Dr Tommy Alain

Dr Tommy Alain

Associate Editor: Dr. Tommy Alain

Dr. Tommy Alain is a Scientist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute (CHEO RI), and an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. His training is in virology, innate immune responses, cell biology, and oncology. Dr. Alain received his B.Sc. (2000) in Biochemistry from University Laval in Quebec City, Canada, and his Ph.D. (2007) in Medical Science from the University of Calgary, Canada. During his Ph.D. research, Dr. Alain studied the virology and the oncolytic potencies of reovirus, vesicular stomatitis virus, herpes simplex virus and myxoma virus against brain cancers at the University of Calgary. From 2007 to 2013, Dr. Alain pursued post-doctoral work at McGill University studying mRNA translational control and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway, linking both viral immunity and oncology research. His current research in Ottawa focuses on exploiting translation initiation factors and downstream effectors of mTOR complex 1 to modulate innate immune responses to oncolytic viruses, and to augment the anti-proliferative efficacies of cancer therapeutics. Dr. Alain is a member of the Canadian Oncolytic Virus Consortium, a group of scientists from across Canada that seeks to understand, improve, and develop oncolytic viral immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer.