Team Biography
Guillaume Bourque, Ph.D
Director
Dr. Bourque joined McGill University in 2010 and is a Professor in the Department of Human Genetics and the Director of Bioinformatics at the McGill Genome Center. He leads Canadian Center for Computational Genomics (C3G), a Genome Canada bioinformatics platform, and the McGill initiative in Computational Medicine (MiCM). Dr. Bourque is also the head of the Epigenomics Mapping Center at McGill, a project that oversees data generation and processing as part of the Canadian Epigenetics, Environment and Health Research Consortium (CEEHRC), which is associated with the International Human Epigenome Consortium (IHEC). He is also the chair of the Integrative Analysis working group of IHEC. Dr. Bourque is on the External Consultant Panel of the US-funded Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project. He is also on the Steering Committee of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) since two of his projects, CanDIG and EpiShare, have been selected as Driver Projects by the organization. In 2019, his leadership in Digital Research Infrastructure was recognized and he was named as one of the 4 Directors of the Applicant Board of the new organization that will coordinate these efforts for Canada. This new organization, called the New Digital Research Infrastructure Organization (NDRIO), is funded by the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), with a budget of 375 M$ over the next 5 years, to deploy and coordinate a national infrastructure (covering high-performance computing, software and data management) that will support all areas of research. From 2020 to 2021, he was the inaugural chair of the Researcher Council of NDRIO.
David Bujold, M.Sc.
Bioinformatics Manager, Data Unit
David has been developing software solutions in bioinformatics for over 15 years, focusing on ways to facilitate genomics (meta)data storage, discovery, analysis and visualization. He joined the McGill Epigenomic Data Coordination Center in 2012 to tackle challenges related to epigenomics, and has since developed many data management and distribution solutions, including the IHEC Data Portal. Other projects of interest include CanDIG and EpiShare, platforms to make genomic and epigenomic data under controlled access more accessible, while maintaining study participants’ privacy.
François Lefebvre, B.Ing, M.Sc.
Bioinformatics Manager, Services Unit
François is managing the Montreal C3G services team, which helps researchers get the most out of their experiments. He is involved in the planning and follow-up of scientific data analysis work. Prior to joining McGill, François worked as a bioinformatician in the field of immunology with Dr. Rafick-Pierre Sékaly in Montréal and Florida. He holds a B.Ing. from Université Laval and an MSc degree in Bioinformatics from Université de Montréal.
Ksenia Egorova, M.Sc.
Program Manager
As a Research Administrator for C3G since January 2019, Ksenia’s mission is to provide effective administrative and research support to the team. She enjoys helping others and keeping lab operations and projects organized, efficient and running smoothly. Ksenia worked at McGill Genome Center since 2016. Prior to joining McGill, she worked as a PR Manager at the Russian Government. She holds an MSc degree in Economic Sciences from Université du Québec à Montréal and an MSc degree in Human Resources from Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, France.
Emmanuel Gonzalez, Ph.D
Metagenomics Team Lead
Emmanuel is the in-house specialist in all things related to metagenomes and microbiomes at C3G. He is involved in several large-scale studies exploring links between the microbiome and various disorders. Emmanuel Gonzalez received a PhD in computational and theoretical chemistry from the University of Montreal. Before joining McGill, he was a member of the Norwegian Centre of Excellence for Theoretical and Computational Chemistry and IRBV at Université de Montréal.
Gary Leveque, M.Sc.
Bioinformatics Specialist
Gary’s strength as part of C3G’s services team is to aid genomics researchers with De Novo genome assembly of novel organisms. Prior to joining C3G he was part of the Data Analyst team at Genome Quebec in Montreal supporting the downstream efforts of the sequencing core group since 2010. He also has extensive experience with genomics laboratory techniques and thus aids with troubleshooting potential issues originating in the lab. Gary received his MSc degree from McGill in the Human Genetics Department.
Robert Eveleigh, M.Sc.
