TEAMendo Members

Principal Investigator

Dr. Vance Trudeau

Vance L. Trudeau was born and raised in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Kjipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki, the unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People.

Trudeau received his BSc and MSc from McGill University and PhD at the University of Alberta under the supervision of Richard E. Peter. After post-doctoral training in Canada with Leo Renaud and in France with Dominique Poulain and Dionysia Theodosis, he took up his first academic position at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland). He later joined the Department of Biology, University of Ottawa in 1998.

Trudeau holds the University of Ottawa Research Chair in Neuroendocrinology (2011-2026) and leads a team of dynamic trainees with wide interests and talents. Worldwide collaborations are also fundamental to the advancement of our research and are deeply appreciated. His group's research is directed towards understanding how the vertebrate brain regulates anterior pituitary hormones that control sexual development and reproduction using fish and frog models. Applications of this basic research include spawning induction methods for endangered amphibians, among others. The team also studies the effects of sex steroids and pollutants (pharmaceuticals, pesticides, petroleum products) on development and reproduction in fish and frogs. This concept is called endocrine disruption. Research conducted by TEAMENDO.CA has implications for environmental and human health because many of these hormonal systems are conserved across species. This means that what is discovered in one species, has major implications in other vertebrate, including humans.

Trudeau was founding Vice-President of the North American Society for Comparative Endocrinology (http://nasce-snaec.com/) and is the current President of the International Society for Fish Endocrinology (https://www.isfendo.com/)

Teaching philosophy: to share the wonders of animal physiology and endocrinology and to help students at all levels to critically assess and conduct research on these topics. 

Hobbies: composing and playing music, hiking, fermentation biology, cooking

Check out Dr. Trudeau's band, The Wayward Sound, here:

Graduate Students

Udeesha Erandani | PhD Candidate

2019-present

Udeesha is a PhD student who studies the role secretogranin 2 and secretoneurin peptides in zebrafish reproduction. She uses a range of  approaches including gene editing, behavioural analysis and neuronatomy. Other than research, she likes to bake, crochet, travel and music as her hobbies.

Jeffrey Ethier | PhD Candidate

2020-present

Jeffrey is a behavioural ecologist with a focus on acoustics and animal vocalizations. His current PhD research project focuses on the vocal behaviour of boreal chorus frogs (Pseudacris maculata). When he isn’t recording frog calls, Jeffrey can be found going for hikes, reading science fiction and fantasy novels, or fostering animals in need. He has a cat, Penelope, whom he adores.

Maddie Empey | PhD Candidate

2020-present

Madelaine is a Ph.D. Candidate studying the effects of pesticides on amphibians. Her research aims to provide critically missing data on the impacts of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and deltamethrin insecticides on Canadian frogs. Madelaine’s passions include herpetology, natural history museums, and spending time in nature. After her Ph.D., she hopes to continue a career in conserving Canada’s natural heritage and protecting species at risk through research.

Brianna Raven | PhD Candidate

2020-present

Brianna is a PhD candidate that joined the lab in 2020. Her research is focussed on the reproductive neuroendocrine functions of kisspeptin and secretoneurin in the Western clawed frog, Silurana tropicalis. This research will be accomplished using methods including droplet digital PCR, immunohistochemistry, and RNA-Seq. Her hobbies include rock climbing, cooking, and exploring the outdoors.

Google Scholar | ResearchGate | brave030@uottawa.ca

Emmanuelle Monniez | PhD Candidate

2021-present 

Under the co-supervision of Drs. Vance Trudeau and Carole Yauk (GReAT lab), my research aims to determine the effects of developmental exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) on the regulation of the stress axis in zebrafish. I am investigating both long-life and transgenerational effects and will compare transcriptomic, physiological, and behavioural endpoints.

Dinusha Rajapaksha | PhD Student

2022-present

My name is Dinusha Rajapaksha. I am Ph.D. student working under Drs. Jan Mennigen and Vance Trudeau. I  investigate the role of oxytocin in zebrafish reproduction. I will explore the activation of oxytocinergic neuronal circuits and potential co-localization with other neuropeptides. 

Chunyu Lu | Post Doctoral Fellow

2023-present

Chunyu Lu is a skilled postdoctoral fellow with a diverse background in engineering, analytical chemistry, and solid phase peptide synthesis. For this PhD, he investigated the role of the emerging reproductive peptide secretoneurin.  As a member of the TEAMendo group, he also provides critical analytical support for fellow lab members. Currently, research is focussed on an exciting conservation project in collaboration with Environment and Climate Change Canada. He wants to develop steroid analysis methods for large mammals such as caribou and bison. 

