A look back on 2020:
The year 2020 is almost finished (ouf). A crazy year with a worldwide pandemic that reminded us of the need for science and the importance of our work (even if it is a small piece). Despite this, the lab has some amazing good news, here is a sample of them:
January:
Our grant “Deciphering Neisseria pathogens cell envelope evolution: optimization for virulence or Achilles’ heel of N. meningitidis and N. gonorrhoeae?” has been partially funded by
![CIHR's visual identity - CIHR](https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/images/leaf-cihr-colour-en.jpg)
March: We received funding to build on our imagery platform (electron microscopy and animal imaging) from:
May: Martin wrote an article on Nightlife about COVID-19 fake news:
![Logo nightlife.ca](https://nightlife.ca/wp-content/themes/oboxeditions-sage9/dist/images/nightlife.ca/logo_9f5787e3.png)
June: Martin Chenal (Ph.d. in the lab) got the first place at the INRS contest “Ma thèse en 180s”
July: Our collaboration with Nick Doucet on the genome of Dictyopanus pusillus, the first eukaryote we have sequenced, is out:
![PLOS ONE realizes an academic editor had a conflict of interest that the publisher says it now tries harder to avoid – Retraction Watch](https://retractionwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/plos-one.jpg)
August: Our amazing postdoc Antony Vincent got his professor appointment at Université Laval:
![](https://ulaval.net/sites/default/files/notre-universite/prix-distinctions/nouveaux-professeurs/2020/VINCENT-Antony-650x650px.jpg)
September: Our article on Sigma Factor regulation, in collaboration with Marcel Behr, is out:
![New research article published in Frontiers in Microbiology](https://www.sanidadanimal.info/images/stories/noticias/2019/frontiers-microbiology.png)
October: Our scientific article about regulation of Sigma factor activity via methylation of promoters in Leptospira is out:
![New 'featured paper' in Nucleic Acids Research, – Integrative Biomolecular Modeling](https://ivanovgroup.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/nar-logo.gif)
See press release:
![MediLabSecure : Institut Pasteur](https://www.medilabsecure.com/documents/site//logo_ip_noir_sur_blanc_2020.jpg)
November: 1) Our scientific article about a new compound that selectively kills Neisseria pathogens is out:
![Home | Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy](https://aac.asm.org/sites/default/files/logo-mobile-AAC.png)
2) A press release on that topic and several articles in the media:
3) Eve Bernet (Ph.d. in the lab) received the first prize for her Poster presentation at the JQRSR
4) Our collaboration with Yves St-Pierre about Mycobacteria and mussels is out:
5) Martin Chenal (Ph.d.) in the lab got the second prize at the national final of “Ma thèse en 180s” (3 minute thesis)
6) 3 students from the lab (Ève Bernet, Martin Chenal, Juan Guerra) officially completed their M.Sc. and obtained their diploma. Two of them (Ève and Martin) are staying with us for a PhD.
December: I got my tenure associate prof promotion !!!! and Our article CAPRIB is out:
![Institut Sophia Agrobiotech - BMC Genomics](https://www6.paca.inrae.fr/var/internet_paca_institut_sophia_agrobiotech/storage/images/productions-animations/publications/bmc-genomics/178415-1-fre-FR/BMC-Genomics_inra_image.png)