Pezacki Lab
  • Research
    • Host-Virus Interactions
    • microRNAs in host-pathogen interactions
    • ABPP
    • Bioorthogonal Chemistry
    • Tools for RNA Silencing
    • Expanded genetic code technologies
  • Publications
  • Members
  • Contact
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Dr. John Paul Pezacki

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Full Professor
Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Ottawa
Curriculum Vitae

Positions available. Contact Dr. Pezacki for more details. 

 Research Associates and Postdoctoral Fellows


Dave Prescott, PhD

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Research Associate 
  • Determining the influence of essential transition metals on the host response to viral infection
  • Employing expanded genetic code techniques to develop novel tools to study and utilize exosomes and related extracellular vesicles.
  • Characterizing the essential role of RNA-induced silencing during viral infection of mammalian cells. 

Caroline Toudic, PhD

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Postdoctoral Fellow
  • Investigating the role payed by extracellular vesicles (microvesicles and exosomes) and their miRNA cargos in modulating the innate immune response to viral infection 
  • Developing a cell culture-based model to study Norovirus infections

Shadi Sedghi Masoud, PhD

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Postdoctoral Fellow
  • Development of bioorthogonal probes and novel bioorthogonal chemistry

 Graduate Research Students 


Geneviève Desrochers

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PhD candidate
  • ​​​Development of new activity-based profiling methods, application of activity-based profiling methods to study protein-protein interactions

​​Rhea Alonzi
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PhD candidate
  • ​Investigating the roles of exosomes in host - pathogen interactions and viral propagation​
  • Investigating the effects of small molecules on sorting exosomal cargo
  • Engineering exosomes as biocompatible, pan-antiviral delivery systems for therapeutic applications

Roxana Filip

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PhD candidate
  • ​Application of chemical biology methods to study the metabolic response to infection and host-pathogen interactions
  • Investigating the role of serine hydrolase enzymes in metabolic pathways 

Tyler Shaw

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PhD candidate
  • ​​Activity-based profiling of host-virus interactions and investigation of microRNA modulation of metabolic pathways during viral infection​

Nadine Ahmed 

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PhD candidate

 Noreen Ahmed 

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PhD candidate
  • ​Investigating the role of miRNAs in modulating the innate immune response to viral infection.
  • Application of activity-based protein profiling techniques to study the innate immune response during viral infection.
  • Engineering tools for the study of the RNA silencing pathway and small regulatory RNAs.
  • Improving the function of p19 protein for the study of small RNAs
  • Utilization of protein engineering techniques including rational protein design and genetic code expansion technology/ unnatural amino acids incorporation.

Didier Bilodeau

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PhD candidate

David Lefebvre

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MSc candidate

​Mariam Serhan

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MSc candidate
  • ​Development and optimization of new bioorthogonal chemistry, namely the Kinugasa reaction
  • Exploration of nitrone reactivity
  • Application of activity-based protein profiling methods to study the effects of endocannabinoid related serine hydrolases and their role in altering host-pathogen interactions
  •  Interested in the development of new bioorthogonal chemistry with a focus on nitrones and 3-oxidopyridium species. ​



​Salmaan Chummun
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​MSc candidate
  • ​Investigating the role of RNA G-quadruplexes in HCV replication and pathogenicity.

​Gabriel Sullivan
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MSc candidate

  • Using the expanded genetic code to investigate RNA binding proteins
  • Exploring CRISPR technologies

Varis Gupta

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MSc candidate

  • Activity-based profiling of host-pathogen interactions and identification of kinases involved in Dengue infections

Kaitlyn Morrill

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​MSc candidate
  • ​Interested in the developments of bioorthogonal reactions, specifically reactions involving diazapyrones.

Christine Hum

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​MSc candidate
  • ​Interested in investigating the role of miRNA in modulating innate immune response and metabolic pathways during viral infection

Jordan Pham

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​MSc candidate
  • Using an expanded genetic code and unnatural amino acids to modify AGO2 for miRNA profiling

Tiffany Stern

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​MSc candidate
  • ​Interested in the role of hepatic microRNAs during the immunometabolic response to viral infection.


Undergraduate Research Students 


​Emily Pennock
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Investigating the role of miRNA-183 cluster in the innate immune response to viral proteins
Jason Josephson
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Computational modelling of bioorthogonal reactions using density functional theory and distortion-interaction analysis.
Étienne Bélanger
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Using activity-based protein profiling to study the role of serine hydrolases in hepatic metabolism

Hannah Delion

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​Interested in novel biorthogonal chemistry​

Spencer Ugoccioni

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Interested in the potential of miRNA for clinical use, particularly as a means of responding to viral infection


Recent members

Research associates and Post-doctoral fellows: 
Megan Powdrill, PhD
Christopher Ablenas, PhD 
Dennis Özcelik, PhD
Mirka Strmiskova, PhD

Allison Sherratt, PhD

Graduate students: 
Matthew Lafrenière, PhD
Ragunath Singaravelu, PhD
Dana Foss, PhD
Neda Nasheri, PhD
​Rodney Lyn, PhD
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Kaitlyn Margison, MSc
Julie Delcorde, MSc

Doug MacKenzie, MSc

Laboratory managers:
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Shifawn O'Hara, MSc
Mariya Chigrinova, MSc
Yanouchka Rouleau, MSc





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  • Research
    • Host-Virus Interactions
    • microRNAs in host-pathogen interactions
    • ABPP
    • Bioorthogonal Chemistry
    • Tools for RNA Silencing
    • Expanded genetic code technologies
  • Publications
  • Members
  • Contact