{"id":492,"date":"2015-01-21T17:42:34","date_gmt":"2015-01-21T17:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lab-dev.research.sickkids.ca\/sevan-hopyan-lab\/?page_id=492"},"modified":"2026-01-08T13:50:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:50:03","slug":"people","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lab.research.sickkids.ca\/ellis\/people\/","title":{"rendered":"People"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ellis Lab 2017.<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Our lab has been fortunate\u00a0in attracting and retaining highly qualified individuals from around\u00a0the world with diverse research backgrounds.<\/span><\/h3>\n

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The success of our\u00a0lab, in large part, can be attributed to the hard work of our past and present lab members!<\/span><\/h3>\n
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\"Dr.<\/div>

Dr. James Ellis<\/h4>\n

Senior Scientist<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″]

<\/div>[vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn”]Senior Scientist <\/strong>| SickKids Research Institute<\/p>\n

Professor<\/strong> | Department of Molecular Genetics<\/p>\n

Research Integrity Advisor<\/strong> (2013-2023)<\/strong>| SickKids Research Institute<\/p>\n

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\nFrom: <\/strong>Victoria in beautiful British Columbia<\/p>\n

Previously:\u00a0<\/strong>James completed his B.Sc. at McGill University in Montreal and his PhD at the University of Toronto with Dr. Alan Bernstein developing retrovirus vectors for gene targeting. His postdoctoral fellowship, studying the beta-globin locus control region, was mentored by Dr. Frank Grosveld in London UK.<\/p>\n

Currently: <\/strong>He established his research team at SickKids in 1994 with a focus on blood gene therapy for sickle cell anaemia that evolved into research on retrovirus silencing and using iPS cells to model disease.<\/p>\n

In addition:\u00a0<\/strong>Always keen on wine tasting and mountain biking.<\/p>\n

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Current CV<\/span><\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]

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<\/div>[vc_cta h2=”Current Members” txt_align=”center” shape=”square” color=”white” css=”.vc_custom_1747233417170{background-image: url(https:\/\/lab.research.sickkids.ca\/ellis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/05\/Banner-background.jpg?id=1500) !important;}”]<\/p>\n

The Ellis Lab is expanding again after lab members completed their projects over the pandemic. Since 2020 we have graduated 5 M.Sc. and 3 PhD students, and 2 Research Associates and 1 Technician moved to new opportunities.<\/span><\/h3>\n

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\"Peter<\/div>

Peter Pasceri<\/h4>\n

Lab Manager<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″]

<\/div>[vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn”]Lab Manager \/ Research Technician
\n<\/strong>1994-present
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nFrom:<\/strong> Toronto<\/p>\n

Previously:<\/strong>\u00a0Peter Pasceri got his B.Sc. in Zoology from the University of Toronto.<\/p>\n

Currently:<\/strong>\u00a0He is the backbone of our lab and\u00a0can usually be overheard complaining about how he hates to run.<\/p>\n

In addition:<\/strong>\u00a0Peter still finds time for cycling and making wine. He\u00a0is also a master craftsman of gag gifts and homemade lab equipment.<\/p>\n

Scientific contributions<\/span><\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]

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\"Wei<\/div>

Wei Wei<\/h4>\n

Lab\u00a0Technician<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″]

<\/div>[vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn”]Lab Technician
\n<\/strong>2012-present
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nFrom:<\/strong> Toronto<\/p>\n

Previously:<\/strong>\u00a0Wei Wei obtained her B.Sc. at McMaster University and M.Sc. at the University of Toronto. Her Master\u2019s thesis involved the identification of cellular components that interact with the Shiga-like Toxin 1 A1 Chain in order to discover potential therapeutic targets that block SLT-1 action inside cells.<\/p>\n

Currently:<\/strong>\u00a0Her main goal in the Ellis lab is to assist the trainees in establishing a differentiation protocol for the neuronal production platform in order to conduct functional studies for various neurological disorders.<\/p>\n

In addition:<\/strong>\u00a0Outside of work, she enjoys expanding her social horizons and meeting new friends.\u00a0She takes great pleasure in trying different types of food from various cultures.<\/p>\n

Scientific contributions<\/span><\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]

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\"Guoliang<\/div>

Guoliang Meng<\/h4>\n

Lab Technician<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″]

<\/div>[vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn”]Lab Technician
\n<\/strong>2017-present<\/p>\n
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From:<\/strong> China \/ Calgary, Alberta<\/p>\n

Previously<\/strong>: Guoliang received his M.Sc and Ph.D. in Genetics and Cell Biology from Peking University, China. Since 1990, he began to work on developing and characterizing mouse ESC lines, RNA interference in different ES cell lines, and further expanded his work to include rabbit, bovine, porcine and human ES cell line derivations. He joined the Rancourt lab (the University of Calgary) in 2003 first as a postdoctoral fellow, then a research associate. His main research focused on derivation, characterization and differentiation PSCs; large-scale expansion of PSCs in stirred bioreactors; xeno-free culture and cryopreservation of hPSCs; CRISPR\/Cas9 editing in hPSCs; cardiomyocyte differentiation from hPSCs; derivation\/conversion of na\u00efve hPSCs and much more.<\/p>\n

Currently<\/strong>: He is working as a lab technician in the Ellis lab to maintain human patient iPSC lines and edit them with CRISPRs, as well as differentiate them into cardiomyocytes.<\/p>\n

In addition<\/strong>: In his spare time, he enjoys collecting coins across the world and playing games with his little son.<\/p>\n

Scientific contributions<\/span><\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″]

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\"Marta<\/div>

Marta Guevara-Ferrer<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Research Fellow<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″]

<\/div>[vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn”]Research Fellow
\n<\/strong>2024-present<\/p>\n
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From:<\/strong> Barcelona (Spain)<\/p>\n

Previously<\/strong>: Marta obtained her Ph.D. from Manchester Metropolitan University (UK) with Prof. Tristan McKay. She studied the cellular and molecular biology of MFSD8 mutations associated with the variant late-infantile CLN7 form of Batten disease. During her Ph.D. she used CLN7 patient-derived iPSCs to understand the pathobiology of this disease.<\/p>\n

Currently<\/strong>: She is working as a Research Fellow in the Ellis lab to study the morphology and activity of iPSC-derived neurons in Rett syndrome using extracellular vesicles from astrocytes.<\/p>\n

In addition<\/strong>: In her free time, Marta enjoys swimming, climbing, and hiking.<\/p>\n

Scientific contributions<\/span><\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″]

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\"Gwyneth<\/div>

Gwyneth Bolter<\/h4>\n

MSc Student <\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″]

<\/div>[vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn”]MSc\u00a0Student
\n<\/strong>2024-present<\/p>\n
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From:<\/strong> Toronto<\/p>\n

Previously<\/strong>: Gwyneth completed her HBSc in Molecular Biology and Genetics Co-op at McMaster University and completed her honours thesis in the Gupta lab. During undergrad, Gwyneth worked at SickKids in the Yuen lab studying genomic variants related to neurodevelopmental diseases. Following this, she worked in the Ellis lab studying transcriptional buffering.<\/span><\/p>\n

Currently<\/strong>: Gwyneth is an MSc student co-supervised by Dr. James Ellis and Dr. Brett Trost. She is studying the mechanisms facilitating transcriptional buffering in the context of neurodevelopment.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition<\/strong>: Gwyneth enjoys biking and travelling to new places.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]

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