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 – On Leave
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.
Aideen Teeling, MSc
Research programs and events coordinator
Aideen recently finished her MSc in Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. Her thesis work investigated T cell responses to mpox virus and HIV. During her graduate studies, Aideen was involved in EPIC as a member of our trainee advisory committee (training and talent development team) and won an award for her oral presentation at the 2024 Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research day. Aideen was also an awardee in our inaugural “Explain It Like I’m 6: A Vaccine Education Contest”. She is passionate about infectious diseases and seeks to translate complex issues related to immunology, microbiology, and public health through effective science communication.
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.
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.
Nicole Mideo, PhD
Nicole is an associate professor and associate chair (undergraduate) in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB) at the University of Toronto. Nicole’s research group focuses on the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases through a combination of theoretical and empirical approaches. She is interested in understanding the factors that regulate patterns of infection within and between hosts, and how these factors interact to shape disease evolution. The research areas that are currently being explored in her work include: host-parasite interactions, how interactions differ between related parasites with different genotypes, the selective forces which influence pathogen evolution in different environments.
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.
Trainee Advisory Committee
Contact – epictrainees@gmail.com
Duncan Carruthers-Lay
Co-chair, Trainee Advisory Committee
PhD student, department of molecular genetics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Anna Waldmann
Co-chair, Trainee Advisory Committee
PhD student, Department of Molecular Genetics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Guillaume Dugied
Team lead, Training & Talent Development
Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Mindy Lam
Team lead, Events
PhD student, Department of Molecular Genetics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Rajiv Sanwal
Team lead, Science Communications
PhD student, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Chiara D'Addario
MSc student, Department of Biochemistry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Sonia Jarvie
PhD student, Department of Molecular Genetics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Katie Lloyd-Smith
MSc student, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Tiana Lee
MSc student, Department of Biochemistry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Abigail Matthews
MHSc, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Rasha Salih
PhD student, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Daniella Serrador
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.