Dr. Singh completed his undergraduate studies at McMaster University, and his Ph.D. studies at the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children. He then performed postdoctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He joined McMaster University from 2012-2020 where he was a Scientist and the Neural Program Lead at the Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University.

Dr. Singh joined the Krembil Research Institute at UHN in 2020 as a Senior Scientist, and is a member of the Donald K. Johnson Eye Institute. He holds appointments in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, and Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology (LMP) at the University of Toronto. He holds funding from CIHR, NSERC and the Ontario Brain Institute.

Our research program studies developmental and adult brain disorders. We use genetically engineered mouse models and patient stem cell-derived neural cells (2D and 3D organoids) as our model systems. We identify pathogenic mechanisms that contribute to neurological disorders with next generation sequencing, proteomics, electrophysiology and imaging. Our ultimate goal is to use this information to identify or develop novel therapeutics that reverse clinical conditions.

Currently our lab has two major areas of focus:

1. Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Our lab has a strong interest in studying the genetic causes of Autism spectrum disorders and neuropsychiatric conditions. We have identified novel signaling pathways contributing to genetic risk factors including TAOK2, the 15q13.3 deletion and 16p11.2 deletion syndromes. We are also working on newly identified candidate risk genes using mouse and human iPSC models.

2. Neurodegenerative and Vision Disorders
We are initiating new collaborative research projects on neurodegenerative conditions (e.g., Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease) and vision disorders. We are using our human iPS cell platform to develop new 2D and 3D brain organoid models from different cohorts of patients, to study disease mechanisms using multiple technological approaches.

For a list of Dr. Singh's publications, please visit Pubmed or Scopus.