NEWS
April 2024:
Monica Goncalves, Alicia Plourde, Madison Turner, Brad Davis, and Quinn Currie receive the Braithwaite Conference Travel Grant to attend the 72nd ASMS Conference in Anaheim, California. Congrats!
April 2024:
Siavash starts a five-year term as an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
March 2024:
Madison Turner is placed 1st in the College of Biological Science’s 3-Minute Thesis Heat, where her communication skills were on full display. Madison will represent our College at the university-level competition in April. Go get them!!!
Jan 2024:
Our group is awarded a five-year Project Grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) entitled “Developing allosteric inhibitors of mitochondrial ClpP protease for acute myeloid leukemia”. This is a huge multidisciplinary project involving our group together with the groups of Dr. Aaron Schimmer (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre), Prof. Natalie Zeytuni (McGill - Cell Biology and Anatomy), and Dr. Rima Al-awar (Ontario Institute for Cancer Research).
Grateful to the reviewers and for these critical, timely, and generous investments from the CIHR.
Dec 2023:
Highlights from the 2023 Vahidi Lab Christmas Party, notably featuring our lab alumnus Dima (top right), who brought an actual pot to the potluck!
Dec 2023:
Siavash gets a travel award from the CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity (III) to attend the 2024 New Investigator Forum. Many thanks to the CIHR for their generous support of our group.
Dec 2023:
Monica passed her PhD Qualifying Exam with flying colours! Congratulations!
Monica is working on a big-time paper based on her work. Keep an eye out!
Monica pictured with the flowers that Brad and Madison got for her successful QE. She also got a big bag of chocolate (not pictured)!
And a bit later, a second box of chocolate and a card from her protégé and soon-to-be graduate student, Quinn Currie!
Monica later enjoyed a cold beverage at the Brass Taps! Well deserved!
Dec 2023:
Brad Davis’ work on developing ESI-friendly buffers for neutral pH native mass spec measurement is out in Analytical Chemistry! His paper was selected as Editor’s Choice (top 2% of all papers accepted) and he worked closely with a very talented illustrator to design the cover art. U of G news release. Way to go Brad!
Brad tinkering with a nanoelectrospray ionization tip!
Nov 2023:
Siavash and Madison attend the 35th Lake Louise Tandem MS Workshop to present the group’s research.
Madison accepts her travel award, courtesy of Waters Corp, from Prof. Jeffrey Smith (Carleton University), Vice President, Canadian Society for Mass Spectrometry.
Siavash with one of his favourite mass spectrometrists, Prof. Evan R. Williams (University of California, Berkeley).
Hoar frost on a pine tree branch in Lake Louise.
Atop Sulphur Mountain.
2023 Lake Louise Tandem MS Workshop. Can you spot Madison and Siavash?
Nov 2023:
Mass spec clean-up day! This is what we mean by hands-on training.
Alicia and Kent servicing the scroll pump!
Brad and Madison cleaning up the source block and the StepWave.
Oct 2023:
Halloween! Quinn Currie “going all in” to win the MCB’s pumpkin carving contest.
Aug 2023:
Madison Turner wins the Arthur Richmond Memorial Scholarships for her academic excellence. Congratulations!
Aug 2023:
Brad’s PhD qualifying exam (QE) was a resounding success!
Brad hit it out of the ballpark for his QE! We knew he wasn't messing around when he traded his signature backwards hat for a hair comb-over!
Current (Madison - right) and future (Kent - left) Nirvana-loving-graduate students at Brad’s QE celebration. Kent stole the show, revealing his past life as an (alleged) owner of a now-closed YouTube channel focused on darting!
June 2023:
Vahidi Lab group photo. (L-R): Algirdas, Siavash, Madison, Kent, Alicia, Quinn, Brad, Jackie, Monica, and Samantha.
Photographs were graciously provided by Sarah Milinkovich from the Whitfield/Khursigara Lab, captured through the lens of a truly vintage, film-based camera.
