Meet our Students

Meet our Translational Medicine Graduate Students

2024 Candidates

2025 Candidates

2026 Candidates

2027 Candidates

2028 Candidates

2025 Candidates

Lubnaa Hossenbaccus, PhD ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Anne Ellis
Thesis Title: The evaluation of cat allergen-induced allergic rhinitis using experimental models

Sophia Linton, PhD ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Anne Ellis
Thesis Title: Investigating the role of the local microbiome in allergic rhinitis

Edwin Ocran, PhD ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Paula James
Thesis Title: Understanding the Role of von Willebrand Factor in Angiodysplasia

Kyla Tozer, PhD ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Prameet Sheth
Thesis Title: Closing the gap in sex-disparities in animal research

Rachel Di Iorio, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Karen Yeates
Thesis Title: Assessing the use of community-based contraceptive access points in reducing unplanned pregnancies among adolescents in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Declan Gainer, MSc '25 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Mark Ormiston
Thesis Title: Exploring the impact of a natural killer cell-specific Tgfbr2 deletion on lung development and the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension

Lindsay Jefferson, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Stephen Archer
Thesis Title: Investigating the immunometabolism of macrophages in the right ventricle in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)

Jasmin Khela, MSc '25 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Yuka Asai
Thesis Title: Development and validation of a knowledge assessment tool for patients with atopic dermatitis

Cassidy Laub, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Tim Hanna
Thesis Title: Utilizing leading methods to investigate the conduct of cancer diagnostic-treatment interval and survival studies with observational study designs.

Alexandra McDonald, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Michael Rauh and Dr. Susan Crocker
Thesis Title: Investigating cell-free DNA to Reveal Changes Associated with Alzheimer's Disease

Dalia Miller, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Kimberly Dunham-Snary and Dr. Stephen Archer
Thesis Title: Assessing the impact of mtDNA signature on temporal morphometric differences in mice fed Western-style diet

Abby Mocherniak, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Teresa Purzner, Dr. Genevieve Digby and Dr. Katie Goldie
Thesis Title: Improving Quality of Care for Glioblastoma Patients Through Implementation of the Queen’s Brain Tumour Program (QBTP).

Kana Ogawa, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Teresa Purzner and Dr. Jamie Purzner
Thesis Title: Investigating the role of differential mRNA splicing as a possible post-transcriptional means of regulating post-translational modifications in medulloblastoma

Abbey Politeski, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Sarah Dick and Dr. Mark Ormiston
Thesis Title: Identifying the heterogeneity of macrophage subsets and their role in muscle regeneration

Sofia Skebo, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Mark Ormiston
Thesis Title: Examining the impact of BMPR-II loss on the transcriptome of tumour endothelium in the lung

Aryaman Sharma, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Teresa Purzner and Dr. Jamie Purzner
Thesis Title: Mechanisms of quiescence and treatment-resistance in medulloblastoma

Neelakshi Sharma, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Amer Johri
Thesis Title: Analyzing features of plaque in the carotid arteries of individuals referred for a stress echocardiogram to determine any associations with cardiac and stroke-related outcomes

Linnea Soon, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Kerstin de Wit
Thesis Title: Assessing the safety and efficiency of a simplified diagnostic approach for deep vein thrombosis

Jiale Xie, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Gord Boyd
Thesis Title: Assessing the feasibility of personalizing mean arterial pressure targets in the ICU to enhance patients' cerebral perfusion and cognitive outcomes

Dylan Zhao, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Prameet Sheth and Dr. Christopher Lohans
Thesis Title: Impact of clinically observed PBP4 mutations on antibiotic resistance and virulence in Pseudomonas Aeruginosa

2026 Candidates

Tarrah Ethier, PhD ’26 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Mark Ormiston
Thesis Title: Exploring sex differences in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Dilakshan Srikanthan, PhD ’26 (Candidate)

Co-Supervisors: Dr. John Rudan and Dr. Parvin Mousavi
Thesis Title: Improving oncosurgical care in glioblastoma using a multiparametric machine learning platform.

Karam Alosta, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Co-Supervisors: Dr. Alberto Neder and Dr. Nicolle Domnik
Thesis Title: Small airway function, ventilation distribution, and inspiratory neural drive during exercise: Effects of triple therapy co-suspension pMDI in hyperinflated patients with COPD

Courtney Campbell, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Flemming
Thesis Title: Trends in alcohol consumption and alcohol-associated liver disease outcomes among Canadian youth and young adults

Aliya Guttman, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Anne Ellis
Thesis Title: Evaluating the clinical and biological response to an acetone-precipitated cat hair allergen extract (AP-Cat) in a Nasal Allergen Challenge (NAC).

