Faces of the MRM – Tom Durcan
Meet the minds behind the science – MRM members share their journey, passion, and vision for the future of regenerative medicine.
This interview series is brought to you by the MRM Trainee Committee.
Name: Thomas Durcan
Department: Neurology and Neurosurgery
Hometown: Dublin, Ireland
LinkedIn: Thomas Durcan, The Neuro’s EDDU
Interview hosted by Diego Loggia.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and your current role at McGill?
I am a cell biologist by training and started my career working on centrosome and how cells divide. In my role at McGill University, I am an associate professor, and Director of the Neuro’s Early Drug Discovery Unit, where we work with academics and companies alike to help them apply stem cells towards discovery and translational projects.
What motivated you to pursue a career in regenerative medicine or stem cell research?
Two things. One was the chance to work with a cell where the possibilities were endless, and stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs for short), were just that for me. Not only could we make this cell from any person, once in the dish we could under the right conditions make any cell type from the human body, opening up endless possibilities. Because of this, it led to the 2nd reason, we could now finally work with human brain cells in a dish, to understand why the brain develops like it does, and what is going wrong when these cells go awry or start dying off. What is the reason and can we stop this from happening.
Were there any key moments or mentors that shaped the path of your career?
Yes, Dr. Edward Fon is also a key mentor for me. He took a chance on me and gave me the opportunity to develop a stem cell platform that after a decade, has led to the Neuro’s EDDU, and given me opportunities to take it to places we never even thought possible when first starting out. When we started, thanks to funding from the Van Berkom foundation and Brain Canada, we simply hoped we could get off the ground, but ten years later, we have shown the endurance to build a catalog of >200 iPSCs, 15+ different cell types or models, and each day I work with the most talented team of researchers you could ever wish.
What are some of the key research areas you’re currently exploring?
I find immune cells of the brain fascinating with so much to uncover about them. We only recently published a short paper on the single cell profile of oligodendrocytes we are deriving in a dish. Coupled with advances in microglia and 3D imaging of brain organoids, a key area for us is to apply these cell models and techniques towards understanding why a disease arises, and can we intervene to treat it. There is so much potential around the application of these models in rare diseases, with >50% of rare diseases linked to the brain, so by building the pipelines and models, we see immense potential to be able to accelerate our understanding into so many diseases of which little is even known.
What do you enjoy most about teaching and mentoring students?
Since we started, we have mentored >10 graduate students and well over 40 undergraduate trainees, both from within and outside of McGill. I love the passion and energy they bring, often bringing new ideas and an excitement that reminds me daily of why we do this. To keep our field moving forward, we need to keep the pipeline of talent full, as without them, new discoveries won’t be made, and new drugs won’t get to patients.
How has stem cell research evolved over the years at McGill?
It has gone from niche to mainstream. So many labs and researchers are now using stem cells in their projects, and it often astonishes me the projects emerging with stem cells at their core, from biomaterials to big data to developing and testing a new therapeutic. Combined with open science, it’s no longer about a select few getting to work with them, and the field is opening up to everyone to help with their questions.
How do you see stem cell research advancing in the near future, and what role does McGill play in that progress?
I see stem cells as being central to many new discoveries and therapies soon to emerge, from brain and heart disease to rare diseases. McGill has everything in place to help lead, and I am excited to see how we can keep growing and developing this space. This is one of the most challenging times we have ever been in, from funding to wider issues we all are well aware of. But it’s often when things are at their lowest that great things emerge. We learn to be resourceful, to do more with less, to be agile and to drive things forward and if we plant the seeds now, what emerges and blooms from this is unprecedented discoveries led by McGill and the researchers here.
What are some of the major challenges facing stem cell research today? How is your team working to address them?
Funding and recognition of infrastructure and platforms. Often people think research happens in a vacuum. It doesn’t. Funding is tight, and getting tighter every year, so we need to learn how to be resourceful, to partner with others and to make every dollar stretch. For too long, platforms have been ignored or simply not seen as important by funders and institutes alike. This is changing, they are now seeing how critical we can be to the research mission, and how we can be a core player in driving translation and innovation which attracts capital. But this is slow and change needs to happen quicker. That is why at the EDDU we spend every day raising awareness of our mission, and how stem cells can help accelerate discovery and translation. Its working piece by piece, attracting users from across McGill and Canada, and bringing us to the attention of companies who want to work with us. This is important for researchers to know this. We need to tell our story, highlight why the work is important, and keep stressing this point every day. We have to break through the noise and keep the message out there that stem cells are important, and when combined with other technologies, so much is then possible to understand and treat disease.