Spotlight on CoVaRR-Net trainees and highly qualified personnel (HQPs)
CoVaRR-Net brings together highly qualified personnel (HQP) and trainees from across the country and we’re proud to help form the next generation of researchers in Canada.
Our Pillars and Major Initiatives have nominated several outstanding candidates to be spotlighted on this website as recognition of their work. These are just a few of the tremendously talented people we have working on CoVaRR-Net projects (in alphabetical order). We’ll be adding to this list every quarter.
Zohaib Anwar
Pillar 6 – Computational Analysis, Modelling and Evolutionary Outcomes (CAMEO)
Postdoctoral research fellow, Center for Infectious Disease Genomics and One Health (CIDGOH), Simon Fraser University
Corey Arnold
CoVaRR-Net Executive Director’s team
Research and Data Manager, Serology and Diagnostics High Throughput Facility, University of Ottawa
Marie-Ming Aynaud
Pillar 5 – Viral Genomics & Sequencing
Postdoctoral research fellow, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital
Marilène Bolduc
Pillar 3 – Virology
Research Assistant, Centre de recherche en infectiologie (CRI), Laval University
Fionnuala Braun
Pillar 8 – Public Health, Health Systems and Social Policy Impacts
Research Assistant, Carleton University
Jose Avila Cervantes
Pillar 5 – Viral Genomics & Sequencing
Research Associate, Advanced Genomic Technologies Laboratory, McGill Genome Centre
Tamara Chavez
Pillar 7, CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR)
Project Manager, CoVaRR-Net
Traci-lee D. Christianson
Pillar 7 – CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR)
Research Assistant, CIEDAR and Graduate student, University of Saskatchewan
Nicole Dawydiuk
Pillar 7 – CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR)
Graduate Research Assistant, CIEDAR
Danielle Dewar-Darch
CoVaRR-Net Executive Director’s team
Facility and Operations Manager, Serology and Diagnostics High Throughput Facility, University of Ottawa
Tom Einhorn
Pillar 7 – CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR)
Research Assistant, CIEDAR and PhD Candidate, University of British Columbia
Audray Fortin
Pillar 10 – Antiviral Strategies and Antiviral Therapeutics
Research Assistant and Lab Manager
Nada Hegazy
Wastewater Surveillance Research Group (WWSRG)
Environmental engineering PhD candidate, MASc, EIT, University of Ottawa
Alex Hicks
Coronavirus in the Urban Built Environment (CUBE)
Laboratory Technician, Coronavirus in the Urban Built Environment (CUBE)
Rajesh Jacob
Canadian Consortium of Academic Biosafety Level 3 (CCABL3) Laboratories
Scientific Coordinator, CCABL3
Gabrielle (Gabby) Jayme
Pillar 5 – Viral Genomics & Sequencing
Research Technician, Snutch Lab, Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia
Mary Jessome
Pillar 7 – CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR)
Research Manager and PhD Candidate, University of British Columbia
Justin Jia
Pillar 6 – Computational Analysis, Modelling and Evolutionary Outcomes (CAMEO)
Postdoctoral fellow, Simon Fraser University, and Bioinformatics Lead and Co-Coordinator, CAMEO, CoVaRR-Net
Sally Lee
Pillar 5 – Viral Genomics & Sequencing
Research Assistant, Advanced Genomic Technologies Laboratory, McGill Genome Centre
Dan Lin
Pillar 7 – CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR)
Research Assistant, CIEDAR
Sterling McGregor
Pillar 7 – CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR)
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Khatira Mehdiyeva
Pillar 8 – Public Health, Health Systems and Social Policy Impacts
Research Officer
Elisabeth Mercier
Wastewater Surveillance Research Group (WWSRG)
Environmental engineering PhD candidate, University of Ottawa
Salma Sheikh-Mohamed
Pillar 1 – Immunology and Vaccine Protection
PhD Candidate, Gommerman Lab, Department of Immunology, University of Toronto
Arianna M. Hurtado-Monzόn
Pillar 2 – Host-Pathogen Interactions
Postdoctoral fellow, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization – International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac), University of Saskatchewan
Carly G. Morrisseau
Pillar 7 – CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR)
Social Media and Communications Coordinator
Sana Naderi
Pillar 6, Computational Analysis, Modelling and Evolutionary Outcomes (CAMEO)
Graduate student, Shapiro Lab, McGill Genome Center
Sabryna Nantel
Pillar 1 – Immunology and Vaccine Protection
PhD candidate, Decaluwe Lab, Department of Immunology, University of Montréal
Emma Nguyen
Pillar 7 – CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR)
Social Media Assistant, CIEDAR
Prachi Ray
Coronavirus in the Urban Built Environment (CUBE)
Research Assistant, Coronavirus in the Urban Built Environment (CUBE)
Reuben Samson
Pillar 4 – Functional Genomics & Structure-Function of VOCs
PhD Candidate, Gingras Lab, Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto
Annika Lea Schulz
Pillar 10 – Antiviral Strategies and Antiviral Therapeutics
MSc, University of British Columbia and MBBS, University College London
Laurie Seifried
Pillar 1 – Immunology and Vaccine Protection & Pillar 4 – Functional Genomics & Structure-Function of VOCs
Research Coordinator
Paul Stretenowich
Pillar 5 – Viral Genomics & Sequencing
Bioinformatics specialist, Canadian Center for Computational Genomics (C3G), McGill University
Nima Tehrani
Pillar 6 – Computational Analysis, Modelling and Evolutionary Outcomes (CAMEO)
Graduate student, Simon Fraser University
Jimena Perez-Vargas
Pillar 10 – Antiviral Strategies and Antiviral Therapeutics
Research Associate
Agatha Komsic-Vranjkovic
CoVaRR-Net Biobank
Research Ethics and Access Officer, CoVaRR-Net Biobank
Julian Willett
Pillar 5 – Viral Genomics & Sequencing
Research Associate, McGill Genome Centre
Mitra Yousefi
Pillar 3 – Virology
Academic Associate, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and Containment Level 3 Facility Manager, McGill University
Annika Lea Schulz
Career Aspiration:
Annika’s unique experience in capturing the intricate cellular and molecular details of host-virus interactions will continue to be central to her work as a future clinician and scientist.
Why Annika deserves a spotlight:
Annika made significant contributions to Pillar 10 projects by investigating the infectability of primary human astrocytes with both SARS-CoV-2 variants and the common cold coronavirus HCoV-229E. She performed the first comprehensive transcriptomic analysis to profile the temporal changes in miRNA and mRNA expression patterns in response to HCoV-229E infection in astrocytes. Her study reveals novel miRNA and mRNA targets involved in coronavirus-host interactions in astrocytes, potentially providing new therapeutic targets to combat coronavirus infections. She won one of the top three awards from the Bioimaging North America’s 2022 contest for her submission “Brainstorm”—imaging the cerebral organoid treated with an antiviral inhibitor.
One of the roles of the CoVaRR-Net Pillars is to deploy knowledge mobilization strategies in Canada and abroad. While finishing her medical studies, Annika was invited as lead author to co-write a chapter, “The Biological Underpinnings of Infection and Transmission: SARS-CoV-2 – The Virus, in Effective Pandemic Response: Linking Evidence, Intervention, Politics, Organization, and Governance, A World Scientific Reference on Pandemics: Editor in chief, Peter Berman. (Volume 1: Understanding and Controlling Pandemics – Lessons learned from COVID-19). This international pandemic reference book was launched on March 13, 2025. Indeed, her work and the lessons learned from her CoVaRR-Net Pillar 10 training and research are contributing to global pandemic preparedness.
Nima Tehrani
Today, Nima spearheads the data curation of SARS-CoV-2 wastewater datasets recorded across Canada. He standardizes these datasets using PHES-ODM and PHA4GE to enable more integrative analyses. Nima also plays a role in the expansion of the current VirusSeq Data Portal to host wastewater data. His thesis focuses on integrating these wastewater datasets with socio-environmental variables from CANUE.ca as a demonstrational analysis to explore the extent to which viral wastewater titres correlate with pollution levels, proximity to hospitals, and many other socio-economic and environmental factors.
Career aspirations:
Nima aims to demonstrate the importance of his research to the Government of British Columbia to secure sustainable funding for wastewater-based surveillance beyond its conventional applications. He plans to pursue a PhD in the near future, driven by both his passion for research and his commitment to teaching. He aspires to become a professor who mentors and inspires the next generation of STEM students.
Why does Nima deserve a spotlight?
