Post Doctoral Fellows
Fatemeh (Leila) Vahedi

Ph.D. Students
Ana Portillo
Emily Feng
Liz Balint

MSc. Students
Misaal Mehboob
Alexa Mansour
Adnan Moinuddin

Undergraduate Students
Amelia Montemarano
Arman Pandher
Bashar Alobeid

Past Lab Members

 

Emily Feng

                                                                                                 PhD Candidate

   

Emily graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry Co-op at McMaster University in 2019. Following taking courses in her undergraduate career in immunology and virology, she became interested in the intricacies behind the host-pathogen interactions and how they can drive disease. Emily's project will involve looking at the relationship of type I interferon on vaginal immunopathology to herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2).

 

Interferons are signaling proteins that act as one of our first responses to a viral infection. They function as a means of communication between our cells to establish an “antiviral” state while also activating various immune cells. It has increasingly shown that interferons may function in a more immunoregulatory function through not only controlling viral replication, but also controlling and limiting the immune response to prevent excessive tissue damage. The potential for interferon signaling as a negative regulator of the immune response highlights a therapeutic potential for autoimmune diseases and cancer, where type I interferon has already been shown to limit immune responses to cancer cells. Using HSV-2 intravaginal infections as a model, Emily will be attempting to further understand the mechanisms behind how type I interferons functions in an immunoregulatory manner.