OUR TEAM

Thompson Lab, Winter 2025

Principal Investigator: Peter J. Thompson, PhD
 Peter completed his BSc in Genetics and MSc in Molecular Biology at the University of Alberta. He went on to a PhD in Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia where he studied epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation in embryonic stem cells. He carried out his postdoctoral training at the Diabetes Center at University of California San Francisco, where he began applying his prior training in gene regulation and cell fate to investigate beta cell biology and diabetes. In 2020 he became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology & Pathophysiology and a Principal Investigator in the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM) at the University of Manitoba. Outside the lab, he enjoys resistance training, playing music, exploring the outdoors, checking out new restaurants and chess.

Research technician: Roozbeh Akbari Motlagh, DVM, MSc



Roozbeh earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree in 2018 in Iran. During his studies, he conducted research on the role of LncRNAs in adipose stem cell differentiation into beta cells. In 2023, he completed his academic journey at the University of Alberta, where he earned his MSc in Human Nutrition. His MSc thesis focused on studying the role of the Src family member Lyn kinase in islet transplantation in mice. Roozbeh's research efforts also included identifying novel molecular mechanisms governing beta-cell proliferation and survival. Joining the Thompson Lab in 2023 as a technician, he will continue his research efforts, now contributing to a projects on extracellular vesicles from senescent beta cells within the context of T1D.

Research Technician: Mario Fonseca, MSc


Mario completed his BSc with a major in Microbiology from the University of Manitoba in 2001. He then went on to join the laboratory of Dr. David Eisenstat at the Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology (MICB, now known as RIOH). His tenure at Dr. Eisenstat’s Laboratory involved investigating the transcriptional regulation of Distal-less transcription factors in the developing vertebrate brain. After spending time investigating the gene regulatory networks controlled by Distal-less transcription factors in the developing CNS, he went on to investigate, as part of his Masters thesis, the identification of the tumour suppressor Apc as a direct DLX target in the intestine with application to colorectal cancers. From 2012-2024 Mario worked in the laboratory of Dr. V. Dolinsky where he was involved in various projects that investigated the mechanisms important in the development of gestational diabetes.  Mario Joined Dr. Thompson’s lab in January of 2025. His project will focus on the characterization of the heterogeneity of the beta-cell population by identifying key markers that differentiate leader beta-cells from the rest of the beta-cell mass. Mario is an avid enthusiast of Baroque music and enjoys long distance running.

Postdoctoral fellow: Nayara Rampazzo Morelli, PhD

Nayara completed her BSc in Nutrition in 2010 at the Philadelphia University Center in Brazil. After working as a Nutritionist, she decided to pursue a career in science. She completed her MSc in 2015 and went on to a PhD in 2020, both in Health Sciences from the State University of Londrina in Brazil. During her PhD, she worked as a Research Volunteer at the Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto in 2019. She went on to a postdoctoral researcher position at the Pain, Inflammation, Neuropathy and Cancer Research Group at the State University of Londrina in Brazil from October 2021 to April 2023. She joined the Thompson Lab in June 2023 as a postdoctoral fellow, switching fields to study islet biology and diabetes. Her current research focus is on prosurvival signaling in senescent human beta cells in T1D.

Graduate student: Jasmine Pipella, BSc, PBD


 Jasmine completed her BSc with a major in Biochemistry from the University of Jamestown in June 2021. In September 2021, she joined the lab as a postbaccalaureate diploma (PBD) student in the Department of Physiology & Pathophysiology for two terms of lab rotations in PHGY5012 and completed her PBD in medical physiology & pathophysiology. In September 2022 she joined the lab as an MSc student in Physiology and in Nov 2023 she transferred to the PhD program. Her project examines the effects of anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody therapy on senescent beta cell accumulation in a mouse model for T1D.

Graduate student: Camille Préfontaine, BSc



Camille completed her BSc honors in Biology at the University of Manitoba in Spring 2024. She first joined the lab as a summer research student in 2022 and 2023 where her projects focused on identifying and characterizing novel biomarkers of senescent human beta cells as well as investigating the relationship between senescence and proinsulin processing. She continued her studies on proinsulin processing over the Fall 2023 and Winter 2024 terms for her honor's thesis project in BIOL4100. In Fall 2024, Camille joined the lab as a MSc student in Physiology to investigate molecular mechanisms of beta cell stress in T1D using a novel mouse genetic model.
 

Graduate student: Mystica Amonyi, BSc




Mystica completed her BSc honors in Biochemistry at the University of Winnipeg in 2023. Her honor’s thesis project explored naturally occurring inhibitors of glucose metabolizing enzyme alpha-glucosidase found in ginger. She joined the lab as an MSc student in Physiology in May 2024. Her project will examine the role of beta cell-derived extracellular vesicles in the pathogenesis of T1D using a novel mouse genetic model.

Co-op undergraduate student: Dayu Liu









Dayu is currently a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Manitoba pursuing a Bachelor’s in Biochemistry. This is his first co-op work term and he is excited about exploring epigenetic regulation in beta cell. Outside of his studies, he enjoys fishing, skiing, and cooking as ways to unwind and relax.

Lab Alumni.

Halle Bacinger, Summer Undergraduate Researcher, Summer 2024
Sameer Batla, Summer Undergraduate Researcher, Summer 2024
Ian Heidinger, Summer Undergraduate Researcher, Summer 2024
Alycia Johnson, Summer Undergraduate Researcher, Summer 2024
Jasmine Manji, Summer Undergraduate Researcher,  Summers 2022, 2023, HEAL4650 project student, Fall 2023
Nicole Alcasid, Faculty of Science Co-op Student, Jan 2023 - Apr 2023
Jay Wieler, Faculty of Science Co-op Student, Jan 2023 - Apr 2023
Camille Préfontaine, Summer Undergraduate Researcher, Summers 2022, 2023, BIOL4100 honors student
Jasmine Pipella, PBD rotation student PHGY5012, Fall 2021-Winter 2022
Gabriel Brawerman, Research Technician, Sept 2020 - Oct 2022

Trainee Awards.

2025-2026:
Nayara Rampazzo Morelli, CIRTN-R2FIC and Breakthrough T1D postdoctoral fellowship training award, (2025 - 2026)
Camille Préfontaine, CIRTN-R2FIC and NSERC-CREATE MSc training award, (2025-2026)

2024-2025:
Ian Heidinger, T1D research fundraiser stipend (Summer 2024)
Halle Bacinger, CIRTN undergraduate research stipend, (Summer 2024)
Sameer Batla, University of Manitoba Undergraduate Research Award (URA 2024)
Camille Préfontaine, University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship (UMGF, 2024)
Jasmine Pipella, Research Manitoba PhD Studentship (2024-2025), University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship (UMGF, 2024- declined).

2022-2023:
Jasmine Manji, University of Manitoba Undergraduate Research Award (URA 2022 and URA 2023)
Jasmine Pipella, University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship (UMGF, 2022), Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master's (CGS-M, 2023-2024)

Open positions in the Lab.

Postdoctoral fellow positions.

There are currently no available positions. Please check back in Nov 2025 for openings in 2026.

Graduate student positions.

There are no available positions. Please check back in Nov 2025 for updates on openings in 2026.

Undergraduate student positions.

Co-op student positions. There are no available positions. Please check back in Nov 2025 for openings in Jan 2026.

Summer student positions. There are no available positions. Please check back in Nov 2025 for openings for summer 2026.