Nima is a very thoughtful, collaborative researcher who cares deeply about health equity and uncovering socio-economic and environmental factors associated with disease risk. Nima is also a dedicated teaching assistant and tutor who is very clear and patient in helping students with challenging course material. It is a pleasure to support this caring and committed researcher and mentor who supports and inspires others.
Nikita Rayne
Nikita earned a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Biotechnology (High Honours) and a Master of Science in Biology from Carleton University. She began her career as an administrative assistant in Health Records at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) before transitioning into clinical research. She then spent seven years as a clinical research coordinator at the Ontario Tumour Bank (OTB), an innovative program of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) based at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI).
Eager to further her expertise in healthcare management, Nikita pursued a Master of Health Administration at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management. As part of her studies, she completed a residency at the Perley Health Centre of Excellence in Frailty-Informed CareTM, where she later worked as a research coordinator for over 2.5 years.
For the past 2.5 years, Nikita has served as the manager of the Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response (CoVaRR-Net) Biobank. In this role, she also led the development of the Canadian Biobank Alliance (CBA), a key initiative of the CoVaRR-Net Biobank that strengthens Canada’s response to emerging infectious diseases.
Career aspirations:
Nikita aspires to continue supporting her organization’s strategic goals by leveraging her expertise in biobank management. She is passionate about addressing the healthcare experiences of vulnerable populations and advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Driven to create a meaningful change, she aims to remain in a leadership role, contributing to clinical trial design and supporting pandemic preparedness efforts.
Why does Nikita deserve a spotlight?
Nikita has been instrumental in providing operational oversight for the CoVaRR-Net Biobank team for the past 2.5 years. She has led her team to success by developing and implementing standard operating procedures for the collection, processing, storage and distribution of biological samples while ensuring compliance with institutional and ethical regulations. Committed to maintaining the highest standards, she enforces rigorous quality control and assurance measures to safeguard sample and data integrity.
In addition to her operational leadership, Nikita manages the biobank’s budget, setting financial goals and strategically optimizing resource allocation to support long-term sustainability. She also works closely with CBA partner biobank sites to harmonize procedures, streamline workflows, and enhance data standardization, fostering greater collaboration and efficiency.
Her role also includes working with the Data Platform team to ensure that inventory data from all CBA partner sites is securely integrated into the Metabase, the CBA’s data catalogue that enables researchers to conduct nationwide searches. She also collaborates with the Bioethics and Contracts teams to draft evergreen agreements with industry partners and oversees the completion of material transfer agreements, facilitating the rapid and fair transfer of biospecimens and data.
Emma Nguyen
Emma’s other interests include race, ethnicity, and migration. Her current honours thesis examines the adoption of Anglo-Saxon names by Asian international students and immigrants.
Career aspirations:
Emma aspires to pursue a career in law. She is interested in understanding the complexities of legal systems and their impact on society. She hopes to use her knowledge to advocate for justice and drive meaningful change.
Why does Emma deserve a spotlight?
Emma deserves a spotlight for her dedication to learning about Indigenous history and culture. Her work with CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR) Pillar 7 as a social media assistant shows her passion for using graphic design and art to share Indigenous knowledge and highlights her creativity and commitment to social justice.
Dan Lin
Career aspirations:
Dan has a wide range of interests in different areas of the law and aspires to become a lawyer dedicated to advocating for people’s rights when she graduates from law school.
Why does Dan deserve a spotlight?
Dan deserves a spotlight for her exceptional dedication to human rights advocacy. Her work with CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR) Pillar 7 highlights her commitment to supporting Indigenous communities and advancing meaningful research.
Gabrielle (Gabby) Jayme
Career Aspirations:
Gabrielle hopes to utilize the skills developed during her degree and her time as a lab technician to continue to contribute to research leading to novel discoveries. She looks forward to further developing as a researcher in both wet and dry lab environments to bring a multidisciplinary approach to future projects and roles.
Why does Gabrielle deserve a spotlight?
Originally trained as a chemical engineer, Gabby took on the Herculean task of mastering all aspects of nanopore sequencing using the MinION platform in the Snutch Lab. Applying this knowledge to CoVaRR-Net, she expertly oversaw the Pillar 5 study “Combining Short- and Long-Read Sequencing Technologies to Identify SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Wastewater”. To optimally analyze and visualize the various data sets, Gabby also wrote original software and performed extensive validation ultimately resulting in a new workflow for integrating short- and long-read SARS-CoV-2 variant linages from wastewater.
Rajesh Jacob
Rajesh earned his PhD at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Cape Town, South Africa, under the supervision of Dr. Jeffrey Dorfman. His doctoral research focused on characterizing the neutralizing antibody response to HIV-1. Following his PhD, he undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Western Ontario, under the supervision of Dr. Jimmy Dikeakos, to investigate the role of HIV-1 Nef in T cell exhaustion and apoptosis.
He is currently a Research Associate at McMaster University working under the supervision of Dr. Karen Mossman where he isolated SARS-CoV-2 variants and characterized their sensitivity to neutralizing antibodies and Type I interferons. He has also examined the role of autoantibodies associated with COVID-19 hospitalization and neutralization activity.
His current research focuses on the molecular surveillance of the mpox virus. In 2022, he joined the Canadian Consortium of Academic Biosafety Level 3 (CCABL3) laboratories as the Scientific Coordinator, working under the supervision of Dr. Louis Flamand, Chair of CCABL3, to foster collaboration between various containment level 3 (CL3) facilities across Canada.
Career aspirations:
Rajesh is passionate about advancing research on emerging, high-risk viruses with a specific focus on understanding the host immune response. He is also eager to further enhance his expertise in biosafety and biosecurity regulations to effectively manage infectious disease threats.
Why does Rajesh deserve a spotlight?
Rajesh has made significant contributions to the scientific community, publishing his SARS-CoV-2 research in journals such as Emerging Infect Diseases, Antiviral Research, Frontiers in Immunology, iScience and Viruses. In addition to his research at McMaster University, he has advanced various CCABL3 initiatives. His efforts have strengthened relationships between CL3 facilities, developed guidelines to promote consistency in operations, distributed surveys to improve operational models, provided support for infrastructure-related queries and organized meeting/workshops for biosafety officers. His expertise has been instrumental in the development of several standard operating procedures and posters, helping standardize CL3 operational practices. His SARS-CoV-2 research and contributions to the Canadian CL3 landscape make him a deserving candidate for the spotlight.
Nicole Dawydiuk
Career aspirations:
Nicole aims to continue to prioritize Indigenous Peoples’ voices within research, advocating for research to be community-led and aligned with calls to action from foundational documents (i.e., the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDRIP), the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC)).
Why does Nicole deserve a spotlight?
Nicole deserves a spotlight for her dedication and commitment to ensuring that the voices of Indigenous Peoples are at the forefront of health research. Through her work with CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR) Pillar 7, she champions community-led research that aligns with important frameworks such as UNDRIP and the TRC’s Calls to Action.
Laurie Seifried
In addition to scientific advances, Laurie developed strong skills in project management, coordinating material transfer agreements (MTAs) and Review Ethics Board (REB) submissions. This experience prepared her to work in research contract administration at the University of Toronto, before taking on the position of Research Coordinator for CoVaRR-Net’s Pillars 1 and 4. In this role, Laurie manages all the collaborations, communications, MTA/REB administration, participant recruitment and database entry/management related to these Pillars.
Career aspirations:
Dr. Jen Gommerman states: Laurie loves science. Although she is currently in an administrative role, she attends research presentations with great interest and contributes to scientific discussion on Pillar 1 and 4 projects. Therefore, although I cannot speak directly for Laurie, science administration is something she does extremely well and I can see her continuing in this vein with increasing responsibility over time.
Why does Laurie deserve a spotlight?
Dr. Jen Gommerman says: Laurie has been a very important contributor to the success of CoVaRR-Net Pillars 1 and 4. She is adept at balancing the responsibilities of a young family with her CoVaRR-Net commitments and maintaining Pillar 1 and 4 activities during times of great stress and change.
For example, Laurie coordinated the swift recruitment of 100 children for a CoVaRR-Net study, including obtaining consent from families to participate in the study. During the Omicron wave, she had to adapt the consent processes to Zoom and prepare the appropriate materials to explain the study to a lay audience. Laurie also ensured that the study was accessible to high-need communities in Toronto, arranging for courier delivery of samples from buildings without concierges.
Her commitment to equity in all of the Pillar 1 and 4 studies was always apparent and permeated her activities. We could not have executed the missions for Pillars 1 or 4 without Laurie.
Jimena Perez-Vargas
Career aspirations:
Jimena is committed to applying her years of international virological experience to develop novel antivirals for reemerging and emerging pathogenic pandemic viruses and to train and mentor future virologists.
