Halifax RIOT

Chloe Cyr is a MSc student in the Physical Activity and Cancer (PAC) lab under the supervision of Dr. Melanie Keats at Dalhousie University. Her research works to tailor exercise oncology resources for advanced pancreatic cancer care. She is also a trainee of the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute's (BHCRI) Cancer Research Training Program (CRTP). 

Dr. Lauren Westhaver (she/her) is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Surgery at Dalhousie University, under the supervision of Dr. Adrienne Weeks and Dr. Jeremy Roy. She completed her PhD at Dalhousie University (2024). Dr. Westhaver is a trainee of the BHCRI Cancer Research Training Program. Dr. Westhaver's research is primarily focused on differentiating patient outcomes in glioblastoma using immunological profiling. 

Jordan Lukacs is a graduate student in the Johnston laboratory at Dalhousie University exploring the therapeutic efficacy of combining multiple immunotherapies (e.g., natural killer T cell immunotherapy, oncolytic viruses, immune checkpoint inhibitors) for the treatment of lung cancers. Jordan is also very passionate about the evolution of lung tumors and how they adapt to resist therapies or metastasize to neighbouring organs/tissues. Jordan is affiliated with the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Department of Pathology (Dr. Graham Dellaire's Lab), I3V Wave, and the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute's (BHCRI) Cancer Research Training Program (CRTP).

Bella Pagotto is a first year MSc student within the Physical Activity and Cancer (PAC) lab under the supervision of Dr. Melanie Kets at Dalhousie University. She is also a trainee in the BHCRI Cancer research training program. 

Maridith Brown is a first-year medical student at Dalhousie University. Her research under the supervision of Dr. Osama Loubani looks to evaluate the accuracy of AI for real time speech to speech translation in the medical setting, with applicability in a wide array of clinical settings. She is passionate about oncology, patient autonomy and knowledge translation. Before medical school Maridith worked as a Registered Nurse in the QEII Operating Rooms, working directly with oncology patients undergoing surgery. 

Kelly Zhang is a medical student at Dalhousie University. Prior to medical school she worked with CNS cancer patients. Kelly is super excited to be joining the RIOT team this year! 

Stefan Heinze is a PhD trained researcher currently enrolled at Dalhousie Medical School following a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship as an implementation scientist with Nova Scotia Health's Cancer Care Program. His interests in oncology involve how exercise oncology can play a role within supportive care for people living with and beyond cancer. 

After graduating with a BSc from St. FX in 2023, Erin Noftall moved to Halifax to work as a lab assistant in the Giacomantonio Immuno-Oncology lab. Last August she started medical school at Dalhousie. 

Kathleen Attwood, PhD, is a Research Associate in the Department of Surgery at Dalhousie University in the laboratory of Dr. Adrienne Weeks and Dr. Jeremy Roy. Dr. Attwood completed her PhD in Biochemistry at Dalhousie University under the supervision of Dr. Graham Dellaire. Her current research is focused on altering stress pathway dynamics as a therapeutic strategy for glioblastoma in addition to identifying and characterizing small RNA biomarkers isolated from glioblastoma patient plasma.