Team

Dr. Ryan K.C. Yuen

• Senior Scientist, Genetics & Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)
• Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto

Ryan received his PhD with Dr. Wendy Robinson at the University of British Columbia in 2011, investigating the epigenetics of human fetal and placental development. His postdoctoral research with Dr. Stephen Scherer (at SickKids Research Institute) primarily focused on exploiting whole genome-scanning methodologies to dissect the underlying genetic architecture in autism spectrum disorder and related neurodevelopmental conditions. His current major research focus is to develop novel disease gene discovery strategies, effective diagnostic approaches and better treatments for brain related disorders.

• See Dr. Yuen’s SickKids profile
• See Dr. Yuen’s U of T profile

Dr. Sasha Mitina – Research Fellow

Sasha obtained her Master’s degree from the Faculty of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics at the Lomonosov Moscow State University and her PhD from the Center for Life Sciences at Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow. In her thesis work under supervision of Prof. Philipp Khaitovich, she investigated the role of breast milk lipid composition in postnatal brain development as well as molecular changes underlying the evolution of the human brain. Sasha joined the Yuen Lab in September 2021 as a Research Fellow to study the role of tandem repeat expansions in human neurological disorders.

sasha.mitina@sickkids.ca

Dr. Amira Moustafa – Research Fellow

Dr. Amira Moustafa obtained her undergraduate degree from Mansoura University (Egypt) in Pharmaceutical Sciences and M.Sc. in Biochemical/Biomaterials from Western University (Canada). She finished PhD in Biology at York University under the supervision of Prof. McDermott where she investigated the role of MEF2 transcription factor networks is cardiac muscle.

amira.moustafa@sickkids.ca

Yue (Anita) Yin – Senior Data Analyst

Anita completed her M.Sc. in Biostatistics from University of Toronto in 2017, and joined Yuen Lab the same year as Data Analyst. She mainly focuses on upstream statistical analyses for WGS sequencing data, both short-read adn long-read, and in charge of general data management for the lab.  In her spare time, Anita enjoys exploring the city with her Border Collie Pumpkin, and chilling at home with their 3 cats, Ludan, Hobo and Chenpi.

anita.yin@sickkids.ca

Mahreen Khan – PhD Graduate

Mahreen completed her B.Sc. in the Human Biology Genetics program at the University of Toronto, and is currently pursuing her PhD in the Department of Molecular Genetics at UofT under the supervision of Dr. Ryan Yuen and Dr. Christopher Pearson. She is interested in identifying genetic modifiers of tandem repeat expansions through next-generation and long-read sequencing in addition to in vitro experiments. In her free time, Mahreen enjoys binging Netflix shows, trying new amateur home-cook recipes, and showing off pictures of her dogs.

mahreen.khan@sickkids.ca

Jimmy Nguyen – PhD Candidate

Roberto Aldave-Garza – Undergraduate Summer Student

Roby is a third-year Mechatronics Engineering student at the University of Waterloo specializing in Artificial Intelligence. He has previously contributed to machine learning and medical imaging technologies at Northern Digital Inc., Vena Medical, and Huawei Canada. At the Yuen Lab, Roby is exploring the applications of software and machine learning in genetic variant detection, with a particular interest in tandem repeat expansions and their role in disease. Outside of work, he enjoys playing tennis, soccer, and guitar.

Iryeong (Kyla) Ko – Undergraduate Summer Student

Kyla is a fourth-year undergraduate at the University of Toronto, majoring in Cell & Molecular Biology and Health & Disease, with a minor in Immunology. Her research interests focus on elucidating disease mechanisms that remain poorly understood, with the goal of informing more effective therapeutic approaches. In the Yuen Lab, she is involved in wet lab research using zebrafish models to identify and characterize tandem repeat expansions implicated in human disease.