Why does Jimena deserve a spotlight?
Jimena made significant contributions to Pillar 10 projects by designing and executing most of the experiments conducted in the Jean Lab. She also served as the lead author on several high-profile published papers evaluating novel SARS-CoV-2 synthetics and natural product therapeutics. Furthermore, Jimena has been instrumental in training two graduate students involved in Pillar 10 projects, Annika Lea Schulz (MSc) and Diana Bautista Sanchez (PhD).
Carl Perez
Career aspirations:
Carl is dedicated to advancing virology and leveraging AI and cutting-edge research tools. His focus includes securing grant funding and fostering relationships within the biopharma sector to facilitate the progression of new drug candidates through Phase I safety trials. Carl aims to ensure these candidates are prepared for testing against emerging viruses with pandemic potential, reflecting his commitment to public health and innovative research.
Why does Carl deserve a spotlight?
Carl brought a wealth of experience in drug development, team building, and managing international collaborations to ensure the successful achievement of Pillar 10 objectives. He expertly navigated complex interactions with CIHR, UBC, and global partners, demonstrating professionalism, enthusiasm, and a strong commitment to advancing projects. Carl’s proactive approach in identifying and mitigating potential scientific and financial challenges played a critical role in establishing Pillar 10’s lasting impact and legacy in Canada.
Sabryna Nantel
Career aspirations:
Motivated by a profound commitment to improving patient care and advancing translational research, Sabryna aspires to a career as a clinician-researcher. She aims to specialize in immune deficiencies, leveraging her extensive background in T cell immunology and her hands-on experience with developing assays and flow cytometry techniques. She envisions a career where her research outputs can influence clinical practice and lead to innovative solutions that improve patient outcomes and enhance the quality of care. By integrating her scientific expertise with clinical practice, Sabryna is dedicated to translating scientific discoveries into tangible health benefits. She is also eager to make significant contributions to the field of immunology through both her clinical work and her publications.
Why does Sabryna deserve a spotlight?
Sabryna deserves the spotlight for her proactive engagement in multiple high-impact collaborations with CoVaRR-Net and other research teams. She can work effectively within multidisciplinary groups and can contribute meaningfully to shared goals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she quickly adapted her research focus to address critical questions about the T cell mediated immune response to SARS-CoV-2. She developed assays to evaluate T cell responses during the first wave of the pandemic and subsequently against variants of concern (VOCs) in both adults and children following infection or vaccination. More recently, she has applied her expertise to research on immune responses in immunosuppressed children, demonstrating her commitment to vulnerable populations. Sabryna’s unique combination of scientific rigor, empathy, and dedication to translational research distinguishes her as an exceptional candidate deserving of recognition.
Sterling McGregor
Career aspirations:
Following her undergraduate degree, Sterling would like to attend law school with a specialization in Indigenous law. Her goal is to work for her community or the Anishinaabek Nation on land claims and treaty law and fight for the advancement of Indigenous rights and the upholding of constitutionally protected rights.
Why does Sterling deserve a spotlight?
Sterling brings an eagerness to learn about research and contributes her knowledge about Indigenous rights and law in Canada. Sterling has also been an asset to our social media team and has shaped the CIEDAR language revitalization posts on Anishinaabemowin.
Tom Einhorn
Tom’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)-supported dissertation project employs natural language processing and computational network analysis to examine the evolution of the American LGBTQ rights movement, with a focus on longitudinal pattern analysis. His research interests include social movement studies, minority-led political coalitions, and the advancement of social science research methodology.
Career aspirations:
Tom aims to contribute to social science research through methodological innovation and empirical investigation of complex social phenomena. His goal is to advance the understanding of social movements and political mobilization while developing novel approaches to the analysis of large-scale unstructured social data. He is particularly interested in opportunities that combine rigorous research methodology with substantive theoretical contributions.
Looking ahead, Tom seeks to build innovative mixed-method research programs that integrate computational approaches with traditional social science methods to understand complex patterns of civic engagement. He believes that it is crucial to maintain and build on established methodological foundations, even as we adopt new analytical tools. Through this work, he hopes to contribute insights that both advance scholarly understanding and are of practical value to activists and organizations working for social justice, helping to bridge the gap between academic research and on-the-ground advocacy work.
Why does Tom deserve a spotlight?
Tom is CIEDAR’s data analyst and data scientist for the Hearing Indigenous Voices and Thrivance on Turtle Island surveys. Tom is a knowledgeable and thoughtful data analyst and brings important methodological skills to CIEDAR’s work. CIEDAR is pleased to highlight such an accomplished researcher in the CoVaRR-Net.
Michelle Canac-Marquis
In her role as project manager, she offers extensive experience guiding researchers through the start-up process of a research project – including hiring certified personnel and creating relevant database and data management systems – all the way to project close and data analysis. Her expertise ensures that research efforts are not only meticulously managed, but also adhere to the highest ethical standards.
Outside of her professional life, Michelle is an avid runner and has a deep appreciation for the art of calligraphy. These pursuits reflect her commitment to personal growth and creativity, complementing her professional endeavors and enhancing her overall well-being.
Career aspirations:
Michelle aims to support researchers who wish to integrate biobanking clinical and material data in their research efforts by creating useful tools, such as a provincial informed consent form. Her latest mandate, as the Network Manager of the Réseau pour avancer la recherche sur les maladies rares au Québec (RARE.Qc), will allow her to continue pursuing the highest standards in research project management.
Why does Michelle deserve a spotlight?
Michelle joined the CoVaRR-Net Biobank team in 2022 to assist in the development of the Canadian Biobank and Data Alliance’s framework. Her experience in the development of a similar framework provided helpful guidance on the logistical and ethical aspects of CoVaRR-Net’s biobanking efforts.
Fionnuala Braun
Career aspirations:
After completing her MA, Fionnuala plans to complete her PhD in Health Sciences at Carleton University. She hopes to combine her work as a queer historian and as a public health researcher to investigate and advocate for better health outcomes for queer individuals, particularly those affected by social and health-related complications of HIV/AIDS. Someday, she would like to work directly in communities to help bridge gaps in trust between at-risk individuals and the research community, and ultimately give people the opportunity to tell their own stories.
Why does Fionnuala deserve a spotlight?
Fionnuala has been incredible in her contributions to the qualitative component of Pillar 8’s TRUST project. She has shown initiative, actively engaged in research discussions, and is currently conducting interviews with study participants.
Areeba Asif
Areeba Asif (she/her) currently serves as CoVaRR-Net’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigeneity (EDI&I) Project Coordinator. She leads the Lunch and Learn program, designed to address knowledge gaps within the areas of health equity, community engagement, inclusive leadership, and EDI&I best practices. Through this initiative, Areeba has gained in-depth expertise in community-centered research and health equity principles, engaging top subject matter experts across Canada.
In addition, Areeba oversees all communications and partnership activities for CoVaRR-Net’s EDI&I team. Previously, Areeba served as research assistant for CIEDAR (CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development and Research Pillar) working on the survey analysis, knowledge translation and Hearing Indigenous Voices Symposium organization team. She also currently leads the Policy Synopses Program and community-building projects for Bachar Lorai, a youth-driven social impact agency dedicated to amplifying Bangladeshi voices globally.
Earlier this year, Areeba collaborated with the Canadian Centre for Women’s Empowerment to build equitable partnerships and deepen her understanding of translating research into policy through advocacy. In 2023, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and economics from the University of British Columbia with a commitment to bridging the gap between research and social policy.
Career aspirations:
In the next three years, Areeba plans to pursue a Master’s in public policy in Canada, with a dream to complete part of her degree internationally in a cooperative program. She is deeply passionate about social policy, reflecting her work in the areas of health equity research, EDI&I programming, and knowledge translation. Areeba aspires to transform research into policy that addresses deeply rooted societal inequities. In the future, Areeba hopes to work in policy development, specifically in multi-stakeholder engagement and analysis, community partnerships and socio-economic policy research.
Why does Areeba deserve a spotlight?
Areeba is the most recent addition to the EDI&I team and has brought a critical mass of energy and enthusiasm to the team’s work. Her lived experience shapes her approach to effecting change in research communities. She might be familiar to the network as the point person for the Lunch and Learn series.
Michelle Zinck
Michelle is from Denésułiné First Nation, located on the north shore of Lake Athabasca in Treaty 8 Territory. She is a land-based health researcher with expertise grounded in ethical community engagement and co-developing land-based initiatives to address the effects on health global anthropogenic changes on health. Her research work is centered on decolonizing health, environmental-health, land-based healing, traditional knowledge and ecosystem storytelling.
