| IIDR Newsletter - Issue 27 May 13th, 2019
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| | | | MDCL Makeover! The IIDR Opens New Lab Spaces on 2nd Floor
The IIDR welcomes five Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences professors to their new laboratory spaces on the 2nd floor of the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery.
|
|
Scientists Look for New Antimicrobials and Urge Government Incentives
Dr. Lori Burrows comments on the consequences of antimicrobial resistance and the dire need for new solutions in this AHCJ article. Learn More >
|
| Remember to Get Your Vaccine Booster!
The antibodies created during boosters wane with age. Dr. Dawn Bowdish speaks to Global News about why it’s important to keep your immunizations up to date. Learn More >
|
|
| Developing New TB Vaccine Strategies
Dr. Zhou Xing and Dr. Fiona Smaill have been developing a new generation of TB vaccines for over 15 years. Their efforts are highlighted in CIHR's "III Featured Research". Learn More >
|
| Students Granted IIDR Awards at BASEF 2019
Congratulations to this year’s recipients of the Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair’s (BASEF) Michael G. DeGroote IIDR Internship Awards. Learn More >
|
|
|
|
|
| | Member Highlight An IIDR Trainee Writing Initiative
|
| A sticky way to find new drugs – hijacking a danger response in Pseudomonas aeruginosa to reveal novel antimicrobial compounds
by Dr. Bushra Ilyas, Postdoctoral Fellow, Coombes Lab
Dr. Lori Burrows and her research team have stumbled upon an intriguing new approach to identify compounds with potential anti-microbial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
|
| | | The IIDR Welcomes Toyota Tsusho North America to McMaster
Dr. Eric Brown and Dr. Tohid Didar welcomed Toyota Tsusho North America to McMaster University last week with a tour of the IIDR. Guests included Toyota Tsusho America President Mr. Akihiro Sago and Toyota Tsusho Canada President Mr. Hidetoshi Tada. This is Toyota Tsusho’s second visit to the IIDR this year. In March, Dr. Lori Burrows led Toyota Tsusho Canada delegates through the IIDR’s CMCB to highlight the university’s various initiatives in antimicrobial and infectious disease research. Learn more about Toyota's visits to the IIDR here.
|
| IIDR Team Gives Lessons in Food Safety
IIDR principal investigator Dr. Dawn Bowdish and trainees from the Bowdish and Wright Lab visited Dundas Central Elementary School this month to teach Grade 5 students some important lessons in food microbiology - including how pasteurization, filtration and high sugar/salt content help to keep food safe. A special thanks to Grade 5 teacher Mr. Bell (far right) for his ongoing commitment to inspiring young minds about the wonders of science. |
| Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database - Release of RGI 5!
This update includes the curation of drug-resistant dihydrofolate reductases, aminoglycoside nucleotidyltransferases, and C. difficile murG, rpoB, gyrB. The update has also added NDM-11 & PNGM-1 beta-lactamases. CARD released the Resistance Gene Identifier Version 5 (RGI5), which includes the addition of new algorithms for metagenomics data analysis and new options for the analysis of genomes & assemblies. CARD, Resfinder, NCBI, ARDIT, AMRTime, and PHAC/IRIDA have also joined forces for collective community curation of AMR genes and mutations. Submit, discuss, and resolve AMR curation issues here.
|
|
Celebrating Our Students!
IIDR trainees have been highly successful this year in securing a number of reputable awards. Below we highlight seven exceptional students whose recent honours will allow them to continue to make meaningful impacts in their unique fields of research.
|
|
Irene Guo, Undergraduate Summer Student
Congratulations to Irene Guo of Dr. Lori Burrows' lab on not only being awarded a Cystic Fibrosis Canada Summer Studentship Grant for her work on the project “Old drug, new trick: a thiostrepton-iron chelator combination for CF pathogens", but for being honoured with the 2019 Cystic Fibrosis Canada Karen Lackey Summer Studentship Award as the top-ranked applicant. Karen Lackey was an inspirational leader in the Cystic Fibrosis community and a strong supporter of early stage researchers. This funding and recognition will help support Irene’s research within the IIDR on Pseudomonas aeruginosa growth inhibition mechanisms. |
|
Wael Elhenawy, Postdoctoral Fellow
With excitement we congratulate Coombes Lab Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Wael Elhenawy on his many successes so far this year. In the last five months alone, Dr. Elhenawy has contributed to four published research articles, including lead authorship on a Cell Host & Microbe publication that investigated how pathogenic strains of E. coli contribute to Crohn's disease. Using metagenomics and biochemical approaches, Dr. Elhenawy unravelled new traits that differentiate Crohn's disease-associated bacteria from gut commensals. In recognition of his research excellence, the 2018 Gerard Wright Postdoctoral Award in Infection Research recipient also received a CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship. |
|
Allison Guitor, PhD Candidate Emily Bordeleau, PhD Candidate
David Sychantha, Postdoctoral Fellow
Wright Lab trainees Allison Guitor, Emily Bordeleau, and Dr. Dave Sychantha each received CIHR Research Awards this year for research projects related to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These competitive awards are granted to highly-qualified individuals in all areas of health research with the intention of helping researchers generate new knowledge or expand the existing knowledge base. Learn more about these student's AMR research projects here. |
|
|
Tim Klein, PhD Candidate
