Postdoc Profiles
Karine Dufresne
PhD: Université de Montréal
Email: Kdufres3@uwo.ca
Research Lab: Dr. McCormick
Research Interests: I obtained my PhD from Université de Montréal in 2020 where my work focused on Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi pathogenesis and regulation. In my current postdoc, in the McCormick Lab, I look at environmental cues that trigger Staphylococcus virulence factors.
Publication Profile: Pubmed Google Scholar ORCID
Corby Fink
PhD: Western University
Email: cfink4@uwo.ca
Research Lab: Drs. Dikeakos and Dekaban
Research Interests: I obtained my PhD from the University of Western Ontario in 2018 focusing on the development of cell-based immunotherapies and in vivo cell tracking using fluorine-19 cellular MRI. My current work looks at small molecule inhibitors of Nef in a transgenic mouse model and how they can function as adjuvants towards a cure for HIV/AIDS.
Mariya Goncheva
PhD: University of Edinburgh
Email: mgonchev@uwo.ca
Research Lab: Dr. Heinrichs
Research Interests: I finished my PhD at the University of Edinburgh in 2017, where I investigated the relationship between influenza A virus and Staphylococcus aureus during co-infection. In my current postdoc, my work focuses on determining the nutritional requirements of S. aureus during infection, and how that relates to diseases progression and severity. In particular, my work looks into the role of purines and their co-regulation with virulence factors.
Twitter: @M_Goncheva
Emmanuel Ndashimye
Postdoc: Western universityPhD: Western university
Email: endashim@uwo.ca
Research Lab: Dr. Arts
Research Interests: I completed my PhD in 2021 at Western University and my research focused on elucidating novel HIV resistance mutations to INSTIs and studying impact of HIV drug resistance mutations to INSTIs in non-B HIV subtypes. My current research focusses on understanding effect of HIV integration patterns on formation HIV viral reservoirs.
Publication Profile: Pubmed Google Scholar ORCID
Minh Ha Ngo
Postdoc: Western university
PhD: Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan
MSc: The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia
Email: minh.ngo@uwo.ca
Research Lab: Dr. Arts
Research Interests: I completed my PhD in 2020 at Yamaguchi University in Japan where my work focused on evolutionary dynamic of endogenous and exogenous retroviruses in wild and domestic cats. In my current postdoc position, I am investigating latent HIV diversity in the cohorts, HIV pathogenesis and transmission, developing therapeutic vaccines against HIV.
Publication Profile: Pubmed Google Scholar ORCID
Bruno Rodrigues de Oliveira
Postdoc: Western University
PhD: Federal University of Rio Grande
MSc: Federal University of Rio Grande
Email: brodri6@uwo.ca
Research Lab: Dr. DeKoter
Research Interests: I obtained my PhD from Federal University of Rio Grande in 2017 where my work focused on mechanisms of drug resistance in cancer. In my current postdoc, in the Dekoter Lab, I research the role of the transcription factor IKZf3 as a potential driver mutation in the development of B Cell acute lymphoblastic Leukemia using viral infection to study mutations through molecular techniques including RNA-seq, ChIP-seq and data analysis through bioinformatics.
Publication Profile: Google Scholar
Joshua Pankrac
Postdoc: Western university
PhD: Western university
Email: jpankrac@uwo.ca
Research Lab: Dr. Arts
Research Interests: Josh is an Immunologist who specializes in the development of therapeutics for disease prevention, remission, and cure. To date, Josh has developed virus-like particle (VLP) formulations for HIV-1 remission, and continues to focus on non-viral delivery modalities (LNP, pDNA) for infectious diseases. To complement this work, Josh is developing immune-biasing mRNA adjuvants for co-administration with vaccine constructs.
Publication Profile: Google Scholar
Nima Taefehshokr
PhD: Brunel University LondonEmail: ntaefehs@uwo.ca
Research Lab: Dr. Heit
Research Interests: I obtained my PhD from the Brunel University London in 2019, my work focused on role of Egr2 in CD8 tumor infiltrating lymphocytes under melanoma condition. In my current postdoc position, I’m investigating antigen-sorting mechanisms by phagocytes in the development of CD4 T cell responses.
Google Scholar ORCID Twitter: @NimaTaefehshokr
Stephen Tuffs
PhD: University of Edinburgh
Email: stuffs@uwo.ca
Research Lab: Dr. McCormick
Research Interests: I obtained my PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 2015, my work focused on pathogenesis of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. In my current postdoc position, I look at how superantigens from staphylococci contribute to severe diseases such as sepsis.
Google Scholar ORCID Twitter: @stephentuffs
David Zuanazzi
PhD: Western University, CanadaEmail: dmachad@uwo.ca
Research Lab: Dr. Prodger
Research Interests: David obtained his PhD in Biochemistry from Western University in 2019. His work focused on applying mass spectrometry-based proteomics to diagnose infectious diseases in saliva, such as the Zika virus. David also holds a DDS degree and an MSc in periodontology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, where he studied the colonization of the oral cavity by non-indigenous species that cause nosocomial infections. In his current postdoc position, David is working on developing an organotypic foreskin model to understand how the interaction between the foreskin and the penile microbiome is associated with HIV susceptibility.
