Microbiology
The Davidson laboratory focuses on bacteriophages, the viruses that infect bacteria. They investigate how phages work, and how phage-derived entities can be utilized for applications in human health. We also have discovered and study anti-CRISPRs, which are phage-encoded inhibitors of CRISPR-Cas systems. We endeavour to understand how they work, and how they can be exploited in genome editing applications.
The Ensminger lab is interested in the evolution, persistence, and disease-inducing characteristics of microbial pathogens. We focus our attention primarily on Legionella pneumophila, a bacterial pathogen that maintains the microbial world’s largest known arsenal of translocated effectors. We use a variety of approaches, from advanced sequencing technologies, bioinformatics, microbial genetics, high-throughput genetic and chemogenetic screening, and experimental evolution.
The Houry Lab invesigates the cellular stress response and focuses on three main systems: the R2TP chaperone complex, the Clp system, and the chaperone interaction network. We are also interested in identifying compounds that target protein cellular homeostasis and that can be developed as anticancers or antibacterials.
Our research activities are focused on understanding at the molecular and cellular level biological processes involved in microbial pathogenesis. The insights we gain from our fundamental research are used to develop novel strategies and treatments for bacterial and fungal biofilm related infections.
The Maxwell lab focuses on interactions of bacteria with bacteriophages - viruses that infect bacteria. We leverage a multi-disciplinary approach, combining expertise in phage biology, structural biology, and bioinformatics, with detailed in vitro and in vivo studies to investigate new areas in phage biology. Current projects focus on anti-phage defence and characterizing the dark matter of phage genomes.
Our lab focuses on the structural and functional characterization of protein and ion translocation machineries within the membranes of pathogenic bacteria. We use primarily X-ray crystallography in combination with other molecular approaches to gain a detailed understanding of how these membrane protein complexes function.
In the Nodwell Lab, we scavenge for novel small molecules from microorganisms found in soil, marine sediments, and marine invertebrates. We look for molecules with antibacterial, anti-fungal, immunosuppressant, and anti-cancer activities. We also study the characteristics of multi-drug resistance using techniques such as transcriptomics, resistant-mutants and biochemical assays, and seek to understand how bacteria respond to changing conditions and stresses.
Research in the Parkinson lab is largely driven through the development and application of computational methods. We work with an extensive network of clinicians, parasitologists and immunologists to generate and analyse genomic, metagenomic, metatranscriptomic and metabolomic datasets from a variety of patient and environmental samples.