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Peter Scott McPherson, PhD

Peter Scott McPherson, PhD
Contact Information
Phone: 
514-974-7355
Fax number: 
514-398-8106
Email address: 
peter.mcpherson [at] mcgill.ca
Hospital title: 
Distinguished James Ã山ǿ¼é Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery and Anatomy and Cell Biology
Biography: 

Peter S. McPherson (PhD, FRSC), is a Distinguished James Ã山ǿ¼é Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery and Anatomy and Cell Biology at The Neuro where he is a member of the Neurodegenerative Disease Research Group. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. The McPherson laboratory uses biochemical, molecular, structural, genetic and cellular approaches to identify and functionally characterize proteins that operate in protein trafficking in the endo/lysosomal system. Alterations in these cellular pathways lead to diseases including brain tumors and neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. Current projects in the lab reveal how disruption in transport of selective cargo from endosomes to the cell surface contributes to the development of glioblastoma, a neurodevelopmental disorder called DENND5A-mediated epileptic encephalopathy, and Parkinson's disease and ALS. Understanding the cell biological basis of neurological disease is a major focus of the laboratory.Ìý

McPherson has also led, along with Research Scientist Carl Laflamme, an initiative called YCharOS (antibody characterization through open science) that teams with 14 major antibody manufacturers and knockout cell line providers to validate commercial antibodies against target proteins selected by funders. All data is rapidly transmitted to open sources (YCharOS and Zenodo) as part of a public good.Ìý

Selected publications: 

(2024) Bayati A, Ayoubi R, Aguila A, Zorca CE, Deyab G, Han C, Recinto SJ, Nguyen-Renou E, Rocha C, Maussion G, Luo W, Shlaifer I, Banks E, McDowell I, Del Cid Pellitero E, Ding XE, Sharif B, Séguéla P, Yaqubi M, Chen CX, You Z, Abdian N, McBride HM, Fon EA, Stratton JA, Durcan TM, Nahirney PC, McPherson PS. Nat Neurosci. doi: 10.1038/s41593-024-01775-4. PMID: 39379564ÌýÌý

(2024) Bayati A, McPherson PS. J Biol Chem. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107742. PMID: 39233232ÌýÌý

(2024) Banks E, Francis V, Lin SJ, Kharfallah F, Fonov V, Lévesque M, Han C, Kulasekaran G, Tuznik M, Bayati A, Al-Khater R, Alkuraya FS, Argyriou L, Babaei M, Bahlo M, Bakhshoodeh B, Barr E, Bartik L, Bassiony M, Bertrand M, Braun D, Buchert R, Budetta M, Cadieux-Dion M, Calame DG, Cope H, Cushing D, Efthymiou S, Elmaksoud MA, El Said HG, Froukh T, Gill HK, Gleeson JG, Gogoll L, Goh ES, Gowda VK, Haack TB, Hashem MO, Hauser S, Hoffman TL, Hogue JS, Hosokawa A, Houlden H, Huang K, Huynh S, Karimiani EG, Kaulfuß S, Korenke GC, Kritzer A, Lee H, Lupski JR, Marco EJ, McWalter K, Minassian A, Minassian BA, Murphy D, Neira-Fresneda J, Northrup H, Nyaga DM, Oehl-Jaschkowitz B, Osmond M, Person R, Pehlivan D, Petree C, Sadleir LG, Saunders C, Schoels L, Shashi V, Spillmann RC, Srinivasan VM, Torbati PN, Tos T; Undiagnosed Diseases Network; Zaki MS, Zhou D, Zweier C, Trempe JF, Durcan TM, Gan-Or Z, Avoli M, Alves C, Varshney GK, Maroofian R, Rudko DA, McPherson PS. Nat Commun. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-51310-z. PMID: 39174524ÌýÌý

(2024) Aguila A, Salah S, Kulasekaran G, Shweiki M, Shaul-Lotan N, Mor-Shaked H, Daana M, Harel T, McPherson PS. J Biol Chem. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107124. PMID: 38432637Ìý

(2024) Kumar R, Khan M, Francis V, Aguila A, Kulasekaran G, Banks E, McPherson PS. Nat Commun. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-44957-1. PMID: 38296963ÌýÌý

(2023) Kahn RA, Virk HS, McPherson PS. Nature. doi: 10.1038/d41586-023-02566-w. PMID: 37582877ÌýÌý

