Heidi May McBride is a Professor at McGill University in the Montreal Neurological Institute. Her research centers on the molecular mechanisms and function of mitochondrial dynamics, with an emphasis on understanding the fundamental behavior of the mitochondria, including fusion, fission and the generation of mitochondrial derived vesicles (MDVs). The goal is to identify the molecular mechanisms of communication required to mediate cellular transitions, including metabolic, cell cycle, immune pathways and cell death transitions. Recent areas of research interest include mechanisms of mitochondrial contributions to neurodegeneration, the mechanisms of MDV formation and the role of the mitochondria as a unique signaling platform in the cell. Her work has led to new mechanistic understandings of how proteins related to Parkinson’s disease act along a common cell biological mitochondria-to-lysosome pathway in immune signaling, driving the transition from innate to adaptive immunity, and ultimately the control of cell survival.