Antonia was not always a scientist, beginning her higher education with a joint science and arts degree at the University of Guelph in 2015. After exploring her interests in a range of non-scientific areas including studio art, theatre studies, and classics, Antonia changed course in 2016 to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Genetics.
During her BSc at the University of Guelph, Antonia conducted research in cancer biology, investigating stress responses and post-translational modification in human solid tumour cells. In this research, Antonia examined how post-translational modifying ISG15 affected the activity of cellular responses to hypoxic stress. Also, during this degree, Antonia volunteered in a Molecular Virology lab conducting a survey of grapevine viruses, further exploring her interest in pathogens and infectious diseases.
In the fall of 2020, Antonia began a Master of Science at the University of Toronto in the Department of Molecular Genetics, with a research focus in molecular microbiology and infectious disease. Antonia spearheaded a drug discovery project characterizing candidate antifungal compounds to be used against the dangerous fungal pathogen, Candida albicans. During this project, Antonia investigated the mechanism of action of her compound and generated hypotheses surrounding its binding modes. Antonia also conducted functional genomics research screening genes associated with Candida albicans lipid homeostasis for important roles in growth, virulence, and sensitivity to antifungal drugs. Antonia shared her work at the Canadian Fungal Network and Great Lakes Mycology Conference in 2021.
Antonia’s scientific work has been published in scientific journals as follows:
- Du Bois, A.C., Xue, A., Pham, C., Revie, N.M., Meyer, K.J., Yashiroda, Y., Boone, C., Nodwell, J.R., Stogios, P., Savchenko, A., Robbins, N., Cowen, L.E.
- “High-throughput chemical screen identifies a 2,5-disubstituted pyridine as an inhibitor of Candida albicans Erg11” (2022) mSphere, e0007522. https://doi.org/10.1128/msphere.00075-22
- Melanson, G., Du Bois, A.C., Webster, C., Uniacke, J.
- “ISGylation directly modifies HIF-2⍺ and enhances its polysome association” (accepted) FEBS Lett
After completing her MSc in the summer of 2022 Antonia now works as a Research Associate at a biotechnology company specializing in cancer diagnostics. Throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Antonia developed a keen interest in scientific communication. Her work at AZoNetwork has allowed her to continue learning about vast areas of science and help translate that knowledge to a wide audience. Antonia’s areas of specialization include oncology, pathogens and infectious diseases including virology and mycology, molecular biology and genetics, functional genomics, and drug discovery.