Research scholarships
Arkadeb Bhuinya, Banerjee lab, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, University of Saskatchewan.
I am currently pursuing my PhD in Molecular Virology under the guidance of Dr. Arinjay Banerjee at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), University of Saskatchewan. Originally from India, I have a strong academic background in virology and microbiology. I completed my Master’s in Virology from the ICMR-National Institute of Virology and my Bachelor’s in Microbiology from Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira.
Project title: Coronavirus biology and gene regulation.
Juliette Blais-Savoie, University of Toronto Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology
Juliette is a 3rd year PhD candidate in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. She is supervised by COHTPEZ member Dr. Samira Mubareka and Dr. Nicole Mideo. Juliette is from San Jose, California, and she completed her undergraduate degree at UofT in Human Biology, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and Writing & Rhetoric. Outside the lab, she plays for the UofT varsity women’s ice hockey team.
Project title: Ecology and Evolution of Influenza A Viruses of Public Health Concern.
Manon Boiteux, Université de Montréal
Manon Boiteux est étudiante au doctorat individualisé en Une Seule Santé à l’Université de Montréal (UdeM). Elle est titulaire d’une maîtrise en sciences de l’environnement et a travaillé plusieurs années en tant que conseillère à la recherche du Laboratoire d’innovation du Vice-Rectorat à la recherche, à la découverte, à la création et à l’innovation de l’UdeM. Elle a notamment contribué à la mise en place de l’Initiative Une Seule Santé de l’UdeM et y est toujours engagée en tant que représentante du Club Étudiant Une Seule Santé. Elle soutient aussi le développement de nouvelles formations en USS à l’UdeM (école d’été, microprogramme de 3ème cycle et doctorat). Dans son projet de doctorat, elle s’intéresse aux approches inter et transdisciplinaires et participatives. Plus spécifiquement, elle travaille sur l’évaluation de la science citoyenne comme outil d’intervention pour prévenir les risques de maladies transmises par les tiques et participer à la conservation des écosystèmes des parcs périurbains au Québec. Elle réalise ce doctorat au sein de la Chaire de recherche Une Seule Santé Urbaine.
Project title: Évaluation de la science citoyenne comme outil d’intervention pour prévenir les risques de maladies transmises par les tiques et participer à la conservation des écosystèmes des parcs périurbains au Québec.
Carol-Ann Desrochers-Plourde, Département de pathologie et microbiologie, Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada
Présentement étudiante à la maîtrise en sciences vétérinaires (option épidémiologie) à l’Université de Montréal, j’ai choisi de me réorienter vers l’épidémiologie après plus de 10 ans comme technicienne en santé animale. Mon projet de recherche porte sur la distribution de Lipoptena cervi au Québec et la prévalence des pathogènes qu’il peut véhiculer. Ma formation en santé animale, appuyée par mon baccalauréat en biologie, me permet d’aborder l’épidémiologie avec une compréhension directe des interactions entre les animaux, leur environnement et les pathogènes. Je suis également impliquée dans la coordination des activités terrain du projet Cerf Sentinelle 2024, ainsi que le programme du surveillance active de la tique Ixodes scapularis. J’aspire à poursuivre une carrière en recherche appliquée sur les maladies vectorielles et zoonotiques.
Project title: Caractérisation de la présence et de la distribution géographique du lipoptène du cerf et de la prévalence d’agents pathogènes zoonotiques ciblés dans le sud du Québec.
Katrina Di Bacco, Université de Montréal
Katrina graduated from McGill University with a B.Sc. in Wildlife Biology. Passionate about the environment and animals, she worked as an assistant technician in a veterinary clinic while pondering the next steps in her career. It was through direct observation of parasites on and in cats and dogs that she decided to specialize in parasitology. She then pursued a Master’s degree in Parasitology at McGill University, where she studied an ectoparasite of guppies. As part of her PhD, Katrina aims to estimate, for the first time, the prevalence of four zoonotic parasites (Toxoplasma gondii, Toxocara spp., Echinococcus spp. and Baylisascaris procyonis) in humans in Canada. It will also draw on pre-existing data to estimate the prevalence of these infections in animals and the environment.
Project title: Estimating the frequency of neglected parasitic zoonoses in Canada.
Jessica Hainault, Université de Montréal
Jessica is a biologist currently pursuing a master’s degree in veterinary sciences at UdeM. Her research project focuses on the effect of relative white-tailed deer abundance on the risk of tick-borne diseases, and the ecological parameters modulating this relationship, in peri-urban parks. Her research interests lie in the field of ecology, with a particular emphasis on the one-health approach in the context of climate change.
