Elisabeth Renée Marie Tillier

Ontario Cancer Institute
University Health Network
Princess Margaret Hospital
620 University Avenue
Suite 703
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2M9 Canada

Phone: 416 946-4501 ext 3978
email: e.tillier@utoronto.ca
URL: http://www.uhnres.utoronto.ca/tillier/

  Citizenship: Canada, France.
Languages: Fluent in French and English, some Spanish.
 
 

Education

Ph.D. 1994 Department of Botany, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
        Thesis Title: Modeling the Evolution of RNA Secondary Structure:
                                                                       Implications for Phylogenetic Analysis.

M.Sc. 1988 Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
        Thesis Title: The Sampling Distribution of Alleles in Subdivided Populations.
        *Graduated with Distinction.
        *Best Thesis Prize

B.Sc. 1986 Combined Honours, Biology and Applied Computational and Mathematical Sciences, York University, Ontario, Canada.
       *Dean's list.

Memberships

Associate of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIAR), Evolutionary Biology Program (2002-2005)

Program Committee for The Fifth International Conference on Computational Biology and Genome Informatics(CBGI'2003).
 
 

Grants, Scholarships and Awards

2002-2005 Development and Applications of Functional Genomics Technologies, Ontario Genomics Institute, J.Woodgett PI
                    (Co-applicant)

1999- 2003 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
Operating grant ($26 900/anum. Untenable).

1994, 1995 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
Post-Doctoral Fellowship

1991, 1992 Ontario Graduate Scholarship

1989, 1990 NSERC Post-Graduate Scholarship 1988  York University Best Thesis Prize

Work Experience
Research

Oct 2002- current: Scientist, Division of Exprimental Therapeutics, Ontario Cancer Institute, University Health Network. Toronto.

Nov 2000- Sept 2002: Associate Scientist II. Clinical Genomics Centre, University Health Network (Ontario Cancer Institute), Toronto.

Sept 97 -  Oct 2000,
Apr 96 - Dec 96:   Postdoctoral Fellow. Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, University of Toronto.   Supervisor: Dr. Richard A. Collins.
 

Jan 94 - Dec 95: NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow. Wadsworth Center for Laboratories and Research,
                         New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA. Supervisor: Dr. Marlene Belfort.

May 89 - Jan 94:     Ph.D. Candidate. Department of Botany, University of Toronto, Supervisor: Dr. Richard A. Collins.

Sept 86 - Sept 88:   MSc. Candidate. York University, Toronto.  Supervisor: Dr. G. Brian Golding.

June 85 - Aug 85:   Research Apprentice. Centre international de coopération en recherche agronomique (CIRAD) Montpelier, France.

Computing

Sept 91 - June 92:      Local Area Network PC Manager. Department of Molecular and
Medical Genetics, University of Toronto.

Summers 82-85:  Computer Programmer. Palmindustrie, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Teaching/advising

2002 - : PhD. Student commitee member. Stuart Lithwick (Supervisor Dr. B. Gallie), Dept. Medical Genetics, University of Toronto.

2002: Undergraduate course adviser. Bioinformatics (Couse director Dr. G. Burger), Dept. de Biochimie, Université de Montréal.

Sept 89 - May 93: Teaching Assistant. Department of Botany, University of Toronto
BOT 251: Plant Biology, BIO 250: Molecular and Cell Biology, BIO 240: Introductory Genetics and Molecular Biology

Sept 86 - May 89:  Teaching Assistant. Biology Department, York University
BIO 240: Introductory Genetics, NAT 100: Biology of Man

Publications

Tillier, E.R.M  and S. Veerassamy, A transition probability model for amino acid substitutions from BLOCKS
        J. Comp. Biol., Submitted.

Tillier, E.R.M and T.H. Lui (2003). Using multiple interdependency to separate functional from phylogenetic correlations in protein alignments.
       Bioinformatics, in press. manuscript and programs

Tillier, E. R. M. and R. A. Collins (2000). Replication Orientation affects the rate and direction of bacterial gene evolution J. Mol. Evol. 51:459-463

Tillier, E. R. M. and R. A. Collins (2000). Genome Rearrangement by Replication-Directed Translocation. Nature Genetics. 26:195-197

Tillier, E. R. M. and R. A. Collins (2000). The Contributions of Replication orientation, Transcription Orientation and Signal Sequences to Base-Composition Asymmetries in Prokaryotic Genomes. Journal of Molecular Evolution, 50:249-257

Tillier, E. R. M. and R. A. Collins (1998). High apparent rate of simultaneous compensatory base-pair substitutions in ribosomal RNA. Genetics 148:1993-2002

Tillier, E. R. M. and R. A. Collins (1995). Neighbor-Joining and Maximum Likelihood with RNA Sequences: Addressing the Inter-dependence of Sites.
Mol. Biol. Evol. 12:7-15.

