Dr Chrétien received his medical degree from the University of Montréal in 1960. This was followed by his post-graduate studies at McGill and Harvard Universities (Peter Bent Brigham Hospital) at the University of California in Berkeley and UCSF. He spent a sabbatical year at the Salk Institute and at Cambridge University (UK). He returned to Canada in 1967 to the Clinical Research Institute of Montréal (IRCM). From 1984 to 1994, he was Scientific Director of the Institute. From January 1998 to April 2001, he was Scientific Director of the Loeb Health Research Institute at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. In 2005 he founded the Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology.
Trained as a physician, Michel Chrétien made many of his scientific contributions in basic science. In 1967, he proposed the pro-hormone theory. In 1976, he discovered human β-endorphin. In 1990, his group identified the proprotein convertases, enzymes that are involved in a number of debilitating conditions including: hypercholesterolemia, cancer, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s and viral disorders like SARS, influenza, HIV/AIDS and Chronic fatigue syndrome. To date, he has published more than 575 scientific articles.
Dr Chrétien is currently IRCM Emeritus Research Professor, Emeritus Professor, Université de Montréal, Emeritus Scientist, Chronic Disease Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI), Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology (BMI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa * Founder and Professor, Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology (OISB)
