Affiliation: University of Waterloo, Biology Department

Dr. Lauren Todd received her BSc in Forensic Science from Trent University in 2013. She earned her MSc in Cell Biology and Genetics at Trent University in 2015. Under the supervision of Dr. Barry Saville, Dr. Todd studied the role of non-coding RNAs in mediating host-pathogen interactions between fungal pathogens and their plant hosts. Dr. Todd received her PhD from the University of Toronto in 2020, where she was supervised by Dr. Karim Mekhail. Dr. Todd’s PhD research focused on the role of non-coding RNAs and RNA-DNA hybrids in neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Biology Department at the University of Waterloo working with Dr. Barb Katzenback. Dr. Todd’s postdoctoral research examines the role of host microRNAs in antiviral defense and the role of virus-derived microRNAs in suppression of host immune responses in model and non-model frog species.