Carla Osiowy, PhD

Research summary

Dr. Osiowy’s research interests focus on the molecular characterization, epidemiology and evolution of HBV and HDV in Canada, Kenya and in the Indigenous peoples of the circumpolar Arctic.

Dr. Osiowy (retired 2024) was the chief of the Viral Hepatitis and Bloodborne Pathogens Section at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She has undergraduate and graduate degrees in microbiology from UM and a doctorate in virology from the University of Calgary. She completed her post-doctoral training in 1998 in Ottawa with the Bureau of Microbiology, Health Canada (Surveillance, Influenza and Viral Exanthemata group). 

As a research scientist with the Public Health Agency of Canada, she was responsible for managing serological and molecular diagnostic reference services for hepatitis A, B, D, and E viruses (HAV, HBV, HDV, and HEV), investigating HAV and HBV outbreaks or suspected transmission events, and providing molecular analyses of hepatitis viruses for clients such as the Canadian Blood Services.

She has developed numerous techniques for HBV and HDV biomarker detection for use in clinical studies. Her research interests focus on the molecular characterization, epidemiology and evolution of HBV and HDV in Canada, Kenya and in the Indigenous peoples of the circumpolar Arctic.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary (1996)

Master of Science, Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba (1990)

Bachelor of Science (Hons), Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba (1987)