Within Dr. John Whitney's lab, PhD candidate Tim Klein studies how the type VII secretion system (T7SS) of Gram-positive bacteria allow them to export toxic effectors that mediate inter-bacterial killing. For this work, Tim was granted the Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship, as well as a BBS Graduate Student Travel Award that will give him the incredible opportunity to present his research at ASM Microbe 2019 in San Fransisco - a highly anticipated meeting in the field of the microbial sciences. Further, the Canadian National Committee for Crystallography granted Tim the Larry Calvert Travel Award, allowing him to travel to Saskatoon this summer to learn about X-ray crystallography at the Canadian Light Source. |
|
Derek Chan, Masters Student
April was an incredible month for Burrows Lab Masters student Derek Chan, who was awarded three honourable scholarships related to personal achievement and research excellence. The Chemical Biology student was awarded a McMaster Graduate Scholarship salary award, a highly competitive Canada Graduate Scholarship from NSERC, and a Chemical Biology Travel Award in recognition of his “highly meritorious contributions to scientific literature”. The latter will allow Derek to present his work on drug combinations for ESKAPE pathogens (the leading cause of nosocomial infections throughout the world) at the upcoming Canadian Society for Microbiology symposium. |
|
|
| | | PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases May 1, 2019
|
| Angewandte Chemie International Edition
April 24, 2019
|
| American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
April 12, 2019
|
| AIDS and Behavior April 6, 2019
|
| American Heart Journal
March 11, 2019
|
|
| Journal of Molecular Biology April 25, 2019
|
| Current Opinion in Microbiology April 15, 2019
|
| | |
|
| | | | | You're Invited! The David Braley Centre for Antibiotic Discovery - Official Opening Mon., June 24th, 10:00am - 12:00am, MDCL 1st & 2nd Floor
Please join us for the official opening of the David Braley Centre for Antibiotic Discovery, taking place on Monday, June 24th! The event will begin with an official announcement of the new Centre on the 2nd Floor of the MDCL (main corridor) and will follow with a lunch reception in the 1st Floor MDCL Atrium. Additional details, including RSVP instructions and the event program, will follow in the coming weeks.
|
| Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences: Autoclave Training Session
Tues., May 21, 10:00am - 10:30am & 10:30am - 11:00am, HSC 4H23
The Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences will be offering a hands-on Autoclave training session to those who have already completed the Health and Safety office Autoclave Training found through Mosaic here. Note that you will not be permitted to attend the hands-on session without proof that the Mosaic portion of the training has been completed. Please contact Wendy Harrisson at harrissw[at]mcmaster[dot]ca with your name and PI requesting attendance by Friday, May 17th.
|
| IIP Seminar Series: "SOCS1 in Immunity, Inflammation and Cancer" Wed., May 22, 9:00am - 10:00am, MDCL 3023
The Immunology and Infection Program within the McMaster University Immunology Research Centre is hosting Dr. Subburaj Ilangumaran from the University of Sherbrooke. Dr. Ilangumaran is a Professor within the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The main research theme of his laboratory is to understand how cytokines contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases and cancer.
|
| Life Sciences Ontario (LSO) Knowledge and Networking Breakfast: "Antimicrobial resistance and alternative approaches to human health and infectious diseases." Thurs., May 23, 7:30am – 10:00am, Farncombe Atrium HSC 3N (Blue Section, 3rd Floor)
Description: The overuse of antibiotics is increasingly challenging the way we conduct modern medicine. This has created tremendous potential for innovative approaches from the Life Sciences community to treat both infectious diseases and to explore the microbiome through a different lens. Speakers include Dr. Mark Leob, Dr. Emma Allen-Vercoe, and Dr. Lori Burrows. Register online here. |
| BBS Seminar: "The diverse and unexpected ways that prophages shape the lives of bacteria" Tues., May 28, 11:30am - 12:30am, MDCL 3020
The BBS Graduate Student Association and Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences are co-hosting Dr. Siân Owen from Harvard University Medical School. Dr. Owen is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Dr. Michael Baym's lab in the Department of Biomedical Informatics. Her talk will describe her recent work illustrating the role of newly-discovered prophage genes in bacterial resistance to phage predation, and research into physiological and evolutionary mechanisms by which prophages can sensitize bacteria to antibiotics. Coffee and cookies will be served at 11:15am. |
| Crohn’s and Colitis Canada's 24th Annual Gutsy Walk
Sun., June 2, Confederation Park (Edgewater Pavilion) 585 Van Wagners Beach Rd., Hamilton
Cures for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are only steps away! Join Crohn’s and Colitis Canada on Sunday, June 2nd for their 24th Annual Gutsy Walk to walk, jog, or run towards a future free from Crohn’s and colitis. Learn more about this year's walk here. |
| Ontario Summer School on Advanced Research Computing
Mon., June 10 to Fri., June 14, McMaster University
The Ontario Summer School on Advanced Research Computing is an annual educational event for graduate/undergraduate students, postdocs and researchers engaged in a compute intensive research. The school provides attendees with the opportunity to learn and share knowledge and experience in high performance and advanced research computing on modern HPC platforms. The school will be at McMaster University from June 10th to the 14th, and a few of the courses may be of interest to our students and members - particularly metagenomics assembly, machine learning, and R for data analytics. Find out more here. |
