WELCOME TO THE BRAVERMAN LABORATORY
In the Dx-PEX-Tx (Diagnosis, PEX genes, Treatment) laboratory, we are dedicated to studying peroxisome biology in health and diseases and finding therapies for peroxisomal disorders
TEAM MEMBERS
We are a small team of research professionals and students with a wide range of skills and experience dedicated to improving the lives of children, adolescents and adults with peroxisomal disorders.
Nancy Braverman, MSc, MD, FACMG
Dr Braverman is a clinician-scientist, medical and biochemical geneticist, professor and teacher.
She has been working in the field of peroxisome biogenesis disorders for more than two decades, and has seen the field grow spectacularly with hope of targeted therapies on the horizon. "Together we can do this!"
Catherine Argyriou, MSc, PhD
Catherine is a Postdoctoral Fellow/Mitacs Elevate Fellow developing retinal gene therapy to improve vision in ZSD, in partnership with the venture capital investment fund AmorChem Therapeutics. She caught the peroxisome bug during her PhD researching mutation-specific drug therapies for ZSD, and characterizing our PEX1-G844D mouse model. When not taking care of our PEX1 mice, Catherine enjoys swimming and ice skating.
Samy Omri, PhD
Samy is a Research Associate with 15 years of experience in the field of ocular pathologies with a particular interest in the outer retina and the subretinal changes. He is invested in the project supported by AmorChem Therapeutics dedicated to improving the understanding of vision loss associated with ZSD and developing a local gene strategy to restore it. When not in charge of science projects, Samy enjoys tennis and hiking.
Lingxiao Chen, BSc
Lingxiao is a PhD candidate in the department of pathology at McGill. Her research focuses on characterizing the chronic liver disease in our PEX1-G844D mouse model, investigating the underlying disease mechanism, and testing the candidate drug therapies in our mice. When not in the lab, Lingxiao also loves cooking and trying out different recipes with her friends at home!
Hermine Djimoudi, MSc
Hermine is a clinical research coordinator in our lab. Described by her peers as a joyful person, she is passionate about helping others and, translating what she learns about science to families has always been a passion of hers.
Hermine also loves singing and dancing, as she is part of a youth group that often have spectacles in communities centers.
Wei Cui, PhD
Wei is a senior research assistant who is working on a RCDP mouse model and on CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing in patient cell lines.
Erminia Di Pietro, PhD
Erminia is a research associate. She manages the daily functions of the lab and also is in charge of the LC-MSMS system where she performs biochemical analysis for peroxisome metabolites. When not in the lab, she enjoys spending time with her kids.
Anthony Cheung
Anthony is a fourth-year medical student at McGill University and his project focuses on characterizing PBDs from PEX16 defects at the clinical and molecular levels. Outside of the hospital, you will likely find Anthony at a local coffee shop or at home procrasti-baking!
Esti is a Undergraduate Health Sciences Student at Concordia University. She is a member of the Braverman Team as a lab assistant, and is involved with the administrative work of the Natural History Study on Peroxisome Biogenesis Disorders.
Outside of the lab, she enjoys being outdoors and staying active.
Esti Iczkovits
ONGOING PROJECTS
ACHIEVEMENTS
Poster and presentation awards
Congratulations to Mary Agopian who was awarded the first place for Best Junior Poster at the 7th Annual Child Health and Human Development Research Day 2021 at the MUHC-RI (November 2021). She presented her work on developing Machine-Learning Based Methodology for Severity Scoring of Mild and Intermediate PBD-ZSD.
Congratulations to Wedad Fallatah for her poster presentation entitled “Clinical, Biochemical and Molecular Phenotypes of Mild (Nonclassic) Rhizomelic Chondrodysplasia Punctata” to be one of the top-rated posters at the ACMG annual clinical genetics meeting, digital edition (May, 2020), TX, USA, and for her poster presentation entitled “Biochemical and Neurobehavioral Abnormalities in Pex7 Deficient Mouse, a Model for Rhizomelic Chondrodysplasia Punctata Type1 (RCDP1)” to win the 1st place presenter of the Kenneth Paigen, Ph.D Memorial Prize at the Annual human and Mammalian Genetics and Genomics: The McKusick Short Course (Virtual event, July, 2020).
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Congratulations to Catherine Argyriou who won the award for outstanding poster presentation at the 21st Annual American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) meeting in Chicago Illinois in 2018.
Congratulations to Catherine Argyriou for winning this prestigious fellowship from Mitacs (2020). This will allow her to participate in a research management training program while working with Dr. Braverman and venture capital fund AmorChem Therapeutics to advance gene therapy for PEX1-mediated Zellweger Spectrum Disorder (ZSD).
Gillian Maclean Young Investigator Awards - Global Foundation for Peroxisomal Disorders
Congratulations to Catherine Argyriou (2017) and Christine Yergeau (2019) who received this award at the GFPD Family and Scientific Conference in Washington, DC. Their work and dedication to research in the field was recognized by the peroxisomal disorders community.
2018 Pfizer Research Award of Excellence from the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation
Congratulations to Nancy Braverman who was nominated by her peers at the Montreal Children's Hospital. Dr Braverman set herself apart by going above and beyond her job descriptions as well as her strong sense of collaboration across the various hospital departments. The notion of teamwork is at the heart of her success—an imperative feature that patients and families benefit from every single day.
2017-2018 Research Faculty Teaching Award from the Department of Human Genetics at McGill University
Congratulations to Nancy Braverman who was nominated by her peers and her students in the Human Genetics Department at McGill University. Dr Braverman received this award in recognition of outstanding contributions in the teaching, supervision and mentorship of students.
First prize at the 2017 Amorchem Knock-Out competition
Congratulations to Nancy Braverman and Catherine Argyriou for winning the first prize from venture capital seed fund AmorChem at the 2017 Knock-Out competition for the project “Retinal gene augmentation for peroxisome biogenesis disorders". “This treatment will improve the quality of life for people with PBD by improving their vision, one of the major handicaps for people living with this disorder.”, said Catherine.
CONTACT
Our research lab is part of the
Child Health and Human Development (CHHD) research program
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at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center
Please visit their websites for more information.
Contact Us
For any inquiries, questions, suggestions or if you are interested in enrolling in our patient studies, please call us, send us an email or fill out the following form:
Contact information
1001 Decarie blvd, Block E, #EM0.3211
Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4A 3J1
Tel: 514-934-1934 ext 23403
Fax: 514-933-4149
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Donations
You can make donations to our research lab by visiting the Montreal Children's Foundation website
Join our team
If you are interested in joining our lab, please contact us.
A special thank you to Marie-Michèle Arpin - Graphiste who generously designed the DxPEXTx logo for our laboratory. Marie-Michèle is also a co-founder of PBD Canada.