Biography:

 

Dr Osborne completed her doctoral research training at the University of British Columbia, focusing on cytokine-mediated regulation of T cell development and function. With support of the Edmond J Safra Irvington fellowship from the Cancer Research Institute, she completed post-doctoral fellowship training at the University of Pennsylvania where her research examined immune regulation at barrier surfaces. Dr Osborne joined the faculty at UBC in 2015 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2023. Her research program aims to dissect pathways by which the intestinal ecosystem influences host-protective antiviral immunity and pathogenic autoimmune responses, particularly in the context of multiple sclerosis. Her goal is to understand how specific microbes (including multicellular helminthic worms), microbial communities, and the metabolites they produce, interact with the host immune system to identify levers that can optimize host health and immunity. Dr Osborne is funded by CIHR, NSERC, MS Canada and philanthropic organizations. She has been the recipient of the CAG-CIHR Early Career Researcher Partnership Prize and a Canada Research Chair in Host-Microbiome Interactions.