Meet The Team

MSc Candidate

Prior to joining the Awadalla lab in 2020, I completed my BMSc in Microbiology and Immunology with Pathology at the University of Western Ontario. Throughout my studies I am particularly interested in studying single cell transcriptomics in the context of cancer and the immune system. Specifically I aim to develop tools for automatic cellular classification methodsto both understand the underlying biology of tumour heterogeniety and the associated clinical implications. I am co-supervised at the OICR with Dr. Sagi Abelson.

MD/PhD Student

Before joining the Awadalla lab in 2024, I completed my HBSc in Biochemistry and Immunology at the University of Toronto, and I am currently an MD/PhD student at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. My research interests lie in the mutational dynamics underlying hematological malignancies and the genetic basis of clonal hematopoiesis. I aim to use multi-omics data to analyze the evolutionary processes and population dynamics driving age-related clonal hematopoiesis specifically within the context of chronic inflammation. I am also interested in deciphering the impact of the exposome on the clonal diversity and accumulation of somatic mutations in the blood cell pool.

MSc Candidate

Before joining the Awadalla lab in 2023, I completed my BSc in Systems and Information Biology at Concordia University in Montreal. I’m fascinated by the evolution of heterogeneous cell populations, especially in the context of cancer, and how somatic mutations contribute to health outcomes and treatment effectiveness in the framework of precision medicine. My research focuses on using statistical and machine learning tools to investigate the factors underlying the process of healthy aging in multi-omic and high-dimensional immune data.

PhD. Student

Prior to joining the Awadalla Lab as a PhD student in January 2018, I completed my BSc in Biomedical Science at Imperial College London. As an aspiring bioinformatician and geneticist, I am particularly interested in integrating genomic and epigenomic profiles to improve personalized medicine in cancer patients. As part of my PhD research, I am investigating the use of cell-free DNA from liquid biopsies to identify genetic and epigenetic markers indicative of cancer development. I am also trying to understand how the genetic and epigenetic landscape evolves from a pre-cancerous to cancerous state through cell-free DNA.

PhD. Student

Before joining the Awadalla lab in January 2020, I completed my HBSc in Pharmacology at UBC. My undergraduate research focused on (i) building computational tools to study the genetics of adverse drug reactions in pediatric cancer patients and (ii) investigating genome evolution and pleiotropy in plant model organisms. My PhD research expands on my interests in both cancer and evolution where I am focused on building simulation-based and machine learning tools to analyze evolution in non-recombining systems, particularly tumours and somatic tissues. As well, I am highly interested in the interplay between rapid adaptation and drug resistance.

MSc Candidate

I’m a Master’s student in the Department of Molecular Genetics who joined the Awadalla Lab in 2022. I received my HBSc in Biology and Computer Science from Western University in 2022. I’m interested in the intersection between statistics, machine learning, and pathology, specifically on developing machine learning algorithms for automating biological data analysis. Currently, I’m working on developing machine learning tools to understand the relationship between cancer cell morphology and genotype. That being said, I’m also interested in many other aspects in under the general umbrella of biology and data science… still testing the waters to find where my core bioinformatical interests lie!

MSc Candidate

I joined the Awadalla Lab in January 2024, after completing my BSc with a specialization in Pathobiology and a minor in Statistics at the University of Toronto. My research is primarily focused on integrating genomic and epigenomic data to enhance the early detection of cancer. This involves the use of nanopore sequencing of liquid biopsies to identify cancer markers and signatures through cell-free DNA profiling. Additionally, I am investigating the application of this methodology for the real-time identification of cancer subtypes. I am co-supervisor by Dr. Jared Simpson at the OICR.

PhD. Student

Prior to joining the Awadalla lab, I did my undergraduate studies at McGill University in 2019, where I earned my Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences with a minor in Computer Science. My passion for both fields stems from my interest in understanding complex biological systems and using computational methods to analyze and interpret the data. Then I joined the department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto in 2022. My research interests lie in the field of cancer research, specifically in the integration of multiomics data to gain a comprehensive understanding of the underlying biology of the disease.

Research Assistant - Molecular biology

I was Initially trained as a molecular biologist and population geneticist studying the patterns of genetic diversity of West-African populations as well as that of pathogens such as Plasmodium falciparum and Papillomavirus that impinge upon the health of these populations. I joined the Awadalla lab after completion of an MSc in Molecular Biology at the University of Montreal where I conducted a research project involving extensive field work in West Africa to document genetic diversity within the region. Since joining the Awadalla group, I have been involved in designing and executing genetic and genomic experiments for various research projects in the lab and currently I am in charge of several human genetics experiments using second-generation sequencing approaches.

Research Associate

I completed a PhD at McGill University in population genetics and developmental biology. I then joined the group of Dr. Philip Awadalla at the CHU Sainte-Justine for a postdoctoral fellowship. I applied bioinformatics and statistical genetics approaches to multi-omics data from the CARTaGENE cohort to discover how the environmental exposures modulate gene expression profiles and influence disease risk in the Québec population. I then moved along the Awadalla group at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence where I’m currently focusing on applying bioinformatics, machine learning and deep learning approaches to multi-omics datasets from large population and cancer biobanks.

Bioinformatician

After my M. Sc in Bioinformatics obtained in 2013 at the University of Montpellier (FRANCE), I worked for a year within the Palm tree’s development biology Lab in CIRAD (French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development). The aim of the project I worked on was to design a molecular detection kit allowing the early detection of mantled somaclonal variation in Oil palm tree ( Elaesis guineensis) through the exploration of genes families affected by the mantled abnormality. Hence, I was in charge to analyse the E. guineensis inflorescence and cellular suspension transcriptomes data, in order to identify potential genes controlling changes in the somatic embryogenesis in these cultivar. I joined the Awadalla Lab in November 2014 as a Bioinformatics Research Assistant. My position allows me to work as a bioinformatics support but also provide me the opportunity to reach new objectives in data analysis.

Bioinformatics and Laboratory Manager

Prior to joining the Awadalla Lab in august 2010, I worked over 8 years at Genizon Biosciences Inc, a biotechnology company. During this time, as bioinformatician and manager I was responsible for providing support in key areas of the gene discovery process such as genetic marker selection, genotyping primer design, gene data mining, genomic sequence annotation, sequence analysis and patent preparation. At the Awadalla Lab I oversee all bioinformatics projects and participate in the development of tools to analyze and manage the next-generation sequencing data. Through a close working relationship with post-doc and students from the Lab, the bioinformatics team is in charge of selecting, integrating, developping, and applying appropriate bioinformatics tools to support all the laboratory researches.