Alejandro Alvarez-Quilon
Montreal
Summary
Accomplished scientist with over 14 years of experience in academic and industry settings, driven by a deep passion for uncovering the link between genome integrity and human disease, and leveraging this insight to develop innovative clinical therapies. Proven leadership in managing and mentoring scientific teams, with a strong emphasis on fostering collaboration and growth. Expertise spans the conception and execution of groundbreaking projects in functional genomics, target discovery, cancer biology, DNA damage and repair, genome instability, drug discovery, and genome engineering.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Investigator (SNIPRx© Discovery Platform)
Repare Therapeutics
07.2021 - Current
- Lead a research team of 7 scientists focused on discovering and validating novel targets for precision oncology. Developed a high-performing team through mentorship, emphasizing scientific rigor, open communication, and empowering team members to take ownership of organizational goals.
- Spearheaded the successful integration of cutting-edge functional genomics techniques (dual sgRNA CRISPR screening, Base Editing, Prime Editing, saturation mutagenesis) to drive all stages of drug discovery—from target identification and validation to preclinical and clinical support, including predictive biomarker discovery, analysis of pathogenic mutations, resistance mechanisms, and drug-target interactions.
- Coordinate cross-functional communication within a matrix organizational structure, linking the Discovery Platform with Cancer Biology, Drug Discovery and Clinical/Translational departments.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Daniel Durocher Lab. Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute
03.2017 - 06.2021
- Implementation of a functional genomic screening platform for the study of DNA damage and repair mechanisms and synthetic lethality
- Executed more than 10 genome scale CRISPR-screens and led collaborations that resulted in 8 scientific publications in top-tier international scientific journals
- Exploiting vulnerabilities for BRCA1 and BRCA2 HR-deficiency in cancer
- Understanding the interplay between cytosine demethylation, genome integrity and DNA repair
- Probing the interaction between genome stability and innate immunity.
PhD researcher
Dr. Felipe Cortes-Ledesma Lab. CABIMER/University of Sevilla
09.2011 - 02.2017
- Study of the role of ATM and TDP2 in the repair of Topoisomerase-mediated DNA damage as a potential cause for cancer and human genetic syndromes
- Resulted in 4 scientific publications.
Education
Ph.D. - Molecular Biology And Biomedicine
University of Sevilla
Sevilla, Spain03.2017
Master of Science - Molecular Genetics And Biotechnology
University of Sevilla
Sevilla, Spain09.2012
Skills
- Mentorship, leadership and management
- Professional development planning of team members
- Strategic planning and critical thinking with a sense of urgency and prioritization
- Technical skills in functional genomics, cellular and molecular biology and drug discovery
- Leading research projects with precise planning and on-time delivery
- Decision making and advise based on experience
Key contributions
- Led a team in executing target identification, patient population expansion, and small molecule inhibitor repurposing campaigns to uncover novel opportunities in precision oncology. Successfully completed 5 target identification campaigns utilizing CRISPR screening in both solid tumors and hematological cancers, and conducted 7 drug repurposing campaigns that informed key strategic decisions over the past 3 years.
- Spearheaded the innovative implementation of the SNIPRx-scan Base Editing program for high-throughput interrogation of protein variants and predictive biomarkers in cancer therapy at Repare Therapeutics.
- Coordinated collaborations with internal and external partners to drive innovative solutions. Fostered relationships with external Key Option Leaders (KOLs) for the implementation of novel functional genomics technologies (Base Editing and Prime Editing).
- Founder and organizer of the Annual International Bellairs Research Workshop on Genome Engineering and Repair.
- Invited consultant for synthetic lethality at Bristol-Myers Squibbs (BMS) in August 2023.
- Panelist in the DepMap Consortium Symposium 2022.
- Led (3) and collaborated in (9) top-tier scientific publications - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Alvarez-Quilon+A&sort=date
Awards and fellowships
- International PhD with Cum Laude Honor Mention and awarded by the Extraordinary Doctoral Distinction in Science, University of Sevilla, 2016/2017
- Long-term Postdoctoral Fellowship, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), 2017
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), 2018/2019
- David McColm Cancer Award, Mount Sinai Hospital, 2017
Languages
English
Spanish
Timeline
Senior Investigator (SNIPRx© Discovery Platform)
Repare Therapeutics
07.2021 - Current
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Daniel Durocher Lab. Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute
03.2017 - 06.2021
PhD researcher
Dr. Felipe Cortes-Ledesma Lab. CABIMER/University of Sevilla
09.2011 - 02.2017
Ph.D. - Molecular Biology And Biomedicine
University of Sevilla
Master of Science - Molecular Genetics And Biotechnology
University of Sevilla
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