Researcher

Title

• Full Clinical Professor, Allergy-Immunology-Rheumatology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Université de Montréal.
• Clinician Scientist, Centre de recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine.

• PhD (Immunology), Pasteur Institute, Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), Paris, 2006-2010.
• Master’s (Immunology), Faculty of Medicine, Necker Hospital for Sick Children, UPMC, Paris, 2004-2005.
• Clinical Fellowship in Pediatric Immunology and Rheumatology, Necker Hospital for Sick Children, Paris, 2003-2005.
• Specialized Studies Diploma in Pediatrics, University of Montreal, 1999-2003.
• MD, McGill University, 1994-1999.

As a Clinician Scientist in Pediatric Immunology, the primary focus of my research is to better understand the role of cytokines in the differentiation of CD8 T cells in health and disease, and to develop novel immunotherapeutic approaches that target cytokine-dependent pathways and inhibitory receptors expressed on CD8 T cells, to cure chronic viral infections and cancer. Supported by both national (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, National Institute of Health) and private (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada, Canadian Cancer Society/Cole Foundation, Charles Bruneau Foundation) funding agencies, my laboratory has established a solid expertise in the field of T cell exhaustion, a differentiation pathway that precludes memory T cell development and limits optimal T effector cell functions. We are particularly involved in identifying the cytokine-dependent signaling pathways and transcription factors regulating T cell exhaustion during disease. We further aim to develop novel combined immunotherapeutic approaches that target inhibitory receptors and signaling pathways, to improve cure rates in cancer refractory patients. Finally, we developed a particular expertise in the immune reconstitution of severe combined immunodeficiency patients treated by stem cell transplantation, with the goal to inform on the best therapeutic approaches to transplant these patients. 

In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, my laboratory has developed expertise to study the response of T lymphocytes to Sars-CoV-2, its variants and in response to vaccination. I am involved in the Canadian response to the pandemic, advising the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) leadership on immune science priorities related to the COVID-19 pandemic and working into harmonizing and providing cell-mediated immune assays across funded Canadian COVID-19 seroprevalence studies.  My laboratory is supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the National Health Institute (NIH, USA), the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Quebec Research Fund, the Canadian Cancer Society and of the Cole Foundation.

Awards and Distinctions

• Excellence Prize in Research Senior, University of Montreal, Department of Pediatrics, 2023. 
• Fellow-in-CIS, Clinical Immunology Society, 2023.CIHR-CEPI Leadership Award for Excellence in Vaccine Research for Infectious Disease of Epidemic Potential, 2022-2024
• Clinical Research Scholar Junior 2 Award, Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRSQ), 2017-2021
• American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Careers in Immunology Fellowship, 2015
• Clinical Research Scholar Junior 1 Award, Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRSQ), 2012-2016
• Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Career Development Award (CCHCSP), 2011-2015
• Cole Foundation Transition Award, 2011-2014
• Research Award, Canadian Louis Pasteur Foundation, 2008-2010
• Doctorate Award, Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRSQ), 2008-2009
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Industry Partnered Award, 2006-2008
• Junior Research Fellowship Award, Association de Recherche sur le Cancer, 2006

