Our Team

A McGill graduate in molecular genetics, Nancy joined the lab as a research technician based at the RIMUHC in 1997. Now a research associate, she manages activities at both research sites, handles lab finances, assists with grant applications, and oversees graduate research projects and various other research-related activities such as ethics and biobank management. She also still occasionally dons a lab coat to perform the odd experiment at the RIMUHC site.

José earned a BSc in Biotechnology Engineering in Mexico and joined our research team as a doctoral trainee in the winter of 2020 after obtaining his master’s degree in Genomic Medicine in Manchester, England. His research project focuses on using mutational signatures to classify the pathogenic potential of genetic variants in breast cancer patients with the aim to improve their clinical management.

Fiona came to us with a BSc in Agriculture and Environmental Sciences from McGill University with a specialization in microbiology and molecular biotechnology, and a strong interest in pursuing human genetics research. Her graduate research project aims to identify the genetic lesions involved in the development of multiple primary tumors in several severely affected individuals and their relatives.

Anne-Laure first joined our team as an undergraduate student while completing her BSc at McGill. She completed a research course with our lab and also worked as a summer student. She is now performing functional studies on DICER1 mutations as part of her graduate thesis.

Céline holds graduate degrees in Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Biology and software engineering from France and from Université de Montréal. With over 10 years of experience working in academic research, she is skilled in multiple molecular biology techniques and is also responsible for day-to-day management and technical support of lab activities, fellows and students at the RIMUHC site. She also manages routine activities of our SCCOHT Registry Biobank.

Afrida joined our team in the summer of 2023 to replace several previous CRCs who left to pursue studies. She holds a MSc in Biochemistry from McGill University as well as BScs in Biochemistry and Psychology from the University of Alberta. She first approached us with an interest in performing more patient-oriented research after her years of lab-based studies and started as a volunteer doing patient data entry before joining the team officially. She now coordinates patient contact and recruitment for all our research studies.

Justin graduated with a BSc in Biology from McMaster University in Hamilton. He joined the lab in September 2022 with a long-term goal to study epigenetics in cancer. His research project focuses on engineering and optimizing cellular constructs to detect variations in microRNA expression caused by different DICER1 genetic variants. This microRNA sensor array will be an essential tool to determine if variants of unknown significance in DICER1 patients are benign or pathogenic.

Marie holds a BSc in Biomedical Engineering from Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona and a BSc in human biology and mathematics from Maastricht University in The Netherlands. She came to Montreal in September 2022 to start a MSc at McGill with our lab. The goal of her project is to classify variants of unknown significance on SMARCA4 to determine their pathogenic potential to cause SCCOHT. Her project includes a bioinformatic component to classify variants based on clinical data and ACMG clinical criteria, and a lab-based component studying how mutant constructs impact cell growth in SCCOHT cells.

Lydia obtained her MD at McGill University and is a dermatology resident at McGill affiliated hospitals. She is currently completing a MSc with our research group in the context of a new program to complement to her post-graduate medical education. Her project focuses on identifying and characterising the frequency and penetrance of French-Canadian founder mutations predisposing to Hereditary Leiomyomatosis and Renal Cell Carcinoma (HLRCC), previously referred to as Reed syndrome, in Montreal patient populations.