Carl Ernst, PhD
Carl Ernst is an expert in stem cell biology and genetic engineering and heads the Interventional Genetics Unit at the Neuro (IGUANa). IGUANa uses precision medicine tools to design, develop and deliver new therapies for rare neurological disorders.
Professor Ernst started his professional career working as a one-on-one personal care worker with children with disabilities in schools. Working with kids and connecting with families continue to inspire his current work at McGill. IGUANa is committed to engaging with families to find new therapies for disease, and advancing these treatments to phase 1 clinical trials. His group has significant expertise in making brain cells from blood and making new genetic engineering tools to treat rare disease.
Carl Ernst is committed to providing an excellent environment for trainees, including undergraduate and graduate students. He is a past winner of the Graduate Teaching Award of Excellence in the Department of Human Genetics and was an awardee of both the Canada Research Chairs and the Quebec Senior Scholars programs. Professor Ernst speaks French and English.
Prevention of hydrocephalus with a small oligonucleotide. Antonyan L, Bossini L, Zhang X, Ni A, Hagel MD, Baronchelli E, Geusa M, Peng H, Semenak A, Fleming P, Alsuwaidi S, Zhang Y, Hu B, Fontana D, Crippa V, Codazzi S, Macintosh J, Arriaga-Sierra A, Khan B, Hettige N, Jefri M, Liang Y, Klein S, du Toit A, Phan NTN, Schuppert A, Zhou Y, Piazza R, Murai K, Jacquemont S, Sessa A, Ernst C. Molecular Therapy. 2026
Kabuki syndrome stem cell models reveal locus specificity of histone methyltransferase 2D (KMT2D/MLL4). Jefri M, Zhang X, Stumpf PS, Zhang L, Peng H, Hettige N, Theroux JF, Aouabed Z, Wilson K, Deshmukh S, Antonyan L, Ni A, Alsuwaidi S, Zhang Y, Jabado N, Garcia BA, Schuppert A, Bjornsson HT, Ernst C. Hum Mol Genet. 2022 May 28
FOXG1 dose tunes cell proliferation dynamics in human forebrain progenitor cells. Hettige NC, Peng H, Wu H, Zhang X, Yerko V, Zhang Y, Jefri M, Soubannier V, Maussion G, Alsuwaidi S, Ni A, Rocha C, Krishnan J, McCarty V, Antonyan L, Schuppert A, Turecki G, Fon EA, Durcan TM, Ernst C. Stem Cell Reports. 2022, March 8
Epigenetic priming in neurodevelopmental disorders. Ernst C, Jefri M. Trends Mol Med. 2021 Oct 21:S1471-4914(21)00253-7. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2021.09.005.
Lesch-Nyhan disease causes impaired energy metabolism and reduced developmental potential in midbrain dopaminergic cells. Bell S, McCarty V, Peng H, Jefri M, Hettige N, Antonyan L, Crapper L, O'Leary LA, Zhang X, Zhang Y, Wu H, Sutcliffe D, Kolobova I, Rosenberger TA, Moquin L, Gratton A, Popic J, Gantois I, Stumpf PS, Schuppert AA, Mechawar N, Sonenberg N, Tremblay ML, Jinnah HA, Ernst C. Stem Cell Reports. 2021 Jul 13;16(7):1749-1762.
Mutations in ACTL6B cause neurodevelopmental deficits and epilepsy and and lead to loss of dendrites in human neurons. Bell S, Rousseau J, Peng H, Aouabed Z, Priam P, Theroux JF, Jefri M, Tanti A, Wu H, Kolobova I, Silviera H, Manzano-Vargas K, Ehresmann S, Hamdan FF, Hettige N, Zhang X, Antonyan L, Nassif C, Ghaloul-Gonzalez L, Sebastian J, Vockley J, Begtrup AG, Wentzensen IM, Crunk A, Nicholls RD, Herman KC, Deignan JL, Al-Hertani W, Efthymiou S, Salpietro V, Miyake N, Makita Y, Matsumoto N, Østern R, Houge G, Hafström M, Fassi E, Houlden H, Klein Wassink-Ruiter JS, Nelson D, Goldstein A, Dabir T, van Gils J, Bourgeron T, Delorme R, Cooper GM, Martinez JE, Finnila CR, Carmant L, Lortie A, Oegema R, van Gassen K, Mehta SG, Huhle D, Abou Jamra R, Martin S, Brunner HG, Lindhout D, Au M, Graham JM Jr, Coubes C, Turecki G, Gravel S, Mechawar N, Rossignol E, Michaud JL, Lessard J, Ernst C*, Campeau PM*. Am J Hum Genet. May 2019
Disruption of GRIN2B Impairs Differentiation in Human Neurons. Scott Bell, Gilles Maussion, Malvin Jefri, Huashan Peng, Jean-Francois Theroux, Heika Silveira, Vincent Soubannier, Hanrong Wu, Peng Hu, Ekaterina Galat, S. Gabriela Torres-Platas, Camille Boudreau-Pinsonneault, Liam A. O'Leary, Vasiliy Galat, Gustavo Turecki, Thomas M. Durcan, Edward A. Fon, Naguib Mechawar, Carl Ernst. Stem Cell Reports,2018 Jul 10;11(1):183-196 (Cover)
Proliferation and differentiation deficits in neural stem cells are a major convergence point for neurodevelopmental disorders. Ernst C. Trends in Neurosciences. 2016 May;39(5):290-9
Molecular Convergence of Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Chen ES, Gigek CO, Rosenfeld JA, Diallo AB, Maussion G, Chen GG, Vaillancourt K, Lopez JP, Crapper L, Poujol R, Shaffer LG, Bourque G, Ernst C. American Journal of Human Genetics, 2014 Nov 6;95(5):490-508
Ernst C, Marshall CR, Shen Y, Metcalfe K, Rosenfeld J, Hodge JC, Torres A, Blumenthal I, Chiang C, Pillalamarri V, Crapper L, Diallo AB, Ruderfer D, Pereira S, Sklar P, Purcell S, Wildin RS, Spencer AC, Quade BF, Harris DJ, Lemyre E, Wu BL, Stavropoulos DJ, Geraghty MT, Shaffer LG, Morton CC, Scherer SW, Gusella JF, Talkowski ME. Highly Penetrant Alterations of a Critical Region Including BDNF in Human Psychopathology and Obesity. JAMA Psychiatry. 2012 Oct 8:1-9.
