Sara received her BSc in biochemistry (2005) from the University of Guelph. She then completed her PhD in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences (2011) at McMaster University under the supervision of Dr. Murray S. Junop. In 2012, Sara joined the laboratory of Dr. R. Scott Williams at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in North Carolina, before returning back to McMaster University to establish her lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences in 2017. Sara’s love of science continues outside the lab, where she studies food science through baking treats for her lab and physics by playing goal in her hockey league.

Sara received her BSc in biochemistry (2005) from the University of Guelph. She then completed her PhD in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences (2011) at McMaster University under the supervision of Dr. Murray S. Junop. In 2012, Sara joined the laboratory of Dr. R. Scott Williams at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in North Carolina, before returning back to McMaster University to establish her lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences in 2017. Sara’s love of science continues outside the lab, where she studies food science through baking treats for her lab and physics by playing goal in her hockey league.

Mick Bhatia’s research examines the parallels between the behaviour of human stem cells and the initial stages of the development of human cancer, in order to advance understanding of how cancer begins.

Research Interests: human stem cell fate decisions, disease focus and translational impact, model systems and technologies

Mick Bhatia’s research examines the parallels between the behaviour of human stem cells and the initial stages of the development of human cancer, in order to advance understanding of how cancer begins.

Research Interests: human stem cell fate decisions, disease focus and translational impact, model systems and technologies

Research in the Bishop Lab is focused on the biogenesis of bacterial cell envelopes, including biochemical studies of lipid transport, the bacterial outer membrane enzyme PagP, as well as enzymology and signal transduction of lipid A (endotoxin).

Research in the Bishop Lab is focused on the biogenesis of bacterial cell envelopes, including biochemical studies of lipid transport, the bacterial outer membrane enzyme PagP, as well as enzymology and signal transduction of lipid A (endotoxin).

Dr. Eric Brown is a Distinguished University Professor at McMaster University in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and member of the M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research. 

Dr. Brown is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and has received a number of other awards including the Canadian Society of Microbiologists Murray Award for career achievement and the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences Merck Frosst Prize for new investigators.  He recently held a Killam Research Fellowship from the Canada Council for the Arts and is currently a Canada Research Chair in Microbial Chemical Biology. 

Dr. Brown is a former department Chair and was also the founding Director of the Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization program. He has served on advisory boards for a variety of companies as well as national and international associations, including a term as President of the Canadian Society of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology. He was a member of the Medical Review Panel of the Gairdner Foundation, member of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Infection and Immunity of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and College Chair advising the Canadian Institutes of Health Research on peer review, and a member of the Advisory Board of the EU’s Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Research. Currently, he is a member of the editorial board of ACS Infectious Diseases and the Series Editor of the annual Antimicrobial Therapeutics Review of the Annals of the New York Academy of Science. 

Brown Lab researchers are innovating in diverse areas of drug discovery using tools of chemical and systems biology to probe the complex biology that underlies disease states. The goal of these studies is to contribute to fresh directions for new therapeutics. 

If you are interested in a position at Brown Lab, please visit our contact page for more information on how to get in touch with Dr. Brown.

Dr. Eric Brown is a Distinguished University Professor at McMaster University in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and member of the M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research. 

Dr. Brown is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and has received a number of other awards including the Canadian Society of Microbiologists Murray Award for career achievement and the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences Merck Frosst Prize for new investigators.  He recently held a Killam Research Fellowship from the Canada Council for the Arts and is currently a Canada Research Chair in Microbial Chemical Biology. 

Dr. Brown is a former department Chair and was also the founding Director of the Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization program. He has served on advisory boards for a variety of companies as well as national and international associations, including a term as President of the Canadian Society of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology. He was a member of the Medical Review Panel of the Gairdner Foundation, member of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Infection and Immunity of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and College Chair advising the Canadian Institutes of Health Research on peer review, and a member of the Advisory Board of the EU’s Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Research. Currently, he is a member of the editorial board of ACS Infectious Diseases and the Series Editor of the annual Antimicrobial Therapeutics Review of the Annals of the New York Academy of Science. 

Brown Lab researchers are innovating in diverse areas of drug discovery using tools of chemical and systems biology to probe the complex biology that underlies disease states. The goal of these studies is to contribute to fresh directions for new therapeutics. 

If you are interested in a position at Brown Lab, please visit our contact page for more information on how to get in touch with Dr. Brown.

Professor Lori Burrows is a molecular microbiologist whose research interests include biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, bacteriophages, and ubiquitous bacterial adhesins called type IV pili (T4P). Her research is funded by CIHR, NSERC, CFI, ORF, plus industrial and philanthropic sources. She holds a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Microbe-Surface Interactions, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. She is the Associate Director of McMaster University’s Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Diseases Research, a member of the Advisory Board for CIHR’s Institute for Infection and Immunity, and serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Bacteriology (ASM), the Journal of Biochemistry (ASBMB), and ACS Infectious Diseases. Her contributions to the field were recognized in 2020 with the Canadian Society for Microbiologists’ (CSM) prestigious Murray Award for Career Achievement. In 2023 she received the John G. Fitzgerald Award from the Canadian Association for Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, and the Canadian Science Publishing Senior Investigator Award from the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences. She is a champion for women in science and in 2021 created the CSM Burrows Award for Womxn in Microbiology, given annually to outstanding female microbiology trainees who advance the cause of equity, diversity, inclusion, and access. 

Professor Lori Burrows is a molecular microbiologist whose research interests include biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, bacteriophages, and ubiquitous bacterial adhesins called type IV pili (T4P). Her research is funded by CIHR, NSERC, CFI, ORF, plus industrial and philanthropic sources. She holds a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Microbe-Surface Interactions, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. She is the Associate Director of McMaster University’s Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Diseases Research, a member of the Advisory Board for CIHR’s Institute for Infection and Immunity, and serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Bacteriology (ASM), the Journal of Biochemistry (ASBMB), and ACS Infectious Diseases. Her contributions to the field were recognized in 2020 with the Canadian Society for Microbiologists’ (CSM) prestigious Murray Award for Career Achievement. In 2023 she received the John G. Fitzgerald Award from the Canadian Association for Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, and the Canadian Science Publishing Senior Investigator Award from the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences. She is a champion for women in science and in 2021 created the CSM Burrows Award for Womxn in Microbiology, given annually to outstanding female microbiology trainees who advance the cause of equity, diversity, inclusion, and access. 

