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Gaspard Montandon

PhD

Scientist, Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science

Email: Gaspard.Montandon@unityhealth.to
Tel: 416-864-5924
Other: flow - Accelerate Drug Discovery Team

Labs

Brain & Breathing Science ❯

Biography

Dr. Gaspard Montandon is a Scientist in the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science of St. Michael’s Hospital, and an Assistant Professor in the Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Montandon combines biomedical and clinical research to understand the neural control of breathing and disorders such as respiratory depression by opioid drugs and sleep-disordered breathing. His main research focuses on understanding how opioid drugs affect breathing and to find novel therapies to prevent respiratory depression without reducing opioid analgesia using rodent and zebrafish models.

As a Parker B. Francis Fellow, along with support from the Canadian Lung Association, the Ontario Thoracic Society and CIHR, Dr. Montandon has developed a strategic research program that aims to understand opioid-induced respiratory depression and to identify new therapies to prevent it.

Recent Publications

  1. Furdui, A, da Silveira Scarpellini, C, Montandon, G. Mu-opioid receptors in tachykinin-1-positive cells mediate the respiratory and antinociceptive effects of the opioid fentanyl. Br J Pharmacol. 2024; :. doi: 10.1111/bph.17369. PubMed PMID:39506356 .
  2. Furdui, A, da Silveira Scarpellini, C, Montandon, G. Anatomical distribution of µ-opioid receptors, neurokinin-1 receptors, and vesicular glutamate transporter 2 in the mouse brainstem respiratory network. J Neurophysiol. 2024;132 (1):108-129. doi: 10.1152/jn.00478.2023. PubMed PMID:38748514 .
  3. Stucke, AG, Levitt, ES, Montandon, G. Editorial: Opioid-induced respiratory depression: neural circuits and cellular pathways. Front Physiol. 2023;14 :1348910. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1348910. PubMed PMID:38179143 PubMed Central PMC10766328.
  4. Rousseau, JP, Furdui, A, Silveira Scarpellini, CD, Horner, RL, Montandon, G. Medullary tachykinin precursor 1 neurons promote rhythmic breathing. Elife. 2023;12 :. doi: 10.7554/eLife.85575. PubMed PMID:37458576 PubMed Central PMC10400077.
  5. Furdui, A, da Silveira Scarpellini, C, Montandon, G. Fentanyl-Induced Respiratory Depression and Locomotor Hyperactivity Are Mediated by μ-Opioid Receptors Expressed in Somatostatin-Negative Neurons. eNeuro. 2023;10 (6):. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0035-23.2023. PubMed PMID:37364996 PubMed Central PMC10312122.
  6. Tamir-Hostovsky, L, Ivanovska, J, Parajón, E, Patel, R, Wang, H, Biouss, G et al.. Maturational effect of leptin on CO2 chemosensitivity in newborn rats. Pediatr Res. 2023;94 (3):971-978. doi: 10.1038/s41390-023-02604-3. PubMed PMID:37185965 .
  7. Danaf, J, da Silveira Scarpellini, C, Montandon, G. βγ G-proteins, but not regulators of G-protein signaling 4, modulate opioid-induced respiratory rate depression. Front Physiol. 2023;14 :1043581. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1043581. PubMed PMID:37089428 PubMed Central PMC10117644.
  8. Montandon, G. The pathophysiology of opioid-induced respiratory depression. Handb Clin Neurol. 2022;188 :339-355. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-323-91534-2.00003-5. PubMed PMID:35965031 .
  9. Zaig, S, da Silveira Scarpellini, C, Montandon, G. Respiratory depression and analgesia by opioid drugs in freely behaving larval zebrafish. Elife. 2021;10 :. doi: 10.7554/eLife.63407. PubMed PMID:33720013 PubMed Central PMC8060028.
  10. Ahmad, A, Ahmad, R, Meteb, M, Ryan, CM, Leung, RS, Montandon, G et al.. The relationship between opioid use and obstructive sleep apnea: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev. 2021;58 :101441. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2021.101441. PubMed PMID:33567395 .
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Assistant Professor, Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto
  • iBest member, St. Michael’s Hospital & Ryerson University
  • IMS member. Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
  • Collaborative Program in Neuroscience member