PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Roberta is Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery and Associate Member of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at McGill University

She earned her MD at University of Pavia, Italy, where she then specialized in Pediatric Neurology and Psychiatry. She completed her PhD in Neuroscience at McGill University. During her training, she developed an interdisciplinary profile which combines the expertise in neuroradiology and genetics with her clinical background.

In 2013 she launched the White Matter Rounds, interdisciplinary monthly meetings that have evolved into an international network including researchers and clinicians from more than 15 centers around the world.

In her free time, you can find her in the kitchen, baking and making homemade pasta, or in a pottery studio, trying to make bowls and plates (and often failing at it).

RESEARCH ASSISTANT

Gabriel has a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Sao Paulo -Brazil, where he worked at the intersection of toxicology, pharmacology, neurobiology, and behaviour. He has completed two postdoctoral trainings at McGill University at the Pharmacology & Therapeutics Department and at the Montreal Neurological Institute.

Along the way, he became a strong Open Science advocate for diversity in research and accessible scientific communication.

At this lab, he continues collaborating across borders and disciplines, with an eye on innovation and patient-centred outcomes. He is also passionate about languages (English, French, Portuguese, Spanish—and Italian is coming up!). When he is not at the bench or in a meeting, he can be found visiting a new coffee shop, walking his best friend around (woof woof), or cooking.

PhD CANDIDATE

Justin holds an honours bachelor's degree in neuroscience from McGill, graduating with first-class honours and dean's honour list accolades. During his undergraduate studies, he performed molecular Parkinson's disease research within the laboratories of Drs. Edward Fon and Heidi McBride, notably leveraging CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology and confocal microscopy.

Since then, he has developed a strong interest in the neuroradiological patterns and genetic variants characterizing white matter disorders. These became the aims of his research project.

In his free time, Justin enjoys playing electric/acoustic guitar, team sports, and video/board games.

PhD STUDENT

Abbe earned her Bachelor's in Genetics from Rutgers University and her Master's in Genetic Counseling from Brandeis University. She is a certified genetic counselor with a background in neurogenetic research, having contributed to several gene discovery projects in the Walsh Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Abbe's research interests focus on genetic leukoencephalopathies associated with repetitive motifs. She hopes to identify and classify novel and existing repeat related disorders for her research project.

Outside the lab, Abbe enjoys graphic arts and scientific illustration. She can also often be found playing video or trading card games in her spare time.

PhD STUDENT

(Co-supervised by Dr. Jo-Anne Stratton)

Diana is an international student from Mexico, where she completed her bachelor’s degree in biotechnology engineering with minor in molecular biology. During her immunology courses she fell in love with neuroscience . She completed a 6-month research internship at Oxford University, where she studied the innate and adaptive immune response in Parkinson using macrophages and T-cells along dopaminergic neurons derived from iPSCs.

Her research aim is to investigate the impact of CSF1R mutations on microglia development and function using patient-derived iPSCs.

Her hobbies include watching movies, listening to music and taking long walks at the park to pet puppies.

PhD STUDENT

Ruwan completed her B.Sc. Honors Specialization in Genetics at Western University, and has since been working at the whitelab. She is interested in understanding the underlying genetic factors of white matter diseases and other neurogenetic disorders, with the long-term goal of creating targeted genetic therapies.

Her research project involves the identification of novel imaging diagnostic criteria and biomarkers for hereditary spastic paraplegias.

Her hobbies include volleyball, drawing, puzzles, and spontaneously making haute cuisine dishes.

MSc STUDENT

Formerly research assistant in the lab, Aziz has started a MSc in Neuroscience in 2025 under the supervision of Dr. La Piana. His current project focuses on advanced neuroimaging techniques, including ultra-high field 7T MRI, to study SCA27B.

Outside of the lab, his main hobby is music!

