Catherine Tsilfidis
Senior Scientist, Neuroscience Program
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Associate Professor, Departments of Ophthalmology and Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa
Director, Office of Equity, Diversity and Gender Issues
Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa
Research Interests
Retinal diseases, retinal gene therapy, apoptosis of retinal cells as a cause for retinal disease, anti-apoptotic strategies for preserving retinal cells and delaying retinal disease progression
Brief Biography
Catherine Tsilfidis is a senior scientist in the Regenerative Medicine Program of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, and an Associate Professor in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa. She has an active research program that is funded by CIHR, the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Krembil Foundation, and she currently holds the Don and Joy Maclaren Chair in Vision Research. Her research is aimed at developing a gene therapy strategy that blocks apoptosis and slows down retinal disease progression. She has applied this approach to the treatment of animal models of retinal disease. Her laboratory is currently optimizing gene therapy parameters for application to human disease.
Dr. Tsilfidis is also the Director of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Gender Issues in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. She organizes and delivers workshops to medical students, residents, graduate students and faculty on Harassment and Intimidation and Respect in the Workplace. Dr. Tsilfidis is passionate about promoting the advancement of women in science and is currently helping to create a mentoring program for female post-doctoral fellows in the basic sciences.
Selected Publications
Wassmer SJ, Beddaoui M Rajai P, Munger R and Tsilfidis C (2013). A Focus on the Optical Properties of the Regenerated Newt Lens. PLoS ONE Aug 22; 8 (8):e70845
Wassmer SJ, Rafat M, Fong WG, Baker AN, Tsilfidis C (2013). Chitosan Microparticles for Delivery of Proteins to the Retina. Acta Biomaterialia 9(8):7855-64.
Zadro-Lamoureux, L.A., D.N. Zacks, A.N. Baker, Q.-D. Zheng, W.W. Hauswirth, and C. Tsilfidis (2009). XIAP effects on retinal detachment-induced photoreceptor apoptosis. Invest. Ophthal. Vis. Sci. 50(3):1448-53.
Leonard, K.C., D. Petrin, S. G. Coupland, A. N. Baker, B. C. Leonard, W. W. Hauswirth, R. G. Korneluk and C. Tsilfidis (2007). XIAP Protection of Photoreceptors in Animal Models of Retinitis Pigmentosa. PLoS ONE Mar 21; 2 (3):e314.
Renwick, J., M. A. Narang, S.G. Coupland, J.Y. Xuan, A.N. Baker, J. Brousseau, D. Petrin, R. Munger, B. Leonard, W.W. Hauswirth, R.G. Korneluk and C. Tsilfidis (2006). XIAP-mediated neuroprotection in retinal ischemia. Gene Therapy 13(4):339-47.
Diseases, conditions and populations of interest
Research and clinical approaches
