Dr. T. R. Patel

Team

Laboratory Members

Principal Investigator

Dr. Trushar R. Patel

Dr. Trushar R. Patel

Professor & Principal Investigator

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Dr. Patel is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in RNA and Protein Biophysics at the University of Lethbridge. His research focuses on understanding the interactions between viral nucleic acids and host proteins, as well as investigating the structural and functional characteristics of non-coding RNAs. His interdisciplinary approach combines biophysics, structural biology, and molecular biology to uncover mechanisms underlying viral infections and nucleic acid–protein interactions.

Position:

Canada Research Chair in RNA and Protein Biophysics

Research Interests:

Viral nucleic acids, non-coding RNAs, nucleic acid-protein interactions

Research Associates

Higor Pereira

Research Associate

Research Associate

May 2025 - Present

Postdoctoral Researchers

Gunjan Vasudeva

Postdoctoral Researcher

Awards: RNA Innovation NSERC CREATE Fellowship (2023 – 2025), Alberta Innovates Postdoctoral Fellowship (2025-2027)

Sep 2022 - Present

Graduate Students

Carmen Agenbacht (MSc)

Graduate Student

Jan 2025 - Present

Michael Veltri (MSc, co-supervisor with Dr. Wade Abbott)

Graduate Student

Sep 2024 - Present

Naomi Hannah Nobes (MSc, co-supervisor with Dr. Wade Abbott)

Graduate Student

Sep 2024 - Present

Kelly Liland (Supervisor, MSc)

Graduate Student

Sep 2024 - Present

Aysha Demeler (Supervisor, MSc)

Graduate Student

Sep 2023 - Present

Anna Shearer (MSc, co-supervisor with Dr. Wade Abbott)

Graduate Student

Sep 2023 - Present

Michael D'Souza (Supervisor, PhD)

Graduate Student

Jan 2023 - Present

Liam Kerr (Supervisor, MSc)

Graduate Student

Sep 2023 - Present

Kenning Tran (co-supervisor with Dr. Nariman Shahhosseini)

Graduate Student

May 2023 - Present

Scott Tersteeg (Supervisor, PhD)

Graduate Student

Jan 2022 - Present

Jessica Manalasay (PhD candidate, co-supervisor with Dr. Nariman Shahhosseini)

Graduate Student

Sep 2022 - Present

Mitchell Geeraert (Supervisor, MSc)

Graduate Student

Sep 2021 - Present

Dong Ju Kim (Supervisor, MSc)

Graduate Student

Jan 2020 - Present

Simmone D'souza (co-supervisor with Dr. Carla Coffin)

Graduate Student, UofCalgary

Sep 2019 - Present

Jeff Tingley (co-supervisor with Dr. Wade Abbott)

Graduate Student

Sep 2019 - Present

Daniella Gemmill (Supervisor, PhD)

Graduate Student

Sep 2018 - Present

Alumni

Jenna Sullivan (Supervisor, MSc)

Sep 2022 – May 2025

Dong Ju Kim (Supervisor, MSc)

Graduate Student, ULethbridge

Jan 2020 – Withdrawn

Gerardo Balderas Figueroa (Supervisor, MSc)

Graduate Student, UofCalgary

Jan 2021 - Dec 2023

Curtis Claassen (Supervisor, Msc, withdrew)

May 2023 – Dec 2023

Jessica Semmelrock (co-supervisor with Dr. Hans-Joachim Wieden)

Aug 2021 – Jul 2023

Tyler Mrozowich (Supervisor, PhD)

Postdoctoral fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA

Jan 2018 – Sep 2023

Luc Roberts (co-supervisor with Dr. Hans-Joachim Wieden)

Blue Sky Analytics and AUC Solutions Canada LLP

Aug 2021 – May 2023

Mehar Gayatri Namala (co-supervisor with Dr. Ute Kothe)

Scientist, Precision NanoSystems Inc

Aug 2021 – Jan 2023

Kristi Turton (co-supervisor with Dr. HJ Wieden)

Research Associate I-Synthetic Biology, Northern RNA, Canada

Aug 2021 – Jan 2023

Sydnee Calhoun (co-supervisor with Dr. HJ Wieden)

Laboratory Technician, UofCalgary

Aug 2021 – Dec 2022

Taylor Sheahan (co-supervisor with Dr. HJ Wieden)

Process Development Scientist, BIOVECTRA, Canada

Aug 2021 – Aug 2022

Marissa King (co-supervisor with Dr. Wade Abbott)

Research Technician, Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, Canada

May 2020 – Sep 2022

Michael D'souza (Supervisor, MSc)

Graduate Student, ULethbridge and Sargent, King's Own Calgary Regiment, Canada

Sep 2019 – Dec 2021

Corey Nelson (supervisor, MSc)

MD Student, UofCalgary

May 2019 – Apr 2021

Yubo Cheng (co-supervisor with Dr. Athan Zovoilios)

Sep 2017 – Aug 2021

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