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A quest for a new malaria vaccine with postdoctoral fellow Dr. Danton Ivanochko
Summary:
A dedicated scientist and father of two, Dr. Danton Ivanochko is part of a global effort to prevent malaria.
This story is part of PROPEL, a series exploring the life and research of postdoctoral fellows at SickKids.
The easiest part of the morning for Dr. Danton Ivanochko is his downhill bike ride to work. From an early wake-up around 5:00 a.m. – Ivanochko is father to two toddlers – his daily commute is a relatively peaceful transition into a day of research.
As a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Jean-Philippe Julien’s lab at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Ivanochko is working towards a next-generation vaccine for malaria.
Malaria is a complex disease caused by parasites and spread by mosquitos that gives rise to fever and flu-like symptoms. The disease is global, but predominantly found in sub-Saharan Africa with an over 70 per cent mortality rate in children under five years old.
“Malaria is a global health burden that disproportionately affects young children in developing nations,” Ivanochko says.
“Our lab helps make real progress toward effective malaria vaccines, which are an important part of eliminating the condition globally – and that’s something I want to be a part of.”
A Toronto-based global malaria effort
Ontario-born and raised, Ivanochko had recently returned from a pharmaceutical internship in Austria when he cold-called Julien, a Senior Scientist in the Molecular Medicine program, to talk through his research goals – and there just happened to be an opening in Julien’s lab.
Back in Toronto, Ivanochko now enjoys the central location of the SickKids Research Institute and having access to cutting-edge technology that enables his research. At SickKids’ Nanoscale Biomedical Imaging Facility and the Structural & Biophysical Core Facility, Ivanochko explores how antibodies interact with specific proteins on the surface of the parasite that causes malaria in hopes of developing strategies to fight the condition.
“We’re incredibly fortunate to live in a part of the world that is not directly afflicted by malaria. Our team is privileged to be able to do work that could contribute to lessening the disease burden internationally.”
- Dr. Danton Ivanochko
Transitioning between bench work, meetings and the computational aspect of his research keeps Ivanochko on his toes: every day is packed. It can be busy, but with his two young daughters, so is home. “At least at work, I’m never trying to pull something out of a colleague’s mouth,” he says.
Family matters
As Ivanochko’s career progresses – he recently transitioned into the role of Senior Bioinformatician in Julien’s lab – he hopes to eventually direct his own research team that focuses on developing biomolecules for vaccines, while still finding time to take back-country camping trips with his wife, a high school chemistry teacher, and, one day, his two daughters.
“My daughters are rambunctious, incredibly independent and very different,” he says. “I love watching them grow into themselves.”
When asked if he hopes his daughters will follow in his and his wife’s scientific footsteps, Ivanochko says he would be happy if they chose to pursue careers in science, but ultimately, he wants to support whatever their passions turn out to be and ensure they have the confidence to pursue those goals.
“Right now, our oldest is interested in princesses and heavy equipment vehicles, and our youngest is interested in whatever her big sister is doing – I guess we’ll see how that plays out over time!”
Research highlights
Throughout his doctoral and postdoctoral traineeships, Ivanochko received funding awards from SickKids Restracomp, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Mitacs and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).