Alex developed a passion for organic chemistry during college while taking an introductory course in organic chemistry given by Professor Roger Gauthier at the Bois-de-Boulogne college. After completing his college diploma in natural sciences, he continued his studies at the University of Montreal in chemistry as a Canada scholarship holder. In 1994, he carried out a first research internship in organometallic chemistry with Professor Davit Zargarian where he worked on nickel(II) indenyl complexes. He then did a second internship in organic chemistry in 1995 as an NSERC fellow with Professor André B. Charette where he worked on the synthesis of an HIV protease inhibitor. After obtaining his bachelor's degree, he joined Professor Charette's group as an NSERC scholarship holder to begin doctoral studies on the reaction of double nucleophilic addition on nitriles and on the development of a metalla-cyclopropanation reaction involving a gem-dizinc carbenoid. In 2001, he joined Professor Samuel J. Danishefsky's group at Columbia University in New York City as an NSERC Fellow. During this post-doctoral internship, he synthesized an advanced intermediate of Xestocyclamine A. In 2003, Alexandre returned to Quebec to start a career in the pharmaceutical industry with the pharmaceutical company Boehringer-Ingelheim Canada as a senior researcher where he worked on the development of inhibitors of viral targets associated with HIV and HCV. After a stay at Boehringer-Ingelheim in Austria and a brief return in the group of Professor André B. Charette as an invited researcher, he returned to the United States to join the young biotechnology company Constellation Pharmaceuticals where he worked on the development of modulators of epigenetic targets such as EZH2. In 2011, he made the leap into the academic world by accepting an offer from the department of chemistry of the Université du Québec à Montréal as an associate professor.

 

Prof. Gagnon is an expert in the field of organobismuth chemistry with more than 15 publications and 2 review articles in the field which together have been cited more than 260 times. Since his beginnings at UQAM, he has obtained more than 1M in research funds, has established collaborations with several companies from Canada and the United States as well as research groups from Canada, Mexico and France. He has trained more than 40 students of all levels, and has given more than 50 lectures in Canada, Mexico, the United States, England and Europe. Alexandre was invited as a Visiting Professor at Paris Est Créteil University UPEC in 2015 and in 2019. In 2014 he received the Thieme prize, in 2017 the prize for emerging researchers from the faculty of Sciences at UQAM and in 2019 a prize from the Faculty of Sciences of UQAM for the quality of its teaching. He was a member of the board of directors of the Lucien Piché Foundation from 2011 to 2017 and President from 2017 to 2019. He is a member of CERMO-FC and of the center for green chemistry and catalysis (CCVC).

 

Alex's influences in chemistry are numerous. In addition to his mentors, Professors Davit Zargarian, André Charette and Samuel Danishefsky, there are people who contributed to his education in chemistry including Professors James Wuest and William Lubell as well as people who had a major influence on his style of supervision and its approach in science including Brian Albrecht and Jean-Christophe Harmange. Outside of work, Alex enjoys playing drums where his influences are Neil Peart, John Bonham, Gavin Harrison, Nicko McBrain, Bill Ward, Elvin Jones, Bill Bruford, Steven Adler and Sean Reinert. He also likes to travel, listen to music (classical, jazz, rock, progressive, metal), drink Italian, French and Hungarian wine and learn new languages.