Dr. Neeloffer Mookherjee
Principal Investigator
Trainees in the Mookherjee Lab:
Dina Mostafa
MSc Student
Dina is a MSc student, examining sex-related differences in allergen-challenged responses in a preclinical murine model. She joined the Mookherjee lab after completing her undergraduate students in the UK, and slowly getting used to the Winnipeg winter!
Hadeesha Piyadasa
PhD Candidate
Hadeesha has won several academic awards. He is exploring the ability of an immunomodulatory cationic innate defence regulator (IDR) peptide in the control of airway inflammation and airway hyperresposiveness in allergic asthma. He is focused on delineating regulation of cytokine responses by IDR peptides in airway inflammation. He is also a car fanatic, and dreams of driving a Ferrari along the Amalfi coast someday!!
Anthony Altieiri
PhD Student
Anthony Altieri completed his undergraduate research project in the Mookherjee Lab, following which joined the lab as a grad student. His PhD research project is focused on defining cytokine IL-17-mediated inflammatory responses in bronchial epithelial cells, and how cationic host defence peptide LL-37 alters these responses. Anthony is supported by a studentship from Research Manitoba, and has won several academic awards. He is also a soccer enthusiast and plays for a local league!
Dr. Hemshekhar Mahadevappa
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Hemshekhar Mahadevappa joined our lab after completing his PhD in Biochemistry from University of Mysore, India. Shekhar is examining the effects of host defence peptides in the processes underlying cartilage degradation and oxidative stress in inflammatory arthritis. He also aims to identify synovial molecular targets that are altered by the exogenous administration of IDR peptides, at different stages of disease progression in arthritis.
Dr. Vidyanand Anarpati
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Vidyanand Anarpati is co-supervised by Drs. El-Gabalawy and Mookherjee (Rheumatology research group). Nandu completed his PhD in Immunology from University of Manitoba and joined the rheumatology research group. Nandu’s research focus is in defining the epigenetic mechanisms in the disease progression of rheumatoid arthritis. Nandu is supported by a Fellowship from Research Manitoba.
Protiti Khan
Technician
Protiti maintains the sanity in the lab! She is our biosafety and WHMIS coordinator.
Stephanie Borlase
BSc Honors Student
Stephanie has completed a co-op research term in the Mookherjee lab, following which she continues to pursue her BSc Honors research project working with Dr. Mookherjee, examining immunomodulatory activity of novel small molecules and how that changes the biological effects of common antibiotics.
Recent Graduates / Alumni
Dr. Ka-Yee Grace Choi
PhD Graduate
Grace completed her PhD from the Mookherjee lab in 2017, and in currently a postdoctoral fellow in University of British Columbia. Her PhD project was in the immunomodulatory role of human host defence peptide LL-37 in macrophages, and processes to regulate inflammatory arthritis.
Breann Rekseidler
BSc Research Student
Breann completed two Co-op research terms in the Mookherjee lab, and won several undergraduate research awards, including the highly competitive NSERC USRA. Her training in the Mookherjee lab contributed to her securing an international placement in Germany for her subsequent undergraduate Co-OP research term. She is currently undergraduate student at the University of Manitoba.
Natasha Osawa
BSc Research Student
Natasha trained as an undergraduate Co-op research student in the Mookherjee lab, following which she worked as a research assistant in our lab for a year. She worked on examining the sequence-to-function relationship of IDR peptides in bronchial epithelial cells. Natasha is currently a MSc student in Genetic Counselling. We are so proud of her accomplishment in securing a position in a highly competitive training program!
Dylan Llyod
BSc Research Student
Dylan completed two Co-op research terms in the Mookherjee lab, and has subsequently worked as a part time research assistant in the Mookherjee lab. He is currently a co-op research student at the National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg.