Vilceu Bordignon obtained his PhD in 1999 and postdoctoral training in 2002 in biomedical sciences at the University of Montreal, following his DVM and MSc in veterinary sciences in Brazil. He joined McGill’s Department of Animal Science in July 2002. His is the Director of the McGill Large Animal Research Unit. His lab produced the first cloned and transgenic pigs in Canada by somatic cell nuclear transfer. His current research program in reproductive biology and animal biotechnology is: i) investigating how early stage embryos deal with stressful conditions by regulating coping mechanisms that allow them to survive without passing on altered or damaged genomes that threaten development and later life; ii) studying how cell reprogramming is regulated in embryos produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer; and iii) using genome editing tools (CRISPR/Cas system) along with in vitro embryo technologies and somatic cell nuclear transfer to create gene edited embryos and live pigs to study development, metabolism and pathophysiology mechanisms.

Somatic cell reprogramming Oocyte and embryo developmen t Nuclear transfer and animal cloning Creation of swine models for biomedical research