Karla Bozic

Karla is a student in the MSc Epidemiology program at the University of Ottawa, supervised by Dr. Derek MacFadden. She is assisting with on-site swabbing in Ottawa.

Amanda Caroll

Amanda has a PhD in Biology and is currently a postdoctoral fellow with the Clinical Microbial Genomics Laboratory at OHRI. Her work mostly focuses on producing and analyzing metagenomic sequencing data.

Dr. Lucas Castellani

Dr. Castellani is an infectious diseases physician at the Sault Area Hospital and Assistant Professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

Harshita Chaudhary

Harshita is a Clinical Research Coordinator responsible for on-site swabbing in the Toronto area, ensuring smooth data collection.

Sarah Clarke

Sarah has an M.Sc. in Biology and is currently a laboratory technician in Dr. Alex Wong’s lab, where she is involved in sample processing and analysis for the CUBE study.

Lucas Clemons

Lucas Clemons is an undergraduate student at McGill studying Anatomy and Cell Biology. He is assisting with on-site swabbing at The Ottawa General Hospital.

Logan Coccimiglio

Logan has a BSc in Biomedical Science from the University of Guelph and is currently a research assistant at the Sault Area Hospital.

Evgueni Doukhanine

Molecular biologist at DNA Genotek specializing in microbiome research and development of chemical reagents and collection devices to facilitate stabilization of primary samples.

Dr. Michael Fralick

Mike is the Toronto Lead for CUBE, Associate Professor at University of Toronto, Clinician Scientist at Sinai Health, and Locum general internist at The Sault Area Hospital.

Teresa Gawargy

Teresa is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Ottawa. She is assisting with on-site swabbing in Ottawa.

Dr. David Guttman

David is a Professor in the Department of Cell and Systems Biology at the University of Toronto and Director for the Centre of the Analysis of Genome Evolution and Function.

Nicholas Hamzea

Nicholas is a first-year medical student at the University of Toronto. He is a research student with Dr. Fralick and is assisting with on-site swabbing in Toronto.

Dr. Aaron Hinz

Aaron is a Research Associate at the University of Ottawa with interests in genetics and molecular mechanisms of microbial adaptation. For the CUBE project, he has been optimizing methods for SARS-CoV-2 detection from built environment samples.

Benazir Hodzic-Santor

Bena is a medical resident at the University of Toronto and a research assistant in Dr. Fralick’s lab. She assists with on-site swabbing and genomic analyses.

Emil Hodzic-Santor

Emil has a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Calgary and is a Research Assistant in Dr. Fralick’s lab. He is a data analyst for the CUBE project.

Dr. Laura Hug

Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Microbiology in the Department of Biology at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Hug’s research uses a combination of multi-omics and classical microbiological techniques to examine microbial diversity and function in contaminated sites.

Dr. Jennie Johnstone

Jennie is Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control at Sinai Health, Clinician Scientist at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, and Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Rees Kassen

Full Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Director of the Trottier Institute for Science and Public Policy at McGill University. Rees uses microbes to study the evolution of biodiversity. He is also active at the interface between science, society, and policy, currently serving as co-Chair of the international Evolution for Earth Sustainability (EvolvES) research network.

Dr. Derek MacFadden

Dr. MacFadden is a clinician scientist and epidemiologist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

Dr. Allison McGeer

Allison McGeer is an infectious diseases physician and microbiologist at Sinai Health System and Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto.

Jason Moggridge

Research assistant for Dr. Michael Fralick. Jason is a data analyst and programmer for the CUBE study.

Dr. Caroline Nott

Infectious Diseases Physician and Director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH). Dr. Nott has supported TOH Infection Prevention and Control and Occupational Health Departments as a COVID-19 Pandemic Support Lead since April 2020.

Patricia Olar

Patricia is a second-year medical student at the University of Toronto and a research assistant in Dr. Fralick’s lab. She helps coordinate CUBE’s H5N1 surveillance study at several sites across Ontario and assists with on-site swabbing in Toronto.

Prachi Ray

Prachi is a Research Assistant at Sinai Health System, currently pursuing her MD at Queen’s University.

Nashira Ridgeway

Nashira holds a Ph.D. in Biology and is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Dr. Alex Wong. Her expertise lies in developing computational solutions for biological research. She is actively involved in expanding the CUBE project to investigate antimicrobial resistance through metagenomic analysis.

Hania Siddiqui

Hania Siddiqui is a Research Student with Dr. Michael Fralick and is assisting with on-site swabbing.

Dr. Nisha Thampi

Medical director of the Infection Prevention and Control Program at CHEO, a pediatric health and research centre in Ottawa, and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Ottawa.

Tamara Van Bakel

Tamara is a Project Manager at Sinai Health System providing administrative support.

Dr. Alex Wong

Alex Wong is an Associate Professor of Biology at Carleton University. His lab is optimizing methods for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in the built environment.



CUBE Alumni

The CUBE group wishes to recognize the excellent work of these former members of our research team who helped greatly in making our efforts a success.

Sawith Abeygunawardena

Sawith is a Clinic Research Coordinator I at Mount Sinai Hospital and an incoming graduate student at Wilfrid Laurier University

Madison Burella

Madison assisted with on-site swabbing in Sault Ste Marie as a senior medical student at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine

Tasha Burhunduli

Tasha was a research assistant for the CUBE study while pursuing an Honours degree in Health Sciences with a Concentration in Disability and Chronic Illness at Carleton University.

Alex Hicks

Alex is a masters student supervised by Dr. Rees Kassen at the University of Ottawa. She is involved in sample processing and previously sample collection for CUBE.

Hanna Ke

Hanna was a summer research student for the CUBE study while pursuing a dual undergraduate degree in Medical Sciences and Business Administration at Western University and the Richard Ivey Business School.

Engluy Khov

Engluy Khov assisted with on-site swabbing while completing an Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences with Integrated Health Biosciences at University of Ottawa.

Hebah Mejbel

Hebah performed sampling and testing of built environment samples while completing a PhD in Biology at the University of Ottawa.

Ashley Raudanskis

Ashley served as project manager from the beginning of the CUBE study until entering the Doctor of Medicine program at Queen’s University

Jamie Strain

Jamie served as a research assistant and performed on-site swabbing in Ottawa for the CUBE study.

Gabriel Wainer

Gabriel Wainer is a Full Professor in the Department of Systems and Computer Engineering at Carleton University. He is an expert on spatial modeling and simulation and participates in the definition of prediction models indoors.

Makenna Wiebe

Makenna has a B.Sc degree in Biology and is now a Medical Research Intern for Sault Ste. Marie Academic Medical Association. She is responsible for on-site swabbing in Sault Ste. Marie locations for the CUBE project.