The long-term vision of the Coombes laboratory is to generate fundamental knowledge into how bacterial pathogens override immunological systems. This information can be used as an entry point to drug discovery where the goal of therapy is to harness the power of innate immune systems to eradicate disease-causing microbes and overcome challenges such as antimicrobial resistance. Working at the interface of microbiology and innate immunity, we study host-pathogen dynamics in cell models and pre-clinical models of various infections and chronic conditions. We are particularly interested in drug-resistant bacterial infections and chronic diseases where microbes are disease modifiers, such as inflammatory bowel disease. 

Research Interests: Infectious diseases, microbiology, innate immunity, Crohn’s disease 

The long-term vision of the Coombes laboratory is to generate fundamental knowledge into how bacterial pathogens override immunological systems. This information can be used as an entry point to drug discovery where the goal of therapy is to harness the power of innate immune systems to eradicate disease-causing microbes and overcome challenges such as antimicrobial resistance. Working at the interface of microbiology and innate immunity, we study host-pathogen dynamics in cell models and pre-clinical models of various infections and chronic conditions. We are particularly interested in drug-resistant bacterial infections and chronic diseases where microbes are disease modifiers, such as inflammatory bowel disease. 

Research Interests: Infectious diseases, microbiology, innate immunity, Crohn’s disease 

Dr. Cameron Currie is the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair in Pandemic Research and Prevention at McMaster University in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and a member of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR). 

Research in the Currie Lab is highly interdisciplinary, integrating the fields of microbiology, microbial ecology, evolutionary biology, genetics, and chemistry. Dr. Currie has a strong interest in beneficial microbes serving as a form of evolutionary innovation for diverse animal hosts, from ants to humans. The lab currently focuses on defensive symbionts mediating disease dynamics through the production of antimicrobial compounds and the potential of these molecules as anti-infective drugs. These efforts have identified several promising antifungal drug leads. 

Dr. Currie has received a number of awards, including the NSERC Doctoral Prize, an NSF CAREER Award, and the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering (PECASE) from US President Obama and is a fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) and American Academy of Microbiology. From 2015-2020, Dr. Currie held the Ira L Baldwin chair in the Department of Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  

Dr. Currie has published more than 180 papers and graduated 16 PhD students, 5 MSc students, and provided training to 15 postdoctoral fellows. From these, 6 former PhD student and 9 former postdoctoral fellows are now in tenure-track or tenured faculty positions. 

Dr. Cameron Currie is the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair in Pandemic Research and Prevention at McMaster University in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and a member of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR). 

Research in the Currie Lab is highly interdisciplinary, integrating the fields of microbiology, microbial ecology, evolutionary biology, genetics, and chemistry. Dr. Currie has a strong interest in beneficial microbes serving as a form of evolutionary innovation for diverse animal hosts, from ants to humans. The lab currently focuses on defensive symbionts mediating disease dynamics through the production of antimicrobial compounds and the potential of these molecules as anti-infective drugs. These efforts have identified several promising antifungal drug leads. 

Dr. Currie has received a number of awards, including the NSERC Doctoral Prize, an NSF CAREER Award, and the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering (PECASE) from US President Obama and is a fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) and American Academy of Microbiology. From 2015-2020, Dr. Currie held the Ira L Baldwin chair in the Department of Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  

Dr. Currie has published more than 180 papers and graduated 16 PhD students, 5 MSc students, and provided training to 15 postdoctoral fellows. From these, 6 former PhD student and 9 former postdoctoral fellows are now in tenure-track or tenured faculty positions. 

Dr. De Paoli began her career in Italy, where she earned her MD degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Udine. She worked as a licensed Physician in Italy prior to relocating to Canada to join the Chemical Biology graduate program where she earned a PhD. Her thesis focused on investigating the protective role of estrogen in pancreatic beta cell health and function. Following her PhD, Dr. De Paoli took up a postdoctoral fellowship position in the Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute under the supervision of Dr. Geoff Werstuck.

During her graduate years and postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. De Paoli developed a keen interest in teaching and scholarship of teaching and learning, completing a Teaching and Learning Scholar Certificate program, and a Teaching and Learning Foundations Certificate program from the MacPherson Institute. She also contributed to the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences as an Undergraduate Instructor prior to becoming a teaching professor in the same department.

Dr. De Paoli began her career in Italy, where she earned her MD degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Udine. She worked as a licensed Physician in Italy prior to relocating to Canada to join the Chemical Biology graduate program where she earned a PhD. Her thesis focused on investigating the protective role of estrogen in pancreatic beta cell health and function. Following her PhD, Dr. De Paoli took up a postdoctoral fellowship position in the Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute under the supervision of Dr. Geoff Werstuck.

During her graduate years and postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. De Paoli developed a keen interest in teaching and scholarship of teaching and learning, completing a Teaching and Learning Scholar Certificate program, and a Teaching and Learning Foundations Certificate program from the MacPherson Institute. She also contributed to the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences as an Undergraduate Instructor prior to becoming a teaching professor in the same department.

The Gupta lab uses genome sequences to identify novel molecular markers that are useful for diagnostic, therapeutic and evolutionary studies.

The Gupta lab uses genome sequences to identify novel molecular markers that are useful for diagnostic, therapeutic and evolutionary studies.

Hong received her BSc (honours) at the University of British Columbia. She then completed her PhD in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto, with Dr. Benjamin Blencowe and Dr. Jason Moffat. Immediately after her PhD, in 2016, Hong was honoured as the first recipient of the prestigious Donnelly Home Research Fellow Fund at the University of Toronto, which allowed her to become a semi-independent investigator to develop projects and supervise a research team. In 2022, Hong was appointed as an assistant professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) and a principal investigator at the Centre for Discovery in Cancer Research (CDCR) at McMaster University.

The Han Lab works at the interface of cancer biology, RNA and multilayer gene regulation and innovative high-throughput technologies. Dr. Han and her team have pioneered developing and applying several integrated technological platforms for large-scale genetic/drug screening and ultra-high-throughput single-cell profiling. Leveraging the power of these systematic experimental and computational approaches, together with in vitro, in vivo and patient cohort studies, they discover multilayer regulatory mechanisms underlying cancer progression and RNA-multimodal therapeutics for treatment-resistant cancer. Her team strives to create a collaborative, supportive and stimulating environment for multi-disciplinary cancer research.

Hong received her BSc (honours) at the University of British Columbia. She then completed her PhD in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto, with Dr. Benjamin Blencowe and Dr. Jason Moffat. Immediately after her PhD, in 2016, Hong was honoured as the first recipient of the prestigious Donnelly Home Research Fellow Fund at the University of Toronto, which allowed her to become a semi-independent investigator to develop projects and supervise a research team. In 2022, Hong was appointed as an assistant professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) and a principal investigator at the Centre for Discovery in Cancer Research (CDCR) at McMaster University.

