Nada Jabado Laboratory

Ashot studied medicine in Armenia and afterwards completed his doctoral studies in Vienna, Austria, at the Research Center for Molecular Medicine (CeMM), working on genetics of myeloproliferative neoplasms. He worked in the Jabado lab as a postdoctoral fellow until November 2018 and then as research associate. Ashot’s work in the lab was focused on the characterization of epigenomic changes in pediatric glioblastoma. Utilizing modern genome editing techniques and high throughput sequencing technologies, he tried to understand how the driver mutations in glioblastoma change epigenomic landscape in tumor cells and lead to the development of cancer.

Outside of work, Ashot likes to read science fiction, and is a fan of watching and playing various sports (soccer, basketball, tennis, etc.). He is also a competitive bridge player.

Shriya is a student in the MD-PhD program at McGill who completed the PhD component of her program in our lab. She completed her Honours BSc in Neuroscience at the University of Toronto. Her projects were focused on studying oncohistone and histone-methyltransferase mutations affecting Histone 3 Lysine 36 methylation, and their role in the development of associated cancers (pediatric glioblastoma, giant cell tumour of bone) and overgrowth syndromes (Sotos). Outside of the lab, Shriya enjoys playing badminton, dancing Bharatanatyam (Indian classical dance) and re-reading Wodehouse novels.

Djihad joined the Jabado lab in April 2019 as a postdoc. He completed his PhD at the University of Paris where he worked on the role and the regulation of DNA replication in various types of cancer. In the lab he worked on deciphering the epigenome signatures of pediatric high-grade gliomas. Outside the lab, Djihad enjoys science fiction books and sports like running and football.

Nicolas was born and raised in Montreal. After completing a BSc in Bioinformatics at the Université de Montréal, he enrolled first as an MSc then as a PhD candidate in the program of Human Genetics under the joint supervision of Drs. Nada Jabado and Claudia L. Kleinman, graduating in November 2020. Nicolas’ research projects consisted in elucidating the transcriptome-epigenome interplay in paediatric brain tumourigenesis by means of computational methods (i.e., NGS pipeline development, integrative analyses). His hobbies outside of academia include reading, programming, writing, playing the guitar, songwriting and sound engineering.

Leonie was a Research Associate and Biobank Manager in the Jabado lab from 2014 to 2020. She has a background in immunology and a fellowship in genetics. While pursuing her PhD, she figured out the science behind spinning records working as a musical producer in FM radio. On any given day, you could find her close to a source of music working at her bench or desk, humming tunes to the likes of Radiohead and Pink Floyd. Working with little children is her lifelong passion and volunteering on pediatric wards for 20 years has earned her the name Baby Whisperer. In September 2020 she moved to Ohio to work as a Project Manager for Clinical Trials.

Elias was in the Jabado lab from September 2018 to August 2020 as an M.Sc. student in Experimental Medicine at McGill. After having completed his Bachelor of Science in General Biology at the American University of Beirut and Boston University, Elias decided to delve deeper into the bio-medical research world before pursuing a career in Medicine. His project was focused on understanding the role of PRC1 complexes in the context of histone-mutated glioblastomas. Outside of the lab, Elias spends his time reading, exploring Canada and volunteering.

A native Montrealer, Véronique joined the lab in 2018 after a post doc in Santa Barbara, California. Trained as a computer scientist and a molecular biologist she enjoys using the possibility brought forth by technological advances to uncover new biology. Her research interests are RNA-centered and span its function, modification and expression and how those are affected in human diseases. Since May 2020, she is working as a bioinformatician at the Sainte Justine Hospital.

Amira was a research assistant in the Jabado lab from September 2017 to May 2020. She completed her PhD at University of Quebec at Montreal where she worked on cancer prevention and treatment. In the Jabado lab, she worked on the Terry Fox PROFYLE project (PRecision Oncology For Young PeopLE) team. Outside the lab, Amira enjoys reading, shopping and cooking.

Katya was a Master's student in the Jabado Lab from 2017 to 2019. She completed a BSc in Biochemistry in June 2017, during which she did two years of undergraduate research in the Jabado lab. The aim of her project was to understand the role of 3D chromatin architecture in the nucleus in K27M mutant tumors. Outside of the lab, she loves to read, draw and enjoy her most favorite activity - dancing.

