Alumni

Alumni

Through the years, the Auer lab members have varied, and many have gone on to continue further education or pursue new and exciting opportunities. Past lab members include:

Allyson Banville

Allyson joined the Auer lab in May 2017 as an Honours student. In the lab, Allyson investigated how modulating immunogenic cell death in the context of infected cell vaccines can increase their efficacy in both responsive and resistant tumor types. She recently completed her B.Sc in Biopharmaceutical Science with a specialization in Genomics, and is going on to start a Masters degree at the University of Victoria.

Ahwon Jeong

Ahwon started in the Auer lab as a Clinical Research Coordinator in 2017, working on the ongoing clinical trials in the lab. Being immersed in an environment filled with exciting cancer research led her to extend her stay in the lab for an Honours project. Her research focused on characterizing NK cell dysfunction following surgical stress. Her research background includes synthesis and characterization of diarylamine antioxidants with Dr. Derek Pratt and studying polyphosphorylation as a post-translational modification on yeast proteins with Dr. Michael Downey.

Louis Dacquay

Louis worked as a research technician in the Auer Lab from 2016-2017 after completing a Masters degree in Biochemistry at the University of Ottawa. During his time in the lab, he worked on the optimization of the production of infected cell vaccines to be used for cancer immunotherapy.

Manahil Sadiq

Manahil was the Clinical Research Coordinator in the Auer lab from 2015-2017. Learning new things every day in the field of cancer research influenced her to complete all of her cooperative education in the Auer Lab for her B.Sc in Biomedical Science. As a research coordinator, she oversaw many of the various ongoing clinical trials in the lab. Manahil has recently graduated and is working towards becoming a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) in the clinical research community.

Lee Hwa-Tai

Dr. Tai was a post-doctoral fellow in the Auer lab from 2010 to 2016. Her postdoctoral work was in the field of cancer immunology and immunotherapy and consisted of using animal tumor models and cancer patient samples to study the effects of standard-of-care and experimental therapies in the treatment of postoperative metastatic disease. She is now a Principal Investigator at the University of Sherbrooke and also an associate professor at the university.

Almohanad Alkayyal

Almo was a PhD graduate of the Auer lab from 2012 to 2016. Almohanad completed his BSc in Medical Technology at King Abdulaziz University in 2007. He then obtained his Masters at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology where he investigated some of the recent changes in binding and growth characteristics of Influenza A (H3N2) viruses. His PhD work consisted of developing a new Maraba virus to stimulate the host innate immune response against cancers. Currently, he is completing his post-doc at Harvard University in Massachusetts, US.

Casey Lansdell

Casey was a Master's student in Dr. Auer's lab from 2013 to 2015 enrolled in the Biochemistry program at the University of Ottawa. Casey is a graduate from Trent University (Peterborough, ON) with a Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science (Honours). Her Master’s research project was further investigating the mechanisms of surgery- induced suppression of tumour-specific T-cell function. She is now a research technician for the Dr. Lalu Lab at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

Shalini Sahi

Shalini was a member of the Auer lab from 2012 to 2014 as both an honors student and a Clinical Research Coordinator. She completed an Honours Bachelor of Science degree with a specialization in Biology (cellular/molecular option) and a minor in Business Administration, and is now pursuing an MBA at the University of Toronto.

Jiqing Zhang

Jiqing was a member of the Auer lab from 2012 to 2014 as a Masters candidate. Prior to pursuing his Msc in the Auer lab, Jiqing completed his MD at Jining Medical University and his M.Sc. in Neurosurgery at the School of Medicine of Shandong University in China. He practiced as a Neurosurgeon at the Second Hospital of Shandong University in China (2007-2010). As a recent graduate, Jiqing is now working at the University of Calgary.

Anu Anath

Anu obtained her Bachelors of Science in Biopharmaceutical Sciences with a specialization in Genomics from the University of Ottawa in 2011. She recently completed her Master's Degree and is planning to attend medical school at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Tiffany Lam

Tiffany was a summer research student in the Auer lab in 2011 while working towards a Bachelor's Honours degree at the University of Ottawa. Tiffany has recently successfully completed her degree, and is now attending Medical School at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC.

Chantal Lemay

Chantal came to the Auer lab in 2007 as a PhD candidate at the Univeristy of Ottawa. During her time at the lab, she worked on projects surrounding anti-tumour immunity and oncolytic viruses. She completed her degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2012, and is currently a Project Quality Manager at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

Lundi Ly

Lundi was a member of the Auer lab from 2011 to 2012 as he worked on his Honours research project for his Bachelor's of Science with a Specialization in Biochemistry at the University of Ottawa. He is now a candidate for a Master's of Science in Human Genetics at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.

Rashmi Seth

Rashmi was a member of the Auer lab from 2009 to 2011 whilst working on a Thesis project about Surgical Stress, Hypercoagulability, Heparinlity, Heparin and the Development of Metastases for her Master's degree at the University of Ottawa. Now, Rashmi is a surgical resident in the General Surgery Program at the University of Ottawa.