Dr. Przybyl is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Surgery, McGill University and a Scientist in the Cancer Research Program of the Research Institute of the McGill University
Health Centre (RI-MUHC).
Dr. Przybyl pursues a research program focused on the clinical
applications of liquid biopsy, metabolic reprogramming and multi-omic profiling of sarcoma.
Dr. Joanna Przybyl received a joint Ph.D. degree in
biomedical sciences from KU Leuven, Belgium and Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial
Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology, Warsaw, Poland. Her doctoral studies
focused on identifying new prognostic and predictive markers for soft tissue
sarcoma. She then joined the laboratory of Dr. Matt van de Rijn in the
Department of Pathology at Stanford University, where she completed her
postdoctoral training in computational biology. During her postdoctoral
studies, Dr. Przybyl demonstrated potential clinical utility of ctDNA
monitoring in patients with leiomyosarcoma and leiomyoma, discovered activation
and prognostic role of hexosamine biosynthesis pathway in leiomyosarcoma, and
identified macrophage infiltration in undifferentiated uterine sarcomas.
Pegah received her M.Sc. in Cellular and
Molecular Biology from the University of Science and Culture in collaboration
with Royan Institute, Tehran, Iran. After graduating, she worked as a research
assistant at the Royan Institute to elucidate the molecular mechanisms
underlying male infertility. Pegah published the results of these studies in
peer-review journals, and obtained several scholarships, grants and awards for
these studies. In 2022, Pegah joined the laboratory of Dr. Przybyl where works
on her doctoral studies focused on metabolic reprogramming in leiomyosarcoma and
desmoid type fibromatosis.
Contact: pegah.rahimizadeh (at) mail.mcgill.ca
Anastasia is a
Ph.D. student in the Interdisciplinary Cancer Sciences Program at McGill
University, specializing in liquid biopsy technology for osteosarcoma. With a
strong academic foundation, Anastasia holds a M.Sc. degree from York
University, where she conducted research focused on TAZ protein interactions in
rhabdomyosarcoma. Anastasia's work is driven by her passion for advancing precision
oncology and patient care, demonstrated by her previous experience in pediatric
tumor research at The Hospital for Sick Children. A dedicated volunteer and
advocate for health and wellness, she aims to improve care for sarcoma patients
through innovative molecular approaches.
Contact: anastasia.mackeracher (at) mail.mcgill.ca
Meagan graduated with a B.Sc. degree from the Department of Physiology of the McGill University in 2023. After graduating, she pursued an Undergraduate Research Internship at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS) where she obtained a scholarship for academic excellence. During her internship, she worked towards characterizing the role of
non-coding RNAs in genetic and metabolic regulation in bacteria. Meagan joined Dr. Przybyl's laboratory in 2023. Her Master's research is focused on liquid biopsy studies in sarcoma.
Contact: meagan.cobb (at) mail.mcgill.ca
Pateel obtained her B.Sc. in Biochemistry from York
University in 2024. She completed her undergraduate thesis project in a
bioanalytical chemistry laboratory, where she optimized the cell segmentation
aspect of a technique used for cancer cell detection based on enzyme kinetics.
She worked on using machine learning-based cell segmentation algorithm to train
a model and improve cell detection. After graduation, Pateel joined Dr.
Przybyl’s laboratory in the Fall 2024 to complete her Master’s studies. Her
research is focused on studying the properties of extracellular vesicles (EVs)
in leiomyosarcoma.
Contact: pateel.markarian (at) mail.mcgill.ca
Stefanie obtained her Honours B.Sc. degree in Biochemistry from McGill University in 2025. For her undergraduate honours project, she investigated the role of transcription factor PROX1 in the regulation of orphan nuclear receptor ERRα transcriptional activity and energy homeostasis in preclinical models of hepatocellular carcinoma. Stefanie joined the laboratory of Dr. Przybyl as a M.Sc. student in the Fall of 2025. Her research is focused on metabolic reprogramming in leiomyosarcoma.
Contact: stefanie.reeves (at) mail.mcgill.ca