Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences

Johane Robitaille

Professor

ophth_Johane_Robitaille_1374

Related information

Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences , Department of Pathology , Department of Pediatrics

Email: jrobitai@dal.ca
Phone: 902-470-8632
Fax: 902-470-7748
Mailing Address: 
IWK Health Centre Eye Care Team, 5850/5980 University Avenue, PO Box 9700, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 6R8
 
Research Topics:
  • Ocular genetics
  • Pediatric ophthalmology
  • Developmental retina vascular disease
  • Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy
  • Retinopathy of prematurity
  • Gene discovery
  • Therapeutics
  • Model organisms

Education

  • MDCM (McGill University)

Research interests

Dr Robitaille’s research interests are in the field of ocular genetics. She works in a multidisciplinary environment that aims at identifying genes for hereditary eye diseases and using genomics to enhance diagnostics and identify novel therapeutics. Her main areas of interest are familial exudative vitreoretinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity.

Selected publications

  • Robitaille JM, Gillett RM, LeBlanc MA, Gaston D, Nightingale M, Mackley MP, Parkash S, Hathaway J, Thomas A, Ells A, Traboulsi EI, Héon E, Roy M, Shalev S, Fernandez CV, MacGillivray C, Wallace K, Fahiminiya S, Majewski J, McMaster CR, Bedard K. Phenotypic Overlap Between Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy (FEVR) and Microcephaly Lymphedema Chorioretinal Dysplasia (MLCRD) Caused by KIF11 Mutations.  JAMA Ophthalmology 2014 Dec; 132(12): 1393-99.
  • Fernandez CV, Bouffet E, Malkin D, Jabado N, O'Connell C, Avard D, Knoppers BM, Ferguson M, Boycott KM, Sorensen PH, Orr AC, Robitaille JM, McMaster CR. Attitudes of Parents Toward the Return of Targeted and Incidental Genomic Research Findings in Children. Genet Med. 2014 Aug 16(8): 633-640.
  • Robitaille JM, Zheng B, Wallace K, Beis MJ, Tatlidil C, Yang J, Sheidow TG, Siebert L,  Levin AV, Lam WC, Arthur BW, Lyons CJ, Jaakkola E, Tsilou E, Williams CA, Weaver RG, Shields CL, Guernsey DL. The Role of Frizzled-4 (FZD4) Mutations in Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy (FEVR) and Coats Disease. British Journal of Ophthalmology 2011 Apr:95 (4): 574-9.
  • Ells A, Guernsey DL, Wallace K, Zheng B, Vincer M, Allen A, Ingram A, DaSilva O, Siebert L, Sheidow T, Beis MJ, Robitaille JM.  Severe Retinopathy of Prematurity Associated with FZD4 Mutations.  Ophthalmic Genet 2010 Mar:31(1):37-43.
  • Robitaille J, MacDonald MLE, Kaykas A, Sheldahl LC, Zeisler J, Dubé MP, Zhang LH, Singaraja RR, Guernsey DL, Zheng B, Siebert LF, Hoskin-Mott A, Trese MT, Pimstone SN, Shastry BS, Moon RT, Hayden MR, Goldberg YP, Samuels ME.  Mutant frizzled-4 disrupts retinal angiogenesis in familial exudative vitreoretinopathy.  Nature Genet 2002; 32: 326-330.