Project title: Assessing the effect of relative white-tailed deer abundance on the risk of tick-borne disease in peri-urban parks.
Emily Halajian, profile coming soon
Chelsea Higgins, University of British Columbia
Chelsea Higgins is a Zoology PhD student at the University of British Columbia, where she studies the impact of climate change on mosquito microbes and the evolution of Zika virus. Chelsea earned her MSc at the University of Iowa, studying the evolution of host immune response and parasite resistance in invasive snails. She has been involved in several international genomics collaborations, and throughout her graduate career, she has enjoyed engaging with others through teaching and science outreach. Broadly, she is interested in how we can use multidisciplinary collaborations to investigate and predict climate-driven evolution in zoonotic diseases.
Project title: Forecasting the Evolution of Zika Virus in a Warming World
Angélique Ingabire, École de Santé Publique, Université de Montréal
Angélique est titulaire d’une maîtrise en Gestion intégrée des risques sanitaires (université de Liège) et d’un baccalauréat en Sciences animales (université nationale du Rwanda). Elle a travaillé comme coordinatrice des activités de recherche sur la surveillance des prescriptions d’antibiotiques et la promotion de leur usage adéquat en médecine humaine, afin de lutter contre la résistance aux antimicrobiens. Angélique s’intéresse à la recherche portant sur les zoonoses à transmission vectorielle, la résistance aux antibiotiques et l’application de l’approche One Health. Dans le cadre de son projet de doctorat, Angélique travaille sur le développement, l’estimation et la validation des indices de risque pour les dyades moustique-pathogène en Afrique de l’Est et au Canada. Sa recherche permettra de mieux comprendre les risques de transmission des maladies transmises par les moustiques. Elle permettra également d’améliorer la compréhension de la compétence de diverses espèces de moustiques pour différents pathogènes émergents dans chaque contexte. Ces résultats bénéficieront aux stratégies de prévention, de contrôle et de préparation face aux dyades émergentes à haut risque.
Project title: Développement, l’estimation et la validation des indices de risque pour les dyades moustique-pathogène en Afrique de l’Est et au Canada.
Kira L. Johnson, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Kira(she/her) is a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University under the supervision of Dr. Maya Gislason. Kira holds a MSc in Conservation Biology from the University of Kent, Canterbury’s Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology where she studied how traditionally managed community orchards in England are governed and whether they could be considered Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (as defined by the IUCN), this research was supervised by Dr. Helen Newing. Her undergraduate degree is in anthropology, from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Kira is very interested in how the wicked problems of our time are interconnected and might be governed as such. To explore how this might be achieved, her PhD research asks: what concepts, ideas, and jurisdictional and knowledge scales are central to planetary health governance, and how might planetary health governance be best implemented across jurisdictional and knowledge scales? Kira’s work is informed by complexity theory, complex adaptive systems, and multisolving. When not working on her PhD thesis, Kira is a research assistant for the SFU Planetary Health Research Group and the SFU Research for Ecosocial and Equitable Transformation Lab (RESET). Outside of academe, Kira loves hiking with her dog-friend Norman. She also practices circus arts like juggling, stilt walking, and aerial dance for fun.
Project title: Planetary Health Governance Across Jurisdictional and Knowledge Scales.
Sumit Jyoti, Department of Health Management, University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI)
I am Sumit Jyoti, a veterinarian from Nepal, currently pursuing a PhD in Health Management at the University of Prince Edward Island. My research focuses on aquaculture and epidemiology, with a particular emphasis on salmon health, mortality, and sea lice. I have a strong interest in disease dynamics and infection ecology, aiming to enhance our understanding of the factors influencing aquatic animal health. Beyond my primary research, I have experience in the prevention and management of zoonotic diseases such as rabies, leptospirosis, and avian influenza. I am also passionate about addressing broader public health challenges, including antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and emerging zoonotic diseases, through the One Health approach.
Project title: Application of Epidemiological and Statistical Methods to Utilize Publicly Available Data in Salmon Aquaculture in Canada.
Patrick Lloyd, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Department of Animal Science, University of Manitoba
I completed my B.Sc. with a major in microbiology and I am currently a first year Master’s Student in the Animal Science program at the University of Manitoba. I am conducting my research at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency within the National Center for Foreign Animal Diseases. My project focuses on the H7N3 avian influenza virus outbreak that occurred in the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, Canada in 2004. Whole genome sequencing of archived clinical samples is utilized to establish a more complete evolutionary and geographic analysis of the HPAI avian influenza virus outbreak. I like long walks on the beach, oh yeah, and spending time with my family.
