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Edeline Gagnon

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Our three main axes of research are:
- Ecology and genome size and variation: we study how ecological pressures (e.g., abiotic stress) affect the evolution of transposable elements, genome size, and influence trait and plant fitness. We use species of the genus Solanum as models.
- Population genomics: we investigate how wild relatives of crops can be used to address food security and improve the resilience of their domesticated relatives. We will be expanding in this research area, focusing on more wild species in the genus Solanum that span diverse ecological gradients.
- Macroevolution and biogeography: we aim to understand the mechanism and processes behind the diversification of plants over large time scales.

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Tess Grainger

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In my lab, we're interested in understanding: 1) the interactions between species’ ecological and evolutionary responses to global changes such as warming, invasive species and habitat fragmentation; 2) how coexistence theory can integrate a broader range of competitive outcomes and be applied to questions beyond local coexistence; 3) the role of timing in community assembly; and 4) how local within-patch dynamics and dispersal jointly drive species diversity, and how global changes such as warming and habitat fragmentation are changing this.

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Angela Scott

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Overall, my research program takes an integrative and comparative approach to study glial-neuronal interactions in relation to early development, physical injury, and neurological disease that spans across multiple levels of biological organization (molecular and cellular physiology > systems biology) and multiple model species (zebrafish and mice).
Our two areas of focus are:
1) investigation of glial-mediated mechanisms underlying development and disease;
2) exploration of naturally adaptive models with significant recovery from, or tolerance to, neurological stress or disease.

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Justine Keathley

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Using various omics technologies, my research program seeks to understand how genetic variation influences differing responses to nutrition and how this in turn impacts health outcomes. My research also focuses on translational genomics, and seeks to identify how to best integrate nutritional genomics into clinical practice. In addition, my lab focuses on evaluating potential metabolic and health impacts among carriers of inborn errors of metabolism.

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Andy Turko

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Our goal is to understand how aquatic animals integrate the use of behavioural habitat choice and physiological plasticity to respond to common environmental challenges including temperature extremes, hypoxia, and turbidity. We are interested in learning why these processes can interact via both positive and negative feedback. To achieve this goal, we take a comparative approach that investigates both ends of the “environmental tolerance” continuum – species that are highly tolerant of change, and those that are extremely sensitive and endangered. Our current focuses are a) the plasticity of the respiratory system in fishes (but we collaborate to study plasticity of other systems) and b) the habitat requirements of endangered native fishes to inform conservation and future reintroductions.

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Robert Harkness

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The Harkness group studies the dynamics of biological molecules toward better understanding how these influence human health and disease. Broadly, our areas of interest include:
(1) How biological macromolecules self-assemble, for example oligomeric protein “machines” that perform reactions as required by the cell, or non-canonical nucleic acid structures such as G-quadruplexes that regulate gene expression.
(2) The mechanisms of biomolecular recognition, e.g. allostery in modulation of the interactions between proteins and ligands.
(3) The relationship between structural dynamics and biological activity.

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Ashleigh Domingo

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My current research projects are:
- Minwanjigewin: Towards food security and food sovereignty: Together with Cambium Indigenous Professional Services, community partners, and UW, I aim to enhance capacity for Community-led actions on food security and food sovereignty.
- Produce prescription program implementation and evaluation: In collaboration with Unison Health and Community Services, this project aims to strengthen a community-based food prescribing intervention for promoting healthy food access.
Connecting the Dots: Mobilizing rural knowledge to knowledge users: This initiative aims to advance connections between rural knowledge producers and end-users across rural Ontario

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Cullen Myers

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Our current research projects focus on:
- The genetics and enzymology of cell wall glycopolymer degradation and roles in cellular processes including cell division, morphogenesis and the expression of virulence properties.
- The enzymology, structural biology and associated bacterial physiology of lesser-known penicillin-binding proteins, and penicillin-binding protein variants associated with β-lactam resistance.
- The development of activity-independent in vitro platforms to interrogate the flux of xenobiotics across the bacterial cell envelope.

