Current Members
Igor Cestari, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Associate Professor,
Institute of Parasitology, McGill University (website)
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Igor has a BSc. in biology with a specialty in genetics and MSc. and Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology.
Lissa Cruz-Saavedra, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Antigenic variation in T. cruzi and development of vaccines and drugs for Chagas disease
Lissa works on the mechanisms underlying changes in the expression of virulence genes (trans-sialidases, MASPs, mucins) during T. cruzi
infection. Lissa employs multiple omics approaches using genomics, yeast surface display screens, single-cell transcriptomics, and proteomics to understand T. cruzi infection dynamics. She also works on the development of drugs and vaccines for Chagas disease.
Manoj Koirala, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Genome spatial organization
Manoj works on the mechanisms that regulate genome spatial organization in T. brucei and the regulatory processes underlying the control of antigenic variation. He is also investigating signaling and chromatin binding protein interactions using cross-linking and mass spectrometry (XLMS), and how they contribute to shape the 3D genome using Hi-C, ChIP-seq, transcriptomics and computational biology.
Mira Loock
PhD Student
Identifying vaccine targets for Chagas disease using yeast surface display
Mira works on the discovery of new epitopes for Chagas disease vaccines. She uses yeast surface display to express T. cruzi genome-wide libraries and combines flow cytometry and nanopore sequencing to screen for epitopes recognized by antibodies from patients with Chagas disease. Mira also works on the discovery of parasite epitopes that stimulate CD8 T-cell responses as potential targets for Chagas vaccine discovery using proteomic approaches. Mira uses in vivo experimental approaches to validate new antigens as candidates for a Chagas disease vaccine.
Hanna Campbell-Irwin
PhD student
Genome spatial organization in T. brucei
Hanna studies how the genome is organized in 3D space in T. brucei using genetics, Hi-C, ChIP-seq, transcriptomics, and computational biology. Hanna investigates the assembly of chromosome compartments involved in VSG silencing, and the mechanisms underlying the formation of topologically associating domains (TADs) and loops, focusing on the divergent roles of the cohesin complex in this organism.
Natalie Warren
PhD student
Protein post-translational modifications in plant-biotic interactions.
Natalie is interested in protein post-translational regulation of enzymes in the jasmonate biosynthesis pathway. Jasmonates are phytohormones involved in plant defence signalling to necrotrophic pathogens and chewing herbivores. She is identifying enzyme post-translational modifications and the responsible kinase and phosphatase enzymes in the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana.
Supervised by Dr. Jacquie Bede, Plant Science
Co-supervised by Dr. Igor Cestari
Mengjin Gao
PhD Student
Phosphoinositide signalling, antigenic switching in trypanosomes, and drug discovery
Jin investigates phosphoinositide signalling in trypanosomes with a focus on PI3Ks and nuclear signalling. He uses parasite genetics, metabolomics, and enzymology to dissect the role of PI3Ks in trypanosomes and their potential role in VSG expression and switching. Moreover, he works to develop peptidomimetic inhibitors of PI3Ks as potential drug candidates for parasitic diseases using in vitro and in vivo experimental models.
Valeria Bernal Araujo
Undergraduate student (Honors project)
Identifying genes that regulate VSG gene expression
Valeria is performing an RNA interference screen to identify genes that regulate VSG gene expression in T. brucei. She explores gene candidates identified by cross-linking and mass spectrometry to interact with VSG gene regulators
Tina Ji
Undergraduate student
Drug discovery in trypanosomes
Tina works to identify peptidomimetic molecules that inhibit PI3K activity in T. brucei. She purifies recombinant PI3K enzymes and performs enzyme kinetics with a set of inhibitors to identify those that are potential inhibitors of T. brucei PI3K but also inhibit parasite growth.
Elea Demetriou
Undergraduate student
Phosphoinositide signalling in T. brucei
Elea works to purify and study the activity of the phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphatase 2 enzyme, which is involved in the growth regulation of T. brucei. She purifies and studies the enzyme activity against its substrates to determine the mechanisms by which it controls parasite growth.
Lab photo
In a very cold day!
15 January 2026
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From the lower left to the top right: Mira, Igor, Valeria, Hanna, Lissa,
Tina, Natalie, Manoj, Jin.