Meet the Team
Irah King
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Irah is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at McGill University. He holds a Canada Research Chair in Barrier Immunity from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and his laboratory is located within the Meakins-Christie Laboratories at the McGill University Health Centre – Research Institute (MUHC-RI).
Irah grew up in rural Pennsylvania and only discovered an interest in fundamental research while completing a Master’s degree in Physical Therapy at the University of Pittsburgh. At that point, he pursued a PhD at the University of Rochester studying dendritic cell differentiation and function in the context of neuroimmunological disease under the mentorship of Dr. Benjamin Segal. Following his doctoral studies, Irah broadened his immunology training by completing a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Markus Mohrs at the Trudeau Institute investigating mechanisms of protective immunity against intestinal helminth infection.
Beginning in 2012, Irah started his research program at McGill University pursuing questions related to innate and adaptive mechanisms of immunity and inflammation at barrier surfaces including the gut, lung and skin. For his initial studies, he was awarded the 2016 Canadian Society for Immunology New Investigator Award. He recently expanded his program to discover how the gut microbiota has local and systemic effects on the immune system in the setting of bacterial and parasitic infections. To promote microbiome research at his institution, he established the McGill Centre for Microbiome Research in 2020 and is the Director of the Gnotobiotic Animal Research Platform at the MUHC-RI. To support his program, Irah has received funds from federal and international funding agencies including the Canadian Institute of Health Research, the National Institutes of Health and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. He currently serves as the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity, a Faculty-wide effort to raise funds dedicated to translational research for the prevention, cure and elimination of major infectious and immune threats. Irah was elected as an Society for Mucosal Immunology Board Member in 2022.
GHISLAINE FONTES
LAB MANAGER
Ghislaine is a Research Associate and Founding Member of the King Lab. Originally from the south of France, she completed her PhD degree in Cellular and Molecular Endocrinology at the University of Montpellier in France. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Montreal Diabetes Research Center – CR-CHUM studying the role of fatty acids in the regulation of beta-cell function, she joined the King Lab in 2012, where she participates in the different research projects of the lab, in addition to contributing to the good efficiency and functionality of the lab. When she’s not taking care of students and thinking of science, you will probably find her relaxing while pedalling under the sun, eating chocolate, or just tending her plants and listening to music…
Besides helping the different students in their own research, she’s currently interested in defining the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which CD109 regulates keratinocytes survival and immune function to maintain skin homeostasis.
Susan Westfall
POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW
Susan is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the King lab studying the immunological response to an intestinal helminth during its early, tissue invasive phase. As a Canadian native, she didn't venture too far to complete all her degrees at McGill University: Bachelor's in Biochemistry, Master's in Neuroscience and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering. During her diverse training experience, including a 9 month research project at Banaras Hindu University in India, she established a keen interest in the gut microbiota and how it interfaces the outside and inside worlds. Capitalizing on all this knowledge, she completed her first postdoctoral fellowship at Mount Sinai in New York investigating novel probiotic and prebiotic supplements and how they can manage stress-induced anxiety and depression. Realizing the untapped magic of the intestinal mucosal barrier in regulating diverse physiological processes, she specialized in the immunological mechanisms of the gut microbiota, which brought her to her current position studying mucosal immunology in response to an enteric helminth infection.
Susan was recently awarded a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship to support her studies in the King lab.
BAvanitha Thurairajah
PhD STUDENT
Bava was born in Montreal and has lived here most of her life. She completed a Bachelors degree at McGill in the Interdepartmental Honours Immunology program.
Her research topic is early-life intestinal immune development. Specifically, she is investigating how the gut microbiota regulates fetal-derived IL-17 producing γδ T cells and their impact on colonic health. The main aims of the project are to determine what part of the microbiota activates this response and what are the functional consequences of this early-life response.
Bava is a recipient of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Doctoral Award.
CLARA MACMAHON
PhD STUDENT
Clara grew up in France and came to McGill in 2017 to start her undergraduate degree in Microbiology and Immunology, which led to her joining the lab for her graduate studies. Outside the lab, she stays active through dancing, rock climbing, running, or anything that gets her moving! She’s also interested in art and photography in her spare time.
Her project focuses on the role of dietary cholesterol processing in mucosal immunity to microbial antigens in a humanized mouse model of cholesterol metabolism. She is also interested in better understanding the potential impact of the gut microbiome to mitigate cholesterol-related diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Cardiovascular disease, through a collaboration with the Courtois Cardiovascular Signature program.
Clara is a Fonds de Recherche du Québec Doctoral Award winner.
Katie Olsen
MSc STUDENT
Katie was born and raised in Alberta. She completed her Bachelors degree in Microbiology and Immunology at McGill, and is continuing her Honours work as a Masters student. Alongside science, Katie is passionate about art and makes a lot of it in her spare time.
Her current project focuses on how commensal fungi shape intestinal immunity and the epithelium during helminth infection.
Eugene Lee
HONOURS STUDENT
Andrei received a BHSc in Biomedical Discovery & Commercialization from McMaster University. He is now a graduate student co-supervised by Dr. King and Dr. Maurice. Andrei's project involves exploring the relationship between helminth infections, the gut microbiome, and stunting in early life. Outside the lab, Andrei enjoys cooking, coffee, readings, and hiking.
Eugene came to Toronto from Korea when he was 11. He is a fourth year undergraduate student at the King Lab currently working on a summer project investigating the role of CD109 in keratinocyte cell death and immune homeostasis in the skin. Eugene plans to continue in the King Lab as an Honours student in Fall 2023, where he will study mechanisms of barrier integrity during infection and inflammation.
Born and raised in Montreal, Giordano is a McGill undergraduate student completing his Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and Immunology. Upon finishing a summer research internship in Germany, Giordano joined the King Lab in the Fall as an Honours student. He is currently studying the role of IFNg in conferring immunity during helminth infection. Beyond the lab, Giordano enjoys concerts, Formula 1, and poutine.
ANDREI BOGZA
MSc STUDENT
GIORDANO MANDATO
HONOURS STUDENT