News

Sadaf Jafari presented a poster titled, “Capturing the Live Interactions Between T Cells and AML in the Bone Marrow Microenvironment Using Intravital Imaging” at the Medical Biophysics University of Toronto Symposium on May 1st, 2025. The MBP Symposium is an annual research and networking conference at which graduate students present their research to colleagues and scientists within the MBP community. It offers the students an invaluable opportunity to showcase their dedication to their research project, their hard work, and their scientific knowledge. The students also have the opportunity to learn about their colleagues’ research projects, to participate in engaging round-table…

Samridhi and Maryam were invited to present a poster at the University of Toronto Undergraduate Research Students’ Association (URSA) Multidisciplinary Cancer Research Conference that took place on February 1, 2025 at the Bahen Centre for Information Technology. Their poster was titled, “Utilizing Fluorescence Intravital Imaging to Investigate Bone Marrow Microenvironment Remodeling in Acute Myeloid Leukemia,” which presented the results from their investigation of bone marrow remodeling during AML progression, affecting different cell populations and leading to relapse of the disease in mice. The conference featured Dr. Lincoln Stein and Dr. Helen Dimaras, who delivered keynote talks, alongside oral and poster…

We are pleased to announce a new publication, “Investigating the Effects of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy on Pancreatic Tumor Hypoxia and Microvasculature in an Orthotopic Mouse Model using Intravital Fluorescence Microscopy,” in Scientific Reports (December 2024). Authors: Timothy Samuel, Sara Rapic, Patricia Lindsay, Ralph S. Dacosta ABSTRACT Background and Aims: Despite decades of improvements in cytotoxic therapy, the current standard of care for locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) provides, on average, only a few months of survival benefit. Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT), a technique that accurately delivers high doses of radiation to tumors in fewer fractions, has emerged as…

We are very excited to welcome Dr. Raheleh Niavarani as a new Postdoctoral Fellow into our lab! Raheleh completed her MSc and PhD in Immunology at the Université de Sherbrooke, QC, Canada. She worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Ludwig Institute at the University of Oxford (Oxford, United Kingdom) and then worked as a Research Scientist in Dr. Tak Mak’s lab at UHN. As part of Dr. Tak’s lab, Raheleh focused on an ambitious and challenging research project investigating the immunology of multiple myeloma. Raheleh brings with her an expertise in immunology and is applying her extensive knowledge and…

We are pleased to share that our grant submission to the Cancer Research Society 2024 Operating Grant Competition titled, “AML Dynamics in the Bone Marrow: Probing Treatment Impact Using Intravital Imaging,” has been awarded funding. The Cancer Research Society is a pan-Canadian not-for-profit organization that funds research on all types of cancer to help prevent, detect, and treat the disease. It supports “innovative projects involving creativity and original ideas, because it is through research that the solutions to cancer will be discovered.” Our project, “AML Dynamics in the Bone Marrow: Probing Treatment Impact Using Intravital Imaging,” has the potential to…

We are pleased to announce a new publication, “Glucagon-like-protein-2 stimulates lacteal contractility and enhances chylomicron transport in the presence of an intact enteric nervous system,” in Gastro Hep Advances (June 2024). Authors: Majid Mufaqam Syed-Abdul, Lili Tian, Timothy Samuel, Alex Wong, Young-Kwon Hong, Ralph S. Dacosta, Gary F. Lewis ABSTRACT Background and Aims: Secretion and transport of intestinal chylomicrons (CM) via lymphatics to the blood circulation is stimulated primarily by fat ingestion, whereas several other factors have also been shown to play important roles in regulating CM secretion rate. Amongst these factors, active regulation of lymphatic pumping has not been…

We are excited to announce that Zuha, a former research student at the DaCosta Lab, has been accepted to the University of Calgary Medical School! Zuha joined the lab in 2019 while completing her undergraduate degree in Human Biology at the University of Toronto. Zuha demonstrated an ability to quickly learn and apply learned techniques in multiple areas of research, including conducting clinical trial research, using fluorescence technology, and applying microbiology techniques. She approached research with passion, accuracy, thoughtfulness, a willingness to learn, and an ability to quickly apply what she learned. Zuha worked collaboratively as a team member and…

We are very excited to welcome our students back to the lab this summer! Mayowa Akusebo initially joined the lab during the summer of 2022 and she returns this summer in order to gain additional learning experiences as well as continue to contribute to the team.  Mayowa completed her first year of undergrad in Health Sciences at Queens University.  She is still undecided as to her future plans, but she is hopeful that her experiences at the DaCosta lab will provide some guidance.  Thomas Marcon is joining us for a second summer and we are excited to continue to have…

We are excited to welcome a new graduate student, Sadaf Mazhab Jafari, to our team! Sadaf completed a double major in Molecular Biology, Immunology and Disease, and Biochemistry at the University of Toronto and graduated with an impressive GPA.  Sadaf has extensive research experience and has logged over 1000 hours of laboratory benchtop work.  She has developed skills in sample preparation for single cell and single nucleus RNA sequencing, plating and stimulating immune cell activity, PBMC isolation, western blotting, differential centrifugation, PCR, and so forth. Sadaf will be earning her M.Sc degree as part of the DaCosta lab.  Since the majority…

We are very excited to welcome a new member, Xi Lei, to the team as a Research Technician III! Xi earned a M.Sc in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Saskatchewan. She worked as a research assistant, then technician, and quickly moved up to senior technologist at St. Michael’s Hospital. Xi brings with her incomparable expertise in conducting mouse surgeries, harvesting organs, performing injections, and collecting blood. She has experience in maintaining mouse colony of genetic deficient strains, mouse breeding and genotyping, and conducting surgeries on mouse models with thrombosis, DVT, stroke and sepsis. In addition to her…