Event Date:
Thursday, March 1, 2018 - 4:00pm to 5:00pm
Event Presenter
Zoha Kabir, PhD. Associate Professor, Department of Neurosciences University of Montreal and CHU Sainte Justine Research Center
Event Location
Weill Auditorium
My research program focuses on identification and characterization of genes predisposing to neural tube defects (NTDs). NTDs, including anencephaly and spina bifida, represent a group of common congenital malformations affecting 1-2 infants/1000 births. They are caused by failure of neural tube closure during embryogenesis. NTDs have a complex etiology involving both environmental and genetic factors. My group has adopted two main approaches to identify and characterize NTD genes: a candidate gene approach focused on molecular analyses of key genes of noncanonical Wnt/planar cell polarity pathway and a whole exome sequencing approach in NTD families.
