{"id":2,"date":"2016-07-27T19:28:50","date_gmt":"2016-07-27T19:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lab.research.sickkids.ca\/rosenblum\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2025-07-17T15:27:42","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T15:27:42","slug":"team","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lab.research.sickkids.ca\/rosenblum\/team\/","title":{"rendered":"Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“You have to enjoy the quest, you have to know yourself \u2013 that\u2019s really important! Be sure that you are really doing science\u00a0because it satisfies your internal need for questioning and finding new things. Like many careers, there are going to be steps along the way that are difficult or frustrating. You may feel you are not getting ahead, or that your ideas or data are not being accepted in the world of peer review. You have to be curious, persistent, tough-skinned and open to many different ways of looking at things.\u00a0If you have all or most of these traits, then get ready to enjoy it!”<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/div><\/section>[vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”919″ img_size=”full”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″]\n
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Rukhsar Sultana | Research Project Manager<\/h3>\n\t
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Rukhsar Sultana<\/strong> | Research Project Manager<\/p>\n

We are interested in investigating the underlying functional mechanisms of CAKUT (Congenital Anomalies of the Kidney and Urinary Tract). Patients with CAKUT present with fewer nephrons, the functional unit of the kidney. The process of how nephrons develop hinges on proper communication between stromal and nephron progenitor cells. As the Project Manager, I oversee and am involved in various projects and collaborations in the lab that investigate this intricate process in the normal and malformed kidney.<\/p>\n

I also act as the Lab Manager. In this role, I am involved in lab training, animal colony maintenance, safety and a general resource for the lab.<\/div>\n\t\tConnect<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″]\n

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Sara Qubisi | Research Fellow<\/h3>\n\t
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Sara Qubisi<\/strong> | Research Fellow<\/p>\n

Kabuki Syndrome (KS) is a genetic disorder caused mainly by de novo mutations in KMT2D or KDM6A and characterized by distinctive facial features, intellectual disabilities, and multisystem malformations including congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract (CAKUT). I am interested in studying CAKUT underlining mechanisms in Kabuki syndrome (KS) patients utilizing the kidney organoids model derived from KS patients induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs).<\/div>\n\t\tConnect<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″]\n

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Xiangyue Hu | Research Fellow<\/h3>\n\t
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Xiangyue Hu<\/strong> | Graduate Student<\/p>\n

I\u2019m interested in the underlying molecular mechanisms of CAKUT disorders (Congenital Anomalies of the Kidney and Urinary Tract). My project focuses on Integrin-linked Kinase (ILK), which controls branching morphogenesis during kidney development. Recently, two missense variants of ILK have been identified from patients with CAKUT disorders. Previous studies in our lab have demonstrated that these variants are associated with renal malformation by disrupting a series of signaling pathways. My goal is to characterize the signaling role of these ILK variants in renal-urinary tract malformation.<\/div>\n\t\tConnect<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″]\n

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Jon Lacanlale | Graduate Student<\/h3>\n\t
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Jon Lacanlale<\/strong> | Graduate Student<\/p>\n

I am interested in understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of CAKUT (Congenital Anomalies of Kidney and Urinary Tract) with a particular focus on Ureteropelvic Junction Obstruction (UPJO). Patients with UPJO have a blockage at the junction connecting the kidney and ureter, which subsequently results in hydronephrosis due to urine build-up. Previous work in our lab has demonstrated the importance of Hedgehog (Hh) signaling and recently, TGF\u00df signaling, in the development of this phenotype. My project is focused on elucidating the mechanism of the Hh-TGF\u00df signaling axis with regards to UPJO formation by temporally and spatially investigating the progenitor that gives rise to the nephrogenic and stromal compartments of the kidney.<\/div>\n\t\tConnect<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″]\n

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Dina Greenberg | Graduate Student<\/h3>\n\t
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Dina Greenberg<\/strong> | Graduate Student<\/p>\n

Pallister-Hall Syndrome (PHS) is a rare disease characterized by a diverse spectrum of malformations, including congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT). However, only a subset of patients with PHS have CAKUT. PHS is caused by truncating variants of the Hedgehog signaling effector GLI3. I am investigating GLI3 variants found in PHS patients; my goal is to profile patient-specific variants through 1) biochemical and 2) human kidney organoid modelling. This will allow us to better understand the mechanisms underlying variable penetrance of CAKUT in PHS.<\/div>\n\t\tConnect<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″]