The Han Lab works at the interface of cancer biology, RNA and multilayer gene regulation and innovative high-throughput technologies. Dr. Han and her team have pioneered developing and applying several integrated technological platforms for large-scale genetic/drug screening and ultra-high-throughput single-cell profiling. Leveraging the power of these systematic experimental and computational approaches, together with in vitro, in vivo and patient cohort studies, they discover multilayer regulatory mechanisms underlying cancer progression and RNA-multimodal therapeutics for treatment-resistant cancer. Her team strives to create a collaborative, supportive and stimulating environment for multi-disciplinary cancer research.

The Houlahan lab applies statistical genetic approaches to large-scale cancer genomics data to uncover the role of inherited variation in somatic mutagenesis and tumour evolution. We systematically interrogate both tumour intrinsic mechanisms, i.e. transcriptional and epigenetic regulation, as well as tumor extrinsic mechanisms, i.e. immune surveillance, by which inherited variants modulate oncogenic mutations. We also investigate the impact inherited variants have on DNA alignment and downstream bioinformatic workflows. Taken together, our work will motivate novel biomarkers that can be measured from blood, making strides towards improved cancer screening and early detection.

The Houlahan lab applies statistical genetic approaches to large-scale cancer genomics data to uncover the role of inherited variation in somatic mutagenesis and tumour evolution. We systematically interrogate both tumour intrinsic mechanisms, i.e. transcriptional and epigenetic regulation, as well as tumor extrinsic mechanisms, i.e. immune surveillance, by which inherited variants modulate oncogenic mutations. We also investigate the impact inherited variants have on DNA alignment and downstream bioinformatic workflows. Taken together, our work will motivate novel biomarkers that can be measured from blood, making strides towards improved cancer screening and early detection.

Lindsay Kalan

Lindsay Kalan

The Li Lab works on the interface between chemistry and biology. Their overall research interest is to examine unusual functions of nucleic acids and to be creative about them. Their group is also interested both in the study of basic functions of these molecules (basic science focus of the lab) and in the exploration of these molecules as novel molecular tools for therapeutics, biomolecular detection, drug discovery and nanotechnology.

The Li Lab works on the interface between chemistry and biology. Their overall research interest is to examine unusual functions of nucleic acids and to be creative about them. Their group is also interested both in the study of basic functions of these molecules (basic science focus of the lab) and in the exploration of these molecules as novel molecular tools for therapeutics, biomolecular detection, drug discovery and nanotechnology.

As a graduate of McMaster’s Biochemistry Undergraduate Program, Dr. MacDonald remained at McMaster and pursued a PhD in the Medical Sciences Graduate Program in the Faculty of Health Sciences, in the area of muscle biochemistry. Her PhD thesis focused on “The regulation of carbohydrate and lactate metabolism in human skeletal muscle”. She continued with a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Waterloo, in the Department of Kinesiology, where her research focused on “Fatty acid transport proteins in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue of lean and obese patients and their role in the development of Type 2 diabetes”. 

She is a Teaching Professor currently teaching in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences. She is also the Co-Director for the Integrated Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences program which is a joint program between the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering. 

As a graduate of McMaster’s Biochemistry Undergraduate Program, Dr. MacDonald remained at McMaster and pursued a PhD in the Medical Sciences Graduate Program in the Faculty of Health Sciences, in the area of muscle biochemistry. Her PhD thesis focused on “The regulation of carbohydrate and lactate metabolism in human skeletal muscle”. She continued with a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Waterloo, in the Department of Kinesiology, where her research focused on “Fatty acid transport proteins in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue of lean and obese patients and their role in the development of Type 2 diabetes”. 

She is a Teaching Professor currently teaching in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences. She is also the Co-Director for the Integrated Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences program which is a joint program between the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering. 

We work with a small nematode, C. elegans, to study how environment impacts health and development. The environmental factors we focus on are diet and microbiota.

Both diet and microbiota have been reported to influence neuronal health, however, the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. We are examining the effects of these environmental factors on neuronal function and on age-related neuronal decline. We also use models of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases to study the impact of environment on neurodegeneration.

We work with a small nematode, C. elegans, to study how environment impacts health and development. The environmental factors we focus on are diet and microbiota.

Both diet and microbiota have been reported to influence neuronal health, however, the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. We are examining the effects of these environmental factors on neuronal function and on age-related neuronal decline. We also use models of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases to study the impact of environment on neurodegeneration.

Dr. Nathan Magarvey is the founder and chief scientific officer of Adapsyn Bioscience, and is responsible for all aspects of the company’s current collaboration with Pfizer. Additionally, he is an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Natural Products and Chemical Biology in the Departments of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and Chemistry & Chemical Biology, at McMaster University.

He joined McMaster from Harvard Medical School and previously spent time in the pharmaceutical industry working for Wyeth Research, where he was directly involved in the discovery of new antibiotic and therapeutic microbial natural product small molecules. Dr. Magarvey’s research focuses on disrupting how the discovery of microbial metabolites is done and, in particular, how to leverage the ability to connect Genomes to Natural Products. His research has advanced the discovery of new microbial small molecules. His work leads to research intersecting the interfaces of medicine, biology, chemistry and computer science.

Dr. Nathan Magarvey is the founder and chief scientific officer of Adapsyn Bioscience, and is responsible for all aspects of the company’s current collaboration with Pfizer. Additionally, he is an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Natural Products and Chemical Biology in the Departments of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and Chemistry & Chemical Biology, at McMaster University.

He joined McMaster from Harvard Medical School and previously spent time in the pharmaceutical industry working for Wyeth Research, where he was directly involved in the discovery of new antibiotic and therapeutic microbial natural product small molecules. Dr. Magarvey’s research focuses on disrupting how the discovery of microbial metabolites is done and, in particular, how to leverage the ability to connect Genomes to Natural Products. His research has advanced the discovery of new microbial small molecules. His work leads to research intersecting the interfaces of medicine, biology, chemistry and computer science.

Dr. Magolan was born in Wloclawek, Poland and raised in Kitchener, Canada. He completed his undergraduate studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, earning degrees in both chemistry and physical and health education, while also playing a little bit of volleyball. As an undergraduate student, he worked with Professor Robert Lemieux on the synthesis of new liquid crystals. He obtained his PhD in 2007, from Western University, Canada, under the mentorship of Professor Michael Kerr, working in the fields of natural products synthesis and synthetic methodology. He did postdoctoral research at the Eskitis Institute for Drug Discovery in Brisbane, Australia working in the field of anti-pancreatic cancer medicinal chemistry under the guidance of Professor Mark Coster.

