Hometown: Grande Prairie, A.B.
Program: PhD in Experimental Medicine
Year in Program: 4
What inspired you to pursue your program?
I worked as a lung transplant pharmacist at Vancouver General Hospital for several years where I learned first-hand how challenging post-transplant medication regimens are for patients to tolerate. Not only are conventional immunosuppressive drugs incredibly toxic, but they also have limited efficacy. As a result, I became interested in identifying new approaches to modulating the immune system to improve patient outcomes using advanced cell therapy and genetic engineering approaches.
Why did you choose UBC?
I chose UBC for my graduate studies because of my supervisor, Dr. Megan Levings. Dr. Levings is a world leader in immune cell therapies, specifically regarding research in regulatory T cell biology, and regulatory T cell-based therapies in transplantation and autoimmunity. Moreover, the UBC Faculty of Medicine is a fantastic place to develop my skill set as a transplant scientist thanks to world-renowned research institutes located here at UBC that investigate the immune system and ways to control it. These include collaborators at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, BC Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and the School of Biomedical Engineering.
Tell me about your research.
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are a special kind of natural immune cell that act like a brake on the immune system so that inflammation does not get out of control. When Tregs don’t work properly people can develop autoimmune diseases. In the context of transplantation, Tregs are not powerful enough to stop immune responses against the donor organ in part because anti-rejection drugs block the normal function of Tregs. I am studying how to genetically engineer Tregs so they are resistant to the inhibitory effects of anti-rejection drugs with a goal of developing a Treg therapy that can improve transplant patient quality of life.
What are you most looking forward to this year?
This year I am looking forward to generating more in-depth research results and sharing my progress with the international transplant community at the International Congress of The Transplantation Society in Sydney, Australia. I also have the opportunity to teach undergraduate and graduate students in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences about cell and gene therapy.
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