Infectious diseases

Our research

Admin lead: Mark Brockman

In 2015, communicable diseases accounted for around 20% of deaths worldwide. A disproportionate number of those fatalities occurred in poor communities, children and marginalized populations. In this research challenge area, we are working across disciplines to find solutions to this problem—preventing unnecessary death by disease in Canada and globally.

A major focus for our group is HIV, a preventable, deadly infectious disease that overlaps several key areas of interest. HIV spans a range of lab-based approaches to infectious disease—from cell biology, to virology and immunology. The study of HIV also presents social challenges from the perspectives of population health, epidemiology, and medical ethics. By working together as an interdisciplinary group, we can create comprehensive strategies for prevention and mitigation, and understand the broader context of our individual areas of study. By learning from each other, we can tackle large, complex human problems more comprehensively.

Whatever our backgrounds, our goal is the same: we want to reduce the amount of preventable contagious diseases, and their impact. Our multidisciplinary nature is unique, yet extremely informative. The cross-pollination of perspectives from different disciplines challenges and shapes our individual approaches to infectious disease, and our collaboration puts our goal that much closer.

People

Faculty

  • Mark Brockman Virology, T-cell immunology, pathogenesis, HIV vaccines & immune-based therapies
  • Zabrina Brumme Molecular epidemiology, HIV/AIDS, immunology, genetics
  • Kaylee Byers One Health; Planetary Health; Wildlife Health; Human-Animal Relationships; Human Dimension; Health Equity; Social Determinants of Health; Ecological Determinants of Health; Health Communications; Implementation Science; Knowledge Mobilization; Community-Based Research
  • Maya Gislason Social inequities in health, eco-social health, planetary health, ecosystem approaches to health, climate change, intergenerational climate equity, cumulative impacts of intensive resource extraction, Indigenous health and wellness, community participation, Patient-Oriented Research, critical pedagogy, public health, equity informed mixed methods evidence building, interplay between human, animal and ecosystem health, governance, structural and epistemic justice.
  • Robert Hogg HIV/AIDS, antiretroviral therapy, marginalized populations, population health
  • William Hsiao Bioinformatics, health informatics and public health infectious disease genomics.
  • Angela Kaida Global health, epidemiology, HIV & sexual/reproductive health, antiretroviral therapy
  • Elizabeth King HIV, Infectious Diseases, Women’s Health, Women living with HIV, Reproductive health, Aging, Menopause, Pharmacotherapy, Social Determinants of Health
  • Masahiro Niikura Virology, Marek’s disease virus (MDV), recombineering, vaccine research
  • Bohdan Nosyk Economic evalation and mathematical modelling; substance abuse; HIV/AIDS; illicit drug dependence and treatment
  • Ralph Pantophlet Molecular biology, infectious diseases immunology, antiviral antibody responses, HIV/AIDS
  • Julia Smith Pandemic preparedness and response, health policy, Intersectional feminist analysis, social commercial and political determinants of health, global health
  • Nienke van Houten Microbiology, immunology & vaccine design, infectious disease, host/pathogen interaction

Recent theses

Coming soon.

Resources

Coming soon.