New Scientific Director Transgenic and Gene Targeting Facility

Dr. Christopher Pin has been appointed to the position of Scientific Director of the London Regional Transgenic and Gene Targeting Facility, a core facility jointly supported by Lawson Health Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, and Robarts Research Institute. Chris has already commenced his leadership role and will work with his team to ensure that timely and effective transgenic and gene targeting services are available to the London scientific community at a competitive cost.

Chris received his Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics at The University of Western Ontario in 1990. He then pursued his doctorate in Dr. Peter Merrifield's laboratory in the Department of Anatomy at The University of Western Ontario, where he was a NSERC scholar and received the Arthur Minden Predoctoral Fellowship from the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada. Upon completion of his PhD, he received the Keith Moore Award in Anatomy at Western, awarded annually for the best Ph.D. thesis in the department. He then trained in Dr. Stephen Konieczny's laboratory at Purdue University in Indiana as a Muscular Dystrophy Association and an MRC Research Fellow. It was at this time that he started to generate genetically modified mouse lines through transgenic and gene targeting approaches.

In 2000, Chris returned to The University of Western Ontario and Children's Health Research Institute, Lawson Health Research Institute, joining the Departments of Paediatrics and Physiology and Pharmacology. He was awarded a CFI/OIT New Investigator grant in 2002 and received a CIHR New Investigator Award in 2005. His research has been funded by CIHR, NSERC and the Canadian Diabetes Association. In 2008, he was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor. Dr. Pin's research focuses on the factors that regulate pancreatic development and disease. He combines gene targeting methodology and transgenic approaches with in vitro culture models to address specific issues in pancreatic biology. He has published a number of articles describing the characterization of novel, genetically modified mice generated in his laboratory.

Please join us in welcoming Chris to his new role.

Dr. David Hill Dr. Victor Han
Scientific Director Associate Dean, Research
Lawson Health Research Institute Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry