Meet the Lead Researchers

Pathology & Molecular Medicine, McMaster University

Fiona Smaill is a Professor Emerita in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster University. Following a successful career as an academic infectious diseases physician and microbiologist, her interest now is supporting clinical trials of mucosal vaccines for infectious diseases. McMaster’s research on the development of new vaccines for tuberculosis delivered by aerosol positioned the team well to respond to the COVID pandemic and Dr. Smaill is presently leading McMaster’s Phase 2 study of a novel inhaled COVID vaccine.

Medicine, McMaster University

Zhou Xing is a Professor in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University. He leads an immunology research program which focuses on respiratory immunity, infectious diseases, and vaccine development. Dr. Xing’s lab has made landmark preclinical discoveries regarding lung macrophage functions, T-cell responses, and mucosal vaccination, all of which have informed his broader research into the development of new tuberculosis and COVID vaccines.