CLINICAL FELLOW

Mayra is a clinical fellow in neurogenetics at McGill University. She completed her MD at University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she then specialized in Adult Neurology. She was the resident's chief in Neurology at Hospital Ramos Mejia and then completed a Neuromuscular Fellowship in Hospital Britanico de Buenos Aires. She discovered her passion for genetics inthe first year of her career and was a teaching assistant for many years at the Department of Histology, Embriology, Molecular Biology and Genetics. 

In her free time, she enjoys reading and hiking in the nature.

CLINICAL FELLOW

Pablo is an adult neurogenetics fellow at the Neuro under the supervision of Dr. Bernard Brais. He studied medicine at the University of Zaragoza (Spain) where he also got his PhD about primary cilia. He trained in neurology at the Donostia University Hospital where he combined clinical practice and translational research on neurogenetical disorders. During his residency, he did a 3-month internship at the Neurogenetics lab at UCL London (UK). His current research is mainly focused on neuromuscular disorders and ataxia but he keeps a broad interest on all kind of neurogenetical diseases.

In his free time, he likes running and reading.

RESIDENT IN DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY

Alex is a resident in the Diagnostic Radiology program at McGill. He completed his BSc in Pharmacology at UBC, MPH at Dartmouth College, and subsequently received his MD from Dalhousie University.

He has a strong interest in neuroradiology and hopes to gain valuable experience in the cutting edge imaging modalities in working up various neurological disorders including white matter diseases. He is currently involved in the White Matter Rounds Network initiative to create a Neuroimaging Consensus Statement to investigate adult patients with white matter disorders.

In his free time, he is an avid hiker and also a big foodie!

MEDICAL STUDENT

Joyce is a 4th year medical student at McGill who discovered her love for the Brain during her Neurology block in medical school. Her research interest lies in scientific education, and her project aims to promote awareness around white matter diseases as well as to give prospective students the image skills necessary to interpret them on MRI.

In her free time, Joyce enjoys writing fiction, running around the canal, painting and sharing recipes with friends! She also spends a lot of time losing at Mario Kart, though that’s less enjoyable.

MEDICAL STUDENT

Roy is a third-year medical student at McGill. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Anatomy and Cell Biology and a Master’s degree in Integrated Program in Neuroscience from McGill. He gained research experience studying ALS at the Stellwagen Lab, then followed his interest in exercise science at the McGill Muscle Physiology and Biophysics Lab. He then spent the next 5 years studying the pathophysiology of Christianson Syndrome at the McKinney Lab.

His project involves developing a diagnostic approach to adult-onset leukodystrophies based on MRI pattern recognition to narrow down the differential diagnosis and reduce diagnostic delays.

In his free time, Roy enjoys working out, watching and playing football and soccer, and enjoying beverages at a variety of venues with his friends.

Lanyun is student in Pharmacology at McGill. She is working as lab helper in the white lab, specifically contributing to the development of the White Matter Rounds Open Science website.

She loves watching action movies, reading and camping!

Rachel is a P-Med Student at McGill. She is interested in understanding and categorizing the different profiles of mitochondrial diseases to streamline the diagnosis process.

In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer and solving crossword puzzles.

MEDICAL STUDENT

Sabrina grew up in Montreal and graduated from McGill with Dean’s Honours in Anatomy & Cell Biology. During her undergraduate degree, she gained research experience studying meiotic chromosome organization in the Zetka lab and cystic fibrosis pathophysiology under the supervision of Dr. John Hanrahan, but exposure to neuroscience through her courses is what drew her into the field and ultimately led her to the La Piana lab.

Her project seeks to identify radiological, clinical and genetic correlations in individuals afflicted with the recently identified late-onset ataxia SCA27B and elucidate brain involvement in the disorder through MRI analysis.

In her free time, Sabrina enjoys doing pilates, reading and trying out new restaurants with friends.

Aamina is an undergraduate Anatomy and Cell Biology student at McGill. She volunteers in the lab and contributes to one of Justin Simo’s projects investigating rare white matter diseases. In addition, Aamina helps with the updating and managing of the the White Matter Rounds website. Outside the lab, she likes to cook and bakes all kinds of recipeses.