Our People
Leadership
Scott Gray-Owen, PhD
Director, Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium (EPIC)
Professor, Molecular Genetics
Professor Gray-Owen has been Director of U of T’s Combined Containment Level 3 lab (C-CL3) for more than a decade, providing regulatory and research oversight. His infectious disease-focused research aims to understand molecular and immunologic interactions that govern immunity and immunopathogenesis. He has consulted for biotechnology and vaccine companies, research foundations and public health agencies, and sat on national and international infection-focused panels. Prof. Gray-Owen is an inventor on 21 patents and co-founded Engineered Antigens Inc., focused on protein structure-based design of vaccine immunogens targeting human and livestock pathogens.
Natasha Christie-Holmes, PhD
Dr. Christie-Holmes has managed the high-containment facilities at U of T for 13 years, developing the detailed regulatory and operational program underpinning the impactful research output of the labs. Her research expertise is in the areas of molecular virology, viral evolution and the dynamics of immune escape during viral infections. In her regulatory role, she has helped the Public Health Agency of Canada develop biosafety and biosecurity regulations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Christie-Holmes developed a core team of CL3-trained staff to support SARS-CoV-2 research. She has led several major research projects in partnership with governmental and industry collaborators, providing key insights into decontamination of SARS-CoV-2 on PPE and persistence of the virus on currency, among other findings.
Staff
Steven Ahn, PhD
Staff scientist, project development and implementation
Steven completed his Ph.D. at McMaster University and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto, where he gained expertise in microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and immunology. He has extensive experience in vaccine research and animal models of infection in both CL2 and CL3 settings. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Steven joined the C-CL3 Viral Core team and established infection models to advance SARS-CoV-2 research.
Rasika Kulkarni, PhD
Research programs officer
Rasika completed her Ph.D. in Microbiology at Pune University, India, where she explored the use of bio-nanoparticles, synthesized using novel mangrove-associated halotolerant bacteria, as catalysts and antibacterial agents. She has extensive experience in development and execution of research calls, managing research grants and the evaluation process. She has worked in a research program management role for two years at NanoMedicines Innovation Network governed by Networks of Centres of Excellence.
Maria Anna Teza
Administrative and financial assistant
Maria Anna is an administrative and financial professional with extensive experience working with health care organizations (Unity Health Toronto and University Health Network). She joined EPIC and the Canadian Hub for Health Intelligence and Innovation in Infectious Diseases in July.
Betty Zou, PhD
Research and communications specialist
Betty is a scientist-turned-communicator who specializes in turning complex scientific topics and studies into clear and engaging content for diverse lay audiences. She completed her PhD in molecular genetics at the University of Toronto, where she studied a translation factor involved in Salmonella pathogenesis. She has worked in research communications roles at Sunnybrook Research Institute and the Canadian Cancer Society as well as being a science blogger and freelance writer.
Steering committee
Arij Al Chawaf, PhD
Arij is the executive director, strategic initiative development at U of T, where she provides administrative and strategic leadership to high-priority interdisciplinary research and training initiatives, develops private sector and government partnerships, and establishes and directs the portfolio’s administrative and organizational structures.
John Brumell, PhD
John is a senior scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children and a professor in the department of molecular genetics and Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. He is also program head of the cell biology program and a co-director of the SickKids Inflammatory Bowel Disease Centre. In 2014, Brumell was awarded the Pitblado Chair in Cell Biology. His research examines host-pathogen interactions and how defects in these interactions can impact the development of chronic diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and arthritis.
Warren Chan, PhD
Warren is a professor and head of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. He holds the Canada Research Chair in Nanoengineering. The Chan lab develops nanotechnology for diagnosing and treating cancer and infectious diseases. He is currently an Executive Editor of ACS Nano.
Jen Gommerman, PhD
Jen is a professor in department of immunology at the University of Toronto. She holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Tissue Specific Immunity. Gommerman’s basic research continues to focus on how members of the TNF superfamily of molecules regulate immunity and autoimmunity. Her team has uncovered a novel gut-brain axis that regulates neuroinflammation. Gommerman has been examining the role of B lymphocytes in multiple sclerosis. More recently she has been studying the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with COVID-19.
David S. Guttman, PhD
David is a professor in the department of cell & systems biology at the University of Toronto and director of the Centre for the Analysis of Genome Evolution & Function. His research focuses on deciphering how bacteria adapt to and manipulate their hosts with an emphasis on the evolution of bacterial host specificity and virulence and the dual role of secreted pathogen effectors as both virulence factors and immune elicitors. His group is particularly fascinated by the scope and impact of natural genetic diversity on these host-microbe interactions.
Jennie Johnstone, MD, PhD
Jennie is an infectious diseases physician and as the medical director of infection prevention and control at Sinai Health. She is also an associate professor in the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. Johnstone’s research interests focus on prevention of health care-associated infections.
