Dr. Kessen Patten is an Associate Professor at the INRS-Institut Armand Frappier in Canada. He did his PhD in Physiology and Cell Biology at the University of Alberta, followed by two postdoctoral trainings at the Université de Montreal. During his academic training, Dr. Patten has provided new insights in mechanisms of synaptic development using zebrafish, discovered a new gene associated with idiopathic scoliosis and identified neuroleptics as potential therapeutics for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with one compound currently in clinical trial.

The Patten lab uses the zebrafish to model developmental genetic disorders and neuromuscular diseases (ALS and SMA) to understand disease mechanisms and for drug discovery. Dr. Patten is the recipient of the ALS Canada and Brain Canada Career transition award as well as a Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS) Junior 2 Research Scholar. He also holds the Anna Sforza Djoukhadjian Research Chair in ALS.