Mapping the 'social network' of proteins in the cell to understand how genes shape living things

Originally written by Catherine Couturie, University of Montreal

edited by Lisa Lock, reviewed by Robert Egan

Published in phy.org on September 28, 2026


Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

One of biology's fundamental questions is how our genes shape who we are. Adrian Serohijos and Stephen Michnick, professors in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at Université de Montréal's Faculty of Medicine, are studying the relationship between genotype and phenotype—that is, how DNA becomes RNA, then protein, and ultimately gives rise to observable characteristics in an individual or any other living organism. "We're trying to unravel the mechanisms of the genome, specifically how the information it encodes is processed inside the cell," Serohijos says.

The problem can be approached in two ways: One is to look at how an organism changes when disturbed by its environment. The other, pursued by researchers at the Courtois Institute of Innovation, is to focus on mutations in an individual's genome, which play an important role in defining individual traits.

"This is an important question because our DNA determines not only our physical characteristics, such as eye color, but also how we respond to medications, which is essential in the context of personalized medicine," Michnick explains. However, predictions cannot be made based on an individual's DNA alone.

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