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Priyanka Pundir

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We study how eukaryotic cells communicate with microorganisms, focusing on cell surface receptors and their interaction with host and microbe ligands. We work at the intersection of immunology, microbiology, and neurobiology on how G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) on mast cells detect interbacterial communication and trigger antibacterial immune defense. We have shown that GPCRs can detect bacterial quorum sensing molecules, which are used by bacteria to coordinate group behaviors like forming biofilms and developing antibiotic resistance. When mast cells detect these signals, they release anti-bacterial mediators that attract other immune cells to sites of infection. Our ultimate goal is to advance knowledge that can lead to new treatments for infectious and inflammatory diseases.

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Melanie Alpaugh

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The Alpaugh Lab studies the mechanisms and consequences of protein misfolding in neurodegenerative diseases.
Theme 1- Interactions between the blood-brain barrier and misfolded proteins. Protein accumulation and blood-brain barrier break down are common features of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. We aim to understand if these two common disease features are related using a human 3D-cell culture model of the blood-brain barrier and human tissue.
Theme 2- Contributions of huntingtin seeding and spreading to Huntington’s disease. The mutant huntingtin protein displays prion-like properties. The Alpaugh lab is tackling the relevance to Huntington’s disease using tissue from human patients with Huntington’s disease phenocopies and Huntington’s disease.

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Joey Bernhardt

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We aim to advance our fundamental understanding of the drivers of biodiversity change and the consequences of these changes for human well-being. Our research advances a solution to this research challenge by studying the processes that unite all of life on Earth – the metabolic processes by which living systems uptake, store and convert energy, matter and information from their environments to grow and persist. We combine theory, experiments and synthesis to study how living systems change as the environment changes, and what these changes mean for human well-being.

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Quinn Webber

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Parasites and pathogens are ubiquitous in nature. Some pathogens require host social contact for transmission, while others are transmitted through an environmental reservoir. For animals, among the most important drivers of parasite infection is behaviour. Our research program investigates the costs (parasitism) and benefits (fitness) of social and spatial behaviours in animal species of conservation concern. Specifically, bats are reservoir hosts to pathogens of human health concern and face declines due to white-nose syndrome. Caribou populations are in decline due to habitat destruction, climate change, and parasitism. In summary, our research group integrates theory across multiple ecological disciplines to tackle complex conservation and One Health problems.

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Yang Xu

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Research in the Xu laboratory focuses on plant and microalgal lipid metabolism. By applying state-of-the-art approaches in genetics, biochemistry, cellular biology, synthetic biology and biotechnology, we aim to address both fundamental and applied questions in the field. The major research objectives in our research group are to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying acyl lipid assembly (e.g. triacylglycerols/oils, galactolipids/photosynthetic membrane lipids, phospholipids/membrane lipids) in photosynthetic organisms and to design lipid biosynthetic pathways to improve agriculture production and produce value-added oils for food, feed, fuel, and materials applications.

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Matthew Sorbara

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Healthy gut microbiota can be disrupted due to antibiotic treatment, intestinal inflammation, or changes in diet. Targeted restoration of the microbiota will require an understanding of how genomic diversity between closely related microbes influences their ability to drive beneficial functions. To address this, our laboratory will use a large collection of whole-genome sequenced isolates to understand how variation between closely related gut isolates alters their ability to prevent pathogen expansion and maintain homeostatic interactions with the mucosal immune system.

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Sherri Cox

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My research is rooted in wildlife rehabilitation. Specifically, I am interested in the welfare of wild animals and helping restore health to sick and injured wildlife. I am also interested in looking at anthropogenic effects on wildlife that have been admitted to rehabilitation centres. There are so many ways that our actions have an impact on wildlife, and I am interested in helping wildlife rehabilitators care for wild animals for subsequent release back to the wild. I am also interested in wild animal welfare when working with free-ranging wildlife. In addition, we are investigating the extent of lead toxicosis in many (apparently) healthy Trumpeter Swans, as well as investigating other morbidities in individual wild animals admitted to rehabilitation centres.

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Mazyar Fallah

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I study the neurophysiology of cognitive processes. My research focuses on eye movements and how they interact with cognitive and executive functions. For example, I explore how features are integrated across multiple brain areas to form object representations, how attention and object representations drive eye movements, and how the visual system prioritizes peripersonal space. I am also interested in the networks in the brain that perform all these processes and how they can be impaired due to concussion and subconcussive impacts.

