Meet one of our 2025 MDF Research Fellowship recipients, Cécilia Légaré, PhD! Dr. Légaré started her DM1 research in 2013 during an undergraduate internship and continued through her master’s. She published two first-author papers (Epigenomics, 2020; Neurology Genetics, 2019) and one second-author paper (Human Molecular Genetics, 2019). These were presented at 24 conferences, including IDMC-10 and IDMC-11. 

During her PhD, she studied plasmatic miRNAs as predictors of gestational diabetes, publishing four first-author papers and coauthoring two more. She now applies this expertise to DM1 research and is currently working on the project “Identification of a transcriptomic signature in myotonic dystrophy type 1”.

After her PhD, Dr. Légaré returned to DM1 for postdoctoral studies, publishing two papers and submitting a review (BioEssays, 2024). She also mentored students in bioinformatics through the Summer Bioinformatics program, fostering interest in DM1 and RNA science.

Dr. Légaré’s long-term goal is to become a professor at a Canadian or U.S. institution, leading her own research group focused on DM. Her unique cross-training in the Berglund and Duchesne groups provides her with a strong foundation for impactful clinical and basic research in DM, a field poised for significant advancements in understanding therapeutic interventions for the DM population.

Click here to learn more about MDF's research funding opportunities and prior grant recipients.