Biography

Title

• Full Professor, Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, University of Montreal

Laboratory

Neurovascular Patterning Lab

Hiring

The lab is regularly hiring M.Sc. and PhD students, as well as postdocs interested in neurovascular biology, single-cell transcriptomics and pediatric cerebrovascular diseases. Please contact: alexandre.dubrac@umontreal.ca

• Postdoctoral fellow in vascular biology, Yale New Haven Heart and Vascular Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, US (2012-2018)
• Postdoctoral fellow tumor angiogenesis, INSERM UMR1037, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France (2009-2011)
• PhD in angiogenèse, INSERM U1029, Université Bordeaux 1, Bordeaux, France (2005-2008)
• MSc in cellular, molecular and developmental biology, INSERM U589, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France (2003-2004)
• BSc in biology, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France (2002)

The laboratory is interested in the molecular mechanisms governing blood vessel morphogenesis in development and vascular diseases. Newly formed blood vessels are composed of endothelial tubes (EC) that migrate, proliferate, and become quiescent. The pericytes, surrounding the blood vessels, are also crucial for vascular quiescence and integrity. Maintaining vascular quiescence is, therefore, essential for human health, and its dysregulation will promote the onset and progression of several vascular diseases, including cancer and retinopathy. We are focusing on two main projects:

1.  TGFβ control of the EC proliferation in proliferative retinopathy. Proliferative retinopathies are currently treated with VEGF neutralizing antibodies, with limited therapeutic success. Therefore, it is crucial to identify new targets that could improve currently available treatments. TGFβ signaling is a significant regulator of the EC proliferation and the retina and brain blood vessels morphogenesis, and we are investigating the underlying mechanisms which are still poorly understood.
2.  Pericyte identity and function in development and proliferative retinopathy. We have recently identified a new pericyte paradigm proliferative retinopathy, whereby pathological pericytes (activated) promote pathological angiogenesis in oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR), a mouse model that mimics some aspects of the retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). The laboratory aims to identify new molecular markers to target activated pericytes in proliferative retinopathy in order to develop new therapeutic strategies.

• Neurovascular interactions
• Brain vascular development
• Endothelial heterogeneity
• Neurovascular niches
• Pediatric cerebrovascular diseases
• Arteriovenous malformations (HHT)
• Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
• Neurovascular repair and regeneration

Career Summary

Dr. Alexandre Dubrac obtained his Ph.D. at Université de Bordeaux I, where he worked with Professor Andreas Bikfalvi on chemokines and tumor angiogenesis. Next, he joined Professor Anne Eichmann's group at the Cardiovascular Research Center at Yale University. As a postdoctoral fellow, he investigated the function of axon guidance regulators in angiogenesis and proliferative retinopathies. Among others, he has demonstrated that Slit2 and Robo1 & 2 are essential for developmental and pathological angiogenesis in the retina. Furthermore, he also studied the endothelial TGFβ/SMAD signaling in the arteriovenous malformations (AVM) of Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasias (HHT). In 2017, he was promoted as Associate Researcher at Yale University. He worked on the endothelial cell-pericyte interaction during the retinal vascular development and proliferative retinopathies. Dr. Dubrac was recruited in 2018 as a P.I. at the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center and as an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Cellular Biology at the University of Montreal.

Awards and Distinctions

• Research scholar (junior 2), FRQS, 2023-2027
• Research scholars (junior 1), FRQS, 2019-2023
• Scientific Development Grant, American Heart Association, 2017-2020
• Co-chair to organize international scientific conferences (Weinstein 2024, angiogenesis symposia)
• Reviewer for CIHR, FRQS, NSERC, ANR, SNSF
• Reviewer for prestigious scientific journals (Nature, NEJM, etc.)
• Keynote speaker at international conferences (EMBO, GRC, HHT, MDC, etc.) 

   

Publications

• The spatiotemporal dynamics of postnatal vascularization in the mouse brain. de Launoit E, Skriabine S, Doumazane E, Bizou M, Pommé R, Lienhard G, Rajot D, Mikhailenko A, Vieites-Prado A, Lannes M, Fabiano N, Mathé L, Cagnone G, Mouton L, Santin MD, Candelier S, Gaspar P, Rousseau CV, Dubrac A*, Renier N*. Cell. 2026 Apr 14:S0092-8674(26)00280-1. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2026.03.013. Online ahead of print. PMID: 4198545
• Mapping neurovascular unit communications reveals distinct angiogenic programs across developing brain regions. Bizou M., et al., Dubrac A. Nature Communications, in press - Specialized endothelial tip cells guide neuroretina vascularization and blood-retina-barrier formation. Zarkada G, Howard JP, Xiao X, Park H, Bizou M, Leclerc S, Künzel SE, Boisseau B, Li J, Cagnone G, Joyal JS, Andelfinger G, Eichmann A, Dubrac A. Dev Cell. 2021 Aug 9;56(15):2237-2251.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2021.06.021. Epub 2021 Jul 16. PMID: 34273276 - Lacteal junction zippering protects against diet-induced obesity. Zhang F, Zarkada G, Han J, Li J, Dubrac A, Ola R, Genet G, Boyé K, Michon P, Künzel SE, Camporez JP, Singh AK, Fong GH, Simons M, Tso P, Fernández-Hernando C, Shulman GI, Sessa WC, Eichmann A. Science. 2018 Aug 10;361(6402):599-603. doi: 10.1126/science.aap9331. PMID: 30093598
• SMAD4 Prevents Flow Induced Arteriovenous Malformations by Inhibiting Casein Kinase 2. Ola R, Künzel SH, Zhang F, Genet G, Chakraborty R, Pibouin-Fragner L, Martin K, Sessa W, Dubrac A*, Eichmann A*. Circulation. 2018 Nov 20;138(21):2379-2394. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.033842. PMID: 29976569
• FGF-dependent metabolic control of vascular development. Yu P, Wilhelm K*, Dubrac A*, Tung JK, Alves TC, Fang JS, Xie Y, Zhu J, Chen Z, De Smet F, Zhang J, Jin SW, Sun L, Sun H, Kibbey RG, Hirschi KK, Hay N, Carmeliet P, Chittenden TW, Eichmann A, Potente M, Simons M. Nature. 2017 May 11;545(7653):224-228. doi: 10.1038/nature22322. Epub 2017 May 3. PMID: 28467822

See all Alexandre Dubrac's publications on PubMed