Jean-Pierre Gillet

Pr. Gillet is a molecular and cellular biologist who has been working for nearly twenty-five years in the field of cancer research. All his projects have been closely related to translational research and primarily related to the mechanisms governing multidrug resistance (MDR) to chemotherapeutic agents. His Ph.D. work, completed at the University of Namur in Belgium, led to the discovery of ABCA3 as a marker of poor prognosis in childhood acute myeloid leukemia. His work also contributed to suggest the implication of more than 30 ABC transporters in MDR in addition to the 3 main transporters, which are ABCB1, C1 and G2. 

Following his PhD thesis, Dr. Gillet pursued a postdoctoral training at the Laboratory of Cell Biology under Dr. Gottesman at the NCI-NIH, MD, USA. His investigations focused on the study of MDR transcriptome in clinical samples of several cancers. In a recent study, Gillet and colleagues demonstrated in vitro the efficacy of a new treatment strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This treatment, based upon the modulation of gene expression profiles, increases sensitization of HCC cells toward conventional chemotherapeutic drugs. 

In 2013, Dr. Gillet accepted a professorship position at the University of Namur Faculty of Medicine in Belgium. His research group is currently characterizing ABCB5 transporters in vitro and in vivo, using various mouse models including Abcb5-knockout and Abcb5-IRES-EGFP knockin mice. The unique feature of ABCB5 is that it exists as both a full transporter (ABCB5FL) and a half transporter (ABCB5β). Gillet and colleagues recently discovered two new heterodimers ABCB5β/ABCB6 and ABCB5β/ABCB9 in melanoma. 

Building on expertise in cancer multidrug resistance, Pr. Gillet set up a consortium to advance esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) treatment using venomics. EAC incidence has been rising over the past decades and is now the prominent histological type of esophageal cancer in high-income countries. The 5-year survival rate remains at 15%, mainly related to its diagnosis at advanced clinical stages of the disease, and its poor responsiveness to chemotherapy and radiation, the mainstay of pre-surgical treatment for late stages of the disease. There is a dire need to address the mechanisms of treatments resistance in this cancer and to develop new therapeutic strategies. 

Prof. Gillet has authored over 50 papers including book chapters in international journals and textbooks, and is a named inventor on two patents. He has received the Adrien Bauchau Fund for young researcher in 2005 and the NCI Director’s 2010 Intramural Career Development Innovation Award. He is now Full Professor in Non-Clinical Drug Development and the Director of the Biomedical Sciences Department in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Namur.