Project title: A Comprehensive Characterization of the 2004 British Columbia H7N3 Avian Influenza Outbreak.
Alaina MacDonald, University of Guelph
Alaina is a veterinarian and PhD Candidate at the University of Guelph in the Department of Population Medicine. Her research interests include determinants of emerging disease, equity and surveillance. She volunteers on projects related to vocational training for young women, access to veterinary care and wildlife rehabilitation.
Project title: Determinants of emerging disease at the global human-wildlife-livestock interface.
Manuel Perez Maldonado, University of Guelph
I graduated as a veterinarian with a Master of Science in Animal and Veterinary Sciences from the University of Chile. Currently, I am a Ph.D. candidate in Epidemiology at the University of Guelph in Canada, where I am also pursuing a Collaborative Specialization in One Health. My research focuses on studying the occurrence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across environmental, animal, and human settings. Additionally, I am interested in investigating emerging zoonotic diseases and AMR at the interface between wildlife, domestic animals, and humans.
Project title: Investigating the role of the environment on antimicrobial resistance occurrence in Canadian settings.
Katarina Ost, University of Ottawa, School of Epidemiology and Public Health
Katarina is a Doctoral Candidate in Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa. Currently her research focuses on strategies to prevent and control Lyme Disease in the Ottawa area . Previously she completed her MPH at the University of Washington, where her thesis focused on the way in which sociodemographic characteristics modify the relationship between climactic variables and malaria in Kanungu, Uganda. She is interested in pursuing research at the nexus of environmental, human, and animal health as they relate to zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, as well as climate change related health adaptation.
Project title: Assessing strategies for the prevention and control of emerging tick-borne diseases in urban and peri-urban settings.
Sauhard Shrivastava, Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Organization (VIDO), University of Saskatchewan & Department of Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan
Sauhard Shrivastava is a Viral Immunologist and PhD Candidate at the Department of Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan, focusing on RNA viruses. Under Dr. Arinjay Banerjee’s supervision at the VIDO, University of Saskatchewan, he studies innate antiviral immunity against RNA viruses. He holds a BS-MS dual degree in Biological Sciences from IISER Bhopal, with his thesis on SARS-CoV-2 host-pathogen interactions completed at CSIR-CCMB, Hyderabad. Sauhard has presented his research at various conferences and actively engages in scientific outreach.
Project title: Host innate immune response against RNA viruses.
Malcolm Tait, Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University.
Hello everyone, my name is Malcolm, and I am currently in the MSc – Community Health and Epidemiology program at Dalhousie University. As part of the Maguire Lab, I am studying host determination in avian influenza. Outside of studies, I enjoy cooking, guitar, biking, and board games. I’m looking forward to meeting you all in Calgary or online!
Project title: Avian Influenza A (H5NX) Zoonoses in North America: a genome-wide association study of host determination.
Christine Yanagawa, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Christine is a PhD Student in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. Her research explores how people and rats interact in urban environments, focusing on how social, environmental, and infrastructural factors shape the distribution of human-rat interactions and rat-associated zoonotic disease risks. Using a mixed-methods approach, including geospatial analysis and epidemiological modelling, her work aims to inform public health interventions that address urban health inequities.
As a COHTPEZ scholarship recipient and a member of the first training cohort, Christine is eager to collaborate across disciplines to strengthen Canada’s capacity to address emerging zoonoses. With a strong commitment to One Health, Christine aspires to contribute to urban health research, public health policy, and zoonotic disease surveillance and prevention, bridging social and ecological perspectives to improve health outcomes in urban communities.
Project title: Modelling the human-rat interface: A One Health investigation into the ecosocial determinants of rat-associated risks in urban neighbourhoods.
Internships
Sophie-Marie Aicher, Mubareka Lab, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Faculty of Medicine, University Toronto & Banerjee Lab, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, University of Saskatchewan.
I did my B.Sc. in Molecular Biotechnology at Technical University Munich including a voluntary 4th year that I spent at UBC/Vancouver in the lab of Prof. François Jean working on flaviviruses. I moved on to do a M.Sc in Virology at Imperial College London and did my thesis at the Pirbright Institute with Dr. Chris Netherton and Prof. Pippa Hawes working on African Swine Fever. I then did a 1 year research internship at the University of São Paulo in the laboratory of Prof. Edison Durigon to work on a arbovirus surveillance project in migratory birds. I then moved to Paris to do my PhD originally continuing the Brazil project and identify IFN signalling pathways in birds upon flavivirus infection at Institut Pasteur Paris. With the onset of pandemic, I changed my research focus but stayed with reservoirs and zoonotic viruses, so I then studied bats and coronaviruses. Finally, I moved for my PostDoc to the University of Toronto and am co-supervised by Dr. Samira Mubareka and Dr. Arinjay Banerjee to study host immune responses in wildlife reservoir species to emerging zoonotic viruses.
