I received my HBSc and PhD in Cell Biology from the Department of Biology at the University of Waterloo in 2001 and 2006, respectively. I was a post-doctoral fellow at McMaster University in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine from 2006-2010.
I received my HBSc and PhD in Cell Biology from the Department of Biology at the University of Waterloo in 2001 and 2006, respectively. I was a post-doctoral fellow at McMaster University in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine from 2006-2010.
My research program focuses on the innate antiviral immune response of animals. Viruses make double-stranded (ds)RNA during their replication within a host cell. We use cutting edge techniques from the fields of cell biology and molecular biology to study 1) the production of dsRNA by viruses and 2) the detection and response to viral dsRNA by the host cell. A better understanding of the innate immune response to virus infections could lead to the development of novel therapeutics such as antiviral drugs and vaccine adjuvants. Our currently projects are using dsRNA to knockdown virus replication and to kill cancer cells. Our dsRNA molecules are in pre-clinial trials as an inhaled trivalent antiviral therapeutic and an ovarian cancer treatment.