Post Doctoral Fellows

Dr. Vijayan is a molecular biologist with a Ph.D. in Stem Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering. He is a leading expert in CRISPR Cas9-mediated knock-in and knock-out generation. His expertise in this field was further honed during a prestigious iPSC generation workshop at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University, Japan. Here, he learned patient grade iPSC generation from peripheral blood monocytes in collaboration with Dr. Shinya Yamanaka’s lab. His Ph.D. work focused on studying the early developmental process of endoderm formation in mouse embryos.

Currently, Dr. Vijayan works as a Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) with expertise in molecular biology and vaccine development and has been a vital member of our research team at Dalhousie University since March 2023. Dr. Vijayan is a core component of the AVENGER program that will establish a national RNA vaccine platform to rapidly develop and manufacture next-generation vaccines for everything from viruses to superbug bacteria in less than 100 days. His research focuses on enhancing vaccine immunogenicity and safety profiles, which are critical considerations for older adults.

Dr. Preethi Gopalakrishnan Nair, Ph.D

Dr. Nair is a Linnea Veinotte Scholar under BHCRI—CRTP postdoctoral traineeship and has her PhD in biotechnology from the Regional Cancer Centre, University of Kerala, India. Her PhD thesis emphasis was on biomaterials for therapeutic applications. She was awarded a placement at the University of Glasgow, UK, during her PhD programme. She has seven first-author publications and several co-author publications in reputed journals.

Dr. Nair has worked at Dalhousie University since February 2023, creating expertise in nanotechnology and LNP vaccine testing. She plays a pivotal role in the AVENGER vaccine project, leveraging her expertise as a nanotechnologist and animal care expert. Her work is instrumental in advancing vaccine development, particularly through the application of nanotechnology, which enhances the efficacy and delivery of vaccines.

Graduate Students

Vishnupriyan Kumar

PhD Student

Vishnupriyan Kumar is a PhD candidate in the Department of Pathology at Dalhousie University, specializing in cancer immunotherapy, T cell metabolism, and oncolytic virotherapy. His work focuses on CD8+ T cell immunity for immunotherapies, understanding the metabolic and functional mechanisms. He also works on employing genomic approaches to identify potential neoepitope candidates for cancer immunotherapy. His previous experience includes research on antibody engineering and tumor immunology.

Teresa McMillen

PhD Student

Teresa has a BSc. in Chemistry and Biology from Dalhousie University. After completing her undergraduate degree, Teresa spent two years training as an analytical chemist, developing a strong working knowledge of LC-MS/MS and metabolomics techniques. Her research in the Gujar Lab focuses on identifying metabolic dysregulation that occurs in aging B cells.

Anurag Banerjee

PhD Student

Anurag has joined the Gujar Laboratory as a graduate student in September 2023. Anurag was trained at the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research, India during his undergraduate studies, where he was introduced to neurovirology and cancer research. Throughout his undergraduate degree, he worked on gynaecological cancers, mainly Ovarian Cancer. During his undergraduate thesis, he studied the oncolytic effects of the Murine Hepatitis Virus (MHV), which was typically used as a virus-induced Multiple Sclerosis model in mice. His enthusiasm to Oncolytic Virus and OV associated immunotherapies have drawn him to the Gujar Laboratory as a graduate student. Currently his graduate research focuses on effective Immunotherapies to Mantle Cell Lymphoma involving Oncolytic Reoviruses and how they can be more personalized to the Geriatric Population in the pathological landscape.