Jakob began his independent career in 2010, in the Department of Chemistry at University of Idaho, where he established an NSF-funded research program in synthetic methodology and was the department’s primary instructor of organic chemistry. Jakob earned tenure and promotion to associate professor at the University of Idaho. He received recognition for his commitment to undergraduate research and education.

In 2017, Jakob moved from Idaho to McMaster University to become an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and the inaugural holder of the Boris Family Endowed Chair of Drug Discovery. At McMaster, Dr. Magolan maintains an interest in developing efficient new methodologies for organic synthesis and his research program has also expanded to include a wide range of collaborative projects focused on drug discovery and hit-to-lead medicinal chemistry.

Dr. Magolan was born in Wloclawek, Poland and raised in Kitchener, Canada. He completed his undergraduate studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, earning degrees in both chemistry and physical and health education, while also playing a little bit of volleyball. As an undergraduate student, he worked with Professor Robert Lemieux on the synthesis of new liquid crystals. He obtained his PhD in 2007, from Western University, Canada, under the mentorship of Professor Michael Kerr, working in the fields of natural products synthesis and synthetic methodology. He did postdoctoral research at the Eskitis Institute for Drug Discovery in Brisbane, Australia working in the field of anti-pancreatic cancer medicinal chemistry under the guidance of Professor Mark Coster.

Jakob began his independent career in 2010, in the Department of Chemistry at University of Idaho, where he established an NSF-funded research program in synthetic methodology and was the department’s primary instructor of organic chemistry. Jakob earned tenure and promotion to associate professor at the University of Idaho. He received recognition for his commitment to undergraduate research and education.

In 2017, Jakob moved from Idaho to McMaster University to become an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and the inaugural holder of the Boris Family Endowed Chair of Drug Discovery. At McMaster, Dr. Magolan maintains an interest in developing efficient new methodologies for organic synthesis and his research program has also expanded to include a wide range of collaborative projects focused on drug discovery and hit-to-lead medicinal chemistry.

The McArthur laboratory’s research program is rooted in bioinformatics, functional genomics, and computational biology. It spans complex informatics approaches to the functional genomics of microbial drug resistance, development of biological databases, next generation sequencing for genome assembly and molecular epidemiology, automated literature curation approaches, and controlled vocabularies for biological knowledge integration. As the David Braley Chair in Computational Biology, his lab leads the Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database (CARD.mcmaster.ca) and are associated with the Canadian Anti-Infective Innovation Network (CAIN-amr.ca), International Genomic Epidemiology Application Ontology Consortium (GenEpio.org), and Integrated Rapid Infectious Disease Analysis Platform (IRIDA.ca). 

The McArthur laboratory’s research program is rooted in bioinformatics, functional genomics, and computational biology. It spans complex informatics approaches to the functional genomics of microbial drug resistance, development of biological databases, next generation sequencing for genome assembly and molecular epidemiology, automated literature curation approaches, and controlled vocabularies for biological knowledge integration. As the David Braley Chair in Computational Biology, his lab leads the Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database (CARD.mcmaster.ca) and are associated with the Canadian Anti-Infective Innovation Network (CAIN-amr.ca), International Genomic Epidemiology Application Ontology Consortium (GenEpio.org), and Integrated Rapid Infectious Disease Analysis Platform (IRIDA.ca). 

Research Interests: pandemics, influenza virus, coronavirus, vaccines, antivirals, virus/host interactions, neurodegenerative diseases, B cells, antibodies

Research Interests: pandemics, influenza virus, coronavirus, vaccines, antivirals, virus/host interactions, neurodegenerative diseases, B cells, antibodies

Dr. Caitlin Mullarkey is a teaching professor and the associate chair of undergraduate education in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences. She is focused on providing undergraduates with a rigorous and cutting-edge scientific education that will allow them to excel in diverse careers and graduate/professional school. At the heart of her approach to teaching is student-centered active learning, which encourages cooperation between students and facilitates a collaborative approach to the learning process. Drawing on her own background in research, the pedagogical strategies she utilizes emphasize that information and knowledge are dynamic, therefore, problems and solutions evolve over time.

With extensive training and expertise in infectious disease and vaccine development, she teaches virology, cell biology, biochemistry and immunology to undergraduates at all levels. She is keenly interested in developing new curricula and her current scholarship centers on exploring advanced methods of delivering learning content. Working alongside Dr. Felicia Vulcu, she designed and launched a massive open online course (MOOC) called DNA Decoded. Her ongoing research projects include evaluating the integration of virtual reality labs into both laboratory and non-laboratory courses, technology enhanced learning and other innovative methods to bridge the gap between scientific theory and practice.

Dr. Mullarkey received her doctorate from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in viral immunology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York City) under the mentorship of Dr. Peter Palese. She is the 2019-20 recipient of the McMaster Student Union Teaching Award for the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Dr. Caitlin Mullarkey is a teaching professor and the associate chair of undergraduate education in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences. She is focused on providing undergraduates with a rigorous and cutting-edge scientific education that will allow them to excel in diverse careers and graduate/professional school. At the heart of her approach to teaching is student-centered active learning, which encourages cooperation between students and facilitates a collaborative approach to the learning process. Drawing on her own background in research, the pedagogical strategies she utilizes emphasize that information and knowledge are dynamic, therefore, problems and solutions evolve over time.

With extensive training and expertise in infectious disease and vaccine development, she teaches virology, cell biology, biochemistry and immunology to undergraduates at all levels. She is keenly interested in developing new curricula and her current scholarship centers on exploring advanced methods of delivering learning content. Working alongside Dr. Felicia Vulcu, she designed and launched a massive open online course (MOOC) called DNA Decoded. Her ongoing research projects include evaluating the integration of virtual reality labs into both laboratory and non-laboratory courses, technology enhanced learning and other innovative methods to bridge the gap between scientific theory and practice.

Dr. Mullarkey received her doctorate from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in viral immunology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York City) under the mentorship of Dr. Peter Palese. She is the 2019-20 recipient of the McMaster Student Union Teaching Award for the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Dr Sloboda is a Professor and the Associate Chair of Research in the Dept of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University, Canada. She completed her PhD training at the University of Toronto in Physiology in 2001 following which she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia. In 2006 she was recruited to the Liggins Institute at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and where from 2008 -2011, she was the Deputy Director of the National Research Centre for Growth and Development. In 2012, she left Auckland to take up a faculty position at McMaster University and held a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Perinatal Programming for 10 years. 

