Tommy Michel Alain

I was appointed to the position of Scientist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute (CHEO RI) and Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology (BMI) at the University of Ottawa in January 2014. My training is in virology, innate immune responses, cell biology, and oncology. I received my B.Sc. (2000) in Biochemistry from Université Laval and my Ph.D.

(2007) in Medical Science from the University of Calgary. During my Ph.D., I studied the virology and the oncolytic potencies of reovirus, vesicular stomatitis virus, herpes simplex virus and myxoma virus against brain cancers. From 2007 to 2013, I pursued post-doctoral work at McGill University studying mRNA translational control and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway, linking both viral immunity and oncology research.

My current research in Ottawa focuses on exploiting translation initiation factors and downstream effectors of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) to modulate innate immune responses to oncolytic viruses, and to augment the anti-proliferative efficacies of cancer therapeutics.