Serohijos Lab:
Evolutionary Systems & Biophysical Genomics
We study how evolutionary dynamics shape organismal, genomic, and phenotypic diversity by linking molecular changes to population-level processes. Using a combination of experimental and computational approaches, we investigate the forces driving evolution across scales—from individual mutations to complex traits and microbial community interactions.
What we do
Evolutionary Systems Genomics
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Complex phenotypes of eukaryotes
We are developing a new approach called protein-interaction quantitative trait loci (piQTL) mapping to uncover how genetic differences influence the complex traits of living organisms. While traditional methods focus on gene expression or protein abundance, our method goes a step further by examining how proteins physically interact inside cells—a key factor in determining how cells function and respond to their environment. Using a powerful yeast model system, CRISPR, and protein-fragment complementation via DHFR PCA, we aim to identify the genetic changes that alter protein interaction networks, which in turn drive traits like drug response or stress tolerance. Representative paper: "Genetic landscape of an in vivo protein interactome " by Besse et al., Biorxiv |
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Computational Biology and Biophysics
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Multi-scale cell models
We are developing computational tools and models to better predict how genetic mutations affect our cells, health, and risk for disease. Every person carries millions of genomic DNA differences, and some of these change the proteins our cells use to function. These mutations can lead to diseases like cancer, heart disease, or diabetes, but existing prediction tools only look at proteins in isolation. Our approach is different: we will take into account how proteins interact with each other, their 3D structures, and how these interactions change under different conditions—like stress or drug exposure. By combining large-scale biological data and artificial intelligence, these tools aims to give a more accurate view of how specific mutations impact organismal and phenotypic diversity. Representative paper: "Genetic landscape of an in vivo protein interactome " by Besse et al., Biorxiv |
Microbial ecology and evolution
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Microbes are the most abundant and diverse form of life on Earth, playing essential roles in everything from maintaining our health to cleaning up pollution and producing medicines. In nature, they live in complex communities made up of many species that interact, compete, and evolve together. Even within a single microbial species, there can be thousands of genetically distinct clones coexisting. For example, a human gut contains over a trillion bacteria spanning hundreds of species and millions of unique variants. Understanding how these microbial communities change over time and respond to their environment is a major scientific challenge. Our research takes an interdisciplinary approach—combining genetics, evolutionary biology, and immunology—to uncover the rules that govern these dynamic and invisible ecosystems.
Representative paper: "Quantifying the intra- and inter-species community interactions in microbiomes by dynamic covariance mapping", by Gencel et al. Nature Communications 2025. |
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Latest News
- June 16, 2021: Arnaud's manuscript is now out in Genome Biology and Evolution. Congratulations!
- June 15, 2021: Our collaborative work with the Shakhnovich group is published in Biophysical Journal. Congrats Rostam!
- June 1, 2021: Adrian is officially an Associate Professor with tenure effective today! Time flies by so fast.
- Sept 30, 2020: Arnaud submitted just submitted his paper on pan-genome evolution. It's posted in Biorxiv.
- Mar 23, 2020: Our paper with the Bershtein lab on chromosomal barcoding is now out in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
- Jan 22, 2020: Our perspective on protein-protein interaction and human genetics with the Michnick lab now out in Bioessays.
- Nov 20, 2019: Tatsuya receives a prestigious fellowship from the Uehara Foundation!
- Aug 1, 2019: We welcome Prof. Tatsuya Sakaguchi who is a visiting scholar to the lab from Kurume University (Japan).
- Aug 1, 2019: We welcome our new PhD student Melis Gencel.
- June 3, 2019: Anh-Tien's collaborative work with the Diatchenko Lab has been accepted in the Annals of Neuroscience!
- May 15, 2019: We welcome our summer interns: Lydia Belaid (UdeM Biochemistry) and Ana Vitorino (McGill Quantitative Biology)!
- May 15, 2019: We welcome our new postdoc Tara Kunwar!
- May 1, 2019: We welcome our new PhD student Yen Tran!
- Apr 30, 2019: Louis receives a doctoral fellowship from FRQS. Congratulations!
- Apr 30, 2019: Arnaud wins a masters fellowship from FRQNT. Well-deserved!
- Apr 1, 2019: We received an NSERC-RTI grant for a microfluidics set-up and the proposal was ranked 2nd in Canada.
- Mar 5, 2019: Louis's paper is now out in Bioinformatics, SodaPop: A computational suite for simulating the dynamics of asexual populations on protein fitness landscapes!
- Mar 5, 2019: Louis wins the best Simon-Pierre-Noël prize for best PhD presentation.
- Jan 23, 2019: Our 5-year Project operating grant has been funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR)!!
- Nov 2, 2018: Arnaud wins the poster prize at the Microbiome Symposium!
- Aug 15, 2018: We welcome Arnaud to the lab!
- Aug 1, 2018: We welcome our new lab tech Zahra to the lab!
- July 12, 2018: Pouria is awarded a generous postdoctoral fellowship from IVADO!
- June 28, 2018: Our paper on the predictability of viral evolution is now out in the early edition of Mol Biol & Evol.
- April 30, 2018: Adrian received the FRQS Research Scholar Junior 1 Award and the dossier was ranked #2 over all applications!
- April 30, 2018: We were awarded an FRQNT Team grant together with Steve Michnick (UdeM) and Paul François (McGill)!
- April 1, 2018: We welcome Sebastien to the lab!
- Dec 4, 2017: Our collaborative work with the Klein and Pekozs labs on influenza is now out.
- Nov 6, 2017: Pouria's and Eric's paper on proteome-wide epistasis in E. coli is published in Scientific Reports. Congrats!
- May 1, 2017: We welcome Louis to the lab!
- May 1, 2017: We welcome Philippe to the lab!
- Feb 28, 2017: We received our John R. Evans Leaders Fund from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and the Government of Quebec (official announcement)
- Nov 10, 2016: Our new review article in now out in Current Opinion in Structural Biology.
- Sept 1, 2016: We welcome Anh-Tien to the lab!
- May 1, 2016: We welcome Christopher to the lab!
- Apr 8, 2016: We received our 5-yr Discovery grant from NSERC!
- Apr 4, 2016: We welcome Eric to the lab!
- Feb 15, 2016: We welcome Yun to the lab!
- Dec 12, 2015: We were awarded an operating grant from MERCK SHARP & DOHME CORP.!
- Sept 25, 2015: Our paper on horizontal gene transfer and cellular protein quality control is accepted in PLoS Genetics!
- Sept 1, 2015 : Hello world, our lab officially opens!
Bonjour tout le monde, notre laboratoire est maintenant ouvert!
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Département de biochimie Faculté de Médecine |