(2023) Kumar R, Francis V, Ioannou MS, Aguila A, Khan M, Banks E, Kulasekaran G, McPherson PS. Cell Rep. 2023 doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112795. PMID: 37454296ÌýÌý

(2023) Ayoubi R, Ryan J, Biddle MS, Alshafie W, Fotouhi M, Bolivar SG, Moleon VR, Eckmann P, Worrall D, McDowell I, Southern K, Reintsch W, Durcan TM, Brown CM, Bandrowski A, Virk HS, Edwards AM, McPherson PS, Laflamme C. PMID: 37398479ÌýÌý

(2023) Kumar R, Francis V, Kulasekaran G, Khan M, Armstrong GAB, McPherson PS. Sci Adv. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abk3088. PMID: 35196081ÌýÌý

(2021) Bayati A, Kumar R, Francis V, McPherson PS. J Biol Chem. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100306. PMID: 33476648ÌýÌý

(2021) Kulasekaran G, Chaineau M, Piscopo VEC, Verginelli F, Fotouhi M, Girard M, Tang Y, Dali R, Lo R, Stifani S, McPherson PS. J Cell Biol. 2021 Feb 1;220(2):e202004229. doi: 10.1083/jcb.202004229. PMID: 33443570 Free PMC article.Ìý

 Ioannou, M.S., Bell, E.S., Girard, M., Chaineau, M., Hamlin, J.N.R., Daubaras, M., Monast, A., Park, M., Hodgson, L., and McPherson, P.S. (2015) DENND2B activates Rab13 at the leading edge of migrating cells and promotes metastatic behavior. J. Cell Biol. 208: 629-648. (Featured in a JCB Podcast called biobytes, in which the journal highlights one significant paper appearing in each issue. A movie from this manuscript, imaging Rab13 activation at the leading edge of a migrating cell, was posted by the Journal on their Facebook page and received > 34,000 views. Featured in the Faculty of 1000).Ìý

Girard, M., Larivière, R., Parfitt, D.A., Deane, E.C., Gaudet, R., Nossova, N., Blondeau, F., Prenosil, G., Vermeulen, E.G.M., Duchen, M.R., Richter, A., Shoubridge, E.A., Gehring, K., McKinney, R.A., Brais, B., Chapple, J.P. and McPherson, P.S. (2012) Mitochondrial dysfunction and Purkinje cell loss in Autosomal Recessive Spastic Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA 109: 1661-1666. (Selected as Novel and Newsworthy when presented at the American Society for Cell Biology, December 2011, coverage in multiple newspapers including a full-page feature in the Globe & Mail, reported by multiple radio and TV stations, subject of a Nature News and Views, Narenda, D.P. and Youle, R.J. (2012) Neurodegeneration: Trouble in the cell's powerhouse, Nature, 483: 418-419).Ìý

Allaire, P.D., Marat, A.L., Dall'Armi, C., Di Paolo, G., McPherson, P.S.*, and Ritter, B*. (2010) The connecdenn DENN domain: A GEF for Rab35 mediating cargo-specific exit from early endosomes. Mol. Cell. 37: 370-382. *=co-corresponding author.Ìý

Blondeau, F., Ritter, B., Allaire, P.D., Wasiak, S., Girard, M., Hussain, N.K., Angers, A., Legendre-Guillemin, V., Roy, L., Boismenu, D., Kearney, R.E., Bell, A.W., Bergeron, J.J.M., and McPherson, P.S. (2004) Tandem mass spectrometry analysis of brain clathrin-coated vesicles reveals their critical involvement in synaptic vesicle recycling. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA 101:3833-3838. (selected by the Faculty of 1000)Ìý

Hussain, N.K., Jenna, S., Glogauer, M., Quinn, C.C., Wasiak, S., Kay, B.K., Stossel, T.P., Lamarche-Vane, N., and McPherson, P.S. (2001) The endocytic protein intersectin-l regulates actin assembly via Cdc42 and N-WASP. Nat. Cell Biol. 3:927-932.Ìý

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Research areas: 
Neurodegenerative Disorders

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The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital)Ìýis a bilingual academic healthcare institution. We are aÌýÃ山ǿ¼é research and teaching institute; delivering high-quality patient care, as part of the Neuroscience Mission of the Ã山ǿ¼é Health Centre.ÌýWe areÌýproud to be a Killam Institution, supported by the Killam Trusts.

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