Gustavo Turecki

Gustavo Turecki, MD, PhD (born May 11, 1965) is an award-winning Canadian psychiatrist and professor at McGill University. He is a William Dawson Scholar and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry,^[1] and works at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, where he heads both the McGill Group for Suicide Studies^[2] and the Depressive Disorders Program. He is also the director of the FRQS Quebec Network on Suicide, Mood Disorders and Related Disorders,^[3] and the co-director of the Douglas Bell-Canada Brain Bank.^[4]

As a clinician and neuroscientist, his research focuses on examining the influence of life experiences on brain function, and their relationship to depression and suicide risk. Among his major contributions, published in more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters,^[5] is the first description of the long-term impact of childhood abuse on the brain, particularly how it affects the activity of key genes involved in stress-response.

Scientific contributions

Turecki’s neurobiological work has focused strongly on the processes underlying depression and suicide. A defining moment in his career came from a collaboration with Michael Meaney and Moshe Szyf, in which they uncovered that early-life adversity epigenetically regulates the glucocorticoid receptor gene, a key component of response to stress.^[6] This groundbreaking study helped to reconcile the longstanding debate about the relative influences of genes and environment on behaviour (‘nature vs. nurture’ debate), and garnered international attention, leading to Turecki’s selection as the scientist of the year by Radio Canada/Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 2009, along with Meaney and Szyf. Turecki’s further research on the human brain explored the epigenetic control of genes related to stress-response systems, such as the hypothalamus- pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, particularly in association with childhood abuse and suicide.^[7][8] The promising results obtained in studying the epigenetic control of the HPA axis prompted Turecki to study the role of epigenetics in another pathway, the polyamine stress response, which his team had already shown to be linked to suicide risk.^[9] More recently, and in parallel to the classic epigenetic studies focusing on DNA and histone methylation, Turecki’s focus has expanded to non-coding RNAs and their involvement in depression and suicide,^[10] as well as in response to antidepressants.^[11]

Turecki also conducts work aiming at refining the depression and suicide phenotype. His clinical work focuses on depression. He leads the Depressive Disorders Program, a clinical group that treats patients affected with major depression and integrates research projects into clinical practice. Two key aspects of this work are exploring how impulsive-aggressive behaviours contribute to suicide risk,^[12] and implementing novel protocols and standards in the field.

Turecki’s ongoing research endeavours have a strong impact on international neuropsychiatric research. His clinical intervention protocols have helped to improve patient care, and his laboratory has become an international leader in the investigation of the neurobiology of suicide, focusing on functional genomics, epigenetics and other molecular factors. His contributions in creating and managing the Suicide Brain Bank within the Douglas Bell-Canada Brain Bank^[13] has allowed researchers from around the world to access unique and valuable human tissues.

Recognition of work

Turecki is currently an FRQS Chercheur National.^[14] His contributions have also been recognized through numerous prizes and awards.

• 2005 William Dawson Chair, McGill University^[15]
• 2009 Scientist of the year Award, Radio Canada/CBC,^[16][17]
• 2009 Top 10 findings of the year, Quebec Science^[18]
• 2010 Brickell Visiting Professor Award, Columbia University
• 2010 Celebrity of the Week, La Presse^[17]
• 2011 Feinberg lecture, Tel Aviv University
• 2012 Heinz Lehmann Award, CCNP^[19]
• 2012 Research Career Award, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention^[20]
• 2014 Samarthji Lal Award, Graham Boeck Foundation & CIHR-INMHA^[21]
• 2014 Top 10 findings of the year, Québec Science^[22]
• 2015 Joel Elkes Award for Clinical Research, ACNP^[23]
• 2016 ACFAS Léo-Pariseau prize View ACFAS website

Selected publications

Neurobiology studies

• McGowan P, Sasaki A, D’Alessio ACD, Dymov S, Labonté B, Szyf M, Turecki G, Meaney M. Epigenetic regulation of the glucocorticoid receptor in human brain associates with childhood abuse. Nat Neurosci 2009;12(3):342-8.
• Turecki G, Ernst C, Jollant F, Labonté B, Mechawar N. The neurodevelopmental origins of suicidal behavior. Trends Neurosci 2012;35(1):14-23.
• Labonté B, Suderman M, Maussion G, Lopez JP, Navarro-Sánchez L, Yerko V, Mechawar N, Szyf M, Meaney MJ, Turecki G. Genome-wide methylation changes in the brains of suicide completers. Am J Psychiatry 2013;170(5):511-20. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2012.12050627.
• Nagy C, Suderman M, Yang J, Szyf M, Mechawar N, Ernst C, Turecki G. Astrocytic abnormalities and global DNA methylation patterns in depression and suicide. Mol Psychiatry 2014 Mar 25. doi: 10.1038/mp.2014.21. [Epub ahead of print]
• Lopez JP, Lim R, Cruceanu C, Crapper L, Fasano C, Labonte B, Maussion G, Yang JP, Yerko V, Vigneault E, El Mestikawy S, Mechawar N, Pavlidis P, Turecki G. miR-1202 is a primate-specific and brain-enriched microRNA involved in major depression and antidepressant treatment. Nat Med 2014 Jul;20(7):764-8. doi:10.1038/nm.3582. PMID 24908571
• Turecki G. The molecular bases of the suicidal brain. Nat Rev Neurosci 2014;15 (12):802-16. doi:10.1038/nrn3839. PMID 25354482
• Brent DA, Turecki G. Suicide and suicidal behaviour. The Lancet 2015 Sep 15. PMID 26385066

Clinical and behavioural studies of depression and suicide

• Dumais A, Seguin M, Lalovic A, Lesage A, Chawky N, Roy M, Benkelfat C, Turecki G. Behavioral risk factors for suicide in major depression. Am J Psychiatry 2005;162:2116-24.
• Brezo J, Bureau A, Mérette C, Jomphe V, Barker ED, Vitaro F, Hébert M, Carbonneau R, Tremblay RE, Turecki G. (2009) Differences and similarities in the serotonergic diathesis for suicide attempts and mood disorders: A 22-year longitudinal gene-environment study. Mol Psychiatry 2009;15(8):831-43. doi: 10.1038/mp.2009.19.
• McGirr, A, Alda M, Séguin M, Cabot S, Lesage A, Turecki G. Familial aggregation of suicide is explained by cluster B traits: A three-group family study of suicide controlling for major depressive disorder. Am J Psychiatry 2009;166(10):1124-34.
• Dalca IM, McGirr A, Renaud J, Turecki G. Gender-specific suicide risk factors: A case-control study of individuals with major depressive disorder. J Clin Psychiatry 2013;74:1209-1216.

See also

• Child abuse
• Douglas Mental Health University Institute
• Depression (mood)
• Epigenetics
• Glucocorticoid receptor
• Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis
• Mood disorder
• McGill University
• Suicide

References

External links

• McGill Group for Suicide Studies
• Depressive Disorders Program
• Douglas Mental Health University Institute faculty page
• McGill faculty page
• Department of Psychiatry – Research, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University
• Douglas Bell-Canada Brain Bank
• Celebrity of the week interview (French)
• Scientifique de l’année, Découverte – Radio Canada; January 26, 2010
• PubMed Search
• Google Scholar Profile