Lab Manager 2026-

Project: Childhood serology profiling and liver-on-a-chip characterization

About Me: Oscar is the Lab Manager for the Gillrie lab. He completed his BSc in Immunology at the University of Toronto before joining the University of Calgary, where he earned his MSc under the supervision of Dr. Paul Kubes in the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. His graduate research focused on innate immunity and intravital microscopy, providing him with a strong foundation in advanced live imaging techniques and murine models of infection and inflammation.

Post-Doctoral Fellow 2025-

Project: Developing 3D peripheral lymphoid organs on chip to study vaccination

About Me: Nima earned his PhD in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering from the Schulich School of Engineering, where his research focused on advanced biofabrication, biomaterials design, and organ-on-chip technologies. His long-term vision is to advance next-generation immune-enabled tissue platforms that accelerate translational research and precision medicine.

PhD Student 2024-

Co-supervised by Dr Bas Surewaard

Project: Examining the role of Zinc metalloproteinases in pneumococcal pneumonia

About Me: Simran is supported by the Paul Kubes Graduate Scholarship. Outside of her graduate work, she likes to run and play soccer on the Snyder Strikers!

PhD Student 2025-

Co-supervised by Dr Christina Thornton

Project: Characterizing the therapeutic potential of the healthy human lung microbiome in bronchiectasis

About Me: Ariel earned her MSc in 2023 investigating colonic mucus and inflammatory responses before working in finance for the International Microbiome Centre. Her PhD work is supported by the Distinguished Doctoral Recruitment Scholarship and the CIHR CGRS-D. In her spare time, she likes to bake, volunteer for the Canadian Cancer Society, and spend time with her two dogs.

PhD Student 2025-

Project: Developing a bone marrow on a chip platform to study immune responses in sepsis

About Me: Zahra earned her MSc in Hematology and Blood Banking before receiving the Beverly Phillips Rising Star Award to pursue her PhD in Biomedical Engineering. She has contributed to several peer-reviewed publications, including serving as the corresponding author for one published in BMC Infectious Diseases focusing on bloodstream infections in cancer patients. She loves to run and spend time with animals, particularly cats!

Braedon McDonald MD PhD

Dept. of Critical Care Medicine, University of Calgary

Microbiome, Immunology, and Critical Illness

Lab Website

Christina Thornton MD PhD

Dept. of Medicine, University of Calgary

Lung Microbiome, CF, and Non-CF Bronchiectasis

Lab Website

Bas Surewaard PhD

Dept. of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases (MIID), University of Calgary

Microbiology and Immunology

Lab Website

Bryan Yipp MD MSc

Dept. of Critical Care Medicine, University of Calgary

Lung Immunology

Lab Website

Roger D. Kamm PhD

Dept. Mech and Biological Engineering, MIT

Tissue Engineering

Lab Website

COVID-19 Lung Imaging Collaborative and BSL3 Team

Drs Paul Kubes, Chris Mody, Jennifer Corcoran, Craig Jenne, Margaret Kelly, Nathan Peters and Braedon McDonald

News Article 

Jeff Biernaskie PhD

Dept. University of Calgary

Tissue Repair and Bioinformatics

Lab Website

Lung Injury Collaboration

Drs Margaret Kelly, Matthias Amrein, David Proud, University of Calgary

Airway Inflammation Research Group

COVID-19 Clinical Trials Group

Dept Medicine, Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Calgary

Drs Deepa Suryanarayan, Davinder Sidhu, Alejandra Ugarte-Torres, 

Study Nurses: Traci Robinson and Suzanne Westcott