Loizos, N., E. R. M. Tillier and M. Belfort (1994). Evolution of Mobile Group I Introns: Recognition of Intron Sequences by an Intron-Encoded Endonuclease. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91:11983-11987.

Tillier, E. R. M. (1994). Maximum Likelihood with Multiparameter Models of Substitution.    J. Mol. Evol. 39:409-417.

Guo, C. T., D. M. De Abreu, E. R. M. Tillier, B. J. Saville, J. E. Olive and R. A. Collins (1992). Nucleotide Sequence Requirements for Self-cleavage of Neurospora VS RNA. J. Mol. Biol. 232:351-361.

Tillier, E. R. M. and G. B. Golding (1989). Homozygosity of Selected Alleles in Subdivided Populations. Theor. Pop. Biol. 36:59-76.

Tillier, E. R. M. and G. B. Golding (1988). A Sampling Theory of Selectively Neutral Alleles in a Subdivided Population. Genetics 119:721-729.
 
 
 

Invited Seminars
 

The Centre for Development for Knowledge and Awareness.  BIOINFORMATICS : THE SCIENCE AND ITS APPLICATION MARCH 20-30, 2003, NEW DELHI (INDIA)

University of of Arizona,  Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Genetics (April 2002), Tucson Arizona

University of Guelph, Computer Science Departmental Seminar (February  2002), Guelph, ON

CIAR, Val David, Quebec (September, 2001)

 Congres de L'Association Canadienne Francaise pout l'Avancement des Sciences. "Colloque  Bio-informatique et ses enjeux en recherche appliquée en Santé"    14-15 mai 2001. Sherbrooke, PQ

 Whole Genome Comparison workshop, Feb 28 - Mar 2, 2001, DIMACS Center, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ

Queen's University, Biochemistry department seminar. February (2001) Kingston, ON

Université de Montréal, Biochemistry department seminar. October (2000) Montreal, PQ

Washington University School of Medicine. James S. McDonnell Department of Genetics Seminar. (October 1999) St Louis MO.

Mathematical Genomics Workshop. Thematic Summer of the Pacific Institute for Mathematical Sciences (PIMS). (June 1999) Vancouver B.C

Conferences presentations:

Tillier, E.R.M  and T. Lui . Separating functional importance from phylogenetic relatedness. Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIAR) Evolutionary Biology Program. (2002), Harrisson Hot Springs BC.

Tillier, E.R.M, S. Veerassamy, T. Lui. Empirical substitution models for protein and rRNA. Evolution 2002, University of Illinois, Urbana Champlain

Tillier, E.R.M  and R.A. Collins.Comparative genome analysis reveals two evolutionary forces associated with DNA replication. Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution (2000), Yale University. New Haven CT.

Tillier, E.R.M  and R.A. Collins. Base-Composition Asymmetries in Prokaryotic Genomes. Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIAR) Evolutionary Biology Program. (1999), Banff AB.

Tillier, E.R.M  and R.A. Collins. (CIAR) Evolutionary Biology Program. (1998), Mont-Rolland, Quebec.

Loizos, N., E. R. M. Tillier, and M. Belfort. Evolution and Splicing of a Mobile Group I Intron. RNA Processing Meeting (1994), Madison, Wisconsin.

Tillier, E. R. M. and R. A. Collins. Modeling the Evolution of RNA Secondary Structure: Implications for Phylogenetic Analysis. Great Lakes Regional Molecular Evolution Meeting (1994), Rochester, New York.

Tillier, E. R. M. and R. A. Collins. Modeling the Evolution of RNA Secondary Structure: Implications for Phylogenetic Analysis. CIAR meeting (1993), Banff, Alberta .

Tillier, E. R. M. and R. A. Collins. Modeling the Evolution of RNA Secondary Structure: Implications for Phylogenetic Analysis. Meeting of the Molecular Biology and Evolution Society (1993), Irvine, California.

Tillier, E. R. M. and G. B. Golding. The Sampling Distribution of Alleles in Subdivided Populations. Populations Genetics Group (1989), Leicester, United Kingdom.
 
 

Posters:

Tillier, E. R. M. and R. A. Collins (2000). Genome Rearrangement by Replication-Directed Translocation. Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIAR) Evolutionary Biology Program. , Digby, NS. Winner of Best presentation/poster prize.

Tillier, E. R. M. and G. B. Golding. The Homozygosity of Selected Alleles in Subdivided Populations. XVIth International Congress of Genetics  (1988), Toronto, Canada. Abstract # 33.12.24. Genome 30, suppl. 1:339.