Berezovski Research Group · University of Ottawa
We build aptamers, capillary electrophoresis and mass spectrometry into tools for cancer diagnostics, imaging and therapy — from circulating tumour cells to the proteome of extracellular vesicles.
We welcome curious M.Sc. and Ph.D. students — in Chemistry or Chemical & Environmental Toxicology — to develop new diagnostics and therapeutics with nucleic-acid aptamers and exosomes. A fast-track to the Ph.D. is open to strong candidates after one year. Send a cover letter, CV and transcripts.
Email your application →We are looking for an R&D-capable partner company to advance diagnostics for viruses, bacteria and cancers. Your expertise and resources would help bring joint projects from the bench toward the clinic.
Start a conversation →The principal investigator
Maxim Berezovski leads the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory in the Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences at the University of Ottawa, in the heart of Canada's capital.
His group works at the meeting point of bioanalytical chemistry and clinical need: selecting DNA and RNA aptamers against live cells, viruses and tumour markers; measuring biomolecular interactions in solution by kinetic capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry; and mapping the proteome and metabolome of extracellular vesicles for cancer biomarker discovery. The throughline is turning precise molecular measurement into diagnostics, imaging and therapy.
Trained at York University under Sergey Krylov, Berezovski has published more than 130 peer-reviewed articles, holds three patents, and has been principal investigator on over CAD $8 million in research funding.
Research
Every project begins with measuring molecules accurately — and ends with a tool a clinician or a fellow scientist can actually use.
The platform behind Berezovski's Ph.D. and the lab's core craft: CE–MS for the conformational dynamics and affinity interactions of DNA and proteins, and for enzyme and substrate discovery.
From selecting new DNA/RNA aptamers and mapping their 3D structure to biosensors, in vivo imaging and theranostics.
Affinity isolation and deep analysis of EV cargo to find what cancer cells broadcast to the body.
Selected publications
A curated slice of 130+ peer-reviewed articles. The full, current list lives on Google Scholar.
The team
A group of chemists, biochemists and analysts spanning four continents.
Since 2009, the lab has trained 7 postdoctoral fellows, 7 Ph.D. and 15 M.Sc. graduates, and more than 55 undergraduate researchers — now working across academia and industry worldwide.
Facilities
A bioanalytical suite built for separation, detection and identification of biomolecules.
Teaching
Undergraduate · the foundations of quantitative measurement, with laboratories.
Senior undergraduate · analysis of biomolecules and their interactions, with laboratories.
Graduate · analytical approaches to chemical problems, co-instructed with Dr. Zoran Minic.
Over 3,400 students taught since 2009.
Get in touch
Prospective students, collaborators and industry partners are all welcome. The fastest way to reach us is a direct email.
Email Prof. Berezovski