Dr. Claire Kamaliddin received her PharmD and PhD from the University Paris Descartes in Paris, France. For her PhD and PharmD, her work focused on malaria parasite clearance in returning travelers under the supervision of Dr. Sandrine Houze at the French National Malaria Reference Center. Her graduate work in the MERIT research group, supervised by Dr. Gwladys Bertin and Dr. Philippe Deloron, was concentrated on a multiomics approach to better understand severe pediatric malaria. Claire then moved to Canada for her postdoctoral training, and worked for several teams at the University of Calgary, conducting various research including in vitro models to study Lyme disease pathogenesis, malaria in pregnancy, and blood stream infection from Candida spp.

She joined the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Alberta in July 2025, where she is currently an Assistant Professor. 

Zahra Rezaei is a Research Assistant in the P.O.IN.T Lab. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology with a minor in Entrepreneurship from the University of Tehran. 

Zahra is passionate about cutting-edge biology, with a particular focus on exploring genomes and developing innovative techniques to advance research. 

Outside the lab, she enjoys solving puzzles, skating, and embracing new experiences that fuel her curiosity about the world.  

Linkedin 

Jack has a diverse background spanning both private industry and academic research in microbiology and infectious diseases. After two years in industry, he transitioned back to academia as a research assistant, lab manager, and project manager, where he specialized in infectious disease diagnostics. In this role, Jack contributed to the development and improvement of point-of-care technologies for pathogens such as malaria, HPV, and respiratory viruses, as well as studies aimed at advancing malaria eradication.

Building on this experience, Jack is now pursuing a master’s degree in microbiology and infectious diseases, with a focus on the lung microbiome and improving outcomes for individuals suffering from respiratory diseases. He is supporting P.O.IN.T as a lab specialist.

Hi, my name is Hala, and I am a first-year PharmD student at the University of Alberta with a completed Bachelor of Science in Pharmacology. My research experience spans patient-oriented, clinical, biomedical devices, and translational settings, with a focus on integrating patient and caregiver perspectives into meaningful, real-world health research as well as coordinating early-stage clinical trial formation.

I currently work as a Research Assistant in the P.O.IN.T. Lab, where I support the MYCAN Project, a pilot and feasibility study examining mycobiome and Candida carriage in patients receiving biologic therapies. My role currently involves a regulatory role, supporting research ethics submissions, developing plain-language patient and caregiver materials, and contributing to patient-facing study communications and protocol set-up. 

 Linkedin 

Hi, my name is Simran Dhami. I am a second year PharmD student at the University of Alberta. My research interests center on improving clinical pharmacy practice and addressing gaps between evidence and real-world practice, particularly in areas such as antimicrobial stewardship. 

I currently work as a Research Assistant in the P.O.IN.T Lab where I support a systematic review examining the impact of candidemia on clinical outcomes in hospitalized neonates. I am motivated by the potential of research to drive meaningful improvements in healthcare and hope to continue integrating research into my career to enhance patient care and optimize clinical practice.

I am a Student Research Assistant with POINT. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Alberta and am currently a PharmD student at the University of Alberta. I have experience with a broad range of research methods and techniques and have completed two directed research projects, one focused on RNA splicing and the other on optimizing reverse metal ion staining of SDS-PAGE gels. Outside the lab, I enjoy playing basketball, watching sports, and telling people I would have been a chess grandmaster—had I started much earlier in life. 

Susan is a research assistant in the wet lab side of P.O.IN.T. Susan completed her BSc. (Hons) in Plant Biology and MSc in Molecular Biology at the University of Calgary, where her work focused on developing and implementing CRISPR-based systems in field peas to produce agronomically valuable traits. Shifting gears from plants to people, she is now in her first year of the PharmD program at the University of Alberta and expanding her research horizons into the world of pathogenic yeast.