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Kerry Ritchie

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I conduct research in two areas:
1) Impact of teaching strategies on student learning and engagement in large classes: My goal is to modify and scale best teaching practices to suit large class sizes (100-600+ students). I evaluate the impact of these strategies on student learning and engagement. I am also interested in novel methods for teaching critical thinking and communication skills in health sciences education.
2) Health and performance of emerging adults in the early transition to university: I aim to better understand student experience to develop programs and strategies to optimize student performance. I study how lifestyle choices, social environments, and study strategies can influence student wellbeing and academic success.

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William Bettger

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In terms of teaching and learning, my primary areas of expertise are:
1) Curriculum design according to the new University of Guelph learning outcomes
2) Community-engaged, project-based learning
3) Creativity as a key learning outcome for student career development
In terms of knowledge transfer, my primary areas of expertise are:
1) Incorporating functional food and nutraceutical concepts into the design and practice of Lifestyle Medicine
2) Promoting studies of human anatomy as a foundation for the teaching and learning of Lifestyle Medicine in the general public

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Mehrdad Hajibabaei

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Our work spans three research themes:
1) DNA metasystematics: We gather biodiversity data through the analysis of marker genes from bulk samples (water, soil, and sediments). We pioneered this technique for benthic macroinvertebrates, used widely as bioindicators of aquatic ecosystems.
2) Biodiversity transcriptomics: We develop comparative transcritpome-based approaches for non-model organisms to gain insights on evolution of transcriptomes and understand molecular responses at ecological scale.
3) Bioinformatic approaches for biodiversity genomics data: We develop and test taxonomic assignment approaches for many taxonomic groups and marker genes, and develop tools to enhance analysis of metabarcoding and biodiversity genomic data through machine-learning methods and refined analysis.

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Lawrence Spriet

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Dr. Spriet's basic research examines how skeletal muscle generates the large amounts of energy needed to exercise and compete in work and sport situations. The pathways that metabolize carbohydrate and lipid as fuel to produce energy are studied in human skeletal muscle. His practical research examines whether compounds that are purported to be "ergogenic" or work enhancing agents actually augment muscle metabolism and/or improve human performance (e.g. blood doping, creatine, carnitine, pyruvate, taurine, caffeine and omega-3 fatty acids). He also conducts hydration/sweat testing and research aimed at counteracting the effects of dehydration in athletes engaging in stop-and-go sports like ice hockey, basketball, and soccer.

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John Zettel

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My current research blends my research backgrounds in biomechanics and visuomotor control to examine how postural control is integrated and coordinated with voluntary movement (e.g. reaching, stepping, whole-body reaching). I am interested in developing an understanding of balance and movement both from a fundamental level, and in application to the immense problem of impaired mobility and falls in older adults and other clinical populations (e.g. stroke).

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Ryan Norris

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Research in my lab is focused on the behaviour, ecology, and conservation of animals living in seasonal environments. Much of our field work is conducted on songbirds and butterflies but also includes past and present studies on salamanders, fruit flies, nightjars, seabirds, and domestic cats. We use both observational and experimental approaches, often combining these with emerging tracking technologies, to understand factors influencing variation in fitness and population abundance. Our two primary long-term studies are on Canada jays in Algonquin Park, ON (50+ yrs) and Savannah sparrows on Kent Island, NB (30+ yrs).

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Coral Murrant

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My main research focus centres around the issue of how contracting skeletal muscle can communicate with blood vessels in order to ensure adequate blood flow to the working skeletal muscle cells. There is a direct relationship between skeletal muscle metabolic rate and blood flow. This type of relationship requires that active skeletal muscle cells communicate their need for blood flow to the cells of the vasculature, endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells, and that these cells alter their function in order to ensure the proper blood flow delivery. I am interested in this intercellular communication.

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Lindsay Robinson

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I am interested in understanding the physiological roles and regulation of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle-derived cytokines in mediating metabolic processes in the body. I am particularly interested in the mechanisms by which dietary factors and/or exercise modulate various cytokines and inflammatory mediators implicated in insulin resistance, a key characteristic of obesity and type 2 diabetes. My current research projects are:
1) Regulation of adipose tissue-derived cytokines in integrative metabolism.
2) Effect of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids in the presence and absence of LPS on adipocyte secretory factors and underlying mechanisms.
3) Effect of dietary fatty acids on pro-inflammatory markers in an in vitro murine adipocyte macrophage co-culture model.

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