Bioinformatics Specialist
As a Bioinformatics specialist of the TechDev unit since 2012, Rob is responsible for maintaining the DNA-Seq, Tumor pair and RNA-Seq variant pipelines in GenPipes. He has been and still remains involved in numerous large scaled population and cancer based projects including PROFYLE, CGEN, Gen3G and Hostseq where he applies his expertise in small and large variant detection, benchmarking, annotation and interpretation. Prior to joining McGill, Rob worked in evolutionary bioinformatics where he attained his MSc degree in Computational Biology from Dalhousie University and also holds a diploma of software engineering from the University of New Brunswick (UNB).
Rachade Hmamouchi, M.Sc.
Program Manager
As a Program Manager, Rachade is leading the organization of current workshop series as well as the development of new ones. She contributes to the development and implementation of promotional strategies too. Rachade has a background in bioinformatics and project management working in academic and industrial research. She holds an MSc degree in bioinformatics and data analysis from the University of Geneva.
Pascale Marquis, M.Sc.
Bioinformatics Consultant
Pascale is providing services for clients and users at C3G as Bioinformatics Consultant. Mainly working on large-scale whole genome sequencing projects, but also involved amplicon-seq and rna-seq analysis. She holds an MSc degree in Plant Science from Laval University.
Édouard Henrion, M.Sc.
Software Developer
As a Bioinformatics Software Developer for C3G since November 2015, Edouard is involved in developing analysis tools and pipelines for the community as well as answering user requests and resolving software issues. Prior to joining McGill Edouard worked for 9 years as a Bioinformatician in Guy Rouleau’s laboratory mainly focused on understanding brain/neuronal diseases. He holds an MSc degree in Bioinformatics and Genomics from University of Versailles, France.
José Héctor Gálvez, M.Sc.
Bioinformatics Specialist
As a Bioinformatics Specialist in the TechDev unit, Jose Hector is responsible for maintaining the RNA-seq and nanopore pipelines in GenPipes. He is also involved in the Quebec COVID-19 Viral Sequencing Project (CoVSeQ), helping with pipeline development, data processing, and report generation. Additionally, he collaborates in several research projects, mostly focusing on transcriptomics, genome assembly, long-read sequencing, and epigenomics. He has a MSc degree from the McGill Department of Plant Science with a concentration in Bioinformatics.
Alain Pacis, Ph.D
Bioinformatics Specialist
Alain received his undergraduate degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at Concordia University. In 2018, he obtained his PhD in Bioinformatics from University of Montreal. His research focused on the genetic and the epigenetic regulation of innate immune responses to infection. As a bioinformatician at C3G and GCRC since August 2018, Alain’s work primarily involves single-cell RNA-seq, epigenomics and cancer genomics.
David Anderson, B.FA.
Web Design Consultant
As a Web Design Consultant, David has been with C3G since 2018. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a diploma in Graphic Design. He has over 15 years of experience in digital design, His day to day operation consists of maintaining C3G website and other sites, designing logos for different scientific initiatives. In addition, he also assists with C3G communications and promoting MICM training and workshops.
Mathieu Bourgey, Ph.D
Bioinformatics Manager, Tech Dev Unit
As a Bioinformatics manager of the TechDev unit, Mathieu ensures the integration and the support of new genomics technologies in the platform and he leads the software development. Prior to joining C3G, Mathieu was the team leader of the Bioinformatics service unit at Genome Quebec. He holds a PhD in Statistical Genetics from University Paris-Sud XI and a Master degree in Genetics from University Pierre-et-Marie-Curie (Paris VI).
Pierre-Olivier Quirion, Ph.D
Advanced Research Computing (ARC) Specialist
Pierre-Olivier is the Advanced Research Computing (ARC) specialist of the group. As such he has one foot at the C3G and one at Calcul Québec, where he architects, deploys, tests and optimizes C3G genomics tools, pipelines and platforms on both High Performance Computing and Cloud platforms. Before his involvement with genomics he was seen honing his trade solving software problems in eclectic supercomputer environments, as an astrophysicist modeling stellar pulsation, as a Technical Director in animated film studios and as a professional in a Geriatric Hospital Neuroimaging lab.
Ksenia Zaytseva
Scientific Data Architect
Ksenia is a Data Architect with the Data team at the C3G. She is involved in the development of metadata services for (open) data management in Genomics. Before joining C3G she worked on Open Data and Open Science projects in Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage domain. Her professional interests are Semantic Web technologies and Linked (Open) Data, methods and technologies in knowledge engineering and infrastructure solutions for data analysis.
