Nada Jabad MD, PhD

Dr. Nada Jabado obtained her medical degree with a specialization in pediatrics as well as a doctorate in immunology from the Université de Paris VI in France. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in biochemistry at McGill University where she is on faculty since 2003. Dr. Jabado is now an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics and an associate member of the departments of Human Genetics and Experimental Medicine. As a pediatric hemato-oncologist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre, Dr. Jabado serves as the primary physician for children with brain tumours, the leading cause of cancer-related mortality and morbidity in children.

Dr. Jabado has demonstrated an exceptional talent for identifying major genetic modifications. In 2010, the research team that she co-led with Pr. Jacek Majewski at McGill University proved that it is possible to identify any genetic disease in record time using a limited number of patients, thanks to a powerful exome sequencing method. Her research team was among the first to use this advanced technology to achieve a breakthrough in cancer research. Published in the journals Nature, and Cancer Cell her work identified two genetic mutations involved in up to 40% of pediatric glioblastomas, a fatal cancer of the brain. These mutations also partly explain why this cancer remains unresponsive to treatments.

As a clinician-scientist, her research is revolutionizing the way scientists view astrocytomas in children and young adults, paving the way for targeted therapies in these deadly tumours.