Antoine Dufour, PhD

Assistant Professor, University of Calgary

Department of Physiology & Pharmacology

Dr. Antoine Dufour has joined the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology as an Assistant Professor.  Dr. Dufour obtained his BA (Hons.) in Chemistry from the State University of New York at Oswego, his MSc and PhD in Chemical Biology from the Stony Brook University (2010).  He completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biochemistry at the University of British Columbia in 2017 under the supervision of Dr. Chris Overall.  Antoine’s research is focused on the role of proteases in immunity and novel drug target identification in inflammatory musculoskeletal diseases, with a particular interest in quantitative mass spectrometry and systems biology. He owns two patents for the inhibitory methods of protease-mediated cell migration. His research program aims to understand the key mechanisms of inflammatory and immune responses in musculoskeletal diseases.  Antoine has already published >70 journal papers, 4 book chapters and has an outstanding track record of academic awards. Dr. Dufour’s lab and office space is located at the Centre for Mobility and Joint Health on the third floor of the HRIC building. Dr. Dufour was named as one of Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2020, was awarded the 2021 Young Investigator Award from the Canadian Society for Mass Spectrometry and the Groll Calpain award in 2022. 

Mohamed Ziad Dabaja 

Postdoctoral Associate

I have a scientific background in metabolomics, lipidomics and proteomics studies. I have been working my whole academic life to better understand metabolism alteration, focusing on creating prognostic and biomarker tools for metabolic diseases. I obtained my Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from the Federal University of Alfenas in Brazil with one complimentary year at Buffalo State College in Buffalo, New York-USA (2016). I obtained my MSc (2018) and Ph.D. (2023) in Medical Pathophysiology from the State University of Campinas. Currently, I hold a position as a postdoctoral associate at the University of Calgary under the supervision of Dr. Dufour, working with proteolytic post-translational modifications and metabolomics data analysis.

Afshin Derakhshani

Graduate PhD student 

I obtained my M.Sc. in Medical Immunology from the Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran. After graduation in 2019, I joined as a junior research assistant at Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. I had this chance to work there for about two years to learn, improve my academic resume, and mentor the master students, which gave me a deep insight for my future career while working on basic immunology, systems biology, and cancer. Then, I was encouraged to move to I.R.C.C.S. Cancer Institute "John Paul II" of Bari, Italy as a research assistant to characterize the immune landscape in peripheral blood of Pancreatic Cancer patients using single-cell RNA sequencing and flow cytometry. Currently, I am a Ph.D. student in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology under the supervision of Dr. Dufour, and I will apply multi-algorithm machine learning approaches, systems biology, and wet-lab techniques to determine biomarkers and novel aspects of macrophages in Cancer and Autoimmune Diseases.

Anjali Kapilan  

Graduate PhD Student (Co-supervised with Dr. Pina Colarusso)

Anjali obtained her Bachelor of Science (Hons) Degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, with minors in religious studies and bioethics, at Dalhousie University. Her honors research project focused on how the ablation of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter exacerbated calpain activity in mice subjected to an experimental model of multiple sclerosis. She has also conducted research with both Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Her Masters project will focus on discovering the role mitochondrial amidoxime reducing component 1 (MTARC1) plays on the body, through the analysis of proteomics and imaging of mitochondrial - ER contact sites. Through her research, she is hopeful to discover the role of this protein, and then move on to discovering the similarities and differences between MTARC1 and mitochondrial amidoxime reducing component 2 (MTARC2). She is an avid community volunteer and enjoys skiing and playing the fiddle in her free time.

Mitchell Bulluss 

Graduate MSc Student

I completed my bachelor’s degree and honours thesis in biomedical science at Murdoch University in association with the Western Australian Centre for Thrombosis and Haemostasis (WACTH). My research involved aspects of haemotology, molecular biology and assay development in an investigation of dysfunctional haemostatic mechanisms in autoimmune disease. I am currently pursuing my master’s degree with the Dufour lab and developing skills in cell biology, proteomics, and metabolomics. My current primary research project is investigating the roles of calpain-1 and -2 proteases in HCT116 colon cancer cells. I will identify novel substrates, and cellular localization of biochemical interactions within the cell to elude a new understanding of how calpain-1 and -2 function in colon cancer.

Sonali Bhardwaj

Graduate MSc Student 

Sonali completed her Bachelor of Science in Microbiology with minor in agricultural sciences, at Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India. Her bachelor’s project focused on isolation and characterization of cellulase producing bacteria to produce bioethanol from rice straw. She is currently a master’s student in Dufour lab and Slater lab where she is dedicated to unravel the mysteries of pregnancy complications leading to preterm birth. Her project, led by Dr. Antoine Dufour and Dr. Donna Slater focuses on the fascinating field of proteomics and metabolomics profiling of first trimester maternal serum to bridge the gap in understanding between normal and adverse birth outcomes. Using the cutting-edge technology, mass spectrometry with both Data-Dependent Acquisition (DDA) and Data-Independent Acquisition (DIA) modes, she will be conducting in-depth analysis of serum samples to get a holistic view of the molecular landscape associated with preterm birth outcomes. 

Nicole Osinchuk

Graduate Student 

Nicole is pursuing her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree at the University of Calgary after studying a Bachelor of Science in Animal Health at the University of Alberta for 3 years. Her work involves proteomic analysis to understand the role of mitochondrial amidoxime reducing component 1 (MTARC1) in vivo, which will eventually be applied to fatty liver disease. She is focusing on the animal work and genotyping for the mouse model used in this study. She is also participating in understanding the mechanism of osteoarthritis and stem cell biology as well as tendon regeneration in equine models. Her free time, Nicole enjoys playing volleyball, hiking, skiing, and spending time with her family and friends. 

Kaia Ybema

Undergraduate Student

Kaia is an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Neurobiology from the University of Victoria. Her current research involves the identification of biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease, and how exercise, sex, and sleep quality may influence the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. She is also interested in pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension, and how biomarkers in the early gestational period may be indicative of premature birth. Kaia enjoys hiking and biking with friends and family outside of school and the lab. She also loves spending time with her dog, Oscar. 

Julia Chu

Undergraduate Student

Julia an undergraduate studying Biomedical Sciences at the University of Calgary. Her research currently involves profiling the substrates of Mcpt4 along the colon of WT and Mcpt4-/- mice using N-terminomics. She is also interested in analyzing the post-translational modifications signatures in serum samples of Crohn's disease patients. Outside of research and academics, Julia enjoys painting, reading, and spending time with friends.