Senthilkumar Kailasam, Ph.D
Bioinformatics Specialist
As a Bioinformatics Specialist, Senthil is involved in providing bioinformatic analysis of next-generation sequencing (NGS) data, development of new bioinformatics pipeline for genomics and metagenomics data, and collaborative genomics research initiatives at C3G. Prior to joining C3G, Senthil had five years of postdoctoral training at McGill University and the University of Lethbridge, in the field of Computational structural biology and epigenomics. He holds a PhD in Molecular Biophysics from Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
Paul Stretenowich
Bioinformatics Specialist
Part of the Technical Development team since April 2019, Paul is a Bioinformatics Specialist involved in the development of GenPipes’s pipelines, bioinformatics analysis and GenPipes’s users support. Prior to joining McGill Paul worked as a Bioinformatician at the University of Montreal for 1 year. He has a French Engineering diploma in Biotechnology.
Robert Syme Ph.D
Bioinformatics Specialist
After completing a postdoctoral position in Australia, Rob joins the team as a Bioinformatics Specialist with a background in fungal/plant genetics and developing omics resources, strategies, and infrastructure for laboratories working with non-model organisms. He has more than a decade of experience working in genomics, and holds a PhD in bioinformatics from Curtin University.
Ulysse Fortier-Gauthier, Ph.D
Bioinformatics Software Developer
Ulysse joined C3G as a bioinformatics software developer to assist with the deployment of the McGill Genome Centre’s LIMS in 2019. Since joining C3G, he has worked at integrating Clarity LIMS to the center infrastructure and is currently working on an open-source sample tracking software called Freezeman. Ulysse previously worked as a software developer building a metrics reporting system for a call center. He completed a baccalaureate in computer science at Université de Sherbrooke. He also holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from Université de Montréal. His research work specialized mostly on visual attention and short-term memory.
Pubudu Nawarathna, M.Sc.
Bioinformatics Consultant
Pubudu is a Bioinformatics consultant and part of the Technical Development team since November 2019. He is involved in the development of GenPipes’s pipelines and GenPipes’s users support. In addition, he is involved in several Bioinformatics research projects focusing on epigenetics and transcriptomics. Prior to joining C3G, Pubudu completed his M.Sc. in Human Genetics at McGill University.
Andres Tocasuche
Systems Analyst
As the Systems Analyst, Andres is responsible to analyze, document and implement new system solutions and platforms used by C3G and the McGill Genome Center. Before joining C3G, Andres worked as a Senior Analyst on the private sector, responsible of training and promoting IT solutions to business and technical users on emerging markets.
David Brownlee, CD, M.Eng.
Scientific Data Curator
Part of the Data team, David organizes large data sets and maintains public facing databases to promote C3G’s commitment to Open Science. Prior to delving into genomics, he worked with marketing and psychological research data with emphases on automating quality control and data mining. He completed his M.Eng. in Software Engineering at Montreal’s École de technologie supérieure.
Brennan Brouillette
Bioinformatics Software Developer
As a member of the data team, Brennan contributes to the development and maintenance of the CanDIG and Bento platforms, providing secure, scalable, and accessible solutions for genomics research. He holds a degree in Computer Science from Vanier College, certifications in applied Artificial Intelligence, and has a number of years of experience building technologies in the fin-tech and music industries.
Solomia Yanishevsky, MHI
Data Administrator
Solomia holds a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in biology and psychology from the University of Toronto and has obtained a Master of Health Informatics degree from Dalhousie University. She joined C3G as an intern in May 2020. Now, as a Data Administrator, Solomia works with metadata schemas and synthetic datasets to be used for testing data systems. Solomia also performs data modeling and mapping across various biomedical metadata standards and to C3G’s existing data models.
Mary Ann Kizhakechethipuza, ECBA, M.Sc.
Business Analyst
Mary Ann joined C3G as a business analyst in 2020. Since then, she has been helping with a variety of projects ranging from “COVID-19 resources Canada”, which is a national online platform for joining efforts towards pandemic response to “Bento”, which is a collection of open source microservices used to construct data-focused platforms. As an Aeronautical Engineer by trade, she holds a M.Sc in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Glasgow and has worked previously in an Assistant Manager capacity for the Canadian Aviation industry. She also holds the ECBA certification from the International Institute of Business Analysis(IIBA).
