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

Emeritus Scientist, 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