Rozanne Arulanandam
Senior Scientific Manager

Dr. Rozanne Arulanandam has been a Researcher with the Diallo lab since 2012. She completed her BSc in Microbiology and Immunology at McGill University and obtained her PhD in Pathology & Molecular Medicine at Queens' University in Kingston, where she studied the role of Stat3 in cancer cell growth and survival. As a postdoctoral fellow in the Bell lab, she aimed to provide mechanistic insight to the inherent vascular targeting ability of oncolytic viruses and their ability to synergize with chemotherapeutics to allow for improved and rational cancer therapies. As a Research Associate in the laboratory of Dr. Jean Simon Diallo, she has been contributing to the application of virus sensitizing technology to the field of vaccine manufacturing.  Currenty she helps to manage many of the academic and industrial collaborations in the lab and co-mentors the excellent trainees. In her spare time Rozanne enjoys spending time with her family and making omelets.

Elena Godbout
Research Laboratory Manager

Dr. Elena Godbout, a laboratory manager who joined the Diallo lab in 2019. Her work encompasses the development of novel strategies for therapeutics  biomanufacturing, translational research, commercialization activities and training initiatives.  Prior to her tenure at the lab, she earned her PhD from the University of Freiburg in Germany, with a research focus on molecular aspects of inherited and autoimmune skin diseases. Following her doctoral studies, Dr. Godbout pursued postdoctoral training at the University of Toronto, under the guidance of Dr. Boris Hinz. Subsequently, she conducted research on small molecule therapeutics for blood cancers, utilizing mass spectrometry approaches in the laboratory of Dr. Derek Wilson at York University in Toronto. Beyond her professional pursuits, Elena enjoys outdoor activities with her family and is a passionate designer.

Andrew Chen
Senior Research Technician  

Andrew Chen joined the Diallo lab as a Senior Research Technician in 2012. Prior to joining the lab he was a research technician in the lab of Michael Chretien at the ICRM in Montreal. He oversees all in vivo-based experiments in the Diallo lab and provides the lab with invaluable technical support every aspect of lab activities. His research is focused on determining the relationship between in vivo and ex vivo efficacy of oncolytic virotherapy. Andrew enjoys his outdoor time and is often spending his weekends on long bike rides and runs in Gatineau Park and surrounding countryside.

Anne Landry
Senior Research Technician

Anne Landry joined the Diallo lab as a Senior Research Technician in 2017. Prior to joining the lab she was a research technician in the lab of Alexander Sorisky for more than 12 years. His lab is also with OHRI but within the Chronic Disease Program. The focus of the lab was on metabolic syndrome most particularly with adipocytes cells and macrophages. She is currently working with lentivirus and adeno-associated virus platform combined with Viral Sensitizers, one of the main focus of the Diallo Lab. Anne enjoys outdoor time and spending time with her family. 

Marcus Spinelli
Research technician

Marcus joined the Diallo lab in the fall of 2021 as a research technician. He received his BSc in microbiology at the University of Guelph, working with Dr. Sarah Wootton for his Honours project on stability studies for a recombinant AAV gene therapy vector. Since joining the lab Marcus has assisted in multiple projects including Covid and viral sensitizer drug screens. After his own experience with cancer, Marcus' passion for research and discovering new or improved treatments has been reignited. In his free time, Marcus is either in the kitchen or out for a walk listening to music a little too loud.

Anna Jirovec
Postdoctoral fellow

Anna Jirovec started in the Diallo lab as an Honours student in May 2016. She completed her BSc in Biopharmaceutical Science at the University of Ottawa in 2017. Her PhD research project involved establishing the tumour immune profile of dedifferentiated liposarcoma using Nanostring technology and immunohistochemistry. In parallel she is working on developing a heterologous prime-boost immunotherapy for the treatment of this rare sarcoma subtype.

Akram Alwithenani
PhD Candidate

Akram joined the Diallo lab in the summer of 2019 as a PhD candidate. His research involves oncolytic viral engineering and development of immune therapeutics adjuvanted oncolytic virotherapy regimens in pre-clinical cancer models. Before joining the Diallo lab, he obtained his MSc from Dalhousie University in Drs Xu/Marcato lab where he studied lung cancer molecular biomarkers and their relation with PD-L1 in lung cancer patients. Outside the lab, Akram enjoys outdoor activities with his family and friends.