical markers capable of assessing tumor aggressiveness.
She is also actively involved in student scientific life as a member of the early-career committee of the Cancer Research Center (CRC), where she contributes to the organization of the 30th Student Scientific Day—an annual event that allows students working in oncology to present the progress of their research. Laurence also demonstrates a strong interest in science communication. She notably won the most recent edition of the CRC science communication competition with her text entitled “Towards a More Realistic 3D Model of Bladder Cancer.”
The quality of her work, her passion for research, and her commitment have earned her numerous distinctions throughout her academic journey, including the Bernard Têtu Master’s Scholarship from the CRC in 2024.