Internship proposal: Characterization of innate immune features and mechanisms of disease tolerance in white-tailed deer infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Michelle Carpentier, Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montréal
Michelle Carpentier est microbiologiste de formation et réalise actuellement une maîtrise en santé publique, option Une seule santé, à l’École de santé publique de l’Université de Montréal. Dans le cadre de sa maîtrise, elle effectue un stage au sein du groupe de recherche en épidémiologie des zoonoses et santé publique (GREZOSP). Elle participe au projet PARCS en santé dans le but de contribuer au choix des outils de surveillance et d’analyse utilisés par ce projet. Plus précisément, elle travaille sur la possibilité d’utiliser la concentration de glucocorticoïdes dans les poils comme biomarqueurs du stress physiologique à long terme chez les ruminants. Elle est également impliquée dans le volet science citoyenne du projet.
Internship proposal: Explorer l’utilisation des glucocorticoïdes dans les poils pour monitorer le stress physiologique à long terme chez les ruminants.
Adrián Hernández-Ortiz, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan
I am Adrián Hernández-Ortiz, originally from Mexico city. I got my DVM and MSc from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and completed my PhD in Veterinary Microbiology at the University of Saskatchewan. My doctoral research focused on detecting Toxoplasma gondii, a zoonotic foodborne parasite, in harvested wildlife used as country foods in the Canadian North. Currently, I am a Postdoctoral Fellow under the supervision of Dr. Emily Jenkins, continuing research on T. gondii while also investigating the presence and species diversity of Sarcocystis in wildlife.
Internship proposal: Understanding Toxoplasma gondii in Country Foods.
Jonathon Kotwa, Sunnybrook Research Institute
Jonathon Kotwa is a postdoctoral fellow at the Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Jonathon’s research focuses on integrating approaches from microbiology, epidemiology, genomics, and fieldwork to understand the infectious disease ecology of emerging viruses at the human-wildlife interface. Jonathon is currently researching coronaviruses in key reservoir species, including bat and rodents.
Internship proposal: Developing best practice guidelines for the sampling of small mammals for viral surveillance.
Jessica Manalaysay, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge & Vector-Borne Disease Unit, National Center for Animal Disease, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
I am a PhD student in Biomolecular Science at the University of Lethbridge, Canada, specializing in molecular diagnostics, virology, and infectious disease research. Originally from the Philippines, I moved to Canada in 2022 to pursue my doctoral studies. I am also affiliated with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Centre for Vector-Borne Diseases, where my research focuses on arbovirus surveillance in biting midges and mosquitoes, as well as the development of molecular assays for vector identification. Through my work, I aim to contribute to the early detection and prevention of vector-borne diseases.
Internship proposal: Isolation, detection, and molecular characterization of Flaviviruses from clinical samples.
Kenning Tran, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge & Vector-Borne Disease Unit, National Center for Animal Disease, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
I am a Master’s student in the Biochemistry program at the University of Lethbridge, conducting my research at the Centre for Vector-Borne Diseases at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. My thesis focuses on virus discovery and tick surveillance, documenting circulating tick-borne arboviruses and invasive species in Canada using molecular techniques. Building on my previous experience as a field biologist in mosquito control and my background in arbovirus surveillance, I aim to address the knowledge gap in the prevalence of California serogroup viruses in British Columbia’s mosquito populations.
Internship proposal: Surveillance of California Serogroup Viruses in British Columbia Mosquito Populations.
Rhea Varghese, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
Rhea Varghese is a medical student at the University of Toronto with a strong interest in general surgery, infectious diseases, and One Health. Through the COHTPEZ program, she is conducting a qualitative research project on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), exploring the role of different stakeholders in the community in zoonotic spillover prevention. Her work aims to map the value chain of wildlife health and identify upstream strategies for early detection and pandemic preparedness. With a background in health sciences, Rhea is passionate about integrating clinical care with public health and policy to address emerging infectious threats.
Internship proposal: Identifying Critical Control Points for Zoonotic Virus Spillover Prevention at Vital Interfaces: Mapping Human-Animal Value Chains using a One Health Approach