Robert Sladek
Assistant Professor, Department of Human Genetics
Email: robert.sladek@mcgill.ca
Phone: (514) 398-5458
740 Dr Penfield Ave, Room 6214
Montréal, Québec, Canada, H3A 0G1
Rob Sladek is an Assistant Professor at the McGill University and Genome Quebec Innovation Centre. He completed undergraduate studies in Engineering Science and Medicine as well as a clinical fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism, all at the University of Toronto. His postdoctoral training explored the role of the Estrogen-related receptors in the regulation of fat metabolism and reproduction (with Dr Vincent Giguère) and the application of high-throughput genomics technologies to study complex traits (with Dr Tom Hudson). His current research centers on the development of new technologies for studying the dynamics of gene transcription networks in living cells (the Living Microarray Project) and risk factors for type 2 diabetes (the Diabetes Gene Discovery Group).
Research Interests
Dr Sladek’s scientific contributions centre on establishing the role of gene transcription networks in complex traits. He identified key physiological roles for the orphan nuclear receptor ERRalpha in regulating the balance between lipolysis and lipogenesis and ERRbeta in regulating development of the chorion and trophoblast. He has developed methods to identify transcriptional networks de novo in panels of recombinant congenic mouse strains and to characterize transcriptional effects of cis-regulatory genetic variants that underlie complex genetic traits. His ongoing research projects include collaboration with Dr. Walter Reisner (McGill Physics) to develop nanodevices to characterize single DNA molecules.