Founded in 1985 by Dr. François Auger for the treatment of severely burned patients in Québec, the LOEX was one of the first laboratories in the world to reconstruct organs by tissue engineering using normal human cells. The very first cultured epidermis transplant in Canada took place in 1986. In 1989 François A. Auger appointed Lucie Germain to the post of scientific director of the LOEX. The same year, interior renovations at Saint-Sacrement Hospital made it possible to open a custom-fitted 5100-square-foot laboratory containing all the necessary equipment for cell culture. Dr. Auger obtained the support of the Quebec Firefighters’ Foundation for Severe Burn Victims (Fondation des Pompiers du Québec pour les Grands Brûlés) for the diversification of his tissue engineering projects, even though they moved away from strictly doing skin reconstruction. Thus, new domains of tissue engineering were added over the course of time including: cardiovascular, orthopaedic, ocular, pulmonary, urologic, adipose tissue, neurologic, and others. With the arrival of experienced researchers and graduate students in search of advanced training in tissue engineering, there was a growing need for the construction of a new scientific complex. In March of 2010, the brand new CMDGT centre was opened, in which the members of the LOEX team would now be housed. Research in ophthalmology, however, remained at Saint-Sacrement Hospital. In 2012, Health Canada approved the first clinical study in Canada on corneal epithelium grafting, which was carried out under the supervision of Drs. Lucie Germain and Richard Bazin. In 2014, the LOEX received approval from Health Canada for a clinical trial of bilamellar skin grafts.

Important Moments in the LOEX’s History

1985 The LOEX was created in response to the request of plastic surgeons of the time, and thanks to funds collected by the Quebec Firefighters’ Foundation for Severe Burn Victims (Fondation des Pompiers du Québec pour les Grands Brûlés - FPQGB)

1986 The first cultured epidermal graft in Canada took place.

1989 Dr. Lucie Germain joined Dr. Auger in the cause and was subsequently appointed scientific director of the LOEX.

1990 Interior renovations at Saint-Sacrement Hospital permitted the opening of a customised fully equipped 5100-square-foot laboratory. The FPQGB approved the diversification of the tissue engineering projects, and over the years work in cardiovascular, orthopaedic, ocular, pulmonary, urologic, adipose and neurologic tissue engineering joined the research in cutaneous tissue reconstruction.

1998 A world premiere: The first blood vessel was reconstructed by the auto-assembly method.

2001 Dr. Lucie Germain obtained a level 2 Canada Research Chair. The level 2 Research Chairs are awarded to exceptional new researchers recognised by their peers as likely to become leaders in their field. For each level 2 Research Chair among its faculty, Université Laval receives $100 000 per years for 5 years.

2002 An FCI subvention was awarded for the construction of the CMDGT.

2008 Construction began at the new site.

2010 In March, the doors opened to the new research centre, which would henceforth house the LOEX team. Since the University Centre in Ophthalmology (Centre universitaire d’ophtalmologie –

CUO) was still located at Saint-Sacrement Hospital, the research team in ophthalmology remained there as well.

2010 The LOEX was officially recognised by Université Laval as a university research centre in tissue engineering under the direction of Dr. Auger. This recognition allowed the centre to use the designation LOEX, which is known world-wide.

2012 Dr. François Gros-Louis obtained a level 2 Canada Research Chair.

2012 Health Canada approved the first clinical study in Canada on corneal epithelium grafting under the direction of Drs. Lucie Germain and Richard Bazin.

2014 In May, Dr. Lucie Germain was named Vice-Rector of Research and Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Medicine at Université Laval, and in October she was awarded the Université Laval Research Chair in Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, funded by the FPQGB.

2014 In December the LOEX received approval from Health Canada for a clinical study on bilamellar skin grafts, which would start in early 2015 with Dr. Auger as principal researcher.

2015 Dr. Germain was awarded a level 1 Canada Research Chair.

2015 Université Laval renewed its recognition of the LOEX as a university research centre for another 5 years, under the direction of Dr. Auger.

2017 Having obtained approval from Health Canada, the clinical trial evaluating the use of autologous tissue-engineered skin grafts in the treatment of severe burn patients began.

2018 Dr. Germain obtained the Université Laval Research Chair in Laboratory Reconstructed Organs and Clinical Applications from the Université Laval Foundation (Fondation de l’Université Laval).

2018 The 15th patient in the corneal epithelium graft clinical study was treated.