Sylvie Lesage

Professor Sylvie Lesage obtained her BSc from the interdepartmental immunology program at McGill University. Dr. Lesage then completed her PhD in Experimental Medicine at the same institution under the supervision of Professor Patrice Hugo, where she studied the mechanisms of central tolerance in T lymphocytes. This was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship under the supervision of Professor Christopher C. Goodnow, internationally recognized for his work in immunogenetics.

During this fellowship in Australia, Dr. Lesage leveraged murine models to study genetic predisposition to autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes. While it had been established that peripheral tolerance of T lymphocytes contributed significantly to susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, Dr. Lesage’s work revealed an important contribution of central tolerance.

Dr. Lesage established her laboratory in the fall of 2005 at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, where she built a research team focused on defining the biology and genetics of immune system cell populations that contribute to the induction of immune tolerance and, consequently, the prevention of autoimmune diseases. From 2021 to 2025, Dr. Lesage served as Scientific Director of the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Centre.