Lab members
Meet The Team
Rubén Marín Juez, Ph.D.
Rubén obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Barcelona (SP), where he investigated with Dr. Josep Planas the role of the glucose transporters GLUT2 and GLUT4 in homeostasis and development. Next, he did a postdoc in the group of Prof. Herman Spaink/Dr. Ron Dirks at Leiden University/ZF-Screens (NL). He developed high throughput pipelines for compound testing using zebrafish and studied how metabolism regulates immunity and cardiac development. His postdoctoral training was completed in the laboratory of Prof. Didier Stainier at the Max Planck Institute (DE). Using the zebrafish model, he identified the hitherto unappreciated phenomenon of fast angiogenic revascularization during heart regeneration. His studies revealed that, besides their role as a transport system, coronary vessels are involved in the regulation of cardiomyocyte proliferation and scarring. Dr. Marín Juez was recruited in 2020 as a group leader at the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center and as an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Cellular Biology at the University of Montreal. Outside the lab, he enjoys climbing, hiking and traveling.
Gülsüm Kayman Kürekçi, Ph.D.
Gülsüm comes from Belgium. She completed her PhD in Ankara, Turkey, where she studied the genetic and molecular defects in patients with rare hereditary neuromuscular disorders without a genetic diagnosis. Working with Prof. Pervin Dincer, she identified a new gene responsible for muscular dystrophy. She discovered zebrafish during a research stay in Simon Hughes’ lab at King’s College London and loves them enough to help establish a zebrafish facility back in Hacettepe University. Bringing her expertise in zebrafish and muscle biology, she joined the lab as a postdoc in 2021. She focuses on how angiocrine and epicardial-derived factors influence cardiac regeneration and fibrosis. Outside the lab, she is a highly motivated (but still very amateur) badminton and padel player. Her lab experiments are generally more successful than her smashes.
Simon Schnebert, Ph.D.
Simon studied Veterinary Medicine and Marine Biology in Belgium and Portugal. After spending a year in Australia working with the Australian Institute of Marine Science, he began his PhD at INRAe in his beloved Basque Country, where he focused on Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy (CMA) in fish. His fascination for metabolism and cellular biology has fueled his belief that identifying key mechanisms regulating these processes will enhance our understanding of how to stimulate heart regeneration. Outside of work, Simon has a passion for hidden musical gems and a soft spot for indie films.
Ngan Tran, Ph.D.
Ngan Tran obtained her Master of Medical Science from the University of Hallym, where she investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying altered toxin susceptibility in a Drosophila model of familial Parkinson’s disease. She then completed her Ph.D. in Developmental Biology at the University of Tartu, focusing on epithelial morphogenesis and the cellular dynamics driving Drosophila wing development. She continued her training as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Helsinki, studying how cells communicate to coordinate tissue morphogenesis during development. She is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Montreal, investigating how intercellular communication orchestrates tissue regeneration. Outside the lab, she enjoys origami, long hikes, and rainy days.
Muhamad Abdul Rouf
Rouf is a Ph.D. student in Molecular Biology program, Faculty of Medicine at Université de Montréal. He is from Kudus, Central Java, Indonesia. He obtained his B.Sc. in Biotechnology, Genetics and Chemistry from Osmania University, India in 2017. He pursued his master’s degree in M.Eng. Biomedical Engineering at Chongqing University, China and graduated in 2020. Both for his education, he obtained fully funded scholarship from the Indian and Chinese Government, respectively. He is interested in vascular biology including lymphatic and blood vessel, cardiac development and regeneration, and zebrafish. He is interested in understanding coronaries development and cardiac morphogenesis in zebrafish. Outside of research, Rouf is interested in politics and history, and has been actively participating in various organizations and volunteer activities. He also likes reading, traveling and cooking.
Gursimran Kaur Bajwa
Gursimran comes from the beautiful state of Uttarakhand, India. After completing her high school studies in her hometown, she moved to the capital city- Delhi for her higher studies. She did her Bachelors and Masters in Zoology from the University of Delhi. She is pursuing her PhD in Molecular Biology from University of Montreal. She is interested in studying vascular scaffolding and endocardial anchoring during cardiac regeneration. When not in the lab, she loves watching football (FORCA BARCA), swing dancing and being around cats.
Shaoqiu Zhang
Shaoqiu comes from China. He earned his B.Sc in Marine Resources and Environment from Zhejiang Ocean University. He completed his M.Eng in Biotechnology Engineering at the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He then moved on to work as a research assistant at the Kunming Institute of Zoology, CAS. He joined the lab as a Ph.D. student in 2023. His research interest focuses on the roles of immune cells during cardiac regeneration in zebrafish. Outside the lab, he enjoys reading, watching movies, cooking and sleeping for 12 hours.
Eliza Sassu
Eliza comes from Sibiu, Romania. She did her bachelor's thesis at the University of Freiburg in Germany and graduated in 2022. In her bachelor's thesis, she focused on studying changes associated with aging in the intracardiac nervous system. She continued her studies in Freiburg and studied Molecular medicine in her master's, graduating in 2025. During her master's, she focused on cardiac regeneration in vitro, understanding the effect of small-molecule inhibitors on different human cardiac cell types. She will continue studying cardiac regeneration with zebrafish as a model in Dr. Ruben Marin Juez's lab. Outside of the lab, she enjoys playing volleyball, reading, and baking.
Yijie Zhang
Yijie comes from Shanghai, China. In Shanghai Guangming High School, he underwent the French training of TCF B2. In 2024, the Université d'Ottawa awarded him an Honours B.Sc. in Biochemistry. He is now studying for a master's degree in Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine at Université de Montréal. During his undergraduate years, he showed a keen interest in zebrafish development and regeneration as well as protein synthesis and metabolism. In Dr Marin-Juez's Lab, he is moving closer to his dream, investigating the effects of post-translational modifications on heart regeneration and endothelial cells in zebrafish and mouşe with the support of Dr Joyal's lab. In his spare time, he enjoys getting close to nature in various ways, fishing, kayaking, etc. He is a swimming coach, lifeguard and retired swimmer.
Alumni
- Savita Gupta, Ph.D. (co-supervised with Prof. Didier Stainier)
- Armaan Mehra, Ph.D. (co-supervised with Prof. Didier Stainier) (Current position: Novogene Europe)
- Sarah Kamel, Ph.D. (Current position: Postdoc at SickKids Toronto)
- Stephanie Larrivee-Vanier, Ph.D. (Current position: Postdoc at Sherbrooke University)
- Hadil El-Sammak, Ph.D. (co-supervised with Prof. Didier Stainier) (Current position: Postdoc at DZHK Heidelberg)