Researcher

Title

• Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal (2006)

• Massachussetts' Institute of Technology (MIT), PhD in Biology (1985)
• Princeton University, A.B. Molecular Biology (1979)

• Human and plant genomics
• Genetics of the endocrine and visual systems
• Biochemistry and genetics of cholesterol and iron
• High throughput sequencing analysis

Career Summary

Pr. Mark Samuels is Associate Professor in Medicine at the Université de Montréal since 2006. In high school he was a Presidential Scholar in the United States in 1975.  He received his A.B. degree summa cum laude in Molecular Biology from Princeton University, and his Ph.D. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he worked in the laboratory of Prof. Phillip Sharp.  Dr. Samuels has studied the molecular mechanisms of cellular function and development, resulting in numerous scientific publications in the fields of basic gene expression, fruit fly sex determination, and human genetics.  As a molecular geneticist he has participated in novel discoveries of twenty genes involved in eye development, neuronal function, growth, endocrine function, and iron metabolism among others. Recently he has developed a new research program in plant genomics, given the importance of improving food security in Canada with the rapid pace of climate change. Last year he published the first reported assembly and analysis of the genome of Chenopodium berlandieri, a native Canadian plant and close cousin of the popular food crop quinoa, which was cultivated and eaten by indigenous peoples as part of the Eastern Agricultural Complex before the arrival of European colonists in North America.

Awards and Distinctions

• US Presidential Scholar Phi Beta Kappa Sigma XI.

Presentations

• Genomic studies of Canadian Chenopodium berlandieri (pitseed goosefoot). Plants&Agro eCon, June 2023
• Genomic studies of Canadian Chenopodium berlandieri (pitseed goosefoot). Canadian Botanical Society Annual Conference, May 2022.
• Evolution and genetics of the patella. Canadian Developmental Biology Conference, March 2018.

Publications

1. Samuels ME, Lapointe C, Halwas S, Worley AC (2023). Genomic sequence of Canadian Chenopodium berlandieri: a North American wild relative of quinoa. Plants. 12(3): 467.
2. Nada D, Julien C, Papillon-Cavanagh S, Majewski M, Elbakry M, Elremaly W, Samuels ME, Moreau A. (2022). Identification of FAT3 as a new candidate gene for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Nature Scientific Reports. 12: 12298.
3. Larrivee-Vanier S, Jean-Louis M, Magne F, Bui H, Rouleau GA, Spiegelman D, Samuels ME, Kibar Z, Van Vliet G, Deladoey J. (2022). Whole Exome Sequencing in Congenital Hypothyroidism Due to Thyroid Dysgenesis. Thyroid. 32(5): 486-495.
4. Khodja Y, Samuels ME. (2020) Ethanol-mediated upregulation of APOA1 gene expression in HepG2 cells is independent of de novo lipid biosynthesis. Lipids in Health and Disease 19(1): 144-156.
5. Nada D, Julien C, Samuels ME, Moreau A.(2018) A Replication Study for Association of LBX1 Locus With Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis in French-Canadian Population.  Spine 43: 172-178.
6. Preuss C, Capredon M, Wünnemann F, Chetaille P, Prince A, Godard B, Leclerc S, Sobreira N, Ling H, Awadalla P, Thibeault M, Khairy P; MIBAVA Leducq consortium., Samuels ME, Andelfinger G. (2016) Family Based Whole Exome Sequencing Reveals the Multifaceted Role of Notch Signaling in Congenital Heart Disease. PLoS Genet 12(10) e1006335.
7. Samuels ME, Friedman JM. (2015) Genetic mosaics and the germ line lineage. Genes 6(2):216-37.
8. Brue T, Quentien M, Khetchoumian K, Bensa M, Capo-Chichi J, Delemer B, Balsalobre A, Nassif C, Papadimitriou DT, Pagnier A, Hasselmann C, Patry L, Schwartzentruber J, Souchon P, Takayasu S, Enjalbert A, Van Vliet G, Majewski J, Drouin J, Samuels ME. (2014) Mutations in NFKB2 and potential genetic heterogeneity in patients with DAVID syndrome, having variable endocrine and immune deficiencies. BMC Med Genet. 2014 Dec 19;15(1):139.