In 2013, after completing her graduate studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, Canada in viral immunity and post-doctoral fellowships in oncolytic virus immunotherapy at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), Vera took on the challenge of building and managing the flow cytometry core facility at the University of Ottawa.
Vera’s interests in basic research and background in working with viruses led to the development of an expertise in small particle detection at the facility and in 2016, the uOttawa flow cytometry core facility became the uOttawa Flow Cytometry & Virometry core facility. As an adjunct member of the Faculty of Medicine, she continues to contribute to research in flow cytometry analysis of small particles with a focus on viruses, assay development, and methods for standardization in small particle flow cytometry.
Vera is an active member of the flow cytometry community. She is an ISAC Council Member (2024-2028), vice president of the Canadian Cytometry & Microscopy Association, and a member of the ISEV-ISAC-ISTH EV Flow Cytometry Reference Materials Working Group. She was an ISAC SRL Emerging Leader (2018-2023), and a previous co-president of the CCMA.
Vera has a passion for teaching and science communication. Over the years, she has been an invited speaker and instructor to numerous conferences and workshops on small particle flow cytometry including CYTO, GLIIFCA, CDW, MetroFlow, RMS, CCMA, ISEV and the Annual Course in Flow Cytometry.