Team Members
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.
Staff
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
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
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
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
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
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
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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