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Team Members

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Dr. Slava Epelman, MD, PhD

Dr. Slava Epelman is a Clinician-Scientist in the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology at the University Toronto, Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, a Senior Scientist and Cardiovascular Research Group lead at the Toronto General Research Institute, University Health Network, and the Loretta Rogers Chair in Immunobioengineering for the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, University of Toronto. Dr. Epelman obtained his MD / PhD (in Immunology) from the University of Calgary and then did his medical residency and clinical fellowships at the Cleveland Clinic, Baylor College of Medicine and Washington University. He is a staff cardiologist in the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at the Toronto General Hospital. His scientific interests are focused on the role of macrophages in cardiac tissue injury and regeneration.  

Slava

Staff

Current members
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Jenn Lee

Research Administrative Assistant

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Fun fact: 

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Crystal Kantores

Lab Manager

Mastering the art of Herding Cats

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Undergraduate: University of Toronto

Fun fact: I get road rage walking behind people

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Scientific Associates

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Dr. Shabana Vohra, PhD

Scientific Associate

Bioinformatician 

 

PhD: University of Essex

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Dr. Dler Mahmood, PhD

Scientific Associate

Macrophage clonality in cardiovascular disease

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PhD: Sorbonne University

Fun fact: I am a serious chess player

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Dr. Abdul Momen, MD, PhD

Scientific Associate/Animal Surgeon

Postdoctoral Fellows

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Postdoctoral Fellow

Role of immune cells in non-ischemic cardiomyopathy

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PhD: University of Manitoba

Fun fact: I once led a 6 week long canoe trip in Northern Manitoba

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Dr. Danielle Lee, PhD

Graduate Students

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Homaira Hamidzada

PhD Candidate

Investigating macrophages in human cardiac function and in viral myocarditis

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Undergraduate: University of Toronto

Fun fact: I have no fun facts; I eat, sleep and breathe single cell

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Anthony Wong

PhD Candidate

Studying the developmental and epigenetic heterogeneity of tissue resident macrophages

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Undergraduate: University of Toronto

Fun fact: I'm a singer

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Rysa Zaman

PhD Candidate

Defining cardio-protective mechanisms of the immune system in hypertensive heart disease

 

Undergraduate: University of British Columbia

Fun fact: I can fight in both orthodox and southpaw stance for Muay Thai

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Julia Lin

PhD Candidate

Role of T cells in viral myocarditis

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Undergraduate: University of Toronto

Fun fact: I once lost every game on my elementary school soccer team

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Justin Callahan

 PhD Student

Early immune responses during viral myocarditis

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Undergraduate: University of Toronto

Fun fact: I once took a 15 hour road trip in one day by myself!

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Alex Lac

 PhD Student

Studying tissue macrophage biology across organs

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Undergraduate: University of Western Ontario

Fun fact: I was on BBC News for riding my bike during the hottest heatwave in Canada.

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Alumni

Sara Nejat (Scientific Associate 2022)

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Sarah Dick (Postdoctoral Fellow 2022)

Subsequent position: Assistant Professor at Queen's University 

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Laura Aronoff (PhD. 2022 - LMP)

Subsequent position: MD student at the University of Toronto

 

Simon Pascual Gil (Postdoctoral Fellow 2022)

 

Fanny Beguier (Postdoctoral Fellow 2020)

Subsequent position: Academic researcher at Vision Institute

 

Candice Tang (MSc. 2018 - Applied Immunology)

Subsequent position: Medical Writer at Six Degrees Medical Consulting

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Yiming Wang, MD, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow 2018)

Subsequent position: Geneticist Residency at SickKids

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Siyavash (Sina) Hosseinzadeh (MSc. 2017 - LMP)

Subsequent position: MD student at the University of British Columbia

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Jillian Macklin (MSc. 2017 - LMP)

Subsequent position: MD/PhD student at the University of Toronto

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Iulia Barbu (MSc. 2017 - Applied Immunology)

Subsequent position: Business Analyst at Avanade

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Xavier Clement-Casares, PhD (Research Technician)

Subsequent position: Adjunct Assistant Professor, Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Alberta

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Alumni
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