Ori Scott

Transition Clinician Scientist, Cell Biology

Dr. Ori Scott received her medical degree in 2015 from the University of Alberta. She subsequently completed a residency program in Paediatrics followed by a fellowship in Paediatric Clinical Immunology and Allergy at the University of Toronto. She then completed a PhD under the supervision of Dr. Ronald Cohn in the Genetics and Genome Biology research program at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).

Dr. Scott has a keen interest in primary immune dysregulation disorders, a group of rare genetic syndrome causing abnormal activity of the immune system. She sees patients in the General Immunology clinic, the Immune Deficiency Early and Advanced Diagnostic (IDEA) clinic, and the Immune Dysregulation clinic (joint clinic with Rheumatology).

Research

Dr. Scott studies the mechanism of primary immune dysregulation disorders. These are genetic syndromes where the function of the immune system is impaired. Patients often have a combination of recurrent infections with autoimmunity, increased inflammation, severe atopy (allergic diseases) or malignancy. Dr. Scott hopes that by better understanding these rare genetic diseases, we would be able to identify treatments applicable to a wide variety of immune conditions.

Education and experience

Degrees

• 2019–2023: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto
• 2011–2015: Doctor of Medicine, University of Alberta

Postgraduate training

• 2018–2023: Fellow, Clinical Immunology and Allergy, University of Toronto
• 2015–2018: Resident, General Paediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto

Certifications and licences

• 2023–Present: Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada (Clinical Immunology and Allergy)
• 2019–Present: Independent Practice License, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
• 2019–Present: Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada (Paediatrics)

Achievements

• 2023: Canadian Allergy Asthma and Immunodeficiency Foundation (CAAIF) and Immunodeficiency Canada Research Fellow/Early Investigator Award in Immunodeficiency
• 2022: Senior Trainee Research Award, Department of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children
• 2018: MD Program Teaching Award for Excellence, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
• 2018: Christopher Ondaatje Resident Award for Clinical Teaching, The Hospital for Sick Children
• 2016: Peters-Boyd Academy Resident Teaching Award, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
• 2015: Sarah Lopaschuk Memorial Award in Pediatrics, University of Alberta

1. Scott O, Visuvanathan S, Reddy E, Gu B, Roifman CM, Cohn RD, Guidos CJ. The human Stat1 gain-of-function T385M mutation causes expansion of activated T-follicular helper/T-helper 1-like CD4 T cells and sex-biased autoimmunity in specific pathogen-free mice. Frontiers in Immunology. 2023 May 19;14:1183273.
2. Scott O, Dadi H, Vong L, Pasternak Y, Garkaby J, Willett Pachul J, Mandola AB, Brager R, Hostoffer R, Nahum A, Roifman CM. DNA‐Binding domain mutations confer severe outcome at an early age among STAT1 gain‐of‐function patients. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. 2022 Jan;33(1):e13694.
3. Scott O, Roifman CM. NF-κB pathway and the Goldilocks principle: Lessons from human disorders of immunity and inflammation. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2019 May 1;143(5):1688-701.
4. Scott O, Kim VH, Reid B, Pham-Huy A, Atkinson AR, Aiuti A, Grunebaum E. Long-term outcome of adenosine deaminase-deficient patients—a single-center experience. Journal of Clinical Immunology. 2017 Aug;37:582-91.