Gordon Krieger, M.A.
Software Developer
Gordon started programming computers in adolescence, but then took a long detour into music, resulting in multiple albums, a few films, and a decade writing about experimental music for CBC Radio. He has degrees in both Philosophy and Computer Science.
Gerardo Zapata, M.Sc.
Bioinformatics Consultant
In 2017 Gerardo obtained his Bachelor’s of Science degree, from Dalhousie University, focusing in Marine Biology, Biochemistry plus a specialization in Genetics. Following, he received his Master’s in Biochemistry and specialization in Bioinformatics degree from the University of Ottawa in 2020, where his research focused on epigenetic regulation during murine development under Dr. David Picketts within the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI). At C3G, within the services team, Gerardo is aiding researchers complete their NGS experiments, and extrapolate the most out of their data.
Danielle Perley, M.Sc.
Bioinformatics Consultant
Danielle is a Bioinformatics Consultant at C3G working on various projects, including amplicon sequencing, RNA-Sequencing and Methyl-Sequencing projects. Prior to joining C3G, she worked as a bioinformatic analyst at the University of North Dakota Genomics Core. She holds an MSc in Evolutionary Biology from the University of New Brunswick.
Sebastian Ballesteros Ramirez, B.Sc.
Bioinformatics Software Developer
While pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering at McGill University, Sebastian joined the C3G as an intern in 2020. After graduation, he joined the team as a Software Developer working in projects such as EpiShare, Bento and FreezeMan. He contributes to the development and implementation of software solutions in multiple technologies.
Mayumi Yoshida
Research Administrator
Mayumi is a Research Administrator at the C3G. She has been working at McGill since 2016. Prior to joining Canadian Centre for Computational Genomics, she worked as a senior administrative coordinator at the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Concordia University along with the minor in Business Studies from the John Molson School of Business, as well as a background in marketing, theatre and fashion.
Nathalie Aerens, M.Sc.
Platform Manager
Nathalie is managing the Secure Data for Health Platform project, which will be a secure cloud infrastructure for the analysis and sharing of genomic and health data. Prior to joining McGill, Nathalie worked as a manager within a multi-stakeholders consortium facilitating climate change research. She also worked for a couple of years as a consultant in the space and aeronautics sectors. She first graduated in electromechanical engineering at Université Catholique de Louvain. Later she completed a master’s degree in Environment from Université de Sherbrooke. In the last few years, she has been an active member of different steering boards.
Chris Kostiw
Software Developer
Chris is a software developer contributing to the Freezeman LIMS project at C3G. Prior to joining C3G, Chris has worked as a frontend developer on communications software, and as a desktop application developer in Java and C++ in the content management, publishing, and structural engineering domains.
David Lougheed
Web Application Specialist
David is a software developer in C3G’s data team, as well as an M.Sc. candidate in Dr Bourque’s lab. He first joined C3G as an intern in 2018 during his undergrad, and since then has worked on the Bento platform and the Freezeman sample tracking software. He holds a joint B.Sc. in Computer Science and Biology from McGill University.
Julian Martinez, Ph.D
Software Developer
Julian joined C3G as a software developer in the data team and contributes to the development and maintenance of the Bento platform. Julian holds an M.Sc. in Microbiology from the National University of Colombia. He also obtained a PhD in Plant Science and Bioinformatics at McGill University, where he conducted research on transcriptional plant responses to elevated CO2 and mechanical wounding. His current professional interests are related to software development to support scientific research.
Daniel Poppleton, Ph.D
Bioinformatics Analyst
In August 2021 Daniel joined the Technical Development team as a Bioinformatic Analyst. His main role is in the processing and analyzing data using the GenPipes pipeline. He holds a PhD in Bioinformatics from University Pierre-et-Marie-Currie (Paris VI) / Institue Pasteur and a Master degree in Microbiology from the University of Saskatchewan. He joins us after the completion of his postdoctoral fellowship on ruminant evolution at the Royal Veterinary College in London.