June 2023:
Our group travelled to Houston, TX, USA to attend the 61st American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) conference where we presented four posters.
Brad, sporting his signature backwards ball cap, is discussing his latest results on novel ESI-friendly buffers.
Monica listening intently to a poster viewer’s question about her work on mitochondrial ClpP protease.
Alicia discussing her latest HDX data on the role of dynamics in substrate pupylation!
Madison had quite the crowd around her poster on proteasome dynamics!
Later, Madison accepted her travel award during a ceremony from ASMS President Julia Laskin.
Vahidi Lab dinner at ASMS, Houston. (L-R) Siavash, Madison, Brad, Algirdas, Monica, and Alicia.
Siavash at the Konermann Lab (where he earned his PhD) alumni lunch event at ASMS. (L-R) Yousef Haider (UWO), Prof. Derek Wilson (York U), Dr. Haidy Metwally (Queen’s U), Siavash, Dr. Victor Yin (Utrecht U), Evelyn MacKay-Barr (UWO), Pablo Scrosati (UWO), Prof. Lars Konermann (UWO).
April 2023:
Siavash attended The Ubiquitin & Friends Symposium in Vienna, where he presented Madison’s most recent work on the proteasome system in mycobacteria. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with researchers working on protein degradation and form new collaborations.
Group picture with the symposium attendees. Can you spot Siavash?
(L-R) The Pallas-Athene-Fountain and Vienna City Hall
April 2023:
Farewell to Angelina Kim and Emily Gibbons, two exceptional undergraduate students whose scientific journey continues as Angelina pursues an MSc in Biochemistry at the University of Toronto, and Emily starts on an MSc in Genetics at McGill University. We wish them continued success in their future endeavours.
(L-R) Angelina, Emily, Siavash
April 2023:
Alicia Plourde is awarded an CIHR-CGS M scholarship for her research in our group. She was also offered (and declined) an Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS). Alicia also earned the Roche Molecular Biochemicals Award of Excellence for 2023. This award is given to the graduate student who produces and presents the best graduate seminar (i.e. Brown Bag) during the academic year.
March 2023:
Our group’s first publication is out in PNAS! A collaborative effort between our group and the Rubinstein group (SickKids). Congrats to all the authors, especially to the outstanding PhD students who led the project in our two labs: Yingke Liang (Rubinstein lab) and Alicia Plourde (Vahidi lab). Highlighted by UoGuelph News and SickKids.
March 2023:
Group dinner at Buon Gusto with biochemistry faculty candidate, Dr. Robert Harkness (U of T - Kay Lab).
(L-R) Monica, Alicia, Rui (U of Guelph - Chemistry), Rob, Algirdas, Siavash, Madison, Brad.
March 2023:
Madison passes her PhD qualifying exam with flying colours! Way to go Madison!
We also got word that Madison will receive an American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) Graduate Travel Award to attend Society’s annual conference in Houston, TX in June. Congrats!
Madison pictured trying not to make eye contact with one of the examiners!
Feb 2023:
Our group is awarded a one-year Bridge Grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) entitled “Development of boron-based inhibitors of the mitochondrial ClpXP protease to combat AML”. This is a collaborative project involving our group together with the group of Dr. Aaron Schimmer (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre) and Prof. Andrei Yudin (UofT Chemistry).
Grateful for these critical, timely, and generous investments from the CIHR into our group.
Jan 2023:
We welcome undergraduate researchers Kent Vosper, Jackie Ogata-Bean, and Quinn Currie to our group! Both students will be doing their Honours and their Co-Op projects in our group. For the summer, Jackie will be supported by a CBS Summer Research Assistantship and Kent will be supported by an NSERC USRA award. Congratulations!
Dec 2022:
Our Christmas/New Year group lunch at the Bread Bar.
(L-R) Brad, Dima, Algirdas, Siavash, Madison, Monica, and Alicia. Missing from the picture are our superstar undergraduate researchers Angelina, Emily, and Emma.
