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.

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.

Joud is a research technician at the Lee lab, co-supervised by Dr. Brinkman and Dr. Hsiao. She is currently working on nanopore sequencing and phenotype assays of antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms responsible for neonatal sepsis. When she’s not in the lab, Joud likes to take pictures, bake delicious treats, and seek out new adventures and experiences with her friends.

Kevin is a graduate student in the Lee Lab focusing on comparative genomics to characterize Klebsiella pneumoniae infections in neonates for his MSc project. He enjoys learning new songs to play on the ukulele in his spare time and is frequently seen playing billiards.

Negin is a research assistant in the Lee lab with an undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. She is currently characterizing pathogen-associated genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa to determine their virulence functions. In her spare time, she enjoys weight lifting at the gym, drinking ice coffee and watching true crime tv shows.

Jonathan is a research assistant in the Lee Lab studying Klebsiella pneumoniae using microbial GWAS and pangenome analyses to identify targets of interest. In his spare time, he enjoys playing volleyball and practicing piano.

Pearl is an undergraduate student who is co-supervised by Dr. Lavoie and is working at the Lee Lab for her co-op term. Her project is based on finding any viral transcripts in RNA sequencing data of septic neonates. In her spare time, she enjoys playing spikeball and badminton with her friends and family.

Chloe is an undergraduate student in the UBC-BCIT Joint Honours in Biotechnology program. She is currently utilizing cloning strategies to determine the virulence functions of pathogen-associated genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. She is also working on developing cloning strategies to produce microbial pigments. In her spare time she enjoys biking, crocheting, and finding cute coffee shops around Vancouver with her friends.

Xiao is an undergraduate student helping with the detection of viral infections using RNA sequencing data from human samples. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring restaurants with friends, watching anime, and doing workouts at the gym.

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.

Lauren is a Molecular Biology and Biochemistry undergraduate student doing a directed research term in the Lee Lab. She is researching the relationship between aerobic metabolism and biofilm production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In her free time she enjoys crocheting, exploring new places to eat and the company of family and friends.

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.