Gentile Lab Members

Francesco is originally from Cuneo, a beautiful small town in Northwest Italy’s Alps. He did his bachelor’s and master’s in Bioengineering at Politecnico di Torino, where he developed a strong interest in molecular modeling.

In 2014, he moved to Alberta, Canada, to do a Ph.D. in computational physics at the University of Alberta, under the supervision of Jack Tuszynski and Khaled Barakat. During his Ph.D., he worked on discovering and designing small molecule inhibitors of DNA repair proteins that could enhance cancer chemotherapy. His research was primarly supported by an Alberta Innovates graduate scholarship.

In 2019, Francesco moved to Vancouver, B.C., to work as postdoc in the lab of Art Cherkasov at the Vancouver Prostate Centre. There, he developed machine learning methods for structure-based virtual screening and used them to identify novel small molecule inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease and key proteins involved in resistant prostate and breast cancer. His postdoctoral research was supported by an Ermenegildo Zegna Founder’s Scholarship, a CIHR fellowship, and a joint fellowship from Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute/VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation.

In August 2022, Francesco joined the Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences at the University of Ottawa as Assistant Professor. Since 2023, he is also a Principal Investigator at the Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology.

Outside the lab, he enjoys playing basketball, biking, fishing, and traveling around the world.

Jinfeng earned her Ph.D. in chemistry under Dr. Giuseppe Melacini at McMaster University, focusing on protein dynamics, allosteric effects, and protein-ligand interactions using biophysical techniques (e.g., Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, NMR) and computational chemistry (e.g., molecular dynamics simulations and docking). Her current research focuses on computational drug discovery, integrating physics-informed machine learning and open-source software development. Jinfeng enjoys hiking and baking in her free time.

Ding conducted research on computer-aided drug design at Chongqing University, with a specific focus on central nervous system drugs and a primary interest in monoamine transporters (SERT, NET, DAT). He has a strong passion for protein conformational changes, allosteric modulators, and the application of machine learning in drug design. In his spare time, Ding enjoys cycling, fishing, hiking, and playing Honor of Kings. He has gradually given up playing basketball due to a knee injury.

Hazem has a BSc in Biochemistry (minor in Computer Science) and a MSc in Bioinformatics. He is currently pursuing cutting-edge cancer research in the field of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) under direct supervision of Dr. Victor Jeffrey Leyton and co-supervision from Dr. Francesco Gentile. Aside from research, Hazem enjoys swimming, mythbusting and competitive duck herding.

Meet Thanawat, a passionate Pharmacist with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Rangsit University, Thailand. His expertise lies in developing innovative drug delivery systems through a blend of computational methods and organic synthesis. As a former researcher at Siriraj Hospital, Thailand, he focused on discovering new medicinal compounds against Dengue virus using both computational and laboratory techniques. Furthering his academic journey, Thanawat earned a master’s degree in Chemistry and Biology from Universität Siegen, Germany. His thesis centered on developing Kinetic Monte Carlo/MD simulations based on Eyring’s theory. Currently pursuing his dreams at the University of Ottawa, Thanawat finds joy in his leisure activities. A devoted AC Milan fan, he loves playing and watching football. Embracing his German influence, he enjoys leisurely walks around the city and trail walking in his free time.

Yasaman earned her B.Sc. in Computer Science from Alzahra University, Tehran. She then completed her MSc in Computer Science with a focus on AI at uOttawa. For her Master’s research, she developed a self-training, semi-supervised model for an online machine learning-based intrusion detection system, crucial for adapting to evolving cyber threats with limited labeled data. During her Master’s, she gained hands-on experience with machine learning project life cycles, deep learning architectures, natural language processing, and strategies for handling imbalanced data. In her free time, Yasaman enjoys long walks in nature and learning the violin.

Jean-Paul started in the lab in December 2022 as UROP student, and he is now continuing as a honours student, co-supervised by Prof. Pezacki.

Kamron is an undergraduate student with a passion for exploring the intersection of medicine and computational science. His interests lie in applying machine learning, bioinformatics, and data-driven approaches to advance medical research and improve patient outcomes. Throughout his academic career, Kamron has gained experience in both wet and dry lab environments at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine, and the TMM program. Outside the lab, Kamron enjoys listening to music, going to the gym, and being with friends and family.

Michaela is a visiting Ph.D. student from the lab led by Prof. Michele Vendruscolo at the University of Cambridge.