The McGill Ocular Genetics Laboratory (MOGL) is under the Direction of Robert K. Koenekoop MD PhD and is a CIHR, NIH and FFB-Canada funded molecular genetics laboratory with the goals of finding and understanding new retinal genes for human blindness caused by hereditary photoreceptor degenerations such as Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA).
The MOGL is highly integrated with the weekly Retinal Dystrophy Clinic at the Montreal Children’s hospital, where hundreds of patients are seen each year. The goals of the lab and clinic are to provide diagnosis, prognosis and genetic counselling for patients, while preparing them for current and upcoming treatments. Once patients have been tested for all known genes and genotypes, about 50% of RP and 70% of LCA patients are genetically settled. Those that are not settled become research patients and we utilize modern genetic techniques such as Whole Exome Sequencing and Capture, next generation sequencing, SNP and RetNet chip analyses to discover new genes. We collaborate with many international centres in the US, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and more. In addition to genetics, research foci at the MOGL includes participation in treatment studies and clinical trials.