Dr Sloboda’s laboratory investigates early life impacts on maternal, fetal and placental development and the risk of non-communicable disease later in life. Her experimental studies investigate parental nutrient manipulation on pregnancy adaptations, including the microbiome, placental inflammation and offspring reproductive and metabolic function.?In community-based health studies, Dr Sloboda engages with expectant mothers and services that support pregnant women, developing community-based knowledge transfer and work programs to promote and advocate for health behaviours before and after conception. She has investigated the impacts of COVID on adolescent health and well-being and developed resources that target the need of adolescents during the pandemic and is currently the lead on The Art of Creation Project: an arts-based knowledge translation program, with the Art Gallery of Hamilton.  

In 2015, Dr Sloboda was awarded the International Society of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Nick Hales Award for outstanding research contribution to the field of early life programming, and in 2017 won the Hamilton YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in Science Trade, and Technology. In 2019 she was awarded the FHS McMaster University Graduate supervision award for her outstanding student mentoring and in 2022 received the McMaster University Faculty Association Outstanding Service Award. 

Dr Sloboda is one of the founding co-Presidents of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Society of Canada, and was the Secretary and member of the Executive of the International Society for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease for 10 years. She has published >135 papers in leading scientific journals and book chapters, on the early life origins of health and disease.

Dr Sloboda is a Professor and the Associate Chair of Research in the Dept of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University, Canada. She completed her PhD training at the University of Toronto in Physiology in 2001 following which she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia. In 2006 she was recruited to the Liggins Institute at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and where from 2008 -2011, she was the Deputy Director of the National Research Centre for Growth and Development. In 2012, she left Auckland to take up a faculty position at McMaster University and held a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Perinatal Programming for 10 years. 

Dr Sloboda’s laboratory investigates early life impacts on maternal, fetal and placental development and the risk of non-communicable disease later in life. Her experimental studies investigate parental nutrient manipulation on pregnancy adaptations, including the microbiome, placental inflammation and offspring reproductive and metabolic function.?In community-based health studies, Dr Sloboda engages with expectant mothers and services that support pregnant women, developing community-based knowledge transfer and work programs to promote and advocate for health behaviours before and after conception. She has investigated the impacts of COVID on adolescent health and well-being and developed resources that target the need of adolescents during the pandemic and is currently the lead on The Art of Creation Project: an arts-based knowledge translation program, with the Art Gallery of Hamilton.  

In 2015, Dr Sloboda was awarded the International Society of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Nick Hales Award for outstanding research contribution to the field of early life programming, and in 2017 won the Hamilton YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in Science Trade, and Technology. In 2019 she was awarded the FHS McMaster University Graduate supervision award for her outstanding student mentoring and in 2022 received the McMaster University Faculty Association Outstanding Service Award. 

Dr Sloboda is one of the founding co-Presidents of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Society of Canada, and was the Secretary and member of the Executive of the International Society for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease for 10 years. She has published >135 papers in leading scientific journals and book chapters, on the early life origins of health and disease.

Jon received his BHSc in 2011 and his PhD in antimicrobial chemical biology in 2016, both from McMaster University. From 2017–21 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, carrying a prestigious Banting Fellowship from 2018–20. Upon completing his postdoc, Jon established his laboratory back at McMaster in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, in August 2021.

The Stokes lab leverages a mindful balance of experimental and computational approaches to discover the next generation of life-saving antibiotics with novel structures and functions that expand the capabilities of these medicines beyond the current state of the art. One of our primary interests, quite broadly, is in the application of deep learning approaches to help us predict the antibacterial properties of structurally novel small molecules. Moreover, we seek to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying tolerance to antibiotics, which is the case where conventional bactericidal antibiotics fail to eradicate genetically antibiotic-susceptible bacterial cells. Indeed, these poorly understood antibiotic tolerant bacterial populations are responsible for prolonging antibiotic treatment durations in immunocompromised patients and facilitating the evolution of bona fide antibiotic resistance.

Along with his scientific endeavors, Jon has a strong interest in increasing the rate at which fundamentally novel antibiotics are developed, approved and administered to patients in need. To this end, as a postdoc he co-founded a non-profit organization, Phare Bio, which aims to de-risk promising antibiotic candidates and position these molecules for more rapid advancement through the clinical trial process. At McMaster, Jon is motivated to identify new and unconventional ways that we can more efficiently and less expensively turn our discoveries into life-saving medicines.

Jon received his BHSc in 2011 and his PhD in antimicrobial chemical biology in 2016, both from McMaster University. From 2017–21 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, carrying a prestigious Banting Fellowship from 2018–20. Upon completing his postdoc, Jon established his laboratory back at McMaster in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, in August 2021.

The Stokes lab leverages a mindful balance of experimental and computational approaches to discover the next generation of life-saving antibiotics with novel structures and functions that expand the capabilities of these medicines beyond the current state of the art. One of our primary interests, quite broadly, is in the application of deep learning approaches to help us predict the antibacterial properties of structurally novel small molecules. Moreover, we seek to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying tolerance to antibiotics, which is the case where conventional bactericidal antibiotics fail to eradicate genetically antibiotic-susceptible bacterial cells. Indeed, these poorly understood antibiotic tolerant bacterial populations are responsible for prolonging antibiotic treatment durations in immunocompromised patients and facilitating the evolution of bona fide antibiotic resistance.

Along with his scientific endeavors, Jon has a strong interest in increasing the rate at which fundamentally novel antibiotics are developed, approved and administered to patients in need. To this end, as a postdoc he co-founded a non-profit organization, Phare Bio, which aims to de-risk promising antibiotic candidates and position these molecules for more rapid advancement through the clinical trial process. At McMaster, Jon is motivated to identify new and unconventional ways that we can more efficiently and less expensively turn our discoveries into life-saving medicines.

Bernardo Trigatti, or Dino, has been working at the Hamilton General with The Thrombosis & Atherosclerosis Research Institute (TaARI), since January 2010. He says that as a child he was fascinated by nature and constantly asking questions. This led to an interest in research: “I’ve always been interested in discovery and asking questions and finding answers,” he says.

With TaARI, Trigatti’s research has been focused on causes and prevention of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis, also known as the hardening of the arteries, is caused by a build-up of cholesterol in the blood vessels and can reduce blood flow to key organs such as the heart and brain.

