Dr. André Veillette is recognized for his studies of the SLAM (Signaling Lymphocytic Activation Molecule) receptor family and their fundamental role in regulating immune cell signaling. Dr. Veillette's recent work has identified SLAMF6 as an intrinsic immune checkpoint in T cells, distinct from conventional tumor-ligand-dependent checkpoints. His team has demonstrated that the inhibitory cis-interaction of SLAMF6 on the surface of T cells contributes to functional exhaustion. SLAMF6 could be a promising target for treatments of various types of cancer in humans.

Dr. André Veillette is the Director of the Molecular Oncology Research Unit at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute and the Executive Director of the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network at the Terry Fox Research Institute. He is a world-recognized immunologist and medical oncologist interested in signal transduction mechanisms in the immune system. Over the past three decades, he has identified and characterized numerous intracellular molecules and receptors that play a crucial role in normal immune regulation. A number of these molecules are directly or indirectly involved the pathogenesis of leukemias, lymphomas and other malignancies. They have also been linked to the development of immunodeficiencies and auto-immunity. These proteins are potential targets for therapeutic immunoregulation in the treatment of cancer, auto-immune diseases and viral infections. Dr. Veillette uses state-of-the-art genetic, molecular, biochemical and cellular approaches to study these molecules. His work has resulted in numerous publications in top scientific journals, and in the awarding of several prizes and prestigious grants. He is invited to give conferences all over the world and to organize important international scientific conferences and is on the editorial board of important scientific journals.