Carolina Ilkow

Dr. Ilkow's research experience has been shaped by her graduate work at the University of Alberta under the supervision of Dr. Tom Hobman, where she identified novel interactions of pathogenic RNA viruses with their host cells. In order to expand her research experience repertoire, as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. John Bell laboratory at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute Dr. Ilkow's research focused shifted to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how viruses can be used as targeted bio-weapons to treat cancer. These naturally occurring or engineer cancer-fighting viruses are known as oncolytic viruses. Using tumour samples derived from patients with cancer and models of pancreatic and ovarian cancers, Dr. Ilkow demonstrated for the first time that responses of cancer cells to oncolytic virus infection are not exclusively determined by their intrinsic characteristics, but are also controlled by signals derived from the tumour microenvironment. These recent discoveries were recently published in Nature Medicine, and led Dr. Ilkow to win the 2015 Worton Researcher in Training Award. Dr. Ilkow is also firmly committed to the education of new scientists in the areas of virology, tumor biology, and biotherapeutics. Based on her student’s recommendation, Dr. Ilkow was awarded as the 2014 University of Ottawa CO-OP employer of the year.