Laird Laboratory Personnel

Dr. Dale Laird (Professor and Canada Research Chair)
dale.laird@schulich.uwo.ca

Dr. Cindy (Qing) Shao (Research Associate)
cindy.shao@schulich.uwo.ca

Dr. Shao joined the laboratory as a Research Associate in 1998. She received her Ph.D. in China followed by a 4 year postdoctoral period in Japan. Her current scientific interests are molecular mechanisms of connexin mutants on human diseases and cancer. As a senior research scientist with excellent molecular and cell biology background, she not only takes the initiative in planning new and innovative experiments for her own projects, but also provides valuable insights as well as dedicated day-to-day supervision to the postdoctoral fellows, students and technicians in their research activities. 

Dr. Silvia Penuela (Postdoctoral Fellow)
silvia.penuela@schulich.uwo.ca

Silvia received her Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, U.S. and her B.Sc. at the University of Los Andes in Colombia. She is currently working on the characterization of pannexin channels, and their role in skin differentiation and malignant transformation.

Dr. Tao Huang (Postdoctoral Fellow)
tao.huang@schulich.uwo.ca

Tao received his Ph.D. in Japan. He joined the lab in 2011, and his research focuses on understanding the role of connexins in skin diseases.

Dr. John Kelly (Postdoctoral Fellow)
john.kelly@schulich.uwo.ca

John received his Ph.D. in Auditory Cell Biology from University College London, UK, in 2011. He is currently investigating the life-cycle of Cx30, as well as the aberrant functions of various Cx43 mutations in cells obtained from ODDD patients..

Michael Stewart (Ph. D. Student)
michael.stewart@schulich.uwo.ca

Mike completed his B.M.Sc. at the University of Western Ontario in Honours Physiology and Pharmacology in 2010. Mike previously did his 4980E thesis project under the supervision of Dr. Dale W. Laird and recently began as a direct-entry PhD student in the lab. He is currently investigating the role of connexins and pannexins in mammary gland differentiation and tumorigenesis.

Amy Berger (M. Sc. Student)
aberger5@uwo.ca

Amy completed her BMSc at the University of Western Ontario in 2011 with an Honour Spec. in Physiology and Pharmacology. She previously completed her 4980E thesis project under the supervision of Dale Laird and is currently completing her Masters Degree. Her project focuses on the characterization of particular Cx30 mutations linked to non-syndromic deafness and skin abnormalities including Clouston Syndrome and Vohwinkel Syndrome.

Wesley Lai (Internship student)
wlai43@gmail.com

Wesley completed his BMSc at the University of Western Ontario in Honours Physiology in 2012. He previously did his fourth year thesis project under Dr. Laird and will return as a summer internship student. He is currently investigating the interactions between pannexins and caspases and their role in apoptosis.

Shreya Podder (Scholars Elective Student)
spodder2@uwo.ca

Shreya is currently investigating Cx26 and Cx43 expression in human breast cancer cells, in addition to characterizing the Pannexn status of these cells.

Kevin Barr (Research Technician)
kevin.barr@schulich.uwo.ca

Since graduating from UWO with a B.Sc. in Zoology , Kevin's research work has been primarily in the areas of reproduction and development.  He is the manager for the various mouse models which are used by  the lab.

Jamie Simek, M.Sc. (Research Technician)
jamie.simek@schulich.uwo.ca

In 2005, Jamie completed his M. Sc. in Physiology and Pharmacology here at Western.  His responsibilities in the Laird lab include overseeing the operation of the confocal microscopy facility and training new microscope users.

Editorial Review Board Member at Journal of Solid Tumours
and Faculty at Langara Research BC Cancer Agency