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
Sarah Wilson
Research Administrative Assistant
Fun fact: I've travelled to over 60 different countries
Crystal Kantores
Lab Manager
Mastering the art of Herding Cats
Undergraduate: University of Toronto
Fun fact: I get road rage walking behind people
Scientific Associates
Dr. Shabana Vohra, PhD
Scientific Associate
Bioinformatician
PhD: University of Essex
Dr. Abdul Momen, MD, PhD
Animal Surgeon
Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Danielle Lee, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Role of IFN-I in hypertensive heart disease
PhD: University of Manitoba
Fun fact: I once led a 6 week long canoe trip in Northern Manitoba
Dr. Dler Mahmood, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Macrophage clonality in cardiovascular disease
PhD: Sorbonne University
Fun fact: I am a serious chess player
Graduate Students
Homaira Hamidzada
PhD Candidate
Investigating macrophages in human cardiac function and in viral myocarditis
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
Undergraduate: University of Toronto
Fun fact: I'm a singer
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 hypertension and viral myocarditis
Undergraduate: University of Toronto
Fun fact: I once lost every game on my elementary school soccer team
Justin Callahan
PhD Candidate
Title: TBD
Undergraduate: University of Toronto
Fun fact: I once took a 15 hour road trip in one day by myself!
Alex Lac
PhD Candidate
Title: TBD
Undergraduate: University of Western Ontario
Fun fact: I was on BBC News for riding my bike during the hottest heatwave in Canada.
Alumni
Sara Nejat (Scientific Associate 2023)
Current position:
Sarah Dick (Postdoctoral Fellow 2022)
Current position: Assistant Professor at Queen's University
Laura Aronoff (PhD. 2022 - LMP)
Current position: MD student at the University of Toronto
Simon Pascual Gil (Postdoctoral Fellow 2022)
Current position:
Fanny Beguier (Postdoctoral Fellow 2020)
Current position: Academic researcher from Vision Institute
Candice Tang (MSc. 2018 - Applied Immunology)
Current position: Medical Writer at Six Degrees Medical Consulting
Yiming Wang, MD, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow 2018)
Current position: Geneticist Residency at SickKids
Siyavash (Sina) Hosseinzadeh (MSc. 2017 - LMP)
Current position: MD student at the University of British Columbia
Jillian Macklin (MSc. 2017 - LMP)
Current position: MD/PhD student at the University of Toronto
Iulia Barbu (MSc. 2017 - Applied Immunology)
Current position: Business Analyst at Avanade
Xavier Clement-Casares, PhD (Research Technician)
Current position: Adjunct Assistant Professor, Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Alberta