With a BA in English and Indigenous Studies, Michelle is currently completing her Master’s thesis research in Indigenous Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. Based at the University of British Columbia, she is also EDI&I Manager for CoVaRR-Net and the Environmental-Health representative on the Global Youth Steering Committee with the Children and Youth Major Group (CYMG) to the United Nations Environment Program.
Career aspirations:
Michelle plans to pursue a doctoral degree in public health to strengthen Indigenist, land-based approaches for addressing the effects of anthropogenic changes on Indigenous (and global) health.
Why does Michelle deserve a spotlight?
Michelle brings a unique Indigenous perspective into the EDI&I team, helping the team centre a decolonial approach towards our work with the network. She also inspires a refreshing intergenerational exchange of perspectives that is valued and elevated. Her listening tour is likely to have made her familiar to many of the network members!
Khatira Mehdiyeva
Khatira serves as Research Officer for Pillar 8 – Public Health, Health Systems, and Social Policy Impacts at CoVaRR-Net, a role she has held since February 2022. As a public health and preventive medicine specialist with over 10 years of experience in academic and governmental settings, she has led project planning, coordination, and management, ensuring timely and successful completion of projects. Her expertise includes fostering communication with public health partners, overseeing data collection and analysis systems and applying strategic planning to both operational and long-term initiatives. Currently, Khatira is working on a CoVaRR-Net-funded study entitled “Trust Dynamics and Equity in Public Health: A Mixed-Methods Study on COVID-19,” which investigates the evolution of public trust in government, public health institutions, and healthcare entities—critical factors for healthcare access, treatment adherence, and effective crisis management.
Career aspirations:
Khatira’s career aspiration is to continue advancing public health systems through research and strategic management. She aims to influence evidence-based policies that improve healthcare access, equity, and crisis response. Khatira is passionate about collaborating with diverse stakeholders and hopes to contribute to the development of sustainable and resilient health systems that can effectively address both current and emerging public health challenges, ultimately leading to improved public health outcomes.
Why does Khatira deserve a spotlight?
Khatira’s diverse skills (project planning and implementation, budgeting, communication, to name a few) and knowledge (in public health, preventive medicine, and primary care) have been important assets for Pillar 8 work. She is the glue that keeps the work in Pillar 8 going.
Marie-Ming Aynaud
Marie-Ming Aynaud, PhD, obtained her doctorate in virology from the Pasteur Institute in Paris, where she investigated the impact of APOBEC3 editing on both viral and human DNA. Following her doctoral studies, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Curie Institute in Paris, investigating tumor heterogeneity in pediatric cancer and in 2018, joined Dr. Laurence Pelletier’s lab at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto to work on microcephaly. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she played a key role in developing an automated next-generation sequencing platform for high-throughput SARS-CoV-2 variant detection, working under guidance of Dr. Pelletier and CoVaRR-Net Pillar 5 Deputy, Dr. Jeff Wrana.
Career aspirations:
Her career aspiration is to advance fundamental research in order to enhance our understanding of complex biological processes and drive scientific innovation. This involves furthering her work to develop viral diagnostic pipelines, characterizing variant-specific host response signatures, and investigating the functional impact of viral variants.
Why does Marie-Ming deserve a spotlight?
At the onset of the pandemic, Marie-Ming developed a screening process for a next-generation sequencing platform designed for high-throughput detection of SARS-CoV-2. She then refined the experimental pipeline by optimizing multiplex primers and automating procedures, significantly enhancing efficiency. Additionally, Marie-Ming took a leadership role in training personnel to ensure daily monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 variants across the Greater Toronto Area. Over the course of three years, her efforts contributed to robust surveillance and a better understanding of viral evolution.
Mitra Yousefi
Mitra Yousefi earned her PhD in immunology and virology from INRS–Institut Armand-Frappier and followed it by three years of postdoctoral research in host-pathogen interactions at McGill University. She then became the manager of the Infection and Inflammation Core Facility, leading numerous projects focused on mouse model studies of infectious and inflammatory diseases, including viral pathogens. Currently, she holds an Academic Associate position in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and manages the Containment Level 3 (CL3) facility at McGill University.
Career aspirations:
Mitra aims to continue advancing her leadership in high-containment research environments by driving innovation in pathogen research and containment strategies. She aspires to contribute to global preparedness for emerging infectious diseases, to enhance biosafety and biosecurity protocols, and to lead interdisciplinary research teams in developing novel therapeutic and preventive measures. Her goal is to spearhead advancements in the fields of virology and immunology, particularly through the integration of cutting-edge technologies in mouse model studies and containment infrastructure upgrades, positioning her facility as a leading center for pandemic readiness and infectious disease research.
Why does Mitra deserve a spotlight?
In 2020, with the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Mitra took on the additional responsibility of managing McGill’s CL3 facility, overseeing critical COVID-19 research, and ensuring seamless facility operations and maintenance. Throughout her role, the McGill CL3 facility has been at the forefront of significant discoveries in various fields of SARS-CoV-2 research, illuminating SARS-CoV-2 evasion mechanisms, testing new vaccine modalities, and developing new colorimetric diagnostic tools that exploit new chemistries and provide speed, accuracy and wide access.
Mitra’s ability to respond swiftly to challenges, embrace new solutions, and drive scientific progress has made her an invaluable asset to the CL3 facility. She is currently leading a significant renovation and upgrade of the CL3 facility, made possible by a Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund (BRIF) award. These enhancements will not only modernize the equipment but also improve the infrastructure to support work with Security Sensitive Biological Agents (SSBAs) and non-indigenous pathogens, positioning McGill’s CL3 facility as a state-of-the-art center for pandemic preparedness and research.
Émile Lacasse
Émile started his training in life sciences with a diploma in laboratory technology, specializing in biotechnology, at Cégep de Lévis. Over the course of three years, he developed solid expertise in chemistry, microbiology, immunology, and biochemistry, complemented by hands-on experience through internships. His first internship was at the Centre d’expertise en analyse environnementale du Québec, where he developed a rigorous laboratory work ethic, followed by a second internship at the Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD) in La Réunion, within an academic research environment.
Émile then pursued a Bachelor’s degree in microbiology at Laval University where he discovered his passion for virology. After completing an internship in Louis Flamand’s laboratory, he transitioned to a Master’s in microbiology-immunology under Louis’ supervision, actively contributing to scientific publications and collaborative projects. Emile is currently doing his PhD in microbiology-immunology in Louis’ laboratory, working at developing a more efficient SARS-CoV-2 reverse genetic system with the goal of defining the functions of the Nsp2 protein. Dedicated to knowledge sharing, he has also served as an instructor for the Applied Immunology Lab course in the Certificate in Biotechnology program at Laval University for the past three years.
Career aspirations:
His aspiration is to acquire the expertise necessary to become a productive professor-researcher. By mastering advanced techniques in proteomics, next-generation sequencing, bioinformatics, and molecular biology, he aims to advance research in virology and generate impactful results. Ultimately, he wishes to contribute to the study of emerging viruses and help position Canadian research as a global leader in this field.
Why does Emile deserve a spotlight?
In the words of Louis Flamand: Émile deserves recognition for his research work on SARS-CoV-2 over the past four years. He has significantly contributed to the field through peer-reviewed publications, such as uncovering the role of Nsp2 in inflammation and NF-κB activation, investigating how SARS-CoV-2 affects platelet activation and megakaryocyte transcriptomes and investigating the impact influence of the virus on the lung lipidome. His work has been published in high-impact journals like Frontiers in Immunology, Blood Advances, Communications Biology, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), demonstrating the breadth of his research. Additionally, Émile’s work has been supported by several scholarships and awards, showcasing the importance and impact of his contributions to understanding COVID-19 and viral pathogenesis.
Émile is truly an outstanding student. He is one of the most hard-working graduate/postdoctoral research students I have seen over the last 10 years. Not only that, he is very generous with his time and knowledge, always offering his help to others. He is passionate about the field of virology and is always pushing me to get new equipment and explore methods in the lab. Because of Émile, we are now running Nanopore sequencing in the lab. He took training to learn basic programming such as R and learn to conduct analyses of big data sets such as RNA-seq. After his PhD, Émile will seek post-doctoral training in laboratories that have CL3 facilities. Once completed, I will attempt to recruit him as an assistant professor at Laval University to work and help manage the new non-human primate CL3 facility that we are currently building. In summary, I cannot think of someone more deserving than Emile for this spotlight. Such recognition will add to his long list of awards and accomplishments, making his application very competitive in the next round of fellowship funding calls.
