Dr. Manel Jordana
Principal Investigator, MD, PhD
Born and raised in Barcelona, Spain, Dr. Manel Jordana completed his medical training at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and continued with a residency and clinical fellowship at Hospital de Sant Pau in the same city. Dr. Jordana quickly developed a passion for scientific research, and pursued this path with determination. After graduating with a PhD at McMaster University, he embarked on post-doctoral studies. He joined the faculty of McMaster University in 1988, and has since supervised over 75 trainees, and co-authored 160 scientific papers, reviews and book chapters.
Dr. Susan Waserman
Principal Investigator
Dr. Waserman obtained her MSc and medical degree from McGill University. She specialized in Internal Medicine, followed by subspecialty training in Allergy/Clinical Immunology. She then completed a fellowship in Pulmonary Immunology at the Meakins Christie Laboratories at McGill University. She is extensively involved in medical education in both academic and community settings, and has an active hospital based clinical practice in adult and pediatric allergy/immunology. Research interests and activities include mechanisms and treatment of peanut allergy and food related anaphylaxis, as well as urticaria.
Tina Walker
Research Technician
Tina finished her B.Sc. in animal biology at the University of Guelph. She worked at the McMaster central animal facility for nine years before joining the Jordana lab in 2002. Her duties include maintaining breeding colonies, animal work, ELISAs, purchasing as well as various lab management tasks.
Jianping Wen
Research Technician
Jianping graduated from West China University of Medical Sciences, China and worked in the same university as a lecturer for a few years. Then, she continued to study molecular biology in Witten/Hedreke University, Germany. Here, as a research technician, she has a key role in the management of the lab, she assisted and worked with all graduate and undergraduate students for their projects bringing her knowledge and experience in the fields of animal work, cell culture, blood process and functional assay, as well as molecular biology.
Joshua Koenig
PhD Candidate
Josh received his undergraduate degree from the Bachelor of Health Sciences program at McMaster University in 2015. He entered the Master's of Medical Sciences program under the supervision of Dr. Jordana and transferred into the PhD program in January 2017. His project focuses on the generation of high avidity IgE antibodies in food allergy. Josh's graduate research is made possible through the scholarships: Ontario Graduate Scholarship-PhD and the Eva Eugenia Lillian Cope Scholarship.
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Kelly Bruton
PhD Candidiate
Kelly received her B.Sc. in Medical Sciences and joined the Jordana lab in the summer of 2016. Her project involves the development of a pre-clinical humanized mouse model using PBMCs from allergic patients to study the role of memory cells in the longevity of food allergy.
Paul Spill
Medical Student
Bio coming soon!
Siyon Gadkar
Masters Student
Bio coming soon!
Allyssa Phelps
Masters Student
Bio coming soon!
Youssef El-Sayes
Undergraduate Student
Youssef is a Honours Life Sciences student currently completing his undergraduate degree. His major research interests reside in the field of immunology and understanding the vital role of the immune system. Youssef's main interest is conducting research relating to allergy as well as the clinical and biomolecular implications of allergic pathologies. When he is free, you can find him hiking, baking, or sketching something fun and new.
Maggie Chopra
Undergraduate Student
Maggie is currently completing her undergraduate degree in the Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) program with a specialization in Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University. She is inclined to pursue graduate studies after the completion of her degree in 2021 and has a strong interest in the field of immunology. Currently, she is responsible for assisting with laboratory experiments under the guidance of PhD student Joshua Koenig.
Emily Grydziuszko
Undergraduate Student
Emily is a student in the Biomedical Sciences specialization of the Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) program. She plans to pursue Immunology further through graduate studies. She is working with Josh and Maggie to elucidate the nature of immune cell involvement in the initiation and persistence of pre-clinical allergy in a mouse model. Emily also loves to cook, listen to music, play cards with friends, and spend time with her parents and five siblings.
Olivia Mann-Delany
Undergraduate Student
Olivia is a third year student in the Biomedical Research Specialization of the Bachelors in Honours Biochemistry program. Her major interests in the field of immunology include phenotyping allergen-specific T and B cell populations and investigating the origins of allergy in the gastrointestinal tract. In her spare time, Olivia is on the McMaster Science Society exec team organizing Quantum Leap, a Science Careers Conference Series. She also volunteers with the campus radio station and loves to go on long runs.
