About

The Drögemöller Lab uses large-scale genomic and computational analyses to guide the development of novel treatment strategies that offer maximum benefit and minimal harm.

This research is focused specifically on vulnerable and understudied populations (e.g. pediatric and maternal populations) as therapeutic agents are often not designed and tested with these patients in mind.

Principal Investigator

Dr. Britt Drögemöller is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Medical Genetics at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Drögemöller holds a Canada Research Chair in Pharmacogenomics and Precision Medicine and is appointed as a Research Scientist at The Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba (CHRIM) and an Adjunct Scientist at the CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute.

Awards:

• Tier 2 CIHR Canada Research Chair
• Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow

MSc student

Samah Ahmed is a MSc student in the Department of Biochemistry & Medical Genetics at the University of Manitoba. Samah graduated with her B.Pharm from the University of Khartoum in 2010. Her MSc project focuses on using automated phenotyping strategies and large-scale genomic analyses to uncover genes and pathways invovled in age-related hearing loss.

Awards:

• Rady Faculty of Health Sciences Graduate Studentship
• Visual and Automated Disease Analytics Graduate Training Program Studentship
• Research Manitoba Masters Studentship (declined)
• International Graduate Student Entrance Scholarship

MSc student

Deanne Nixie Miao is a MSc student in the Department of Biochemistry & Medical Genetics at the University of Manitoba. Deanne graduated with a BSc Honors in Genetics at the University of Manitoba in 2021. Her MSc focuses on identifying genetic variants and genes involved in pathways underlying cisplatin-induced ototoxicity through GWAS and scRNAseq analyses.

Awards:

• Rady Faculty of Health Sciences Graduate Studentship

Undergraduate Student

Feryal Ladha is an undergraduate student at the University of Manitoba pursuing a BSc in Genetics. Her project focuses on the development of polygenic risk scores to predict cisplatin-induced tinnitus.

Awards:

• CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute Summer Studentship

C0-op Student

Mary McAuley is an undergraduate student at the University of Manitoba pursuing a BSc in Genetics. Her project focuses on creating polygenic risk scores for various hearing loss phenotypes.

Honours Student

Avital Kuznecov is an undergraduate student at the University of Manitoba pursuing a BSc in Genetics. Her project focuses identifying genetic variants influencing hidden hearing loss through the use of GWAS.

Mitacs-Globalink South Africa-Canada postdoctoral exchange student

Niel Olivier is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stellenbosch University, RSA, who has been awarded a Mitacs Globalink internship in the Drögemöller lab. He previously completed his MSc in Biochemistry and PhD in Physiological Sciences at Stellenbosch University, RSA. His main research areas include cancer, immunity, pharmacogenetics, and personalized medicine.