CRISTINA LENTO
Lab Manager
Cristina obtained her BSc at York University in Specialized Honours Biochemistry. For her undergraduate research project, she worked in the Audette Laboratory on the crystallization of the TrbB protein involved in F-plasmid conjugation. She then went on to complete an NSERC USRA in the Wilson group which involved studying the oligomerization pathway of the K122-4 pilin from P. aeruginosa using ESI-IMS. This sparked her interest in mass spectrometry, and went on to complete her MSc in the Audette/Wilson lab – where she continued to study protein-protein interactions of the K122-4 pilin and between transfer proteins involved in bacterial conjugation using TRESI-HDX. Outside of the lab Cristina enjoys cooking, writing, and travelling.
ESTHER WOLF
PhD Student
Esther recently transferred into her PhD after a combined 3 years of undergraduate thesis and Master's work in the Wilson Lab. She absolutely loves protein mass spectrometry and is excited to see the field continue to grow. In collaboration with the Dickinson lab at the University of Chicago, and courtesy of immense help from the 2020 Mitacs Research Award, her current project uses HDX-MS to investigate the BCL2 family proteins and their distinct binding selectivities despite superimposable 3D structures. Concurrently, another HDX-MS project is in the works with the Fischer Lab at St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis. Esther hopes to one day have many dogs and a south-facing window for growing indoor plants.
VIMANDA CHOW
PhD Student
Vimanda completed her B.Sc in Zoology with a focus to become a veterinarian. Later to discover, her interest in research during her co-op semester at Sanofi Pasteur. At Sanofi, Vimanda gained hands on experiences working on various qualitative and quantitative method development using HPLC and SEC-MALs. Currently, Vimanda focuses on understanding the dissociation and unfolding of Pertussis Toxin using Collision induced Dissociation/Unfolding (CID/CIU). In addition, she is currently using nanodiscs to understand the interaction between Cytochrome C and different charged phospholipids. When not in the lab, she is probably at the gym, exploring new trails or at a local stationary shop.
ALEX LISTIGOVERS
PhD Student
Alex completed his B.Sc. (Chemistry) at Queen's University in Kingston. After graduation, Alex worked at Sanofi analyzing vaccine antigens using Q-TOF LC-MS. His work in the Wilson lab continues along this path, by using TRESI-HDX to examine the impacts of crosslinking on protein dynamics. Chemical crosslinking is commonly used to inactivate toxic proteins for use in vaccines, these modifications impact both toxicity and immunogenicity of the protein. Alex is also using TRESI-HDX to investigate the allosteric changes in Antithrombin-III by heparin, and heparin's role in stabilizing the Antithrombin-III-Thrombin complex.
AYESHA MAQSOOD
PhD Student
Ayesha recently joined the Wilson lab for her MSc after completing her BSc at York University in Honours Biochemistry. She is interested in studying the structures and dynamics of proteins that are high value oncology targets for pharmacologic intervention. Currently, Ayesha is using HDX-MS for structural elucidation of STAT5b protein and its oncogenic driver mutation, STAT5BN642H, in collaboration with the Rauscher and Gunning Groups at University of Toronto. Besides doing research, Ayesha loves to travel, drink iced coffees and watch The Office on repeat.
IQRA TAHIR
MSc Student
Iqra received her HBSc degree in Molecular Biology and Chemistry from the University of Toronto, with a focus on in silico drug discovery during her undergraduate thesis. During her graduate studies from the Guelph-Waterloo joint program, her research pertained to nucleoside chemistry. Iqra is honoured to pursue further graduate studies as part of the Wilson lab; currently, she is focusing on elucidating conformational dynamics of m6A binding protein through HDX-MS (in collaboration with Professor Ryan Hili). In her spare time, Iqra enjoys painting - she is somewhat decent at it.
VENITA SITAHAL
MSc Student
Venita received her B.Sc. from York University in the Specialized Honours Biochemistry program where she fulfilled her undergraduate thesis at the Wilson Lab and also completed a co-op year at Sanofi. Subsequently, she decided to continue her studies at the Wilson lab by pursuing a Master’s degree. She is presently studying the conformational dynamics and protein-protein interactions of RGS1 using Conventional HDX-MS. As a self-proclaimed hobby goblin, Venita can be found reading, practicing her viola, dancing, baking or (most recently) crocheting in her free time.
ALUMNI
Kerene Brown (2020, PhD)
Ruth Knox (2019, PhD)
Lucienne Nouchikian (2019, MSc)
Xiaojing Huang (2019, MSc)
Lisa Szymkowicz (2019, MSc)
Irina Oganesyan (2018, MSc)
Antoine Bourget (2018, MSc)
Shaolong Zhu (2017, PhD)
Peter Liuni (2015, PhD)
Cristina Lento (2015, MSc, Co-Supervised by Dr. Gerald Audette)
Preet Kamal Gill (2015, MSc, Co-Supervised by Dr. Golemi-Kotra)
Diana Resetca (2014, MSc)
Tamanna Rob (2013, PhD)
Yanfang Liang (2012, PhD)
Araby Jeganathan (2012, MSc)