Cave Microbiology Lab

My research interests include cave microbiology (drug discovery and white-nose syndrome), antibiotic resistance, and microbiology education.  Antibiotic resistance in pathogens is surfacing at an increasing and alarming rate in hospitals and communities around the world.  My research has primarily centered on microbial diversity, microbial secondary metabolites production, and searching for potential natural products and bioactive compounds.  Research questions that my laboratory is after for answers have been focused on whether new drugs with the different mode of actions and with new scaffolds can be found in rare/less-intensive-studied microorganisms living in extreme habitats (i.e., in caves)?

There are three areas of research topics for undergraduate students in my laboratory to conduct their research:

1) Microbial diversity and drug discovery in cave actinomycetes;

2) Antibiotic resistance surveillance with Royal Inland, Kelowna General, Vernon Jubilee, and Penticton Regional hospitals in interior BC.

3) White Nose Syndrome in caves of BC and Alberta

My own disciplinary research in cave microbiology and antibiotic resistance mechanisms has continually provided a great opportunity for me to passionately mentor research student’s primarily undergraduate level in my laboratory.