Malik Chaker-Margot
Assistant Professor
2013 B.Sc Honors – Université de Montréal
2018 Ph.D. – Rockefeller University
Malik was born and raised in Montreal. He obtained his Bachelors of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine from Université de Montréal in 2013. He then moved to New York City, at The Rockefeller University (Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Chemical Biology) where he performed his graduate work in the laboratory of Sebastian Klinge on eukaryotic ribosome assembly and cryo-EM. He continued his training at Biozentrum of Universität Basel, working on the structure and function of large signaling proteins and complexes, before returning to Montreal in 2022. He enjoys running, cooking and playing music, as well as boring people with discussions of obsucre movies and albums.
Samuel Tremblay-Belzile, PhD
Postdoc/Undergraduate researcher
Longtime feature of the department, Sam obtained his PhD in 2018 from Normand Brisson’s lab in Biochemistry. He moved to New York City where he worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Agnel Sfeir before returning to Montreal to continue his endless quest for knowledge by embarking on what technically counts as his 4th bachelor’s degree. He nevertheless uses his well-honed skills as a biochemist to help us on many projects. Sam is also the spiritual leader of the Radicaux Libres, the Biochemistry running group (follow us on Strava!)
Alexandre Devaux
Postdoctoral researcher
Alex comes to us from France by way of New Caledonia. He trained at Institut Curie for his PhD where he elucidated the function of lncRNAs in cancer including the role their encoded microproteins. He is now carrying out a collaborative project on lncRNAs in cancer signaling in collaboration with Martin Sauvageau. Outside the lab, Alex uses his well-honed fine motricity in the pursuit of playing the guitar. Keep shredding!
Mohamed Mourad Kenfaoui
PhD Student
Mourad is originally from Morrocco. He studied for his Bachelor’s in Casablanca before moving to France, in Nancy. There he completed a master’s degree in molecular engineering after which he obtained a second master’s in platform engineering at Université Paris Cité. He performed his master’s intership at the prestigious Institut Pasteur working on the structure of a histidine kinase. He will joined the lab in 2024 to work on molecules involved in the development of diabetes, including a lncRNA, in collaboration with Dr. Guy Rutter at CRCHUM. He complements his biochemistry skills with a keen fashion style.
Roumaissa Kahoul
PhD Student
Roumaissa is Algerian and started her university studies in Biskra, Algeria after which she moved to Nancy, where she obtained a bachelor’s and her master’s degree from the Université de Lorraine. There, she worked on RNA and PROTACs. She works on a collaborative project with Dr. Daniel Zenklusen on the structural organization of messenger RNAs. She has phenomenal baking skills and has delighted the lab with Algerian pastries, earning a lot of good will from her colleagues.
Léanne Leclerc
M.Sc student
Leanne is a third year undergraduate student in our very own Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine program. She is currently completing her honor’s degree with an undergraduate research internship with us, working on the structure of a large enzymatic complex involve in cancer progression. She comes to us from the Quebec’s beautiful Côte Nord and has a passion for theater.
Anthony Villeneuve
M.Sc student
Anthony is a third year undergraduate in biochemistry at UdeM who has been working in the lab in Summer 2024. He is now wrapping up his degree before joining us again in Summer 2025. He studies the protein Tiam1 and its regulation by the GTPase Ras. He’s also a big fan of baseball and the Toronto Blue Jays. Nobody’s perfect!
Emma Lasne
Master’s intern
Emma is a master’s student from Lyon, France. She is working on Tiam1 and small GTPases as part of her 6-months stage needed to graduate. Perhaps inspired by Lyon’s legendary gastronomy, she has a love of great food, whether in Montreal’s culinary scene or through the treats she’s brough to the lab.
Past members
Daniela Elizabeth Galvan Gonzalez
Undergraduate researcher, MITACS fellow
Daniela spent Summer and Fall 2024 working in the lab thanks to a MITACS Globalink Fellowship. She is from Guadalajara, Mexico and trained at the Technologico de Monterrey. While in the lab, she worked on lncRNA-protein interactions. Beyond being a great scientist, she was beloved by her coworkers in part for bringing Chamoy and Mazapan sweets throughout her stay here. We were all sad to see her go!
Mohamed Ali, PhD
Postdoc
Originally from Egypt, Mohamed recently graduated his doctoral degree at Université de Montréal, supervised by Jim Omichinski. He has worked on the structural biology of LC3-family proteins using x-ray crystallography, ITC and cellular assays. His main project involved work on a collaborative project on the structure of metabolic enzymes which are overexpressed in cancer. Mohamed now works at NMX using his structural biology acumen.
Janaina Carla da Silva
PhD Student
Janaina is originally from Brasil. After completing her B.Sc and M.Sc from Unioeste (Western Parana State University), she joined the lab in October 2022 and worked on long non-coding RNAs. She is now at IRCM.
Maria-Madgalena Virlan
Undergraduate research assistant
Maria worked on lncRNAs in the summer of 2022, funded by a PREMIER bourse. She is now continuing her B.Sc in Biochemistry at Université de Montréal. Maria is also a distinguished pastry chef .
Afaf Besbas
Undergraduate research assistant
Afaf worked on lncRNAs in the summer of 2023, funded by a PREMIER bourse. She is now pursuing a PharmD degree at Université Laval. Good luck Afaf!
Kariane Laramée
Honors undergraduate research assistant
Kariane was an honors student in our Bachelors program, studying the structural biology of the protein Tiam1. Kariane also works at an eye clinic. She is using her keen eyes for science by continuing her studies in optometry.
Marguerite Cusson
Honors undergraduate research assistant
Marguerite was an honors student in our Bachelors program and conducted research on long non-coding RNAs. When not in the lab, she is also a violinist. She is now doing her PhD in the Pascal lab across the hallway.
The Chaker-Margot Lab 