This is not to say all cholesterol is bad, Trigatti says, “All cells need cholesterol to grow . . . but too much cholesterol can build up and causes problems.”  He is researching the interaction of cells in transferring cholesterol into and out of artery walls.

Research Interests

Cholesterol is made inside cells and then gets packaged into lipoproteins, which transport the cholesterol through the blood stream. If a person has high levels of a type of lipoprotein called LDL in their blood, cholesterol can build up in the artery walls. Normally, cells in people’s immune system clear the arteries by taking in the cholesterol themselves. These inflammatory cells then release the cholesterol to an “acceptor”, which is usually another lipoprotein called HDL. The HDL then carries the cholesterol to the liver where it can be recycled or eliminated. This process occurs in everyone but many people suffering from atherosclerosis have trouble moving cholesterol to the liver so it builds up, hardening in their arteries.

Bernardo Trigatti, or Dino, has been working at the Hamilton General with The Thrombosis & Atherosclerosis Research Institute (TaARI), since January 2010. He says that as a child he was fascinated by nature and constantly asking questions. This led to an interest in research: “I’ve always been interested in discovery and asking questions and finding answers,” he says.

With TaARI, Trigatti’s research has been focused on causes and prevention of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis, also known as the hardening of the arteries, is caused by a build-up of cholesterol in the blood vessels and can reduce blood flow to key organs such as the heart and brain.

This is not to say all cholesterol is bad, Trigatti says, “All cells need cholesterol to grow . . . but too much cholesterol can build up and causes problems.”  He is researching the interaction of cells in transferring cholesterol into and out of artery walls.

Research Interests

Cholesterol is made inside cells and then gets packaged into lipoproteins, which transport the cholesterol through the blood stream. If a person has high levels of a type of lipoprotein called LDL in their blood, cholesterol can build up in the artery walls. Normally, cells in people’s immune system clear the arteries by taking in the cholesterol themselves. These inflammatory cells then release the cholesterol to an “acceptor”, which is usually another lipoprotein called HDL. The HDL then carries the cholesterol to the liver where it can be recycled or eliminated. This process occurs in everyone but many people suffering from atherosclerosis have trouble moving cholesterol to the liver so it builds up, hardening in their arteries.

Ray Truant completed his graduate studies in the Department of Medical Genetics, in the lab of Jack F. Greenblatt at the C.H. Best Institute. For his graduate work, his studies focused on protein-protein interactions of the P53 tumor-suppressor protein and P53 mechanism of activation of transcription. 

After receiving his doctorate in 1996, Ray studied as a post-doctoral research associate at the Howard Hughes Medical Research Institute (HHMI) at Duke University, in the department of Genetics with Dr. Bryan R. Cullen. While at the HHMI, his research centred on protein-protein interactions of HIV-1 proteins. 

In 1999, Ray was appointed assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University, where he started new projects on polyglutamine diseases, focusing on Huntington’s Disease. In 2001, Ray won the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) New Scientist Award and his group is now supported by operating grants from Canada and the United States. This includes CIHR, NSERC, NRFR, US HDF, HSC, The Krembil Foundation, CFI and OIT. 

Ray was chair of the Scientific Advisory board and Board Officer of the Huntington Society of Canada,  2007-2021. He was the external scientific advisor to HDBuzz website 2011–16. The Truant lab, with Dr. Celeste Suart, initiated SCAsource.net in 2018. Ray is a recipient of the 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the 2014 Michael Wright Community Leadership Award. 

The Truant lab is in an academic setting but highly collaborative with pharmaceutical industry and biotech partners, as well as our clinical collaborators, in addition to our efforts in Knowledge Translation. Dr. Truant is Co-director on the McMaster Centre for Advanced Light Microscopy (CALM) since 2021. 

The Truant lab has current projects in HD, SCA1 and SCA7 and is moving toward elucidating universal mechanisms in age-onset neurodegeneration, with current focus on DNA damage repair. His lab develops and utilizes state-of-the-art microscopy methods including machine-based learning and scoring. High Content Screening, Biophotonics as well as signal assignment and image processing using Artificial Intelligence and large scale automated image quantification using the KNIME platform.  

Ray Truant completed his graduate studies in the Department of Medical Genetics, in the lab of Jack F. Greenblatt at the C.H. Best Institute. For his graduate work, his studies focused on protein-protein interactions of the P53 tumor-suppressor protein and P53 mechanism of activation of transcription. 

After receiving his doctorate in 1996, Ray studied as a post-doctoral research associate at the Howard Hughes Medical Research Institute (HHMI) at Duke University, in the department of Genetics with Dr. Bryan R. Cullen. While at the HHMI, his research centred on protein-protein interactions of HIV-1 proteins. 

In 1999, Ray was appointed assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University, where he started new projects on polyglutamine diseases, focusing on Huntington’s Disease. In 2001, Ray won the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) New Scientist Award and his group is now supported by operating grants from Canada and the United States. This includes CIHR, NSERC, NRFR, US HDF, HSC, The Krembil Foundation, CFI and OIT. 

Ray was chair of the Scientific Advisory board and Board Officer of the Huntington Society of Canada,  2007-2021. He was the external scientific advisor to HDBuzz website 2011–16. The Truant lab, with Dr. Celeste Suart, initiated SCAsource.net in 2018. Ray is a recipient of the 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the 2014 Michael Wright Community Leadership Award. 

The Truant lab is in an academic setting but highly collaborative with pharmaceutical industry and biotech partners, as well as our clinical collaborators, in addition to our efforts in Knowledge Translation. Dr. Truant is Co-director on the McMaster Centre for Advanced Light Microscopy (CALM) since 2021. 

The Truant lab has current projects in HD, SCA1 and SCA7 and is moving toward elucidating universal mechanisms in age-onset neurodegeneration, with current focus on DNA damage repair. His lab develops and utilizes state-of-the-art microscopy methods including machine-based learning and scoring. High Content Screening, Biophotonics as well as signal assignment and image processing using Artificial Intelligence and large scale automated image quantification using the KNIME platform.  

Felicia Vulcu is an associate professor (teaching stream) in the department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University. Her primary teaching focus is on laboratory-based courses and curriculum design. She constantly strives to create safe, inclusive environments conducive to life-long learning. She uses several teaching practices, such as team-based learning, problem based learning, and virtual lab simulations, that allow students to apply biochemistry techniques to biomedical problems like drug discovery. She has also delved into online learning with the creation of an online biochemistry course designed to introduce students to biochemistry fundamentals. Dr Vulcu has also designed multiple Open Education Resources (OER).