Marilène Bolduc
Marilène Bolduc has been a research assistant for Dr. Denis Leclerc at the Centre de recherche en infectiologie (CRI) for over 21 years. Since 2001, she has worked with nanoparticles with immunomodulatory properties for use in infectious disease prevention, vaccination and immunotherapy. In 2006, accompanied by an outstanding team, she played a major role in the creation of an academic quality control system, the development of a nanoparticle manufacturing process and their transfer to industry, enabling a Phase 1 study in humans.
Thanks to her leadership, she has become Dr. Leclerc’s right-hand, coordinating research involving over 50 researchers and biotechnologists. She recently participated in the creation of the Vaccin Québec biomanufacturing platform, of which she is co-director. Marilène has contributed to more than 20 scientific articles and has shared her passion for research with 35 students and employees.
Marilène recently won a distinction from the Fond de recherche du Québec (FRQ) and was selected as one of the top three research assistants in the province.
Career aspirations:
Concerned with training the next generation of excellence, Marilène is personally committed to inspiring and motivating young scientists to appreciate high-quality research while remaining balanced in a harmonious work environment.
Why does Marilène deserve a spotlight?
In the words of Denis Leclerc: Marilène has been working with me for over 20 years, and together we’ve experienced many exciting phases, with the adventure still ongoing. She is my right-hand and someone I trust completely. Marilène has developed exceptional leadership in the lab, excelling at coordinating research operations, ensuring the quality of our work, and implementing the Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) essential for industry collaboration. She truly deserves recognition as the most talented and supportive person in my team. I can’t imagine what I would do without her—and I’d rather not think about it.
Marilène did a lot for the CoVaRR-Net project. Together, we showed that an immunomodulator of the innate immune system could prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection when administered by the intranasal route (manuscript in preparation). We have also developed two vaccines against COVID-19, one where we used the receptor-binding domain as the antigen that triggered a complete protection (Olivera et al., 2022) and another, based on the use of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid that triggered a broad protection against the ancestral and the divergent XBB.1 variant. A manuscript is also in preparation for this vaccine. I am proud of her and my research group.
Salma Sheikh-Mohamed
Salma Sheikh-Mohamed is a fifth year PhD candidate in the Department of Immunology at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Gommerman. Her work aims to characterize and better understand mucosal immune responses to intramuscular vaccination, specifically with SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines. Salma started her graduate work researching mucosal immunity in the context of HIV, but quickly pivoted to SARS-CoV-2-related work at the start of the pandemic. This led to multiple collaborations with other scientists, as well as government agencies, public health specialists, epidemiologists and more. Salma has published two first author publications relating to mucosal immunity in the context of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, with one more hopefully to come.
Career aspirations:
Salma’s favorite part of her thesis work has been the countless collaborations with scientists in varying fields. She hopes to continue this by working in the public health sector.
Why does Salma deserve a spotlight?
Outside of being a dedicated researcher, Salma is committed to serving her community. She is a foundational member of Say Somaali, a youth-led group that aims to empower fellow youth through mentorship within Somali communities in the Greater Toronto Area so that they become fulfilled, successful leaders. Salma is also a strong communicator, both on the page and in the auditorium. She has written for IMMpress Magazine, a magazine for the University of Toronto’s Department of Immunology, on several occasions as a content contributor and has served as their social media coordinator, where some of her written work displays a sense of humour. Salma has also delivered impactful talks about the importance of her graduate work in mucosal immunology at several conferences, including for CoVaRR-Net and the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF), where she has shown herself to be a powerful science communicator.
Yannick Galipeau
Yannick Galipeau is currently a senior PhD candidate in microbiology and immunology at the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Dr. Marc-André Langlois. He graduated with a BSc in biochemistry in 2020 and decided to pursue graduate studies as SARS-CoV-2 emerged, pivoting from influenza research to coronaviruses. Yannick was one of the first to develop reliable and scalable serological assays against SARS-CoV-2, contributing significantly to the COVID-19 research response. Yannick has since broadened his research interest to better understand adaptive immune responses to a variety of respiratory viral infections and vaccination. He is also active in the field of autoimmunity, vaccine development, and astronaut and space immunology. Additionally, Yannick is the co-editor-in-chief of the University of Ottawa Journal of Medicine (UOJM), the only bilingual, student-run and peer-reviewed medical journal in Canada. Through his work with the UOJM and other student-led initiatives, Yannick is committed to mentoring efforts, research outreach activities, and giving back to his community.
Career aspirations:
Yannick aims to continue to further his training in immunology and virology to better address clinical and scientific questions. He hopes to one day establish an independent research program and to continue giving back to his community.
Why does Yannick deserve a spotlight?
Yannick is highly deserving of this recognition due to his significant contributions to understanding antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and immunity to COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic. In early 2020, Yannick was the key architect in designing the original assays for the High Throughput Serology platform, which has subsequently supported more than 40 national antibody studies, including the Stop the Spread Ottawa study extension supported by CoVaRR-Net. He also played a pivotal role in the data analysis component for the serology data generated by these assays. His unwavering dedication and scientific talent were critical in establishing these high throughput serological assays.
Corey Arnold
Corey Arnold obtained a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Calgary. In the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, he joined Dr. Marc-André Langlois’s laboratory to set up an automated, high throughput platform to detect and measure serum antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2. Wearing several hats through the development of the platform, Corey now sits as the Research and Data Manager of the Serology and Diagnostics High Throughput Facility. He has overseen collaborations with over 40 Canadian research teams working with cohorts of samples ranging from several hundred to several thousand in number, some of the largest such efforts in Canada.
Career aspirations:
Corey aims to apply his passion for problem solving and his acquired skills in automation to build assays, systems and infrastructure to support large-scale and population-based studies for the betterment of research and global health. By increasing accessibility to such platforms, he hopes to play a role in fostering open collaboration across all sectors to facilitate a unified and well-connected research community equipped to tackle future challenges to our health and livelihood.
Why does Corey deserve a spotlight?
Corey was the first person hired at the Serology and Diagnostics High Throughput Facility in 2021 to transition a lab-based manual ELISA into a high throughput assay performed on robotic liquid handlers. In the early days of the facility and the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Corey was responsible for all aspects of operations and research. However, he quickly developed a special talent and interest in supporting research collaborations, overseeing assay performance and development, and managing data analysis and reporting. He is the primary contact for supporting research study design and providing comprehensive data analysis to collaborators. Corey’s leadership and unwavering commitment to research have made him an invaluable member of the team.
Danielle Dewar-Darch
Danielle Dewar-Darch serves as the Facility and Operations Manager at the Serology and Diagnostics High Throughput Facility, located at the University of Ottawa. With over 20 years of experience in basic and clinical research, she has held roles such as laboratory manager, project manager, and senior clinical research assistant. Danielle’s expertise lies in the optimization and implementation of high-throughput proteomics, genomics, and biochemical assays. Additionally, she has extensive experience in quality systems applications, including compliance, quality assurance, and quality control. Currently, Danielle is focused on developing biochemical assays for high-throughput diagnostics and serological testing.
In her capacity as Facility and Operations Manager, Danielle is dedicated to project management, quality control, and assay development to advance diagnostic and serological testing to establish the facility as a leading resource for Canadian researchers.
Career aspirations:
Danielle’s leadership goal is to cultivate a positive and supportive work environment while nurturing a highly skilled research team to drive facility operations with productivity and innovation.
The Serology and Diagnostics High Throughput Facility has collaborated with over 40 Canadian academic, clinical, and government research groups to evaluate humoral responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination using automated high-throughput assays developed in-house. Danielle’s vision extends to advancing the facility’s involvement in One Health initiatives through molecular diagnostics and serological analysis.
Why does Danielle deserve a spotlight?
Danielle is the driving force behind the success of the Serology and Diagnostics High Throughput Facility. She manages the day-to-day supervision and training of staff and oversees all operational aspects of the facility, from procurement and instrument maintenance, to study sample intake and waste disposal. She is responsible for ensuring safety and compliance so that the facility meets PHAC and CFIA biocontainment standards. Her efforts support numerous serological studies funded by CoVaRR-Net. Her attention to detail and extreme rigour in performing her duties are the key reasons for the facility’s indisputable success, and this is why she is deserving of this recognition.
Reuben Samson
Reuben Samson is a PhD candidate at the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Anne-Claude Gingras at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Sinai Health in Toronto. His thesis work aims to understand the dynamic molecular events that underlie cellular reprogramming, a process that leads to the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). However, during the early days of the pandemic, Reuben pivoted from his thesis work to apply his viral skillset to optimize and implement a pseudotyped lentiviral neutralization assay to detect the presence of neutralizing antibodies in serum samples. This led to numerous collaborations and publications within academia and industry and the validation of a Made-in-Canada vaccine candidate. With his focus now on wrapping up his thesis, Reuben still often consults on the assay design and updates concerning new variants.