Christine Ha, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Karen Yeates
Thesis Title: Economic Evaluation of HPV Automated Visual Evaluation (HPV-AVE) for Screen-Triage-Treat Strategy in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Meghan Jefferies, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Diane Lougheed
Thesis Title: Investigating the responses of individuals with chronic cough or cough variant asthma to eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation (EVH), mannitol, and hypertonic saline (optional).

Nicola Kalhok, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Mark Ormiston
Thesis Title: Understanding the impacts of bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2 (BMPR2) transcripts in endothelial cells in the context of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

Abby Lee, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Mark Ormiston and Dr. Doug Quilty
Thesis Title: Examining endothelial cell myoendothelial junction formation and structure in the context of BMPR-II knockdown and how this relates to smooth muscle cell proliferation in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Victoria Mallett, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Prameet Sheth
Thesis Title: Investigating the use of defined microbial communities and their soluble products to treat salmonella infections in a murine model.

Aikam Rai, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Gavin Winston
Thesis Title: Role of arterial spin labeling in informing clinical decision-making regarding epilepsy surgery.

Tommy Rollin, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Kimberly Dunham-Snary
Thesis Title: Examining the mechanisms behind platelet mitochondrial dysfunction in preclinical cardiometabolic disease

Leah Stanley, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Laura Gaudet and Dr. Graeme Smith
Thesis Title: The Gut Microbiome of Pregnancies Complicated by Gestational Diabetes: Feasibility of Gut Profiling and Characterization of its Changes

Jessica Wiseman, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Gord Boyd
Thesis Title: To determine whether peripheral vasopressors have an impact on clinically relevant outcomes such as impact on central line bacterial infection rates.

2027 Candidates

Kaytlin Andrews, PhD'27

Co-Supervisors: Dr. Teresa Purzner and Dr. Jamie Purzner
Thesis Title: Identifying early markers of recurrence in glioblastoma.

Jana Livingston, PhD’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Jacob Rullo
Thesis Title: Characterizing the role of the periocular mucosa in local and systemic immune responses to novel respiratory pathogens and as a site for topical vaccination against coronaviruses

Abigail Davis, PhD’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Anne Ellis
Thesis Title: The open-label use of a monoclonal antibody (Tezepelumab) that targets thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) in the treatment of co-morbid allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma

Mia Wilkinson, PhD’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Kimberly Dunham-Snary and Dr. Chris McGlory
Thesis Title: Platelet bioenergetics as a surrogate for skeletal muscle metabolism: Identifying a liquid biopsy for cardiometabolic disease

2028 Candidates

Megan Chaigneau, PhD'28

Supervisor: Dr. Paula James
Thesis Title: Early genomic testing for inherited bleeding disorders in patients without a diagnosis after first-line testing: a multi-site randomized controlled trial

Matti McFarlane, MSc’24, PhD'28

Supervisor: Dr. Diane Lougheed
Thesis Title: Improving Diagnosis and Management of Asthma in Primary Care: Insights from a Data Linkage Analysis

Meet our Translational Medicine Graduate Students

2025 Candidates

Lubnaa Hossenbaccus, PhD ’25 (Candidate)

Sophia Linton, PhD ’25 (Candidate)

Edwin Ocran, PhD ’25 (Candidate)

Kyla Tozer, PhD ’25 (Candidate)

Rachel Di Iorio, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Declan Gainer, MSc '25 (Candidate)

Lindsay Jefferson, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Jasmin Khela, MSc '25 (Candidate)

Cassidy Laub, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Alexandra McDonald, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Dalia Miller, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Abby Mocherniak, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Kana Ogawa, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Abbey Politeski, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Sofia Skebo, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Aryaman Sharma, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Neelakshi Sharma, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Linnea Soon, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Jiale Xie, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

Dylan Zhao, MSc ’25 (Candidate)

2026 Candidates

Tarrah Ethier, PhD ’26 (Candidate)

Dilakshan Srikanthan, PhD ’26 (Candidate)

Karam Alosta, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Courtney Campbell, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Aliya Guttman, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Christine Ha, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Meghan Jefferies, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Nicola Kalhok, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Abby Lee, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Victoria Mallett, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Aikam Rai, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Tommy Rollin, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Leah Stanley, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

Jessica Wiseman, MSc ’26 (Candidate)

2027 Candidates

Kaytlin Andrews, PhD'27

Jana Livingston, PhD’27 (Candidate)

Abigail Davis, PhD’27 (Candidate)

Mia Wilkinson, PhD’27 (Candidate)

2028 Candidates

Megan Chaigneau, PhD'28

Matti McFarlane, MSc’24, PhD'28

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