TEAMendo Alumni

Honour's Students

Megan Worth 2023

Mariko Brunet 2023

Kamryn Henderson 2022

Mylene Therrien 2022

Daeun Choi 2022

Sierra Dowling 2020

Daniella Muhanzi 2020

Selena Do 2020

Elizabeth Farmer 2019

Natalia Titkova 2019

Andrew Zhang 2018

Jeremy Larcher 2018

Iulia Cornila 2018

Jessica Zon 2018

Wo Su Zhang 2018

Majd Hadad 2018

Paige Benson 2018

Olivia McKee-Muir 2017

Brendan Kelly 2016

David Hoang 2017

Khadija Diallo 2016

Erin Blake 2016

Wei Seah 2015

Ailsa Gan 2015

Elizaveta Bulaeva 2012

Miriam Neufeld 2012

Agnes Crnic 2011

Jake Zmora 2011

Rita Hafizi 2011

Brendan Kelly 2010

Lauren Hall 2008

Chantal Lanctot 2010

Jacqui Wignall 2009

M DiPetti 2009

Kendra Hodgkinson 2009

Elvin Tan 2009

Malar Annal 2009

Emily Gerrie 2007

Sally Ing 2008

Francina Jackson 2008

Linda Jewell 2007

Amanda Carew 2007

Henrietta Parnas 2007

Catherine Millar 2007

Lindsay Burton 2006

J.P. Bouffard 2006

Valérie Langlois 2005

Paula Duarte 2005

Alison Crawford 2005

Joel Cahn 2005

Ariel Burns 2005

Barbara Perez 2003

Irene Fung 2003

D. Aimé 2003

Jane MacAulay 2002

Vassiliki Nikoletopolou 2002

Ben Hibbert 2002

M. Plouffe 2001

Mélanie Rochon 2000

Maxine Croteau 2001

Lisa MacEachern 2001

Geraldine Majchrzak 2000

Magda Jagla 2000

Valerie Greco 2000

Katherine Larivière 1999

Meeka MacMillan 199

Graduate Students

Master’s Thesis Students 

Jeanne Dudemaine (uLaval, Co-Supervisor with M. Mazerolle) 2025

Victoria Spadacini 2024

Aurore Fayard (uLaval, Co-Supervisor with M. Mazerolle) 2022

Wo Su Zhang 2020

Monica Reyes 2020

Federico Sacchi 2018

Maria Vu 2017

Dillon Dafonte 2014

Brooke Cameron 2015

Claudine Lefevbre 2013 (J. Blais, principal supervisor)

Myy Mikwar 2014

Chantal Lanctot 2012

Courtney Robertson 2012

Kristin Lesaux-Farmer 2010

Jennifer C. Gibson 2006 (Co-Supervisor with D. Lean)

Jeanette Sassine 2009 (T. Moon, principal supervisor)

Marwan Samia 2002

Pierre Therriault 2002

E Zhao 2004

Katherine Larivière 2003

Doug Crump 2000 (Co-Supervisor with D. Lean)


PhD students

Katherine Shaw 2023

Di Peng 2022

Chunyu Lu 2022

Amin Nozari 2021

Leila Sutuyeva 2019 (T. Shalakhmetova, principal supervisor at Al-Farabi Kazahk National University)

Kim Mitchell 2018

Juan M Gutierrez Villagomez 2018

Marilyn Vera Chang 2016 (Co-Supervisor with T. Moon)

Carolina Salgado Costa 2016 (Co-Supervisor with G. Natale, Universidad National La Plata)

Lei Xing 2015

Maddie Venables 2015

Andrey Massarsky 2014 (Co-Supervisor with T. Moon)

Andrew Waye 2015 (Co-Supervisor with J.T. Arnason)

Ahmed Al-Ansari 2012 (Co-Supervisor with J. Blais)

Jan Mennigen 2011 (Co-Supervisor with T. Moon)

Susanna Wiens 2009

E Zhao 2010

Martha Mullaly 2011 (Co-Supervisor with J.T. Arnason)

Wudu Lado 2012 (Co-Supervisor with J. Lewis)

Paula Duarte Guterman 2011

Steve Melvin 2012 (visiting student from J. Houlahan’s lab, UNBSJ)

Valérie Langlois 2010

Colin Cameron 2010 (Co-Supervisor with T. Moon)

Dapeng Zhang 2009

Jason Popesku 2009

Maxine C. Croteau 2008 (Co-Supervisor with D. Lean)

Chris J. Martyniuk 2006

Caroline Mimeault 2008 (Co-Supervisor with T. Moon)

Jessica Head 2006 (S. Kennedy, principal supervisor)

Natasha Hogan 2006 (Co-Supervisor with D. Lean)

Christian Doyon 2003 (Co-Supervisor with T. Moon)

Elsbeth Jane Fraser 1999

Post Doc/Research Associates

Postdoctoral  Researchers

Diane Orihel 2015 – 2017 (Co-Supervisor  with J. Blais)

Michal Galus 2015 – 2017

Mukunda Goswami 2013 - 2014

Laia Navarro-Martin 2008 – 2014

Christy Snyder (nee Hamilton) 2011 – 2013

Hongxia Hu 2009 - 2010

Ravinder Sardana 2001 - 2003

Peter T Bosma 1996 - 1997

Mercedes Blazquez 1996 – 1997


Research Associates

Linhui Yao 2007 - 2009

Purva Wagh 2008 - 2010

Lea Fiechi-Meric 2016

Conner Edington 2015 - 2016

Crystal Esau 2014 - 2015

Minshou Lin 2013 - 2013

Suzanna Chiu 1996 - 2002