Here is the profile of Nicolas Soucy, the recipient of the Alan-Anderson scholarship 2025, Master’s student in Cellular and Molecular Biology under the guidance of Professor Amélie Fradet-Turcotte. The CRC scholarship program is made possible thanks to the funding of our center by Université Laval and Fonds de recherche en cancérologie from Université Laval.
Nicolas Soucy has always been driven by a deep curiosity about the world around him. From an early stage, he was drawn to plants and mycology, which led him to pursue a bachelor’s degree in biology to better understand the complexity of living systems. Throughout his training, he developed a strong interest in molecular biology and genetics—disciplines that revealed to him the fundamental mechanisms of life at the cellular level.
This interest led him to complete an internship in the laboratory of Jacques P. Tremblay, where he contributed to a project based on Prime Editing, a gene-correction technology aimed at repairing DNA mutations responsible for diseases such as muscular dystrophy. Nicolas worked on the development of a delivery system for this therapy by modifying it so it could be encapsulated in extracellular vesicles and transported to target cells within the body.
Nicolas is now pursuing graduate studies in the laboratory of Amélie Fradet-Turcotte, an expert in the cellular response to DNA damage. His research focuses on the role of histone variants in signaling and recruitment of the DNA repair machinery during replicative stress and DNA breaks. He aims to elucidate the impact of dysregulation and mutations of these proteins observed in certain cancers. This project will contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in the DNA damage response and could ultimately open the door to new therapeutic approaches.
In addition to his research activities, Nicolas is actively involved in the Early Career Committee of the Centre de recherche sur le cancer (CR-CRC), where he serves as co-lead for the organization of Zoom on Research. This public outreach initiative aims to make the center’s scientific advances more accessible to the general public while highlighting the work of students.