Rupert Kaul, MD, PhD
Rupert is a clinician scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute and a professor in the departments of medicine and immunology at the University of Toronto. He also serves as the director of the clinical division of infectious diseases and runs a research lab focused on interactions between HIV transmission, genital and rectal immunology, sexually transmitted infections and the microbiome. His translational research is based in participant cohorts from Canada, Kenya and Uganda.
Nelson Lee, MD, MBBS
Nelson is a professor and the interim director of the Institute for Pandemics at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Lee as been deeply involved in the research on emerging infectious diseases, epidemics and pandemics for almost two decades. With an interdisciplinary approach, he has conducted a wide range of studies to understand the epidemiology, disease burden, health outcomes, transmission modes and prevention, as well as antiviral and vaccine effectiveness against viral respiratory infections. His research is referenced by international health authorities, contributing to the prevention and control of epidemic viral diseases including coronavirus and influenza.
Céline Lévesque, PhD
Céline is an oral microbiologist with a strong expertise in bacterial genetics. She hols the Canada Research Chair in Oral Microbial Genetics. Her lab focuses on bacterial communication and horizontal gene transfer in infectious biofilms. Her work has led to important discoveries in the detection of quorum and the formation of persistent bacteria, two subjects of prime importance in medical microbiology and infectious diseases.
John Marshall, MD
John is a professor of surgery and critical care medicine at the University of Toronto, and a senior scientist in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of Unity Health Toronto. He is the rounding and current Chair of the International Forum for Acute Care Trialists, past-Chair of the International Sepsis Forum and the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group, former Secretary-General of the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care, and past-President of the Surgical Infection Society. He is the Canadian principal investigator for the REMAP-CAP trial, and co-chairs the R&D Roadmap Committee of the Clinical Characterization and Management of COVID-19 of the World Health Organization. He is an associate editor of the journal Critical Care and a senior editor of Critical Care Medicine.
Samira Mubareka, MD
Samira is currently a virologist, medical microbiologist and infectious disease physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and an associate professor in the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology at the University of Toronto. Mubareka has been working on SARS-CoV-2 since the outset of the pandemic with a focus on virus biology, bioaerosols, genomics and wildlife surveillance. She is currently focused on understanding the biology and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and on coronavirus and influenza virus zoonotic spillover.
Beate Sander, RN, MBA, MEcDev, PhD
Beate is an internationally recognized leader in infectious disease economics with extensive expertise in health economics and simulation modeling. She is a senior scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute. Sander also holds the Canada Research Chair in Economics of Infectious Diseases. She is developing novel approaches to evaluate intersectoral interventions and pioneered research on the burden of infectious diseases in Canada using linked population-based data.
Sharon Walmsley, MD, MSc
Sharon is the director of the Immunodeficiency Clinic at Toronto Hospital, University Health Network and a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. She is a senior scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute and co-chair of the CIHR-Canadian HIV Trials Network. She is actively involved in the design, conduct and analysis of many clinical trials in HIV, COVID-19 and monkeypox.
Jacqueline Watt
Jacqueline is a PhD candidate in Jun Liu’s lab at the University of Toronto. Her work focusses on profiling the host immune response during various Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) infection outcomes with the aim to develop novel strategies for effective control of tuberculosis. She is also working to develop an attenuated M. tb vaccine strategy and has extensive experience in vaccine research and animal models of infection in the CL3 setting. Jacqueline was a founding member of MicrobeTO and the co-director for the past two years. She is currently co-chair for the EPIC Trainee Advisory Committee.
Trainee Advisory Committee
Natalie Au
PhD student, department of biochemistry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Taylor Battellino
PhD student, department of biochemistry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Duncan Carruthers-Lay
PhD student, department of molecular genetics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Julien Couture-Senecal
PhD student, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering
Sophie Dyzenhaus
Postdoctoral fellow, department of molecular genetics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Lucia Grana
PhD student, department of cell and systems biology, Faculty of Arts and Science
Rebecca Heineman
PhD student, department of cell and systems biology, Faculty of Arts and Science (U of T Scarborough)
Jiazhen Jin
PhD student, department of molecular genetics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Manisha Kabi
PhD student, department of cell and systems biology, Faculty of Arts and Science (U of T Scarborough)
Taylor Kain
PhD student, Institute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Hannah Kozlowski
MD/PhD candidate, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Farshad Murtada
PhD student, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering
Kuganya Nirmalarajah
PhD student, department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Arvin Persaud
PhD student, department of cell and systems biology, Faculty of Arts and Science (U of T Scarborough)
Yuetong (Julia) Song
PhD student, department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Maxine Ty
Co-chair
PhD student, department of biochemistry, Temerty Factuly of Medicine
Suji Udayakumar
MSc student, department of immunology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Anna Waldmann
PhD student, department of molecular genetics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Jacqueline Watt
Co-chair
PhD student, department of molecular genetics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
View EPIC’s members
EPIC is a research consortium that promotes and supports interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers at U of T and at EPIC partner institutions.