Principal Investigator

Hometown: Ottawa, ON, Canada
Ice cream flavor: Cherry-Bourbon Cheesecake
Interests/hobbies: Reality TV junkie, Formula 1 (Mercedes), travelling, and making ice cream
Project description: Molecular mechanisms of viral RNA accumulation

Research Associate

Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Ice cream flavor: Dark chocolate
Interests/hobbies: The outdoors and being active (crossfit, walking, hiking, swimming, biking, cross-country skiing, etc); fresh air – even if it’s cold!
Project description: Unravelling host-virus interactions and the molecular mechanisms of viral RNA accumulation

Postdoctoral Fellow

Hometown: Kerala, India
Ice cream flavor: Chocolate Fudge Brownie
Interests/hobbies: Music, exploring international cuisines, traveling, cricket, soccer (Gooner!) and trying my luck at table tennis
Project description: Decoding intricate host-virus interactions that facilitate HCV RNA accumulation and replication organelle biogenesis

Graduate Student

Hometown: Picton, ON, Canada

Ice cream flavor: Raspberry Cheesecake

Interests/hobbies: Avid sports fan and player (Go Leafs Go! – please don’t make me cry again), music and movie enthusiast, aspiring traveller, board game and DND nerd, enjoys good food and drink (or two) amongst friends

Project description: Elucidating the RNA and protein interactions that underlie positive-strand synthesis in Zika virus

Graduate Student

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA, USA
Ice cream flavor: Mint chocolate chip
Interests/hobbies: First aid/emergency response, yoga, hiking, skiing, trying new gluten/dairy-free recipes, travelling, ice skating (ungracefully)
Project description: Investigating multimerization of the Zika virus NS2A protein

Graduate Student

Hometown: Raesfeld-Erle, Germany
Ice cream flavor: Hazelnut
Interests/hobbies: Playing board games, reading, biking, trying new recipes.
Project description: Evaluating the structure and function of the Zika virus replicase complex in viral RNA replication

Graduate Student

Hometown: Toronto, ON, Canada
Ice cream flavor: Salted Caramel
Interests/hobbies: Avid soccer/Manchester United fan, hiking, reading (especially for the Sagan Lab book club!), coaching, cookie connoisseur.
Project description: Investigating non-structural protein 2A (NS2A) in the context of Zika virus replication and assembly

Graduate Student

Hometown: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Ice cream flavor: Toasted black sesame
Interests/hobbies: Boxing, back-country hiking/camping, baking with sourdough, landscape painting with watercolour
Project description: Understanding the switch from translation to replication, and replication organelle biogenesis in the HCV life cycle

Graduate Student

Hometown: Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
Ice cream flavor: Mint chocolate chip
Interests/hobbies: Volunteering at local animal shelters, movies, and trying new foods
Project description: Investigating the role of a putative alternative stem loop A (SLA) structure in the Zika virus life cycle

Undergraduate Honours Student

Hometown: Kingston, ON, Canada
Ice cream flavor: Moose tracks
Interests/hobbies: Canoe tripping, hiking, travelling, cooking
Project description: Using smFISH to investigate viral replication organelles

UBC Co-op Student

Hometown: Langley, BC, Canada
Ice cream flavor: Cookie Dough
Interests/hobbies: Drawing, skiing, playing piano, crocheting
Project description: Biogenesis of NS2Aalpha across mosquito-borne and tick-borne flaviviruses

UBC Co-op Student

Hometown: Mumbai, India
Ice cream flavor: Anything chocolate
Interests/hobbies: RnB Music, Meditation, Dancing, Going on walks, movies/shows
Project description: Development of RNA-based reverse genetics systems for negative-sense RNA viruses

Taskmaster

Hometown: Langley, BC, Canada
Ice cream flavor: I don’t eat human foods. I’m a dog.
Interests/hobbies: Food. Long walks, long naps, fetch, being cute
Project description: I make tasks