Dr. Nathan C. Peters

Associate Professor Dept. of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases

Dr. Peters completed his Ph.D. in the laboratory of Dr. Peter Bretscher at the University of Saskatchewan where he was the recipient of a Canadian Governor General’s Gold Medal for his graduate work on T cell activation. Dr. Peters continued his studies as a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of David Sacks and then as a staff scientist in the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH, Bethesda, MD. During this time Dr. Peters began studying the role of inflammatory cells during infection with the parasite Leishmania and explored the concept of immune memory during chronic infections. In September 2014 Dr. Peters was cross-appointed to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary and became an Associate Professor in 2017. In 2021 Dr. Peters became the Co-Director of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. Dr. Peters has published in some of the top journals including Science, PNAS, Cell Host and Microbe, and PLoS Pathogens.

Matheus Carneiro

Research Associate

Dr. Carneiro completed his Ph.D in 2014 at the laboratory of Dr. Leda Vieira at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil). During this time he studied mechanisms of pathogenesis during Leishmania amazonensis infection. During his Ph.D Dr. Carneiro got a fellowship from Science without Borders (CAPES) and joined Dr. David Sacks’ laboratory in the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH (US) for a year, where he learned how to work with sandflies (the vector of Leishmania parasites), as an experimental model to transmit the parasites into a murine model. In September 2015 Dr. Carneiro moved to Calgary and started as a pos-doctoral fellow at Dr. Peters lab in University of Calgary, until he switched to a Research Associate position in December 2019. Recently Dr. Carneiro is studying the mechanisms of Leishmania parasites dissemination.

Chukwunonso Nzelu

Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Nzelu joined the HPI group as a postdoctoral fellow in October 2017. He is working under the supervision of Dr. Nathan Peters in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases at the Cumming School of Medicine. Chukwunonso received a PhD in Veterinary Medicine (Parasitology, Entomology and Molecular Epidemiology) from the Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. He also received an MPhil in Entomology from University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana and a BSc., in Parasitology and Entomology from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. Chukwunonso’s current project is entitled: “Influence of the vector microbiome and saliva on vector transmitted diseases”. This project will ultimately contribute to a better understanding of how vector-transmission influences vector-borne infectious diseases.

Audrey Simon

Lab Assistant

Audrey completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Saskatchewan and, after completion, entered into her M.Sc. program in molecular genetics studying bacteriophage lambda under the supervision of Dr. Sidney Hayes, also at the U of S. She then completed her PhD at the U of S in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) under the supervision of Dr. Andrew Potter studying immune responses in cattle to Shiga toxin 2. She did a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Calgary under the supervision of Dr. David Sigalet, studying immune responses to Glp-2 using a murine model. After taking time off to raise her 3 children, she returned to the U of C to work with Dr. Peters and his team.

Leah Hohman

PhD Student

Leah is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases at the Cumming School of Medicine. She began her graduate studies in September 2015 after receiving a Double Major BSc from the University of Victoria in Biology and Microbiology. Her thesis project "Effector function prior to establishment of the pathogen niche is required for protective CD4⁺ T cell-mediated immunity” focuses on understanding and identifying the correlates of protective immunity during a chronic Leishmania major infection to better inform vaccine strategies for not only Leishmania, but other phagosomal infections. Outside of the lab, Leah loves singing/playing a variety of instruments (with varying levels of competence), cooking, spoiling her dog, and photography. You can also find her playing video games and Dungeons & Dragons!

Adam Ranson

MSc Student

Adam began his Master of Science work with the Peter’s lab in 2017 after completing his undergraduate degree in Cellular, Molecular, and Microbial Biology at the University of Calgary. Adam’s MSc. project, titled: “The Trojan Horse Neutrophil: Mechanisms of Leishmania-Induced Cell Death”, is focused on exploring the mechanism(s) by which intraphagosomal parasites from the genus Leishmania invade innate immune cells of their mammalian host and subsequently modulate host-cell viability. Ultimately, Adam’s research will contribute to better understanding how intracellular parasites manage to manipulate host immune responses to survive, replicate, and transit within a hostile environment. With Nathan’s support, Adam was admitted to the MD program at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine in 2020 and looks forward to continuing his education in infection and immunity in the clinic.

Emily Bennett

Undergraduate Student

Emily is a third year undergraduate student at the University of Calgary in the Cellular, Molecular and Microbial Biology (CMMB) program. She joined the Peters Lab team in the summer 2020 as a summer student. Emily will be continuing her work with the Peters Lab on an independent project in the fall of 2021 and continuing to learn from the lab members. In her spare time she enjoys playing ultimate Frisbee and hiking.