The Team
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Emerson Krock
Principal Investigator
Emerson is the Canada Research Chair in Pain Neuroimmunology and an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences at McGill University. His lab is located in the Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain at McGill's downtown Montreal campus.
Emerson's research interests are focused on chronic pain and have included projects on pain in autoimmune diseases, intervertebral disc degeneration, chronic low back pain, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. Emerson completed his PhD at McGill with Dr. Lisbet Haglund and pursued his postdoc with Camilla Svensson at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2023, Emerson returned to McGill to start his own lab, which investigates how peripheral neuroimmune interactions and the gut microbiome regulate chronic pain.
Emerson and the lab received early support from the Rita Allen Foundation when he received the 2023 Rita Allen Scholars' Award in Pain. He received further support from federal and international funders including NSERC, the Biocodex Microbiota Foundation, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the Quebec Pain Research Network and the Louise and Alan Edwards Foundation.
Outside of the lab Emerson enjoys spending time outside running, skiing and attempting to look after a garden.
Ruilin Zhao
Research Assistant, MSc
Ruilin is a research assistant who completed her Master’s degree and Undergraduate degree at Queen’s University. Drawing on her background in neuroimmunology and pain research, she supports a variety of projects within the lab and enjoys collaborating with team members across different areas of research.
Originally from Xinjiang, China, Ruilin enjoys exploring new places through long city walks, discovering new cafés, and spending time outdoors. Outside the lab, she spends much of her free time cooking and learning new recipes.
Elizabeth Anits
Research Assistant, BSc
Elizabeth, or Liza, completed her undergraduate degree at Concordia University where she specialized in Cell and Molecular Biology. She has contributed to the lab as an undergraduate researcher, NSERC recipient and now research assistant. Her research looks at how extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) contributes to pain development, with a current focus on the structural differences in the DRG ECM across humans and mice.
Born and raised in California as a second-generation Russian immigrant, Liza speaks 3 languages (English, French, Russian) and aspires to learn more over time. When she is not in the lab, Liza loves exploring new restaurants and parks with her boyfriend, reading, having long philosophical conversations, and playing her kalimba (aka a thumb piano)!
Hannah Cho
PhD student
Hannah was born in Vancouver and had lived in 6 different cities abroad before settling in Montreal to pursue her undergraduate degree in Honours Cognitive Neuroscience at McGill University. Now a graduate student, she is conducting research on fibromyalgia with a focus on the role of cross-reactive autoantibodies and their development through the gut microbiota.
Her academic interests lie in neuroscience and pain science, and she is passionate about translating research into meaningful clinical applications. Outside the lab, you can usually find her traveling, running by the canal, discovering new coffee shops, or—like many others—spiralling over life complexities.
Ezrah Isaac Roy
PhD student
Ezrah Isaac Roy is a master’s student born and raised in Quebec City with a love for cats. He completed his bachelors degree at McGill in Microbiology and Immunology with a minor in neuroscience. His current project focuses on identifying IgG-coated bacteria in patients with Fibromyalgia to better understand the role of cross-reactive autoantibodies in the gut microbiome of Fibromyalgia patients. Outside the lab, you can find him all cozied up at home drawing, building LEGO sets, playing video games, and practicing mixed martial arts.
Lab Alumni
Undergraduate students
Linrun Feng - MIMM 396 undergraduate research student
John Ray Asghar - Turcotte Scholars Intern, summer undergraduate research student
Nicole Scher - NSERC URSA undergraduate research student
Lesly Nkindi - MIMM 396 undergraduate research student
Graduate Students
Allutas Alhamwi - MSc. Currently a DMD student at McGill