Using DNA fingerprinting, Dr. Behr is working to better understand historical events – including the many chapters in the history of tuberculosis and its disease epidemics. 2008 Public lecture series from The Research Institute of The McGill University Health Centre
Lecture in English - Montreal General Hospital This young researcher uses new technology to try and ask extremely old questions. For instance, using DNA fingerprinting, he is working to better understand historical events – including the many chapters in the history of tuberculosis and its disease epidemics. Already, Dr. Behr has applied this technique in genomic studies performed in Nunavik and parts of Montreal. He believes that we can gain valuable lessons from what we observe right in our own backyards which can ultimately be applied to the rest of the world. Dr. Marcel Behr is an associate professor of medicine at McGill University and a researcher with the Research Institute of the MUHCʼs Axis of Infection and Immunity. His work is primarily concerned with the distribution and causes of pathologies caused by mycobacterial infections, specifically M.tuberculosis, the cause of tuberculosis. His technologies of choice include DNA fingerprinting, DNA microarrays and whole genome sequencing.