Current Lab Members
Dr. Mireille Khacho
Mireille Khacho, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa in the department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology in the Faculty of Medicine. She holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Mitochondrial Dynamics and Regenerative Medicine.
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Dr Khacho completed her PhD in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Dr Stephen Lee. Following her PhD, she completed her post-doctoral training in neuroscience in the laboratory of Dr Ruth Slack. Her work resulted in two major findings: 1) in the identification of a role for mitochondrial dynamics in promoting OXPHOS and supercomplex formation duirng hypoxic conditions, and 2) the discovery that mitochondrial dynamics controls neuronal stem cell fate decisions​ (publications #3 and #4).
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The Khacho Lab was born in 2018. The focus of the Khacho Lab is investigating the role of mitochondrial dynamics in stem cell function and the mechanisms by which mitochondrial dynamics mediate nuclear communication, OXPHOS efficiency and cell survival.
Selected Publications
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Khacho M., Clark A., Svoboda, S.A., MacLaurin J.G., Lagace D.C., Park P.S. and Slack R.S. Mitochondrial dysfunction underlies cognitive defects as a result of neural stem cell depletion and impaired neurogenesis. Human Molecular Genetics (2017). DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddx217.
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Khacho M. & Slack R.S. Mitochondrial and ROS signaling coordinate stem cell fate decisions and life-long maintenance. Antioxidant and Redox Signaling (2017). DOI:10.1089/ars.2017.7228.
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Khacho M., Clark A., Svoboda, S.A., Azzi J., MacLaurin J.G., Meghaizel C., Sesaki H., Lagace D.C., Germain M., Harper M.E., Park P.S. and Slack R.S. Mitochondrial dynamics impact stem cell identity and fate decisions by regulating a nuclear transcriptional program. Cell Stem Cell 19(2):232-247 (2016).
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Audas T., Audas D.E., Jacob M.D., Ho D.J., Khacho M., Wang M., Perera J., Gardiner C., Bennett C., Head T., Kryvenko O.N., Jorda, M. Daunert S., Malhortra A., Trinkle-Mulcahy L., Gonzalgo M.L. and Lee S. Adaptation to stressors by systemic protein amyloidogenesis. Developmental Cell 39(2): 155-168 (2016).
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Khacho M., Tarabay M., Patten D., Khacho P., MacLaurin J., Guadagno J., Bergeron R., Cregan S.P., Harper M.E., Park D., Slack R.S. Acidosis overrides oxygen deprivation to maintain mitochondrial function and cell survival. Nature Communications (2014) DOI.10.1038/ncomms4550.
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Patten D., Wong J., Khacho M., Soubannier V., Mailloux R.J., Pilon-Larose K., MacLaurin J.G., Park D.S., McBride H.M., Trinkle-Mulcahy L., Harper M.E., Germain M., Slack R.S. OPA1 senses metabolic changes through SLC25 family proteins to regulate mitochondrial function. EMBO J 33(22):2676-2691 (2014)