Dr. Vulcu was fortunate to be part of the design and implementation of a new program launched by the BBS department: biomedical discovery and commercialization (BDC). She is currently involved in BDC curriculum design and implementation. Of note, is the creation of an advanced BDC laboratory course aimed at exposing students to the inquiry process of research while emphasizing team-based learning, critical analysis of data, experimental design, and other transferable skills.

Dr. Vulcu is a recipient of the President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning (2017), McMaster Students Union Teaching Award (2016), McMaster Students Union Pedagogical Innovation Award (2013) and the McMaster Students Union Merit in Teaching Award (2009).

Felicia Vulcu is an associate professor (teaching stream) in the department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University. Her primary teaching focus is on laboratory-based courses and curriculum design. She constantly strives to create safe, inclusive environments conducive to life-long learning. She uses several teaching practices, such as team-based learning, problem based learning, and virtual lab simulations, that allow students to apply biochemistry techniques to biomedical problems like drug discovery. She has also delved into online learning with the creation of an online biochemistry course designed to introduce students to biochemistry fundamentals. Dr Vulcu has also designed multiple Open Education Resources (OER).

Dr. Vulcu was fortunate to be part of the design and implementation of a new program launched by the BBS department: biomedical discovery and commercialization (BDC). She is currently involved in BDC curriculum design and implementation. Of note, is the creation of an advanced BDC laboratory course aimed at exposing students to the inquiry process of research while emphasizing team-based learning, critical analysis of data, experimental design, and other transferable skills.

Dr. Vulcu is a recipient of the President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning (2017), McMaster Students Union Teaching Award (2016), McMaster Students Union Pedagogical Innovation Award (2013) and the McMaster Students Union Merit in Teaching Award (2009).

John received his BSc in biological chemistry, in 2007, from the University of Guelph. He then completed his PhD in biochemistry at the University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children. From 2013–16 John was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Washington in Seattle, before establishing his lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster in 2017.

Research in the Whitney Lab seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie microbe-microbe interactions.

Bacterial Competition Mediated by the Type VI Secretion System: The bacterial type VI secretion system is a recently identified protein translocation pathway used by Gram-negative bacteria to deliver toxins to neighbouring bacteria in a cell contact-dependent manner. The Whitney Lab is interested in understanding how these antibacterial proteins are transported from one cell to another and how they exert toxicity once delivered to a target cell.

Type VII Secretion-dependent Interbacterial Antagonism: In contrast to their Gram-negative counterparts, the pathways involved in interbacterial antagonism between Gram-positive bacteria has long remained elusive. In recent work, the Whitney Lab and others have found that the type VII secretion system exports antibacterial toxins that mediate interbacterial competition. Elucidating the mode of action of these toxins will allow for the identification of new vulnerabilities in Gram-positive cells that can be exploited for the development of new antibiotics.

Exopolysaccharide Secretion and Interbacterial Adhesion: Many species of bacteria exist in dense cellular aggregates held together by bacterially produced exopolysaccharides. In this form, bacteria are difficult to eradicate due in part to decreased efficacy of antibiotics. The Whitney Lab is interested in determining how bacterial exopolysaccharides are synthesized and exported from the cell.

John received his BSc in biological chemistry, in 2007, from the University of Guelph. He then completed his PhD in biochemistry at the University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children. From 2013–16 John was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Washington in Seattle, before establishing his lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster in 2017.

Research in the Whitney Lab seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie microbe-microbe interactions.

Bacterial Competition Mediated by the Type VI Secretion System: The bacterial type VI secretion system is a recently identified protein translocation pathway used by Gram-negative bacteria to deliver toxins to neighbouring bacteria in a cell contact-dependent manner. The Whitney Lab is interested in understanding how these antibacterial proteins are transported from one cell to another and how they exert toxicity once delivered to a target cell.

Type VII Secretion-dependent Interbacterial Antagonism: In contrast to their Gram-negative counterparts, the pathways involved in interbacterial antagonism between Gram-positive bacteria has long remained elusive. In recent work, the Whitney Lab and others have found that the type VII secretion system exports antibacterial toxins that mediate interbacterial competition. Elucidating the mode of action of these toxins will allow for the identification of new vulnerabilities in Gram-positive cells that can be exploited for the development of new antibiotics.

Exopolysaccharide Secretion and Interbacterial Adhesion: Many species of bacteria exist in dense cellular aggregates held together by bacterially produced exopolysaccharides. In this form, bacteria are difficult to eradicate due in part to decreased efficacy of antibiotics. The Whitney Lab is interested in determining how bacterial exopolysaccharides are synthesized and exported from the cell.

Dr. Dawit received his MD (1987) and MSc (1993) in Medical Microbiology from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He then completed his PhD in the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (2000) at Karolinska Institute in Sweden. In 2022, Dawit was working at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health Systems, in Toronto, before joining the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University in 2023. His research interests focus on the role of chronic immune activation on the pathophysiology of disease progression of viral diseases, and pathogen genomic epidemiology in low-income countries. Dr. Dawit has received several research grant awards, and has published 115 scientific manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, and 2 book sections. He is also a Senior Research Fellow of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trial Partnership (EDCTP).

Dr. Dawit received his MD (1987) and MSc (1993) in Medical Microbiology from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He then completed his PhD in the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (2000) at Karolinska Institute in Sweden. In 2022, Dawit was working at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health Systems, in Toronto, before joining the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University in 2023. His research interests focus on the role of chronic immune activation on the pathophysiology of disease progression of viral diseases, and pathogen genomic epidemiology in low-income countries. Dr. Dawit has received several research grant awards, and has published 115 scientific manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, and 2 book sections. He is also a Senior Research Fellow of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trial Partnership (EDCTP).

Gerry Wright is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and an associate member in the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, and Pathology and Molecular Medicine.

Dr. Gerry Wright received his BSc in biochemistry (1986) and his PhD in chemistry (1990) from the University of Waterloo, working in the area of antifungal drugs under Dr. John Honek. He followed this up with two years of postdoctoral research in Chris Walsh’s lab at Harvard Medical School, in Boston, where he worked on the molecular mechanism of resistance to the antibiotic vancomycin in enterococci. He joined the Department of Biochemistry at McMaster in 1993.

He holds the Michael G. DeGroote Chair in Infection and Anti-Infective Research and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Antibiotic Biochemistry. From 2001–07 Gerry served as chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster.