Presentations

French only

Publications

1. Nantel S, Arnold C, Bhatt M, Galipeau Y, Bourdin B, Bowes J, Zemek RL, Langlois MA, Quach C, Decaluwe H*, Pham-Huy A*. T cell immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 in children are lower than in adults and similar to common cold seasonal coronaviruses. Pediatric Research. 2025. Accepted.
2. Shourian M, Bourdin B, Hachem N, Ruisseaux C, Vallée A, Roméro H, Kwarteng E, Haddad E, Lavallée VP, Beltra JC, Decaluwe H*. IL2Rß-STAT5 signaling limits CD8+ T-cell exhaustion and potentiates anti-tumor cell therapies. JITC. 2025. Submitted.
3. Kovalchik KA, Hamelin DJ,  Kubiniok P, Bourdin B, Mostefai F, Poujol R, Paré B, Simpson SM, Sidney J, Bonneil E, Courcelles M, Saini SK, Kapoor S, Weitzen M, Grenier JC, Gharsallaoui B, Maréchal L, Wu Z, Savoie C, Sette A, Thibault P, Sirois I, Smith M, Decaluwe H, Hussin J, Lavallée-Adam JM, Caron E. Machine learning-enhanced immunopeptidomics applied to T-cell epitope discoveryfor COVID-19 vaccines. Nat. Commun. 2024. 15, 10316.
4. Maggiorani D, Le O, Lisi V, Landais S, Moquin-Beaudry G, Lavallée VP, Decaluwe H, Beauséjour C. Senescence drives immunotherapy resistance by inducing an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Nat. Commun. 2024 Mar 18;15(1):2435.
5. Nantel S, Sheikh-Mohamed S, Chao GYC, Kurtesi A, Hu Q, Wood H, Colwill K, Li Z, Liu Y, Seifried L, Bourdin B, McGeer A, Hardy WR, Rojas OL, Al-Aubodah TA, Liu Z, Ostrowski MA, Brockman MA, Piccirillo CA, Quach C, Rini JM, Gingras AC, Decaluwe H*, Gommerman JL*. Comparison of Omicron breakthrough infection versus monovalent SARS-CoV-2 intramuscular booster reveals differences in mucosal and systemic humoral immunity. Mucosal Immunol. 2024 Apr;17(2):201-210. 
6. Beltra JC, Abdel-Hakeem MS, Manne S, Zhang Z, Huang H, Kurachi M, Su L, Picton L, Ngiow SF, Muroyama Y, Casella V, Huang YJ, Giles JR, Mathew D, Belman J, Klapholz M, Decaluwe H, Huang AC, Berger SL, Garcia KC, Wherry EJ. Stat5 antagonizes Tox and CD8 T cell exhaustion to foster a durable effector-like state during chronic antigen exposure. Immunity. 2023 Dec 12;56(12):2699-2718.e11.
7. Joly JA, Vallée A, Bourdin B, Bourbonnais S, Patey N, Gaboury L, Théorêt Y, Decaluwe H*. Combined IFNg and JAK inhibition to treat hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in mice. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2023; 151(1):247-259.e7.
8. Labrosse R, Boufaied I, Bourdin B, Gona S, Randolph H, Logan BR, Bourbonnais S, Berthe C, Chan W, Buckley RH, Parrott RE, De Cuvelier G, Kapoor N,Chandra S, Davila-Saldana B, Eissa H, Goldman FD, Heimall J, O’Reilly R, Chaudhury S, Kolb E, Shenoy S, Griffith LM, Pulsipher M, Kohn DB, Notarangelo L, Pai SY, Cowan MJ, Dvorak CC, Haddad E, Puck JM, Barreiro LB, Decaluwe H*. Aberrant T cell activation and exhaustion in SCID survivors with poor T-cell reconstitution post-transplant. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2023; 151(1):260-271.
9. Thakar M, Logan BR, Puck JM, Dunn EA, Buckley RH, Cowan MJ, O'Reilly RJ, Kapoor N, Forbes Satter L, Pai SU, Heimall J, Chandra S, Ebens CL, Chellapandian D, Williams O, Burroughs LM, Rayes A, Davila Saldana BJ, Madden LM, Chandrakasan S, Bednarski JJ, DeSantes KB, Cuvelier GDE, Teira P, MD, Gillio AP, Eissa H, Knutsen AP, Goldman FD, Aquino VM, Moore TB, Shereck EB, Caywood EH, VanderLugt MT, Rozmus J, Broglie L, Yu LC, Shah AJ, Andolina JR, Liu X, Parrott RE, Dara J, Prockop S, Martinez CA, Kapadia M, Jyonouchi SC, Sullivan KE, Bleesing JJ, Chaudhury S, Petrovic A, Keller MD, Quigg TC, Parikh S, Shenoy S, Decaluwe H, Routes JM, Torgerson TR, Leiding JW, Pulsipher MA, Kohn DB, Griffith LM, Haddad E, Dvorak CC, Notarangelo LD. Measuring the impact of newborn screening on survival after hematopoietic cell transplantation for severe combined immunodeficiency: a 36-year longitudinal study from the Primary Immune Deficiency Treatment Consortium. Lancet. 2023; 402(10396):129-140
10. Alcantara LCJ, Amenga-Etego L, Andersson R, Bhaumik M, Choi YK, Decaluwe H, Geoghegan J, Haagmans BL, López S, Mukhtar MM, Nelwan E, Rahal EA, Sato K, Sklan EH, Fang YSC. Methods for fighting emerging pathogens. Nat Methods. 2022; 19(4):395-397