Elyse Bourque

Elyse Bourque has extensive experience in the field of medicinal chemistry and drug discovery. Elyse began their career as a Coop Work Terms at Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd in 1993, where they worked on various projects related to synthesis and selective studies in radical chemistry. Elyse then moved on to work at the University of Leeds (UK) as a FCAR Post-doc Fellow, where they focused on the development of planar chiral p-allylmolybdenum complexes and their application in the synthesis of Tetronasin and Tetronomycin.

In 2003, Bourque joined AnorMED as a Scientist II, where they played a key role in synthesizing analogs to understand structure-activity relationships for chemokine CCR5 antagonists. Their work led to the discovery of a primary lead candidate chemotype and the generation of new hit/lead candidates to support the medicinal chemistry group. During their time at AnorMED, Bourque worked collaboratively with a team of chemists, biologists, and IP specialists to increase productivity and shorten compound selection timelines.

Bourque then moved on to Genzyme in 2007, where they served as an Associate Scientific Director. Elyse successfully led medicinal chemistry Hit-to-Lead/Lead-Optimization campaigns, resulting in the discovery of Venglustat, an oral inhibitor of glucosylceramide synthase. This compound is currently in clinical development for Fabry Disease, Gaucher Disease Type 3, and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADKPD). Bourque completed this lead-optimization campaign in a record time of 8 months.

From 2012 to 2014, Bourque worked at the Centre for Drug Research and Development as the Head of Medicinal Chemistry. In this role, they provided leadership and general management for a staff of approximately 10, as well as overseeing intellectual, managerial, and administrative coordination. Elyse was also responsible for budget management.

In 2017, Bourque joined Chaperone Therapeutics, Inc. as the Vice President of Medicinal Chemistry. Here, they contributed to the development of frontline therapies to address diseases of protein misfolding. Bourque's work focused on elevating natural protein folding and stress protection mechanisms to prevent protein misfolding and cell dysfunction.

Most recently, Bourque has been working at Liminal BioSciences as a Consultant Medicinal Chemistry since 2019.

Elyse Bourque earned a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Université de Sherbrooke. Elyse completed their doctoral studies from 1995 to 2001. Prior to that, they achieved a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the same institution, which they obtained between 1991 and 1994.