Career aspirations:
Reuben has always had a fascination with the complexity of the human body and has a knack for teaching and mentorship. He hopes to continue teaching as a professor.
Why does Reuben deserve a spotlight?
During the early days of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, equipped with his medical biology knowledge and strong leadership skills, Reuben served as a member of the COVID entry screening team at Mount Sinai Hospital. Reuben was also an early pioneer who helped to develop a cell-based lentivirus assay that detects the presence of neutralizing antibodies in patient blood samples. He has since helped modify this assay to work with VOCs during subsequent waves of infection to study antibody responses in people with SARS-CoV-2 infections and vaccinations.
Lauren Caldwell
Lauren Caldwell joined Dr. Jeff Wrana’s laboratory at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute (LTRI) in 2016 after earning a BSc in molecular biology from the University of Guelph and a graduate certificate in bioinformatics from Seneca College. In the lab, Lauren is responsible for processing, analyzing, and maintaining a variety of datasets and pipelines, from small sequencing experiments with a few samples to single cell datasets with hundreds of thousands of cells. She is always happy to help others in the lab and the LTRI with their data needs.
Career aspirations:
Lauren hopes to continue developing her technical skills by working with every new type of data she can find. Since datasets keep growing and new techniques are always being developed, it is important to never stop learning.
Why does Lauren deserve a spotlight?
Lauren has been essential in developing and maintaining the bioinformatics pipeline that allowed for automated analysis of high throughput SARS-CoV-2 sequencing of clinical samples to track variant dynamics in the Greater Toronto Area (the COVID19-SPAR-seq platform). This platform processed over 70,000 samples with peak throughputs clocked in at >500 samples per day. Her tireless efforts in establishing, maintaining and upgrading the informatics pipeline over the three years of the project was essential to its success.
Traci-lee D. Christianson
Traci-lee D. Christianson, a person of white settler ancestry, completed their Bachelor of Arts, Honours equivalent, at Concordia University of Edmonton. Traci is now working towards a masters of applied social psychology at the University of Saskatchewan. Broadly, their research interests include the social psychological processes related to social and health equity. More specifically, Traci is interested in examining the development and implementation of decolonial health interventions as well as the communication, and thus the perpetuation, of biased beliefs about various sociocultural groups.
Career aspirations:
Traci plans to pursue a doctoral degree in applied social psychology. Ultimately, they hope to use research to contribute to the development of a more equitable society.
Why does Traci deserve a spotlight?
Traci was the first CIEDAR graduate research assistant and supported the growth of CIEDAR. Traci is an important team member who is committed to health equity and supporting Indigenous nations and communities.
Salman Bagheri
Salman Bagheri has an MSc in medical immunology and a BSc in medical laboratory science. He brings a wealth of expertise in immunology, medical laboratory science, cancer biology, and immunotherapy with over eight years of experience specializing in multi-parameter flow cytometry and in vitro studies, focusing on T cell biology.
Career aspirations:
Salman aims to conduct high quality research in immunology and infectious diseases that will contribute to public health and research while sharing his expertise with others.
Why does Salman deserve a spotlight?
In October 2021, Salman embarked on a new journey as a research technician at the CoVaRR-Net Biobank under Dr. Angela Crawley’s leadership. Since then, he has played an integral role in managing several research projects, developing standard operating procedures, conducting and analyzing complex experiments and data sets and performing sample quality assessments for the Biobank. With skillsets ranging from primary cell culture, cell isolation, high throughput/multiparameter flow/mass cytometry and multivariate biostatistics, as well as clinical data translation and laboratory science, Salman is an invaluable member of the Biobank research team.
Salman has been working on many COVID-19-related projects exploring immune cell phenotypes and functions, including investigations of individuals with immunodeficiencies, cancer patients, and those with Post-COVID condition symptoms. Salman has an unflappable commitment to research and the use of cutting-edge technologies, and happens to showcase prowess on the beach volleyball court. The CoVaRR-Net Biobank highly values the degree of professionalism and scientific excellence that Salman brings to its activities and affirms that he is deserving of a spotlight in this space as a contributing member of CoVaRR-Net.
Alex Hicks
Career aspiration:
As a recent graduate, Alex has always enjoyed her time working in the lab and would like to continue working in a lab setting. She hopes to expand her skillset beyond lab techniques and learn more about bioinformatics and coding.
Why does Alex deserve a spotlight?
CUBE wouldn’t be CUBE without the dedication and commitment Alex demonstrates day in and day out processing swabs. She delivers quality and excellence. She has processed thousands of samples through qPCR (single target and multiplex), as well as cultures. Alex is currently Lead lab technician on CUBE’s implementation pilot at Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital.
Mary Jessome
Career aspirations:
CIEDAR’s work continues to demonstrate the healing benefits associated with being outside in nature. Mary hopes to further their work, specifically on the relationship between identity and health, as it is facilitated by a connection to nature, by conducting research and creating nature-based health programs.
Why do they deserve a spotlight?
In her role as research manager, Mary contributes to and shapes the future of CIEDAR. Mary is integral to the grant and manuscript writing efforts and her work ensures that the CIEDAR team is productive and makes its quarterly writing goals.
Milca Meconnen
Career aspiration:
After completing her MSc, Milca would like to continue working in epidemiology research, specifically focusing on marginalized communities within the Canadian context.
Why you think Milca deserves a spotlight?
Milca has an incredible passion for research that can inform and improve the health of marginalized communities and equity-deserving groups. In addition to supporting the development of the CoVaRR-Net core data model and catalogue, as a member of the CoVaRR-Net Biobank and Data Platform teams, she is currently leading the writing of a white paper on the appropriate inclusion, use, and interpretation of equity stratifiers in infectious diseases and immunology research. The goal of this paper is to enable scientists in these disciplines to better measure diversity and representation.
Arianna M. Hurtado-Monzόn
Career aspiration:
Arianna aims to continue working in host-pathogen interaction research with emerging viruses, either in an academic laboratory or in industry and to share her knowledge with future generations.
Why you think Arianna deserves a spotlight?
Arianna is a very talented and enthusiastic postdoctoral fellow and part of CoVaRR-Net’s Pillar 2. She is presently working on a project to advance our understanding of the host species’ susceptibility to different SARS-CoV-2 variants by developing a cell-based assay to determine ACE2-mediated SARS-CoV-2 entry into cells, observing that ACE2 orthologues from different animal species differentially facilitate the entry of the virus. This is the first step to systematically identify and robustly validate ACE2 orthologs from animal species that are likely to become infected with SARS-CoV-2. Her work also encompasses the development of innovative cell culture systems to advance studies in viral fitness, species-specific host responses, and pathogenesis.
Prachi Ray
Career Aspirations:
Prachi hopes to continue working in the field of infectious diseases and contribute to a diverse range of interdisciplinary research projects during her professional career.
Why does Prachi deserve a spotlight?
Prachi has been a member of the Coronavirus in the Built Environment (CUBE) initiative since May 2022. She has supported a range of vital activities including sample collection, data entry, project coordination, and knowledge translation. Prachi exhibits excellence and dedication in all tasks, and she was recently awarded the Top Abstract Award (Innovation Track) at the 2023 Sinai Health Quality and Safety Symposium for her work “Environmental surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 for outbreak detection in hospital: A single centre prospective study.”
Philibert Tuyishime
Philibert Tuyishime, PhD, has a doctorate in molecular biology and biochemistry from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, with an emphasis on utilizing molecular techniques to instruct hosts to produce human beneficial products. Prior to joining the CoVaRR-Net Biobank team, Philibert worked in the Public Health Ontario Laboratory detecting infectious pathogens and then pivoted to their COVID-19 PCR screening program.
Career aspirations:
Philibert hopes to continue utilizing molecular and cellular techniques to enable scientific discoveries that improve human health and assist with pandemic preparedness planning in a research or public health setting.
Why you think Philibert deserves a spotlight?
Since joining the CoVaRR-Net Biobank in September 2022, Philibert has been dedicated to his role as a junior research technician. His extensive knowledge in molecular biology has allowed him to work meticulously, developing standard operating procedures and collecting, processing, and distributing high quality biological samples required for pandemic research. Importantly, he plays a vital role in the conduct of laboratory studies for research clients, which is central to the mandate of the Biobank as a knowledge generator. As the health and safety representative, Philibert ensures his peers are compliant to safety practices, rules and regulations while working in the laboratory. His work thus far has been exceptional, and his cheerful outlook and commitment have been foundational to the CoVaRR-Net Biobank team.
