Our Team

Dr. Lea Harrington

PHOTO CREDIT : Copyright Brooke Wedlock, used with permission of Gairdner Foundation

Lea Harrington, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Department of Biochemistry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, and Adjunct Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Montreal

Born and raised: Southern Ontario, Canada

Education:
B.Sc.: McMaster University
M.Sc.: University of Toronto
Ph.D.: State University of New York, Stony Brook USA
Postdoc: University of Toronto

Scientific Interests: Consequences of the loss of telomere and genome integrity in cell fate determination, cancer, and aging

Current Interests: I’m interested and involved in all our ongoing pursuits, which include the genetic and epigenetic relationship between telomere loss and replication stress, the mechanisms by which cells with eroded telomeres cope with cell crisis or senescence, how eroded telomeres affect cell fate and differentiation of embryonic stem cells, and the structural/functional mechanisms of telomerase inhibition.

Alya Zeinaty, M.Sc.

Alya Zeinaty, M.Sc.
M.Sc. Candidate

Born and raised: Paris, France

Education:
B.Sc.: Lysée Stanislas, France
M.Sc.: Ecole Polytechnique de Paris, France

Scientific Interests: I am interested in interdisciplinary studies that involve biology and either computer science, physics, or chemistry… In biology, my scientific interests revolve around cancer and aging.

Current Interests: I am interested in the effect of senotherapeutic compounds and genes involved in senescence on cellular fitness and the aging process.

Angélique Gallinari

Angélique Gallinari
M.Sc. Candidate

Born and raised: France

Education:
B.Sc.: University of California, Davis

Scientific Interests: I am interested in cancer and aging, and how basic cellular processes such as the commitment of stem cells to a particular cell fate could be applied to improve disease treatments.

Current Interests: I am interested in how eroded telomeres impair the ability of stem cells to differentiate, with a particular focus on the role of p53 signaling in this process.

Gustavo Borges, M.Sc.

Gustavo Borges, M.Sc.
Ph.D. Candidate

Born and raised: Brazil

Education:
B.Sc.: University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
M.Sc.: University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Scientific Interests: I am interested in understanding how aging and cancer are impacted by subtle alterations in the functional properties of telomerase, and how these alterations may contribute to the emergence of drug resistance.

Current Interests: I am interested in how structural/funcational alterations in the telomerase reverse transcriptase and other genes evade the inhibitory impact of small molecule inhibitors in human cancer.

Collaborators/Co-supervision

Joseph Del Corpo
Ph.D. candidate, co-supervised with Dr. Elena Kuzmin, Concordia University
https://kuzmin-lab.github.io/

Laboratory Alumni

University of Montreal
Name Position/Graduate Degree Tenure
Danielle Henry Summer Intern, M.Sc. 2017-2020
María Sánchez Osuna Post-doctoral fellow 2016-2019
Reece Dowling 1 yr M.Sc. 2016-2017
Josephine Chu Post-doctoral fellow 2016-2018
Mélanie Criqui Ph.D. 2016-2021
Armen Tchobanian 1 yr M.Sc. Program 2014-2015
N.Ö. Arat Post-doctoral fellow 2013-2018
Ghada Ghazal Post-doctoral fellow 2012-2014
Yahya Benslimane Summer Intern, Ph.D. 2012-2020
Anders Ostlund Ph.D. candidate (moved in 2014) 2012-2014
Mehdi Hassani 1 yr M.Sc. 2012-2013
University of Edinburgh
Name Position/Graduate Degree Tenure
Alistair Patmore Summer Intern 2010
Charles Earnshaw Summer Intern 2009
Fabio Pucci Ph.D. 2009-2013
Elisa Wong Ph.D. 2008-2012
Laura Gardano Post-doctoral Fellow 2007-2012
Fiona Pryde Post-doctoral Fellow 2008-2012
Francesca Mariotti Ph.D. 2008-2011
Rebecca Curley Ph.D. 2008-2011
Krishna Bulusu M.Sc. (Bioinformatics) 2008-2009
Sveta Makovets Post-doctoral Fellow 2008-2009
University of Toronto
Name Position/Graduate Degree Tenure
Alex Kostic Summer Intern 2006
Susan McCracken Associate Scientist 2005-
Linda Holland Post-doctoral Fellow 2005-
Catherine LeBel Post-doctoral Fellow 2005-
Roger Liu Summer Intern 2005
Marie Meznikova Post-doctoral Fellow 2005-
Mike Taboski Ph.D. 2004-
Larissa Liontos M.D./Ph.D. Rotation 2004
Anna Rose Summer Intern 2004, 2005
E. Rosonina Post-doctoral Fellow 2004-2005
Emily Cowan M.Sc. 2002-2005
David Sealey Ph.D. 2002-
Jennifer Bonderoff Summer Intern 2002
Dawn Edmonds M.Sc. 2001-
K. Chui Intern 2001
M. Brar Summer Intern 2000
Monty Gill Post-doctoral Fellow 2000-2001
Natalie Stark Summer Intern 1999
Justine Dembo Summer Intern 1998
Yie Liu Post-doctoral Fellow 1998-2001
Tara Beattie Post-doctoral Fellow 1997-2000
Mark Ungrin Ph.D. 1998-2005
A. Carmichael Summer Intern, MSc. studies 1997-1999
Rena Oulton Ph.D. 1997-2003