Biomarkers & Genetics

Guillaume Paré

Director, CRLB- GMEL; Senior Scientist

Guillaume Paré is Director of the Clinical Research Laboratory and Biobank (CRLB) – Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory (GMEL) and Senior Scientist at the PHRI. He is also Deputy Director of the Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute (TaARI), a Professor of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, a Professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, and a University Scholar at McMaster University. A medical biochemist with board certification from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Gui completed a Master’s in Human Genetics at McGill University under the supervision of renowned geneticist Thomas Hudson. He further trained in genetic epidemiology with Paul Ridker at Harvard Medical School.

His clinical interests are centered on lipoprotein disorders, obesity and cardiovascular disease prevention, with research interests in cardiovascular genetics, biomarker development and pharmacogenomics. Gui’s research combines high-throughput biomarker screens with genetics, bioinformatics and epidemiology to identify novel cardio-metabolic biomarkers. He has published more than 300 original contributions in peer-reviewed journals, all related to his research program in cardiometabolic disease and genetics. These include first or last authored articles in the NEJM, Lancet, Nature Communications, Circulation, EHJ, Stroke, JACC, PloS Genetics, Circulation Genomics and Precision Medicine and AJHG. His work has been sited over 45,000 times with a corresponding h-index of 89. He was inducted to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artist and Scientists in 2018. 

Matthew McQueen

Deputy Director, CRLB-GMEL

Matthew McQueen co-founded the Clinical Research Laboratory and Biobank (CRLB) in Hamilton, Canada in 1987. As a physician and Director of the Lipid Research Clinic, his clinical focus has been on lipid disorders, primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, and the investigation of statins, fibrates, and probucol in reducing disease risk. He expanded his clinical research laboratory (then known as CRCTL) to provide analytical support for the large epidemiologic studies and clinical trials from PHRI. To date, he has been the author or coauthor of more than 250 publications.

He has retired as a Professor in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University (since 1987) and Director of the Hamilton Regional Laboratory Medicine Program and Chief of the Departments of Laboratory Medicine at Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Joseph’s Healthcare (since 1998).

He received his medical degree and doctorate from the University of Glasgow. He was recruited to Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia in 1974 and to McMaster University in 1976. In 1981 he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada and in 1984 a Founding Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Clinical Biochemistry.

Jason Roberts

Scientist

Jason Roberts is a clinical cardiac electrophysiologist at Hamilton Health Sciences and an Associate Professor of Medicine at McMaster University. As a clinician researcher, Jason’s interests focus on the genetics of cardiac arrhythmias, and evaluating the clinical utility of new drugs and gene-based therapies as treatments for both rare and common forms of cardiac arrhythmias. Previously, he worked at the University of Western Ontario as part of the London Heart Rhythm Program, where his research focused on refining insights into the clinical and genetic features of inherited arrhythmia syndromes.

He completed his training in cardiac electrophysiology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and his cardiology fellowship at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, during which he worked with Spartan Biosciences to develop the first point-of-care genetic test in clinical medicine (trial results published in The Lancet). He holds a Master’s degree in clinical epidemiology and biostatistics from UCSF.

Matthew Lanktree

Scientist

Lanktree is an Associate Professor and Scientist, currently serving as the medical director of the McMaster Kidney Genetics Clinic, where he cares for patients with chronic and end-stage kidney disease at St. Joseph Healthcare Hamilton and McMaster University. His research focuses on nephrology, chronic kidney disease, biomarkers, and genetics.

Matt has published more than 100 articles in genetics and medicine and has received peer-reviewed funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, as well as the Canadian and American Societies of Nephrology. In 2022, he was awarded the Canadian Society of Nephrology New Investigator Award. His goal is to use genetics to improve the care of patients with kidney disease.

Marie Pigeyre

Scientist

Marie Pigeyre is a Scientist at PHRI, and Assistant Professor in the Division of Endocrinology, McMaster University. She has received peer-reviewed New Investigating Funding from Hamilton Health Sciences, and is supported by the Medicine Internal Career Award from McMaster University.

She completed her clinical and research post-doctoral fellowship in epidemiology, genetics and biomarkers at McMaster University in 2019, preceded by a PhD in Epidemiology and Genetics, medical degree, and endocrinology training at the University of Lille in France (2007).

Michael Chong

Investigator; Asst Director CRLB-GMEL

Michael Chong is a PHRI Investigator and Assistant Director of the Clinical Research Laboratory and Biobank – Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory (CRLB-GMEL). He is also an Assistant Professor of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster University. To date, he has published > 60 articles related to stroke and cardiovascular disease genetics, mitochondrial genomics, biomarkers, and bioinformatics. He completed his MSc in Medical Sciences at McMaster University (2012-2014) under the supervision of Guillaume Paré, where he studied the role of rare genetic variants as risk factors for early-onset stroke.

From 2015-2017, he worked as a bioinformatician at GMEL and played key roles in the genetic analyses of several PHRI studies including INTERSTROKE and ORIGIN. From 2018-2021, he completed his PhD in Biochemistry at McMaster university, where he integrated genetics and biomarker data to uncover novel drug targets for stroke. 

Sukrit Narula

Associate Research Fellow

Sukrit Narula is currently pursuing his MD at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and his PhD in Health Research Methods program at McMaster University. He completed his undergraduate studies at Stanford University. His research involves using biobanks collected as a part of randomized trials and large epidemiologic studies to elucidate the pathophysiology underlying cardiovascular disease.

He is currently doing work on PURE Biomarker, a substudy of the PURE study to understand the prognostic importance of genetics and new serum biomarkers in a global context. Sukrit also has research interests in cardiovascular imaging, vascular disease, evidence-based medicine, and meta-research. He is supervised by Guillaume Pare and Salim Yusuf.

Reina Ditta

Academic & Research Dev. Manager

Reina Ditta is the Academic and Research Development Manager of the Genetics and Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory (GMEL) – Clinical Research Laboratory and Biobank (CRLB). Previously, she was the lab manager, GMEL, at PHRI.

Reina received her Honours Cell Biology from Western University, her Master’s in Forensic Science from King’s College London, and has more than 11 years of laboratory experience.

Tara Bryce

Operations Manager

Tara Bryce is the Operations Manager for the Clinical Research Laboratory and Biobank (CRLB) and Genetics and Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory (GMEL). A member of the CRLB since 2007, Tara has over 13 years’ experience as a laboratory professional, with expertise in biobanking and clinical research.

Tara holds an Honours Bachelor of Science from McMaster University, and is a Medical Laboratory Technologist registered with the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Ontario (CMLTO).