| | | | Two NIH-Funded Postdoctoral Positions
Dr. Mario Feldman’s laboratory at the Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, USA is looking to fill two NIH-funded postdoctoral fellow positions. The Feldman lab investigates the virulence and survival mechanisms of the opportunistic pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii, and the successful candidates will be driving research into the molecular mechanisms that govern protein secretion and cell surface organization in this pathogen. Find out more about the position and how to apply here. |
| Three Tenure-Track Faculty Positions in Biomedical Science
The Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine (CABM) at Rutgers University, in conjunction with the departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Neuroscience & Cell Biology, and Pharmacology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School seek outstanding candidates for tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor to fill three new faculty positions. Successful candidates will be provided with competitive start-up packages, access to high performance computing clusters and other core resources, and modern laboratory space at CABM, and will be expected to develop and maintain strong, externally funded research programs, and participate in collaborative projects with other Departments and Institutes on the campus. Find out more about these positions and how to apply here. |
| Post-Doctoral Fellow or Research Scientist
IIDR member Dr. Zeinab Hosseini-Doust is looking for a postdoctoral fellow or research scientist to conduct phage display experiments including library construction and screening for high affinity binders, and troubleshooting technical problems. Qualifications include a PhD in Molecular Biology or related field and experience in Molecular Biology. Required Skill Set: Experience with RNA isolation, RT-PCR, cDNA, and Molecular Cloning, construction of cDNA libraries, DNA sequencing, bacterial and/or yeast expression and purification of proteins, strong organizational, documentation, and record keeping skills, and observational and troubleshooting skills. In order to be considered, please send your resume and a brief cover letter to doust[at]mcmaster[dot]ca. |
| Volunteers Needed!
The Bowdish Lab within the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine are looking for volunteers between the ages of 20 and 40 for their study
on how the immune system controls upper respiratory microbiota. Donors
will need to donate about 2.5 mls of blood, a nasal swab, a nasal
brushing and nasal secretions. Interested participants are encouraged to contact Dr. Dawn Bowdish at bowdish[at]mcmaster[dot]ca for more information. |
|
| Life Sciences Ontario Scholarship Program
Deadline: May 17th, 2019
The Life Sciences Ontario (LSO) Scholarship Program was established in collaboration with AstraZeneca, Bayer, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Horizon Pharma, Novo Nordisk, Roche and Sanofi Canada. The scholarship is open to students with a permanent address in Mississauga, currently enrolled in their 1st and 2nd year of their undergraduate degree program. 20 scholarships will be awarded at $4000 each, and winners will also participate in a one-on-one mentorship with a professional in their field of study. Learn more about the scholarship and how to apply here. |
| Post-Doctoral Fellow
Dr. Stephanie DeWitte-Orr's team at Wilfrid Laurier University is seeking a Postdoctoral Fellow for a 1 year MITACS Accelerate funded project beginning April or May 2019. The individual will study how long double-stranded RNA modulates innate immune responses at the cellular level. Qualifications: PhD in the Biological Sciences; namely, Cell and Molecular Biology, Immunology or related field. In order to be considered, please send a current curriculum vitae including a publication list, the names of three references and a brief cover letter to sdewitteorr[at]wlu[dot]ca.
|
| Faculty Position
The Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy (GCBA) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center invites applications for for a tenure-leading, Assistant/Associate Professor position at the interdisciplinary area of ‘Bioinformatics and Human Microbiome’ to start Fall 2019. The incumbent will complement the existing strengths in genomics, metagenomics, infectious diseases, and bioinformatics at UNMC. They are seeking a dynamic faculty member who interfaces with crosscutting disciplines such as cancer, neuroscience, infectious diseases, precision medicine, etc. to integrate the human microbiome research applications. To find out more about this position, please contact babu.guda[at]unmc[dot]edu or visit the posting here. |
| Post-Doctoral Fellow
Dr.’s Michael Organ and Christopher Boddy from the Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Ottawa are looking to recruit a postdoctoral fellow with expertise in biocatalysis and protein engineering to participate in an interdisciplinary project centered around the development of an enzyme-transition metal tandem catalysis system. Candidates with expertise in automation and the ability to work closely with synthetic organic chemists are preferred. If interested, please send a CV and letter of interest to organ[at]uottawa[dot]ca and cboddy[at]uottawa[dot]ca. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Have Something Exciting to Share?
|
| | Christy GrovesCommunications Coordinator Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research David Braley Centre for Antibiotic Discovery
MDCL 2235 | McMaster University (905) 525-9140 x 22448 grovec3@mcmaster.ca www.mcmasteriidr.ca |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
