Our Team

Dr. Rob Kozak, PI

Dr. Kozak completed his PhD in microbiology and immunology at McGill University. Following this, he completed postdoctoral fellowships in viral hepatitis and zoonotic viruses at McGill and the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, respectively. He also trained at the Special Pathogens Program at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, where he studied viral hemorrhagic fevers and zoonotic viruses.

Currently, Dr. Kozak is a clinical microbiologist in the Shared Hospital Laboratory at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and holds an appointment at the University of Toronto. His research program focuses on SARS-CoV-2, Mpox virus, and other emerging viral infections. This includes the development of diagnostics, the evaluation of vaccines, and therapeutics.

Kayla Gaete, Lab Manager

I earned my Bachelor of Science degree from Queen's University, where I focused on biology and life sciences and received my Clinical Research certificate from McMaster University. Over the years, I gained significant laboratory experience working in a COVID-19 lab during the pandemic, where I processed samples and contributed to research efforts. Currently, I am the laboratory manager for the Kozak lab. In this role, I oversee lab maintenance, including managing protocols, documentation, and processing orders. I also handle clinical research and ethics board applications, train and mentor students, and actively contribute to ongoing research projects.

I have worked on several research projects, including a retrospective chart review focused on Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, conducted across three tertiary care centers in Ontario. Additionally, I helped conduct a study monitoring cellular immune responses to COVID-19 vaccination in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease to better understand immune function in this vulnerable group. Currently, I am involved in a study examining the genomic epidemiology of five different non-influenza respiratory viruses over the course of one year, aiming to link viral genomic variations to virulence and disease outcomes. I am also involved in an influenza vaccine efficacy study with the PRECISE team.

Maya Naghibosadat, Project Manager

As a scientist who has international and Canadian post graduate training in biomedical research, I bring a passion for science, combined with strong interpersonal and communication teamwork skills, solid time management and organizational skills, and the ability to solve complex problems and thoroughly attend to detail.

Kyla Tozer, PhD

I am currently finishing my PhD in Translational Medicine at Queen’s University (defence pending), where my research focused on hormonal considerations in sex-inclusive preclinical research. My doctoral work involved a comprehensive preclinical safety evaluation of a novel serine protease, HtrA, designed to proteolyze and neutralize Clostridioides difficile toxins. To address the limitations of mouse models when studying hormone-driven biology, I then developed a non-human primate model of the menstrual cycle in rhesus macaques. Using this approach, I examined how natural hormonal fluctuations shape the vaginal microbiota, systemic immune responses and local immune activity within the female reproductive tract.

I have now started my postdoctoral fellowship in the Kozak lab, where I am involved in several collaborative projects, including a pan-coronavirus vaccine study evaluating immune responses across multiple coronaviruses, such as OC43, NL63 and SARS-CoV-2. My work also examines how the human gastrointestinal microbiota may influence immune responses to vaccination and whether microbiota-based approaches could improve vaccine effectiveness. In parallel, I am involved in studies examining viral shedding during Mpox infection, a project that builds on my earlier undergraduate research, investigating the correlates of persistent viral shedding in SARS-CoV-2 patients. Finally, I have worked on genomic modeling of the OC43 spike protein to link genetic variability and protein structural changes with clinically relevant insights.

Kozak Lab Alumni

Dr. Jacklyn Hurst, Post-Doc

I completed my PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at Western University, where I studied surface markers on Streptococcus pyogenes and their contribution to nasal and skin infections in mouse models.

I was a postdoctoral fellow in the Kozak Lab, which specializes in emerging viruses. During this time, I worked with the Canadian-based pharmaceutical company Providence Therapeutics to study the efficacy of an mRNA booster vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 that expressed additional antigens alongside spike. Through this work, I became proficient in both in vitro and in vivo BSL-3 research at the University of Toronto.

Following the emergence of the largest known human Mpox outbreak in 2022, my research shifted to focus on Mpox (formerly monkeypox virus). I studied a cohort of participants in Toronto who were diagnosed with Mpox during this outbreak and published findings on the longitudinal detection of Mpox DNA from multiple anatomical sites. I also assessed whether tecovirimat (TPOXX) treatment affected the duration of Mpox shedding in lesion swab samples and characterized both viral and host transcriptomic responses in these samples.

Dr. Natalie Deschenes, Post-Doc

I completed my PhD in Neuroscience at Queen’s University in 2023. During my doctoral training, I worked on optimizing a gene therapy for a rare neurodegenerative disease, AB-variant GM2 gangliosidosis. My research focused on animal model development, vector optimization, and dose–response studies.

I was a postdoctoral fellow in the Kozak Lab at Sunnybrook Research Institute, where I transitioned my research focus to infectious diseases and vaccine development. My projects included investigating the pathogenesis of human parainfluenza viruses (HPIVs) in a mouse model, evaluating cross-protection from prior viral exposure and vaccination within the Paramyxovirus family, and advancing pre-clinical research on pan-viral vaccines. In addition, I contributed to studies of antiviral resistance mutations in SARS-CoV-2 using whole-genome sequencing.

Mary Addo, MSc

I graduated from the University of Toronto with an HBSc, majoring in Genome Biology with double minors in Immunology and Physiology. I began my time in the Kozak Lab as a summer student, where I analyzed differential gene expression between long COVID and non–long COVID patients. I later continued as an undergraduate research student and completed this research project.

I subsequently completed my Master’s degree in Applied Immunology at the University of Toronto, with a focus on oncolytic viral therapy and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). My research investigated the susceptibility of cancer cell lines and primary patient samples to viral infection, including vaccinia virus and other live attenuated viruses.

Past Lab Members:

George Giorgi Babuadze: Post-Doc

Lerato Mpye: Post-Doc

Yujia Feng : Undergraduate Research Student

Ruth Igumbor: Summer Research Student

Amal Remtulla: Summer Research Student

Siena Molinaro: Summer Research Student