Gerry was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2012) and a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (2013). He is the recipient of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Scientist (2000-2005), Medical Research Council of Canada Scholar (1995-2000), Killam Research Fellowship (2011-1012), R.G.E. Murray Award for Career Achievement of the Canadian Society of Microbiologists (2013), NRC Research Press Senior Investigator Award from the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences (2016), Premier’s Research Excellence (1999) and the Polanyi Prize (1993). In 2016, he was named a McMaster Distinguished University Professor.

Gerry has served on grant panel advisory boards and chaired grant panels for a number of funding agencies in Canada, USA and Europe, and consults widely for the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.

He is the author of over 240 manuscripts and is a member of the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals including mBio, Antimicrobial Agents Chemotherapy, Cell Chemistry and Biology and the Journal of Antibiotics. He is an associated editor of ACS Infectious Diseases and Editor of Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Antimicrobial Therapeutics Reviews.

Gerry’s Batman job is drummer for the “Null Hypothesis”, a pants-dropping, hard rocking, booty-shaking cover band.

Gerry Wright is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and an associate member in the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, and Pathology and Molecular Medicine.

Dr. Gerry Wright received his BSc in biochemistry (1986) and his PhD in chemistry (1990) from the University of Waterloo, working in the area of antifungal drugs under Dr. John Honek. He followed this up with two years of postdoctoral research in Chris Walsh’s lab at Harvard Medical School, in Boston, where he worked on the molecular mechanism of resistance to the antibiotic vancomycin in enterococci. He joined the Department of Biochemistry at McMaster in 1993.

He holds the Michael G. DeGroote Chair in Infection and Anti-Infective Research and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Antibiotic Biochemistry. From 2001–07 Gerry served as chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster.

Gerry was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2012) and a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (2013). He is the recipient of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Scientist (2000-2005), Medical Research Council of Canada Scholar (1995-2000), Killam Research Fellowship (2011-1012), R.G.E. Murray Award for Career Achievement of the Canadian Society of Microbiologists (2013), NRC Research Press Senior Investigator Award from the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences (2016), Premier’s Research Excellence (1999) and the Polanyi Prize (1993). In 2016, he was named a McMaster Distinguished University Professor.

Gerry has served on grant panel advisory boards and chaired grant panels for a number of funding agencies in Canada, USA and Europe, and consults widely for the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.

He is the author of over 240 manuscripts and is a member of the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals including mBio, Antimicrobial Agents Chemotherapy, Cell Chemistry and Biology and the Journal of Antibiotics. He is an associated editor of ACS Infectious Diseases and Editor of Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Antimicrobial Therapeutics Reviews.

Gerry’s Batman job is drummer for the “Null Hypothesis”, a pants-dropping, hard rocking, booty-shaking cover band.

Daniel Yang

Daniel Yang

Research Focus 

Potassium, sodium and calcium ion channels control fundamental physiological processes in the cell by allowing selective permeation of ions through the membrane. These channels are involved in muscle contraction, transferring information in the nervous system, controlling the pace of the heart, secretion of hormones and other processes. The crucial physiological role of ion channels has made them targets for deadly toxins synthesized by various organisms as the attack or defense weapons. Cardiovascular, neuroprotective, psychotropic and local anesthetic drugs represent great therapeutic potential of ion channel ligands. Advances in the X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM microscopy of membrane proteins have opened an unprecedented avenue for computational modeling of ion channels. We use parallel computers and sophisticated software, including AlphFold2, to build 3D models of ion channels in different functional states and their complexes with drugs and toxins. The models help us to understand state-dependent binding of ligands and explain intriguing paradoxes in structure-activity. Another direction of our studies is structural analysis of channelopathies – genetic mutations associated with many diseased including cardiac arrhythmias and epilepsies. Results of such studies improve diagnostics and treatment of patients. Hypotheses that emerge from our theoretical models are tested in close collaboration with experimentalists. 

Collaborators (2018–2022) 

• Bregestovski, Piotr – Aix-Marseille University, France 
• Dong, Ke –Duke University, USA. 
• French, Robert – University of Calgary, Canada 
• Finol-Urdaneta, Rocio – Medicine and Health University of Wollongong, Australia 
• Frishman, Dmitriy – Technical University of Munich, Germany 
• Gurevitz, Michael – Tel Aviv University, Israel   
• Jiang, Dingxin – South China Agricultural University, China 
• Kostareva, Anna – Almazov National Medical Research Centre, Russia 
• Rossokhin, Alexey – Research Centre of Neurology, Moscow, Russia 
• Spafford, David – University of Waterloo, Canada 
• Tikhonov, Denis – Sechenov Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg 
• Trauner, Dirk – University of Munich, Germany 
• Yang, Daniel – McMaster University, Canada 
• Yuchi, Zhiguang – Tianjin University, China 

Research Focus 

Potassium, sodium and calcium ion channels control fundamental physiological processes in the cell by allowing selective permeation of ions through the membrane. These channels are involved in muscle contraction, transferring information in the nervous system, controlling the pace of the heart, secretion of hormones and other processes. The crucial physiological role of ion channels has made them targets for deadly toxins synthesized by various organisms as the attack or defense weapons. Cardiovascular, neuroprotective, psychotropic and local anesthetic drugs represent great therapeutic potential of ion channel ligands. Advances in the X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM microscopy of membrane proteins have opened an unprecedented avenue for computational modeling of ion channels. We use parallel computers and sophisticated software, including AlphFold2, to build 3D models of ion channels in different functional states and their complexes with drugs and toxins. The models help us to understand state-dependent binding of ligands and explain intriguing paradoxes in structure-activity. Another direction of our studies is structural analysis of channelopathies – genetic mutations associated with many diseased including cardiac arrhythmias and epilepsies. Results of such studies improve diagnostics and treatment of patients. Hypotheses that emerge from our theoretical models are tested in close collaboration with experimentalists. 

Collaborators (2018–2022) 

• Bregestovski, Piotr – Aix-Marseille University, France 
• Dong, Ke –Duke University, USA. 
• French, Robert – University of Calgary, Canada 
• Finol-Urdaneta, Rocio – Medicine and Health University of Wollongong, Australia 
• Frishman, Dmitriy – Technical University of Munich, Germany 
• Gurevitz, Michael – Tel Aviv University, Israel   
• Jiang, Dingxin – South China Agricultural University, China 
• Kostareva, Anna – Almazov National Medical Research Centre, Russia 
• Rossokhin, Alexey – Research Centre of Neurology, Moscow, Russia 
• Spafford, David – University of Waterloo, Canada 
• Tikhonov, Denis – Sechenov Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg 
• Trauner, Dirk – University of Munich, Germany 
• Yang, Daniel – McMaster University, Canada 
• Yuchi, Zhiguang – Tianjin University, China