People

Dr. Amy Lee received her Ph.D. in Cell and Systems Biology from University of Toronto, and was a postdoctoral fellow at University of British Columbia. Her research focuses on understanding the dynamic interactions between host and pathogens, using both experimental and bioinformatic approaches. Her work ranges from understanding the molecular virulence and antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in pathogens, to looking at host immune responses during development or infection such as sepsis or COVID-19. In her spare time, she likes to work on food fermentation experiments such as culturing sourdough and making kimchi.

Mike completed his PhD in Microbiology at Indiana University, where he investigated cell division in the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus. He then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Iowa and the University of British Columbia, studying bacterial motility, cellular signaling, biofilms, and antimicrobials. His work led to an interest in infectious diseases, microbiomes, and genomics. When he’s not in the lab, he enjoys spending time with his family and taking his dog for walks up and down Burnaby Mountain.

Erica is a bioinformatician who eats ‘omics data for breakfast. She is currently using machine learning techniques to find molecular signatures for neonatal sepsis, as well as for disease severity in Covid patients. In her spare time she likes to hike preposterous distances, preferably on difficult terrain.

Travis is an experienced bioinformatician, who has worked on a large variety of omics projects, commonly engaging with RNA-Seq data to derive biological insights . His research areas include characterizing immune development in neonates, vaccine response in older adults, and bacterial motility and biofilm analyses. He enjoys creating R/Shiny apps and R packages to make data and tools available for use by the broader scientific community. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking and camping in the outdoors, playing guitar, and reading.

Breanna is a postdoctoral fellow in the Lee Lab tracking the immune system development in newborns and how sepsis, vaccination, or climate factors cause deviations from a normal trajectory. On weekends she is happily hiking, playing volleyball, or spending time outdoors with friends and family.

Olga is a postdoctoral fellow in the Cullis/Russell Lab and the Lee Lab, contributing to the development of mRNA-LNP bacterial vaccines. Her main focuses are sequencing clinical isolates and establishing challenge models for immunization studies. She loves traveling, hiking in the lakes and mountains of BC, and camping (when the weather cooperates with her Spanish blood!)

Negin is a graduate student in the Lee Lab exploring host immune responses by applying bioinformatic analyses to understand complex human diseases focusing on the critical area of neonatal sepsis. Her project specifically aims to unravel the impact of prematurity and sepsis on neonatal immune developmental trajectories using whole-blood transcriptomics. In her spare time, she enjoys weight lifting at the gym, drinking ice coffee and watching true crime tv shows.

Jonathan is a graduate student in the Lee Lab studying plasmids within Klebsiella pneumoniae. He aims to understand the distribution and dynamics of plasmids by using phylogenetics, comparative genomics, microbial GWAS. In his spare time, he enjoys playing volleyball, practicing piano, and breaking learning his Linux desktop.

Miguel studies the impact of the microbiome in human disease. He is a Medical Doctor from the Universidad del Valle (Colombia) and has a MSc in Experimental Medicine (UBC). He has experience working in clinical research of neglected tropical diseases and biomarker discovery for Cystic Fibrosis. In his spare time, he likes to ride his bicycle (weather permitting), read fiction literature, and listen to punk rock music.

Alex is an undergraduate student in the Lee lab. Her current project involves evaluating DNA uptake capacity of Klebsiella pneumoniae. In her spare time, she enjoys soccer, swimming, running, and reading.

Mila is an undergraduate student majoring in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at SFU, doing a directed research semester in the Lee and Brinkman labs. She is currently examining the role of specific genes in the virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with the use of AlphaFold analyses of protein structure, cloning techniques, and virulence assays with a C. Elegans model of infection. In her spare time she enjoys playing video games, baking, and karaoke.