Artem Babaian

Artem Babaian, PhD is a University of Toronto Assistant Professor in Molecular Genetics and Donnelly Centre where he leads The Laboratory for RNA-Based Lifeforms (https://RNAlab.ca). His lab focuses on the discovery and biodiversity of Earth’s RNA viruses and RNA elements using state-of-the-art computational approaches.

Artem completed his Hons. BSc in Molecular Biology and Genetics at McMaster University, and his doctorate thesis in Medical Genetics with Dr. Dixie Mager was on the role of Endogenous Retrovirus transcription in human cancers for which we was awarded two Alexander Graham Bell graduate scholarship, a Roman M. Babicki scholarship, and the Patricia Baird Award for Excellence in Medical Genetics.

As an independent post-doctoral researcher Dr. Babaian initiated the Serratus project which has catalyzed the discovery of 750,000+ novel RNA virus species, new phyla of viruses, and even new categories of RNA lifeforms. He was awarded a CIHR Banting Fellowship to continue this work at the University of Cambridge before returning to Toronto to start his group in 2022. In 2023, Dr. Babaian was recognized as a “Research Symbiont” a prize for exceptional data-sharing and advancement of the Open Science, and named a Gairdner Foundation Early Career Investigator.