Pierre Moffatt

I was recruited as a principal investigator at the Shriners Hospitals for Children - Canada in November 2006. My academic affiliation is Associate Professor with the Department of Human Genetics of McGill University. Prior to joining the Shriners, I worked for 5 years in local biotech industries as a senior scientist, and subsequently for 2 years at the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Montreal as a research associate. My expertise and interests cover molecular, cellular, and physiological aspects of calcified tissues (bones and teeth). My research program focuses on the functional characterization of genes discovered as part of a genome-wide transcriptomic initiative to identify secreted and membrane proteins. More specifically, we are focusing on the IFITM5 (BRIL) gene in which mutations have been found to cause osteogenesis imperfecta type V. We are using cellular and engineered mouse models to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms by which the mutant BRIL protein causes this disease.