Team
Principal Investigator
Dr Izabella Pena 🇧🇷, PhD, BsC
Izabella is an enthusiastic scientist, passionate about science and biology. Her main goals are to understand metabolism dysfunction in rare pediatric diseases, create novel disease models and technologies and find new avenues for treatment. In the Summer of 2023, she joined CHEO-RI and the University of Ottawa to start her laboratory and is excited for the years ahead.
Previously, Dr Pena was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Picower Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), working under the supervision of Dr Myriam Heiman to investigate the brain cell type particularities in Huntington’s Disease, develop novel techniques for cell-type specific mitochondrial isolation in vivo and the identification of new players in vitamin B6 homeostasis. Click here to read more about my trajectory!
Postdocs
Dr Simran Kaur, PhD, MSc, BSc
Simran is a dedicated and deeply engaged researcher in the field of scientific inquiry. Her doctoral research had two primary facets: first, she focused on elucidating the complex molecular mechanisms governing the persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis within unconventional anatomical niches within the human host. She employed a label-free proteomics approach to investigate how Mycobacterium tuberculosis manipulates host pathways for its own survival and benefit. Concurrently, she conducted investigations aimed at identifying novel inhibitory compounds targeting this causative agent of Tuberculosis.
Currently, Dr. Kaur has embarked on her post-doctoral tenure under the mentorship of Dr. Pena. During this phase, she shifted her scientific interests towards organellar biology and the utilization of zebrafish models as experimental tools for studying metabolic diseases. Within the scope of her research, she is now focused on unravelling the elusive functional role of the SLC25A38 protein in the context of Congenital Sideroblastic Anaemia (CSA) and investigate its roles in mitochondrial biology in vivo. This project holds the potential to significantly advance our understanding of the intricate molecular dynamics governing mitochondrial function and its implications in the development of various metabolic disorders.
Masters Students
Rahima Hasmani, BsC
Rahima is a dedicated MSc candidate in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa. She holds an Honours BHSc with a specialization in technology and innovation in healthcare, graduating with High Distinction. In the laboratory, Rahima is fully committed to researching the optimization of treatments for vitamin B6-dependent epilepsy using the zebrafish as a model. Rahima strongly believes that volunteering allows her to fulfill her responsibility of creating a positive impact in her community and has been a devoted volunteer since the age of 7. Outside of her academic and volunteer work, Rahima enjoys spending her time swimming and experimenting with new recipes for her family to try.