Bethany was a Co-op student from McMaster University where she was completing her Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Biology. She worked in the Jabado lab in 2019, assisting Sima and Michele with their respective projects while learning and developing many biological and biochemical techniques. Outside of the lab she enjoys spending time with friends and family, exploring the city and being in nature. 

Yuhsin was a co-op student from the University of British Columbia where she studied Microbiology and Immunology. She worked in the lab in 2019, assisting Shakour and Andrea with their projects while learning how to perform various laboratory techniques.  In her spare time, she loves swimming, sketching and enjoys exploring museums.

Josiane was an internship student in the Jabado Lab from December 2018 to October 2019. She is a PhD student in Molecular Medicine at Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil, focusing in the molecular biology and pathology field. She completed her Master's degree in the same area at UFMG in 2016 and her BSc in Biomedicine at FUMEC, Brazil. 

Tiffany was a Co-op student from University of British Columbia where she is completing her Bachelor's Degree in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. She assisted Melissa and Michele with their experiments, such as Western Blots, qPCR and drug assays. Outside the lab, she loves traveling, but she also loves to stay at home and watch movies. Most importantly, she is a foodie. =) 

Tianna was a Co-op placement student from the University of British Columbia, where she is pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Under the supervision of Carol and Sima she assisted with various projects, developing her understanding of techniques in molecular biology and genetics. When not in the lab, she enjoys reading, listening to music and traveling.

Graduated from the military academy of Saint-Cyr (France), Brice Poreau then moved to medicine and science. He obtained his MD (medical genetics) in 2014 and completed his PhD in cell biology in 2017 on the role of huntingtin in muscle. He obtained a fellowship at Jabado's lab on multiple applications of single cell RNA sequencing.

He is also the co-founder of an NGO - Moyen Chari - working in Africa. He enjoys theater, jazz and flying.

Melissa was a postdoctoral fellow in the Jabado lab from September 2015 to August 2018. She completed her Ph.D. in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia, where she identified subtype- specific mutations of endometrial and ovarian cancers. She was also involved in projects that aimed to improve diagnosis and inform prognosis for women with these gynecological cancers. In the Jabado lab, Melissa was involved in deciphering the three-dimensional chromatin conformation of pediatric high-grade gliomas using Hi-C (High Throughput Chromatin Conformation Capture). Melissa’s other research interests involve using next generation sequencing technology, and novel methodology developments to further improve our understanding of these pediatric brain cancers. To undergo this research, she was awarded the prestigious CIHR Banting postdoctoral fellowship.

Outside of research Melissa enjoys being in the outdoors with her family. She loves hiking, biking, playing beach volleyball, snowboarding and traveling. She is currently a senior scientist at the company Contextual Genomics in Vancouver.

Carolina is an Associate Professor at the Department of Basic Pathology at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil. She was a visiting professor in Dr. Jabado’s lab from July 2017 to June 2018. She obtained a degree in Dentistry (DDS), a MSc in Oral Pathology and a PhD in Molecular Medicine at UFMG, Brazil. She is a Molecular Pathologist and her research focus is the molecular pathogenesis of benign and malignant oral tumors and the malignant transformation of potentially malignant oral lesions (oral leukoplakia). Her joint project with Dr. Jabado involved the identification and functional characterization of molecular drivers of bone lesions. Science is her passion.

Ricardo was a visiting Professor in the Jabado lab from July 2017 to June 2018. He obtained his DDS and MSc degrees in Pathology at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and completed his Ph.D. in Oral Pathology at the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil. He is a Full Professor at the Department of Oral Pathology in UFMG, Brazil.  He held positions of the Dean of Graduate Studies of the UFMG (2009-2014) and Dean of the School of Dentistry (2004-2008). He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Oral Pathology & Medicine and his main research interest is the molecular pathogenesis of tumors. He loves playing the trumpet and saxophone.

Jad obtained his BSc in Biochemistry (2011) and MSc in Physiology (2014) from McGill University. He joined the Jabado Lab in 2016 as a Research Assistant. During his brief tenure, he optimized chromatin immunoprecipitation protocols and used them to profile transcription factor binding in several patient-derived tumor cell lines. He is currently pursuing MD/PhD training at Washington University School of Medicine and remains interested in cancer genetics and biology.