Dr.
Ilkow research experience has been shaped by her graduate work at the
University of Alberta under the supervision of Dr. Tom Hobman, where she
identified novel interactions of pathogenic RNA viruses with their host cells.
In order to expand her research experience repertoire, as a postdoctoral fellow
in Dr. John Bell laboratory at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute Dr. Ilkow
research focused shifted to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how
viruses can be used as targeted bio-weapons to treat cancer. These naturally
occurring or engineer cancer-fighting viruses are known as oncolytic viruses. Using tumour samples derived from patients
with cancer and models of pancreatic and ovarian cancers, Dr. Ilkow
demonstrated for the first time that responses of cancer cells to oncolytic
virus infection are not exclusively determined by their intrinsic
characteristics, but are also controlled by signals derived from the tumour
microenvironment. These
recent discoveries were recently published in Nature Medicine, and led Dr.
Ilkow to win the 2015 Worton Researcher in Training Award.
Dr. Ilkow is also
firmly committed to the education of new scientists in the areas of virology, tumor
biology, and biotherapeutics. Based on her student’s recommendation, Dr. Ilkow was
awarded as the 2014 University of Ottawa CO-OP employer of the year.
Selected Publications:
1- Ilkow CS, M. Marguerie, C. Batenchuk, J. Mayer, D. Ben Neriah, S. Cousineau, T. Falls, V. Jennings, M. Boileau, D. Bellamy, D. Bastin, C. Tanese de Souza, A. Alkayyal, J. Zhang, F. Le Boeuf, R. Arulanandam, P. Sampath, S. Thorne, P. Paramanthan, A. Chatterjee, R.M. Strieter, M. Burdick, C. Addison, D. Stojdl, H. Atkins, R. Auer, J-S Diallo, B. Lichty, and J.C. Bell. “Reciprocal cellular cross-talk within the tumor microenvironment promotes oncolytic virus activity”. Nature Medicine. 2015 May;21(5):530-6.
2- R. Arulanandam, C. Batenchuk, F. A. Angarita, K. Ottolino-Perry, S. Cousineau, A. Mottashed, E. Burgess, T. Falls, N. De Silva, J. Tsang, G. Howe, M-C Bourgeois-Daigneault, D. Conrad, M. Daneshmand, C. Breitbach, D. Kirn, L. Raptis, S. Sad, H. Atkins, M. Huh, J-S Diallo, B. Lichty, C.S. Ilkow, F. Le Boeuf, C. Addison, J. McCart and John C. Bell. “PRD1-BF1 drives VEGF-mediated innate immune suppression in tumor vasculature”. Cancer Cell. 2015 Aug 10;28(2):210-224.
3- Beug ST, Tang VA, LaCasse EC, Cheung HH, Beauregard CE, Brun J, Nuyens JP, Earl N, St-Jean M, Holbrook J, Dastidar H, Mahoney DJ, Ilkow C, Le Boeuf F, Bell JC, Korneluk RG (2014). “Smac mimetics and innate immune stimuli synergize to promote tumor death”. Nature Biotechnology. 2014 Feb;32(2):182-90.
4- Ilkow CS, Swift SL, Bell JC, Diallo JS (2014). “From scourge to cure: tumour-selective viral pathogenesis as a new strategy against cancer”. PLoS Pathogens. 2014 Jan;10(1).
5- Ilkow CS, Goping, IS, and Hobman TC. (2011). “The Rubella virus capsid protein blocks apoptosis by attenuating the pore-forming ability of Bax”. PLoS Pathogens. Feb;7(2).
6- Ilkow, CS, Willow, SD, and Hobman, TC. (2010). “Rubella virus capsid protein: a small protein with big functions”. Future microbiology. 5(4):571-84.
7- *Ilkow, CS, *Weckbecker, D, Cho, WJ, Meier, S, Beatch, MD, Goping, IS, Herrmann, JM, and Hobman, TC. (2010). “The Rubella Virus capsid inhibits import of proteins into mitochondria”. Journal of Virology 84(1):119-30. (* These authors contributed equally to this work).
8- Ilkow, CS, Mancinelli, V, Beatch, MD, and Hobman, TC. (2008) “The Rubella virus capsid protein binds Poly (A) binding protein and inhibits translation”. Journal of Virology 82(9):4284-94.
9- *Law, LMJ, *Ilkow, CS, Tzeng, W-P, Rawluk, M, Stuart, DT, and Hobman, TC. (2006). “Analysis of phosphorylation events in the Rubella virus capsid protein: Roles in early replication”. Journal of Virology 80:6917-6925. (* These authors contributed equally).
