Thomas Durcan

Director, The Neuro’s Early Drug Discovery Unit (EDDU)

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

About

Director of The Neuro's Early Drug Discovery Unit, partnering with researchers, companies and patient foundations on their "First Steps' towards translating a target into a therapy across CNS disorders. Reach out if we can help you on this journey. (https://www.mcgill.ca/neuro/open-science/open-science-platforms/eddu). To learn more about our work, check out our latest publications in our resource hub (https://www.neuro-edduportal.com/).

Experience

  • The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) (10 yrs 10 mos)
    • Director, The Neuro's Early Drug Discovery Unit (EDDU)
      Oct 2021 - Present · 4 yrs 10 mos

      Director of The Neuro's Early Drug Discovery Unit, partnering with researchers, companies and patient foundations on their "First Steps' towards translating a target into a therapy across CNS disorders. Reach out if we can help you on this journey. (https://www.mcgill.ca/neuro/open-science/open-science-platforms/eddu). To learn more about our work, check out our latest publications in our resource hub (https://www.neuro-edduportal.com/).

    • Associate Director, The Early Drug Discovery Unit (EDDU)
      Oct 2015 - Oct 2021 · 6 yrs 1 mo

      As associate director of the Early Drug Discovery Unit (EDDU) at the The Neuro, I oversaw the growth and expansion of the team to 40+ research staff and trainees, managing multiple projects with distinct milestones and deliverables all focused on discovery and translational applications of human stem cells.

  • Associate Professor at McGill University
    Feb 2021 - Present · 5 yrs 6 mos

    Advancing our understanding into disorders of the brain with stem cell models.

  • Research Topic Editor-Frontiers in Cellular Neurophysiology at Freelance
    Nov 2020 - Mar 2023 · 2 yrs 5 mos

    Working alongside Dr. Alison Axtman, we are developing a research topic with unique contributions on "The next generation of tools and technologies for studying human neurons in a dish". Contributions are still welcome, and details are available at this link. https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/17187/the-next-generation-of-tools-and-technologies-for-studying-human-neurons-in-a-dish

  • Assistant Professor at Montreal Neurological institute, McGill University
    Nov 2015 - Feb 2021 · 5 yrs 4 mos

    In my previous position as an assistant professor at The Neuro and McGill University, my focus was on the cell Biology of Parkinson's disease group and other neurodegenerative disorders, focused on the use of induced pluripotent stem cells and CRISPR technology as tools to understand why these disorders develop.

  • Associate Researcher at Laboratory of Dr Edward A. Fon
    Sep 2007 - Nov 2015 · 8 yrs 3 mos

    My research focused on understanding the function of parkin, a Parkinson's disease associated protein,and its interactions with deubiquitinating enzymes, in the context of neurodegenerative disease. I am trained in a variety of cell-based and in vitro assays, in addition to immunofluorescence microscopy.