WELCOME TO THE BRAVERMAN LABORATORY

​Yeji is a PhD candidate in Human Genetics at McGill, co-supervised by Dr. Heidi M. McBride and Dr. Nancy Braverman. She got her BSc in Physiology at McGill as well, where she did her undergraduate research on ependymal cells and their involvement in neuroinflammation under the supervision of Dr. Jo Anne Stratton at the Montréal Neurological Institute-Hospital. Motivated by her interest in pediatric health, Yeji has now shifted gears to studying a rare genetic disorder caused by hypomorphic variants in PEX16, in which patients exhibit an atypical, mild form of Zellweger Spectrum Disorder. In her spare time, Yeji likes to jog and explore new cafés. 

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.

Wei is working on a RCDP mouse model and on CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing in patient cell lines. 

Evelyn is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Human Genetics at McGill. Before beginning her PhD, Evelyn worked as a clinical research coordinator in the Braverman Lab, where meeting families affected by peroxisomal disorders sparked her passion for rare disease research. Her current research focuses on developing antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapies for PEX6-mediated Zellweger spectrum disorder, with the goal of correcting allelic expression imbalance and restoring peroxisomal function. Outside the lab, Evelyn enjoys spending time with her senior tabby cat and unwinding with fibre arts, including crochet, knitting, and embroidery.

Lingxiao's 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!

Doris Hua graduated with a Bachelor of Science majoring in Biology and English. During her degree, she began to interweave her two interests and became entangled in the problem of communicating complex science to a wide variety of audiences! Today, she is busy honing this skill in her interactions with patients and their families in our natural history study. In her free time, you can catch her making art with her friends, crocheting, or on her radio show STEMinism on the local radio station CKUT 90.3FM. 

​Amrita is a PhD candidate in the Department of Human Genetics at McGill University. She completed her BSc in Anatomy and Cell Biology at McGill University. She developed a novel Pex16 deficient mouse model and is now characterizing it to better understand the brain pathophysiology of Zellweger Spectrum Disorder and to test potential CNS-directed therapies. Outside of the lab, Amrita enjoys watching movies.

Erminia 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.

Frederique is a clinical research coordinator-nurse with 10 years’ experience at the Research Institute where she has worked on a variety of projects with different investigators and pharma sponsors. Prior to research, she worked as a Neonatal ICU nurse clinician. She currently works with multiple teams, in genetics, rheumatology and adolescent obesity. She coordinates Dr. Braverman’s longitudinal prospective natural history of Retinopathy in Zellweger Spectrum Disorder, which will help define clinical endpoints to guide future clinical trials. She enjoys meeting the participants and their families, making their study visit a positive experience, and working with the team to ensure the data collected reflect the participant's realities, and support the protocol.
In her spare time, Frederique enjoys gardening and reading.