Jose Avila Cervantes
Career aspiration:
Jose hopes to continue working with emerging viruses.
Why does Jose deserve a spotlight?
Jose works on multiple CoVaRR-Net-funded projects detecting SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses in wastewater, monitoring for outbreaks and new variants. Through the course of his work, Jose has developed and implemented pipelines for data analysis.
Tamara Chavez
Tamara Chavez, BA, MA, holds a bachelor’s in social work from the University of Victoria, and a master’s degree in human rights from the University of Vienna. She is CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR) Pillar 7 project manager and works in a community-based/participatory research approach. Previously, Tamara worked as a project coordinator for the BC Centre of Disease Control Harm Reduction Services and as research consultant for Harm Reduction International. Her frontline and research work interests include topics such as harm reduction, overdose prevention, mental health and sexual health, alongside various groups, including people who experience homelessness and people who use drugs.
Career aspirations:
As a project manager in Indigenous research, Tamara hopes to make a meaningful impact on Indigenous communities by leading research projects that promote Indigenous knowledge and methodologies. She hopes to collaborate closely with Indigenous Peoples, fostering respectful research partnerships, and advocating for the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in academic and policy discussions. Ultimately, her career aspiration would be to contribute to positive change and thrivance within Indigenous communities through Indigenous-led research initiatives.
Why does Tamara deserve a spotlight?
Tamara is a superb project manager and manages the CIEDAR portfolio of work with skill, organization, and consistent communication. As a result of Tamara’s management, team members understand their roles and the work they must accomplish in order for CIEDAR to continue to meet its study aims and goals.
Nada Hegazy
Nada Hegazy, BASc, MASc, is an environmental engineering PhD candidate and a 2023 Vanier Scholar under the supervision of Dr. Robert Delatolla at the University of Ottawa. She holds a BASc degree in chemical engineering (Co-op) and a MASc degree in environmental engineering, both earned at the University of Ottawa in 2020 and 2022, respectively. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Nada’s research has focused on improving the understanding of COVID-19 wastewater surveillance data and its role in enhancing public health monitoring. Her research on the dynamic relation between wastewater signal and clinical metrics was presented internationally, including with the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands. Nada’s research achievements further led to her master’s thesis being nominated for a “Best Thesis” award by the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Engineering.
Career aspiration:
Nada aspires to build a career at the intersection of engineering, epidemiology, and data science, working towards innovative solutions that would address emerging health challenges at a community and global level.
Why does Nada deserve a spotlight?
As part of Dr. Robert Delatolla’s research group at the University of Ottawa, she leverages the unified wastewater surveillance dataset, a pivotal component of CoVaRR-Net’s WWSRG Major Initiative, to conduct a comprehensive and aggregated examination of wastewater surveillance data quality and its potential in strengthening public health monitoring in smaller communities.
Aliisa Heiskanen
Aliisa Heiskanen, BSc, graduated from the University of Ottawa in 2020 with a bachelor of science for which she majored in biomedical science and minored in psychology. She developed an interest for infectious disease epidemiology during the COVID-19 pandemic and is currently working towards her MSc in Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa. Her research focuses on the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal respiratory viruses.
Career Aspiration:
Aliisa hopes to continue working in the field of infectious diseases and assist with pandemic preparedness planning in a research or public health setting.
Why does Aliisa deserve a spotlight?
Since joining the CoVaRR-Net Biobank in September 2022, Aliisa has played critical roles in developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), coordinating the collection of samples and data with study coordinators and partners, and liaising with researchers to arrange shipment of requested samples and data from the Biobank inventory. Her attention to detail has been welcomed in mobilizing the new Biobank Inventory Management System (BIMS). She is also a vital partner within the Data Platform as it heads towards the launch of its dashboard-accessible Metabase platform that will revolutionize sample and data queries, access, and sharing among Canadian researchers. This work is foundational to CoVaRR-Net Biobank operations and its future in pandemic preparedness, particularly as the team continues to build the Canadian Biobank and Data Alliance initiative. Outside of work, Aliisa keeps her mind, body and spirit vitalized through a commitment to athletics: a former varsity basketball player and current triathlete. This fosters an ideal work ethic of perseverance, dependability, commitment and excellent – core elements of our amazing Biobank Team!
Sally Lee
Sally Lee, MSc, earned her master’s in pharmacology and therapeutics from McGill University while studying the corrective effects of folic acid supplementation on DNA methylation alterations associated with assisted reproductive technologies. She is currently a researcher at the McGill Genome Center performing COVID-19 high-throughput sequencing.
Career aspiration:
Sally hopes to participate in research that analyzes the effects of pharmaceuticals and supplementation and the associated genetic and epigenetic changes.
Why does Sally deserve a spotlight?
Sally is involved in processing samples from multiple SARS-CoV-2 viral genomics projects funded by CoVaRR-Net such as CUBE, viral evolution projects, and many more. She is also active in managing samples, operating state-of-the-art genomic instruments, and performing high-throughput sequencing.
Elisabeth Mercier
Elisabeth Mercier, BSc, BASc, is an environmental engineering PhD candidate under the supervision of Dr. Robert Delatolla at the University of Ottawa. She graduated from a dual degree program with a BSc in biochemistry and a BASc in chemical engineering. She was part of the team that first detected SARS-CoV-2 and subtyped influenza A in wastewater in Canada and has recently worked to expand wastewater surveillance to other pathogens such as RSV. Recently, Elisabeth was invited to present her work on flu and RSV in wastewaters to the eighth international EU Sewage Sentinel System for SARS-CoV-2 (EU4S) town hall and to the Ontario Ministry of Health Long-Term Care RSV Advisory Group.
Career aspiration:
Her career aspiration is to oversee a health tech company focused on bridging healthcare gaps in underserved communities.
Why does Elisabeth deserve a spotlight?
As part of Dr. Robert Delatolla’s research team at the University of Ottawa, Elisabeth spearheaded the development of protocols and managed the analysis of wastewater surveillance data from 10 locations in Ontario. This pioneering initiative marked the first public release of such data in Canada, serving as the foundational layer for the construction of the PHES-ODM.
Sana Naderi
Career Aspiration:
After finishing her PhD, Sana would like to continue working in genomic epidemiology and bioinformatics in industry.
Why does Sana deserve a spotlight?
Sana has been incredibly productive during her first year as a MSc student, contributing to a paper on the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 introduction events and transmission in Quebec, and also leading a paper on SARS-CoV-2 adaptation to different animal species, recently published in eLife. She has worked closely with members of Pillars 2 and 6 (CAMEO) on this work and is now undertaking an analysis of sequence data from wastewater. Her quantitative background has served her well in this work, and she is very quickly getting up to speed in infectious disease biology. She is a welcome presence in the lab and as part of the CoVaRR-Net team!
Paul Stretenowich
Paul Stretenowich is a bioinformatics specialist and has been a part of the TechDev team for the Canadian Center for Computational Genomics (C3G) since April 2019. He is involved in the development of GenPipes’s pipelines, bioinformatics analysis and GenPipes’s user support. Paul is also involved in maintaining, installing and updating software for the TechDev team in a shared stack: CVMFS. Prior to joining McGill, Paul worked as a bioinformatician at the University of Montreal. He earned his engineering qualifications in France.
Career aspiration:
Paul hopes to continue growing his skill set in pipeline development and software installation in order to lead large-scale projects, such as CoVSeQ, in the future.
Why does Paul deserve a spotlight?
Paul provides bioinformatics support for CoVaRR-Net Pillar 5, Viral Genomics and Sequencing. He is responsible for designing and supporting the SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequencing analysis pipelines.
Julian Willett
Julian Willett, MD, PhD, is a bioinformatician with the McGill Genome Centre who has studied how we can use the genetic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 in order to better understand how it causes disease.
Career aspiration:
Julian has an interest in conducting computational and functional genomics research as it relates to aerospace medicine and other topics that could be contributory.
Why does Julian deserve a spotlight?
Julian studied the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in an animal host, finding that a host was sufficient to drive viral evolution.
Carly G Morrisseau
Career aspirations:
Drawing from their background in social media, Carly is driven by a commitment to continue advocating for and uplifting Indigenous voices. Their goal is to shine a spotlight on Indigenous representation within popular culture, fostering ongoing visibility and recognition. Carly remains dedicated to continuously ensuring that Indigenous narratives and perspectives receive celebration both in the digital realm and across contemporary spheres.
