Dr. Katherine Siminovitch

Dr. Siminovitch has a long-standing interest in characterizing signaling pathways that regulate immune cell function. Her lab played seminal roles in defining the functions of the SHP-1 tyrosine phosphatase in autoimmune responses and the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASp) actin regulator in immune deficiency, and her group continues to generate new mouse models that can be used to delineate the contributions of these and other tyrosine phosphatases and cytoskeletal modulatory proteins to immune cell function.

Dr. Siminovitch is also an acclaimed leader in genomic medicine. Working with other physicians at the Rebecca MacDonald Centre for Arthritis and Autoimmune Disease, Dr. Siminovitch has discovered some of the key gene variants conferring risk for rheumatoid arthritis and primary biliary cirrhosis.

By coupling her studies of human patient cohorts with the generation of unique mouse models, she is characterizing the genes that regulate normal immune responses, defining the mechanisms whereby certain proteins contribute to immune system function, and identifying the molecular pathways whereby such variants evoke cell dysfunction and disease. Dr. Siminovitch also directs a core facility that provides genotyping and sequencing services as well as guidance for design of genomics projects aimed at delineating the genetic factors modulating disease risk and outcome.