Julie Hussin

Julie Hussin is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Montreal and a researcher at the Montréal Heart Institute. She serves as the chair of the graduate program in bioinformatics at UdeM and is a Junior 2 Research Scholar funded by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec en Santé (FRQS). As an associate member at Mila, the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, she bridges computational biology, genomics, and AI research.

Dr. Hussin was trained in statistical and evolutionary genomics and has extensive experience analyzing multi-omics datasets from large population cohorts. Her interdisciplinary work integrates clinical, genetic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic data to uncover insights into cardiovascular disease biology, particularly heart failure. Her research program focuses on three main axes: developing equitable AI algorithms for cardiovascular research, exploring the evolution of emerging pathogens for pandemic preparedness, and investigating the evolution of key gene families for biotechnological innovations.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on computational approaches to understanding SARS-CoV-2 evolution, viral surveillance, and host-pathogen interactions during the pandemic. Additionally, she has made significant contributions to population genomics, particularly in the Quebec context, and to the development of responsible AI frameworks for medical applications. Her work consistently emphasizes the importance of interpretability, generalizability, and fairness in machine learning algorithms applied to health research.

Scientific Awards:

• Junior 2 Research Scholar, Fonds de Recherche du Québec en Santé (FRQS)

Dr. Hussin actively supervises numerous graduate students across various programs, including PhD candidates and Master's students. Her laboratory at the Montréal Heart Institute focuses on integrating genomics, evolutionary biology, medicine, and data science to unravel cardiovascular health and disease mechanisms. Her group develops advanced computational methods to study molecular disease underpinnings and the evolutionary forces shaping them.

The Julie Hussin Computational Biomedicine Lab brings together bioinformaticians, computational biologists, and machine learning specialists working at the intersection of genomics, evolutionary biology, medicine, and data science. The lab is particularly focused on developing equitable AI algorithms, studying pathogen evolution, and investigating gene family evolution for biotechnological applications.