Diane Boivin, Vice-president

I am a Professor of Psychiatry at McGill Universityand Director of the Centre for study and Treatment of Circadian Rhythmsat the Douglas Hospital Research Center in Montreal. After my MD at Laval University (1981-1985), medical internship (1986),PhD in neurosciences at the Université de Montreal (1986-1993), and postdoctoral fellowshipin Endocrinology at Harvard University (1992-1997), I returned to Canada to found myhuman chronobiology research laboratory. Since 1997, I developed akeeninterest for sex differences and the female circadian system. My research team investigated the interaction between the menstrual and circadian cyclesas well as the circadian disturbances in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder, post-menopausal females, and female shift workers. My actual research program focusses on sex differences in circadian physiology, with practical applications for workerson atypical schedules. This research program is recognized internationally and addresses the issue of sex differences and shift work in a translational multidisciplinary, and comprehensive manner.

Phillip Karpowicz , Secretary 

I completed my PhD at the University of Toronto studying mouse neural stem cells in Derek van der Kooy’s lab (2003-2008). I then switched gears, and did my Post-Doc in Norbert Perrimon’s lab at Harvard Medical School where I studied Drosophila intestinal stem cells (2008-2014). There I discovered, in a genetic screen, that clock genes were necessary in Drosophila intestinal stem cells to properly regenerate the intestine. This was very surprising to me, since circadian rhythms weren’t really appreciated in stem cell biology at the time. My lab at the University of Windsor now studies circadian rhythms in the gastrointestinal tract of both Drosophila and mice, and sometimes using intestinal organoids.

Patricia Lakin-Thomas, Treasurer

I am originally a Californian who earned my PhD in Biology at the University of California, San Diego. I worked in Stuart Brody's lab where I learned to love the fungus Neurospora crassa and its circadian rhythms of spore formation. I subsequently spent a number of years at the University of Cambridge (UK) as an independent research fellow and lecturer before moving to the Biology Dept at York University as an Associate Professor in 2002. My lab is still using Neurospora as a model system to study the molecular basis of circadian rhythmicity. We use genetics, biochemistry and cell biology to investigate rhythmicity that doesn't require the canonical transcription/translation feedback loop. Our work may point towards common mechanisms of rhythm regulation in all eukaryotes.

Rae Silver

Helene L and Mark N Kaplan Professor of Natural and Physical Sciences

Psychology Department, Barnard College

Psychology Department, Columbia University

Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical School

Nader Ghasemlou

I completed my PhD in neuroimmunology at McGill University and postdoctoral fellowship in pain physiology at Harvard Medical School. While doing my postdoc, I serendipitously found that chronic pain behaviours were dependent on time-of-day. My research team, the Pain Chronobiology & Neuroimmunology lab, has been working since then to dissect the contribution of clock genes to neuroinflammation in mice and time-of-day to disease symptomology in patients.  Our team uses a translational approach to this end, working to bridge the gap between clinical and preclinical settings. We moved to the Krembil Brain Institute and University of Toronto in early 2026.

Deniz Top

I am an Associate Professor at the University of Alberta, Department of Cell Biology. I completed my Baccalaureate degree at the University of Toronto (specialist degree in Molecular Genetics and Molecular Biology with an emphasis on Chemistry). I completed my PhD at Dalhousie University, studying the biophysics and biochemistry of lipid membrane-protein interactions under the supervision of Dr. Roy Duncan. I later moved to pursuing my interest in protein biochemistry in neurobiology and completed my postdoctoral studies in circadian biology with a focus on molecular mechanisms that regulate behaviour at Rockefeller University, under the supervision of Dr. Michael Young (2017, Nobel Laureate).

I continue to work at the intersection of protein biochemistry, neurobiology and behaviour. My research program focuses on mechanisms of circadian transcription regulation. In our work, we determined that mutations in circadian genes can eliminate its function in some parts of the brain, but appear silent in other parts. This has led us to conclude that each of the circadian transcription programs operate under different regulatory mechanisms in different parts of the brain. We are very interested in understanding how these oscillating transcription programs are coupled across different regions of the brain to inform circadian behaviours, and the consequences of their uncoupling.

Stephanie U

I am currently pursuing my PhD in the Translational Neuroscience Lab with Dr. Brianne Kent at Simon Fraser University. As part of the large-scale Brain Resilience Study, my research examines how circadian rhythms contribute to brain resilience, aging, and Alzheimer’s disease. I completed my BA in Psychology at SFU, where I was first introduced to chronobiology during my honours project with Dr. Ralph Mistlberger, exploring how alcohol and exercise interact to influence learning and neurogenesis. This experience sparked my curiosity about the broader role of circadian rhythms in health, which led me to pursue an MSc in Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia. There, my thesis focused on the influence of sleep and circadian rhythms on chronic disease risks among healthcare workers, further deepening my commitment to understanding the importance of circadian rhythms in human health.