Jean-Francois Poulin, PhD

Jean-Francois Poulin is an Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University and principal investigator at the Montreal Neurological Institute, where his laboratory maps genetically defined dopamine circuits and examines how they are altered in neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders. Trained in neuroanatomy and dopamine biology, he helped pioneer single-cell gene expression profiling to classify midbrain dopamine neuron subtypes and developed intersectional genetic strategies and transgenic mouse lines that selectively target these populations and their synapses. His group now combines single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, advanced circuit-mapping tools, and in vivo manipulations to dissect dopamine neuron connectivity, selective vulnerability, and contributions to Parkinson’s disease and autism spectrum disorders. He also co-leads McGill’s Single-Cell Neurobiology Hub and HBHL theme on brain health, driving expansion of single-cell and spatial technologies for human brain biospecimens.