Vahidi Lab’s first graduate student, Dima Brozdnychenko, graduates with a Master of Science. Way to go, Dima! Congrats.
Dima is proudly displaying his MSc thesis!
Siavash and Dima!
Nov 2022:
Siavash gives the new investigator keynote at the 4th Annual Centre de recherche en biologie structurale symposium held at McGill University in Montreal, followed by an invited talk at the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology also at McGill University.
Top Left: (L-R) Rodrigo Reyes Lamothe (McGill - Biology); Maria Spies (University of Iowa); David Schriemer (University of Calgary), Alessandro Costa (Francis Crick Institute), Siavash, Jérôme Waldispühl (McGill University- Computer Science), Natalie Zeytuni (McGill - Anatomy and Cell Biology)
Top Right: Strathcona Building of McGill University in Montreal built in 1909.
Bottom Left: The sky close to sunset in Montreal, QC.
Bottom right: (L-R) Rodrigo Reyes Lamothe (McGill - Biology); Maria Spies (University of Iowa); Martin Schmeing (McGill - Biochemistry), Christopher Thibodeaux (McGill - Chemistry), Siavash, Natalie Zeytuni (McGill - Anatomy and Cell Biology), Alessandro Costa (Francis Crick Institute)
Nov 2022:
Impressions from the 31st Annual Buffalo-Hamilton-Toronto Symposium held at McMaster University, where Siavash gave a new Principal Investigator talk. We met old friends and made new friends.
(L-R): Siavash, Monica, Brad, Algirdas, and Madison.
Oct 2022:
New lab photo taken. (L-R): Algirdas, Siavash, Madison, Emily, Angelina, Emma, Dima, Alicia, Brad, Monica, and Samantha.
Sept 2022:
Emma Clapham joins the lab as undergraduate 4th year project student. Together with Angelina Kim and Emily Gibbons, we are going to have three MCB*4500 students this year!
Samantha Wheadon joins the lab as a President’s Scholar. This is awarded to highest ranked incoming undergraduate students with exceptional high school academic and leadership achievements.
Samantha and her mentor, Siavash, during the President’s Scholarships luncheon.
Welcome to the group, Emma and Samantha.
Aug 2022:
Angelina Kim and Emily Gibbons showcasing their posters at the CBS Undergraduate Student Poster Day.
Angelina’s poster.
Emily’s poster
July 2022:
Brad Davis is awarded a four-year CBS Graduate Tuition Scholarship. Congrats, Brad. Very well deserved!
Just got the word that Madison Turner’s NSERC PGD-D was upgraded to an NSERC CGS-D scholarship. Yay!
June 2022:
Siavash travelled to Halifax, NS to give an invited talk at CSI 2022 tied to his CIHR Bhagirath Singh Early Career Award in Infection and Immunity. Pictured here (looking at the wrong camera) with Dr. Charu Kaushic, Scientific Director, CIHR-Institute of Infection and Immunity.
June 2022:
Our group travelled to Minneapolis, MN, USA to attend the 60th American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) conference where we presented four posters.
We drove to Minneapolis by car (~3000 km round trip!). The crew aboard the Lake Express ferry over Lake Michigan. Left to right: Siavash, Algirdas, Alicia, Dima, Brad, Madison, Monica. Missing: Angelina and Emily.
…stopping for a quick meal at Flossmoor, IL.
Monica entertaining a few ideas about her 2022 ASMS poster
Dima explaining the dynamic properties of ClpP protease
Brad taking some questions while not wearing a ball cap
Alicia giving a tour of her ASMS poster
Later, Alicia accepted her travel award during a ceremony from ASMS President Susan Richardson
April 2022:
SCHOLARSHIPS and AWARDS:
Madison Turner is awarded an NSERC-PGS D scholarship for her doctoral research in our group. She was also offered (and declined) an Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS). Madison also earned the Roche Molecular Biochemicals Award of Excellence for 2022. This award is given to the graduate student who produces and presents the best graduate seminar (i.e. Brown Bag) during the academic year.