Why does Carly deserve a spotlight?
Carly has shaped the identity of CIEDAR’s social media presence and has worked to ensure that Indigenous voices and perspectives are centred in CIEDAR’s communication efforts across platforms.
Agatha Komsic-Vranjkovic
Agatha Komsic-Vranjkovic, PhD, is a Research Associate at the Crawley Lab of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and serves as the Research Ethics and Access Officer for the CoVaRR-Net Biobank’s Bioethics team. Agatha spent many years serving on the Ottawa Health Science Network Research Ethics Board, where her interest in ethical principles emerged. The depth of this experience is an asset to the Biobank’s Bioethics team. Her responsibilities include, but are not limited to, operations and review of client research ethics, compliance, and integrity standards, policies, and procedures relating to research undertaken by the CoVaRR-Net Biobank, partner institutions and external agencies.
Agatha earned a PhD from the University of Ottawa and a BSc from McGill University, both in programs of microbiology and immunology. Her doctorate research advanced understanding of HIV immunopathogenesis and the impact of antiretrovirals on the immune system. She specializes in the fine analysis of cellular immunity in chronic infectious diseases, through which she mastered high-throughput multi-parameter cell phenotyping and biomarker screening, and primary cell culture techniques. These skills are vital to the Biobank, where she also leads staff training.
Career aspirations:
As a mom of two, Agatha is passionate about creating a positive impact on society through her work. Throughout her career, she has benefited greatly from the guidance and support of mentors who have helped her develop both professionally and personally. She aspires to pay it forward as a mentor, sharing her knowledge and experience with budding young scientists, hoping to inspire and empower them to reach their full potential.
Why does Agatha deserve a spotlight?
Since its establishment in 2020, Agatha has had an essential role with the CoVaRR-Net Biobank and the Biobank’s Bioethics team. At the OHRI, in April 2020, Agatha was the first to begin processing blood samples to collect cells from hospitalized SARS-CoV-2-infected patients, while the rest of the lab was ordered home. For months, she worked tirelessly, under high stress conditions to do this important work, prior to the launch of the Biobank.
Her extensive knowledge of laboratory and clinical trial procedures and ethical expertise are assets for investigators’ research grant applications and research ethics study documents for various ethics boards across Canada. She is also a co-author of the Biobank’s first white paper on pandemic preparedness biobanking (Saginur et al., JAMMI 2022). Agatha links Biobank clients by facilitating contractual procedures between providers and recipients to enact rapid, fair and safe specimen/data transfers.
Working closely with the University of Ottawa Contracts Office, Agatha contributed significantly to drafting novel documents such as the CoVaRR-Net Universal Data and Biological Materials Transfer Agreement (UDBMTA). Additionally, Agatha has advocated for the Biobank contributing scientists, and provided guidance concerning privacy in data protection and developed an authorship clause annexed into the CoVaRR-Net Network Agreement.
Justin Jia
Justin Jia, PhD, obtained his BSc in biochemistry and biomedical sciences from McMaster University in 2017 and his PhD in bioinformatics/molecular biology and biochemistry at Simon Fraser University in 2023. Justin helped develop the Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database (CARD) – globally, the most widely cited antimicrobial resistance database over the past decade. Justin has employed a diverse array of genomics and metagenomics methodologies to investigate the emergence and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance within a One Health framework. This research also centered on optimizing the detection of antimicrobial resistance-associated genes from environmental data.
Presently, Justin is a postdoctoral fellow under the supervision of Dr. Fiona Brinkman, developing analyses for microbial genomic epidemiology and environmental surveillance of emerging pathogens. He actively contributes to the national CoVaRR-Net CAMEO initiative, which he co-coordinates, and the VirusSeq Data Portal, furthering our understanding of COVID-19 and other microbial threats on a national scale.
Career aspirations:
Justin’s career aspiration is to innovate in bioinformatics by creating tools to better analyze, interpret, and visualize complex biological data sets, with a specific focus on microbial datasets within a One Health framework. His goal is to drive advancements in both research and practical applications, with the aim of deepening our comprehension of environmental microbes and their wide-ranging implications across industries, with a particular interest in public health.
Why does Justin deserve a spotlight?
Justin takes fundamental ideas and transforms them into very useful, practical computational tools or insights that have impact. As proof of his impact, Justin’s research had already been cited over 2600 times at the time of his PhD graduation last year (2023). We are grateful for Justin’s commitment to enabling positive change, using diverse microbiological and computational expertise and leadership skills to take action in CAMEO. Justin is currently further developing new data analyses and visualizations, including the national Duotang resource that is based on the VirusSeq Data Portal (the first open national sequence database of its kind in Canada). Justin’s work will continue to have an impact.
Audray Fortin
Audray Fortin obtained a B.Sc. in biomedical sciences at Université de Montréal. After working as a technician in clinical research on metabolic bone disease, she joined Dr. Nathalie Grandvaux’s lab in 2014. She evolved from research assistant to lab manager. Initially involved in a project aimed at characterizing the biochemical mechanism that controls the interferon response, she is now in charge of SARS-CoV-2-related research.
Career aspirations:
Audray combines her passion for science and a relentless drive for knowledge to implement innovative methodologies with the ultimate goal of contributing to scientific discovery. In the future, she aspires to be involved in science that positively impacts people.
Why does Audray deserve a spotlight?
Audray is a passionate individual who thoroughly enjoys working on various projects. She is always enthusiastic and positive, regardless of the challenge at hand. Initially, Audray took on the challenge of developing biochemical techniques to study the redox mechanisms that control the interferon response. Her role is central, and she excels as a trainer in the laboratory, teaching newcomers about cell culture and various techniques.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Audray’s enthusiasm did not wane. She quickly sought ways to be helpful and revealed talents of which we were previously unaware. Together, with her colleague Elise Caron, she responded to the call from medical technologists in Quebec by writing a popular science article on SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, and diagnostic methods, showcasing her writing skills.
She also eagerly participated in an innovative interdisciplinary project aimed at producing diagnostic swabs through 3D printing. Collaborating with engineers, physicists, and clinicians, she successfully led the development of a clinically tested swab production line. Additionally, she established the Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) protocols for handling SARS-CoV-2 and actively contributed to writing an FCI funding proposal to equip a room in the BSL3. Subsequently, she implemented methods for producing and purifying SARS-CoV-2 variants, contributing to several collaborative projects.
Currently, Audray is working on testing synergies between clinically used molecules against SARS-CoV-2 and molecules targeting the host. Concurrently, she successfully cultured SARS-CoV-2 present in bioaerosols collected from patient rooms, demonstrating her rare expertise in showing the infectivity of viruses in these particles.
Her outstanding contribution to the research conducted within our team is simply exceptional, and she accomplishes all of this with a smile and great enthusiasm. Audray has the gift of instilling optimism even in moments of discouragement.
Zohaib Anwar
Zohaib Anwar, PhD, is a CIHR- and MSHRBC-funded postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Infectious Disease Genomics and One Health (CIDGOH), Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University. His research focuses on infectious disease genomics and bioinformatics. As the lead of the VIRUS-MVP project (previously known as COVID-MVP), Zohaib spearheads efforts to track SARS-CoV-2 mutations from clinical and wastewater samples, providing crucial insights into the ever-evolving landscape of the pandemic. As part of the Pillar 6 – CAMEO initiative, he is expanding his focus toward pandemic preparedness by adapting VIRUS-MVP to monitor other priority pathogens, such as Influenza. Zohaib is also part of the multidisciplinary project Pandemics and Borders, which aims to evaluate the border and travel policies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is aiming to use the genomic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 as a proxy to evaluate the measures in place. Zohaib completed his PhD as a Marie Curie fellow at Aarhus University, Denmark in November 2019 and in the summer of 2020, joined CIDGOH led by Dr. William Hsiao.
Career aspirations:
Following his postdoctoral research fellowship, Zohaib aspires to continue working in One Health organizations, applying microbial genomics and bioinformatics to tackle global infectious disease challenges at the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health.
Why does Zohaib deserve a spotlight?
Zohaib has been leading the VIRUS-MVP project that has been integrated into the national genomic surveillance ecosystem for SARS-CoV-2 through the Canadian VirusSeq Data Portal. The preprint was published and now the journal manuscript is being prepared after adapting the framework to other priority pathogens. In addition to leading and maintaining VIRUS-MVP, Zohaib works with Pillar 6 (CAMEO) on several initiatives, including maintaining and developing the Duotang genomic epidemiology notebook. He brings genomics and bioinformatics skills to the CoVaRR-Net, which complement the expertise and activities of other consortium members well.