Lab Members

  • The atmosphere in the laboratory can be likened to a "mini UN" which is represented by members from most of the continents.
  • There is a cordial relationship between members and supervisor and this provides a congenial environment to conduct ground-breaking research in our respective areas.
  • Members of the lab work on a broad spectrum research area: polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), Ovarian cancer (OVCA), Artificial intelligence, COVID-19, Diagnostics, Epigenetics, chemoresistance, Immunology, Extracellular vesicles, Translational research, Energy metabolism, Natural food compounds and Nanotechnology.
Lab members

Team Leader

Benjamin Tsang

Benjamin Tsang

Senior Scientist Emeritus, Inflammation and Chronic Disease

Current Members

Dr. Meshach Asare-Werehene

Dr. Meshach Asare-Werehene

Position: Cancer Program Lead / Part-Time Professor
Nationality: Ghana  
Email: masare@toh.ca/masarewe@uottawa.ca  
Research Areas: Artificial Intelligence, Nanophotonics, OVCA, Chemoresistance, Immunotherapy, Immunology, Extracellular vesicles, Nanomedicine, COVID-19.
Clinical Interests: Gynaecological Cancers, Haematology, Pathology, Transfusion Medicine, Clinical Diagnostics
Awards and Honours: 1. Taggart Parkes Fellowship 2. Mitacs Award. 3. Ovarian Cancer Canada (OCC).

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Dr. Fereshteh Esfandiarinezhad

Position: Mitacs Fellow 
Nationality: Iran
Email: fesfandiarinezhad@ohri.ca
Research Areas: PCOS, stem cells, infertility, extracellular vesicles
Awards and Honours: Mitacs Fellowship

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Dr. Kazuhiro Okamoto

Position: Post-Doctoral Fellow
Nationality: Japan
Email: kokamoto@ohri.ca
Research Areas: Oncology, pathology, Epigenetics, extracellular vesicles
Clinical Interests: Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oncology, 
Awards and Honours:  Overseas Study Grant

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Yanjun Liu

Position: PhD 
Nationality: China
Email: yanliu@ohri.ca
Research Areas and interests: ovarian cancer, chemoresistance, immune cell dysfunction, immunotherapy 
Honours: Chinese Government Scholarship

Emma Gerber

Emma Gerber

Position: Masters Student
Nationality: Canada
Email: egerber@ohri.ca
Research Areas and interests: Women's reproductive physiology, Oncology, Extracellular vesicles, Immunology, Diagnostics, Artificial Intelligence 
Awards and Honours: uOttawa Faculty of Medicine Admissions Scholarship

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Bushra Manzoor

Position: Masters Student
Nationality: Pakistan
Email: hmanzoor@ohri.ca
Research Areas and Interests: Oncology, Epigenetics, Immunology, Extracellular vesicles, DNA methylation, Diagnostics

Name: Dr. Reza Salehi
Position: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) program Lead
Nationality: Canada
Email: rsalehikarashk@ohri.ca  
Research Areas: PCOS, Extracellular vesicles, Immunology, miRNAs 
Awards and Honours: Lalor Foundation Fellowship, Mitacs Acceleration Industrial Award
Now at: Health Canada, Canada

Name: Dr. Toru Hasegawa
Position: Visiting Researcher (Postdoctoral fellow)
Nationality: Japan
Email: thasegawa@toh.ca
Research Areas: PCOS, Immunology
Clinical Interests: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Awards and Honours:  Overseas Study Grant
Now at: Okayama University Hospital

Name: Dr. Chae-Young Han
Position: PhD 
Nationality: South Korea
Email: chan@ohri.ca   
Research Areas: OVCA, Chemoresistance, Energy Metabolism, Apoptotic Signaling
Awards and Honours: University of Ottawa - Faculty of Medicine Admission Scholarship
Now at: MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Tx, USA

Name: Dr. Yoko Urata, MD, PhD
Position: Visiting Researcher (Postdoctoral fellow)
Nationality: Japan
Email:yurata@ohri.ca
Research Areas: PCOS, Immunology
Clinical Interests: Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Awards and Honours: Kanzawa Medical Research Foundation (Overseas Study Grant)

Name: Dr. Mohammed Reza Abedini, Pharm.D., PhD
Position: Visiting Scientist, Associate Professor
Nationality: Iran
Email:mabedini@ohri.ca/mohrabe@yahoo.com
Previous Research Areas: OVCA, Chemoresistance, Cell Signaling, Mitochondria Dynamics

Name: Dr. Patrícia Lima, PhD
Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Nationality: Brazil
Email:plima@ohri.ca
Previous Research Areas: PCOS, Immunology, Pregnancy
Awards and Honours: QTNPR scholarship (CIHR-Quebec Training Network in Perinatal Research, 2014 - 2016)
Now at: Adjunct Professor at Queen's University, Kingston - Canada

Name: Dr. Wei-Ting Lee, MSc, PhD 
Position: PhD Candidate (Exchange Student)
Nationality: Taiwan
Email: weilee@ohri.ca/wesker1206@gmail.com
Previous Research Areas: OVCA, Chemoresistance, Nanomedicine
Awards and Honours: Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (Dragon Gate Research Scholarship)

Name: Dr. Jung Jin Lim, PhD, DVM
Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Nationality: Republic of Korea
Email: limjj7657@gmail.com
Previous Research Areas: PCOS, Androgen Receptor Signaling
Awards and Honours: CHA Gangnam Medical Centre & NRF Postdoctoral Fellowship

Name: Dr. Adriana Carbonel, PhD
Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Nationality: Brazil
Email: acarbonel@ohri.ca
Previous Research Areas: PCOS, Natural Food Compounds, Therapeutics
Awards and Honours: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo Postdoctoral Fellowship

Name: Dr. Meiying Zhang, MD, PhD
Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Nationality: China
Email: mezhang@ohri.ca
Previous Research Areas: OVCA, Chemoresistance, Immunology, Extracellular vesicles

Name: Dr. Hideaki Tsuyoshi, MD, PhD
Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Nationality: Japan
Email: htsuyoshi@ohri.ca
Previous Research Areas: OVCA, Chemoresistance, Mitochondria Dynamics, Calcium Signaling, Natural Food Compounds
Awards and Honours: University of Fukui - Kanazawa Medical Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship

Name: Hannah Mazier, BSc
Position: MSc Candidate
Nationality: Canada
Email: hmazier@ohri.ca
Research Areas: PCOS, Mitochondria Dynamics.
Awards and Honours: CIHR-REDIH Scholarship

Name: Saeed Mohammed Alzahrani, MSc
Position: PhD Candidate 
Nationality: Saudi Arabia

Email: saeed.m.ca7@hotmail.com/salza087@uottawa.ca 
Research Areas: PCOS, Natural Food Compounds, Hepatic Metabolism, Therapeutics
Awards and Honours: Al-Baha University via The Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau in Canada