Alicia Plourde is awarded an Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) for her doctoral studies in our group (see below). Alicia just wrapped up her MCB*4500/4510 in our lab. For her efforts as an undergraduate student/researcher, she was awarded the GIBCO/BRL Microbiology Research Excellence Prize and the Analytical Biochemistry Scholarship.
Way to go!
NEW MEMBERS:
Alicia Plourde joins starts her direct-entry PhD in group. Alicia first started as a volunteer student and completed an NSERC-USRA and her MCB*4500 in our group.
Emily Gibbons joins our group as summer research assistantship.
Angelina Kim continues her research in our group sponsored by an NSERC-USRA scholarship.
Warm welcome to all of you!
MSC -> PHD TRANSFER:
Bradley Davis and Monica Goncalves are in the midst of transferring from the MSc program to the PhD program. I look forward to our continued collaboration and more great science!
September 2021:
Madison and Monica officially start in our group as graduate students.
Alicia wraps up her NSERC-sponsored USRA position and continues in our lab as a fourth-year MCB*4500 project student.
Kiyan wraps up his CBS-sponsored summer research assistantship and continues in our lab as a work-study student.
The installation of our Synapt G2Si QTOF mass spectrometry system from Waters is almost done. We are so excited that we can barely hold it together!
August 2021:
Alicia received an Undergraduate Student Travel Award from the American Society for Mass Spectrometry to attend the ASMS Conference in Philadelphia. The award consists of US$500 for conference travel expenses, a certificate, and free conference registration. Way to go, Alicia!
July 2021:
Madison Turner, who earned her MSc with our neighbour Prof. Merrill, will start her PhD in our group in September. She was just awarded a four-year CBS Graduate Tuition Scholarship. Congrats, Madison. Very well deserved!
June 2021:
Boxes are finally starting to arrive! Our new Synapt G2Si ion mobility QTOF mass spectrometer (of course, with HDX technology) will be installed soon. The capabilities of this instrument will take us to the next level in structural biology of biomolecular machines.
May 2021:
Monica joins the group as a Work-Study student and will focus on the mitochondrial ClpXP project. Monica is starting as a graduate student in our group in Sept! Welcome aboard.
After finishing his undergraduate (MCB*4500) research project in our group, Brad is staying on to work towards his MSc. Great decision and we look forward to many breakthroughs from Team Proteasome!
Jashan was Brad’s partner in crime on Team proteasome and is starting her PhD at UWO with Prof. Gary Shaw. Sad to see you go, but we are looking forward to hearing about your many successes.
May 2021:
Our group is awarded a five-year Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) entitled “Deciphering the mechanisms underlying the operational plasticity of AAA+ motors”. This grant comes with a Discovery Launch Supplement.
Grateful for support and funding from the NSERC. Highlighted by UoGuelph News.
April 2021:
Alicia is awarded a NSERC USRA to continue her research on the pupylation machinery in our group. Congrats!
Kiyan joins the lab and is awarded a CBS Summer Research assistantship to start working on the mitochondrial ClpP project. Welcome and congrats!
March 2021:
Our group is awarded a five-year Project Grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) entitled “Mechanisms of Allosteric Regulation of M. tuberculosis Proteasome Function”.
Siavash is awarded the Bhagirath Singh Early Career Prize in Infection and Immunity from the CIHR.
Grateful for these critical, timely, and generous investments from the CIHR into our group.
September 2020:
Our first group picture, socially distanced. Looking forward to working with an excellent group of young scientists. Welcome aboard everybody!
From left to right: Alicia, Siavash, Jashan, Brad, Dima, and Kira.
June 2020:
The Vahidi Lab is officially founded… in the middle of a global pandemic. What a time to be alive. Need to roll with the punches.
Lovely “lab-warming” gift from the Chair of the MCB Department.
