Our People
The heart of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety is its dedicated people—researchers, staff, and collaborators—whose passion and expertise drive innovation, protect public health, and shape the future of food safety for all.
Leadership
Dr. Lawrence Goodridge
Professor, Department of Food Science
Director, Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety
Food Science Faculty
Dr. Gisèle LaPointe (OAC – CRIFS)
NSERC/Dairy Farmers of Ontario Industrial Research Chair in Dairy Microbiology
Research Areas: Milk and dairy product quality and food safety. Probiotics, lactic acid bacteria activity & gut microbiota. Ingredient functionality in dairy products.
Dr. Maria Corradini (OAC)
Research Areas: Development of novel techniques to study foods, their biophysical behavior, and stability.
Dr. Keith Warriner (OAC)
Research Areas: Food safety and food microbiology.
Dr. Paul Spagnuolo (OAC)
Research Areas: Nutraceuticals (food-derived bioactive compounds).
Dr. Biniam Kebede (OAC)
Research Areas: Understanding and optimizing food structure, flavour, and bioactive properties by leveraging food processing, omics, and data-mining techniques.
Adjunct Faculty
Dr. Dele Ogunremi (Research Scientist – Canadian Food Inspection Agency)
Research Areas: Application of whole-genome sequencing for the identification and characterization of foodborne microbial hazards.
Dr. Chrystal Landgraff (Research Scientist – Public Health Agency of Canada)
Research Areas: Wastewater and foodborne genomic epidemiology.
Dr. Hany Anany (Research Scientist – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)
Research Areas: Development of novel bacteriophage-based techniques to detect and control various bacterial food borne pathogens to enhance food safety.
Affiliated Faculty
Dr. Georgina Cox (CBS)
Research Areas: Research and Innovation, Infection Prevention and Control
Dr. Anne Deckert (OVC)
Research Areas: AMR and AMU, Knowledge Translation Strategies, Campylobacter Resistance
Dr. Michelle Edwards (Director, Agri-Food Data Strategy)
Research Areas: Data Management and Analysis, Experimental Analysis
Dr. Ming Z. Fan (OAC)
Research Areas: Gastrointestinal Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism in Pigs
Dr. Marc Habash (OAC)
Research Areas: Surveillance, Infection Prevention and Control
Dr. Claire Jardine (OVC)
Research Areas: Surveillance
Dr. Cezar Khursigara (CBS)
Research Areas: Research and Innovation
Dr. David Kelton (OVC)
Research Areas: Stewardship, Surveillance, Infection Prevention and Control
Dr. Elijah Kiarie (OAC)
Research Areas: Infection Prevention and Control
Dr. Stephen LeBlanc (OVC)
Research Areas: Stewardship
Dr. Heather Murphy (OVC)
Research Areas: Surveillance, Infection Prevention and Control
Dr. Jane Parmley (OVC)
Research Areas: One Health, Ecohealth, Surveillance, Antimicrobial Resistance, Wildlife Health, Zoonoses
Dr. Tim Pasma (AHL)
Client Services Veterinarian
Dr. David Pearl (OVC)
Research Areas: Epidemiology of Zoonotic and Animal Diseases, Surveillance
Dr. David Renaud (OVC)
Research Areas: Stewardship
Dr. Nicole Ricker (OVC)
Research Areas: Surveillance
Dr. Rebecca Shapiro (CBS)
Research Areas: Research and Innovation, Infection Prevention and Control
Dr. Paul Sibley (OAC)
Director, School of Environmental Sciences
Dr. Đurđa Slavić (AHL)
Research Areas: Bacteriology, Mycology
Dr. Matthew Sorbara (CBS)
Research Areas: Research and Innovation
Dr. Michael Steele (OAC)
Research Areas: Infection Prevention and Control
Dr. Siavash Vahidi (CBS)
Research Areas: Biomolecular Machines
Dr. Scott Weese (OVC)
Research Areas: Research and Innovation, Surveillance, Leadership, Stewardship, Infection Prevention and Control
Postdoctoral Fellows
- Cristina Chiappe, Postdoc, Goodridge Lab.
- Opeyemi Lawal, Postdoc, Goodridge Lab.
- Samira Soltani, Postdoc, LaPointe Lab.
- Shadi Pakroo, Postdoc, LaPointe Lab.
- Myra Siddiqi, Postdoc, LaPointe Lab.
- Gregory Higgins, Postdoc, LaPointe Lab.
- Adeel Farooq, Postdoc, LaPointe Lab.
Staff & Research Associates
- Nafiseh Jam, Building Manager and Biosafety Officer
- Valeria Parreira, Research Manager
- Dan Lacroix, Administrative Assistant
- Melinda Precious, Research Assistant, Goodridge Lab.
- Gurleen Taggar, Research Assistant, Goodridge Lab.
- Fozia Rizvi, Research Assistant, Goodridge Lab.
- Mitra Soni, Research Assistant, Goodridge Lab.
- Harmanpreet Kaur, Research Assistant, Goodridge Lab.
- Eliot Sebbag, Research Assistant, LaPointe Lab.
- Armin Tarrah, Research Associate, LaPointe Lab.