Graduate Students

						 
			Adeyinka Ajayi, M.Sc.
			PhD Student 
			Email | LinkedIn		 		Research Focus: Plasmids are a major constituent of the mobilome (community of MGEs). Their self-replicating property coupled with their ability to carry resistance genes and other MGEs that encode antibiotic resistance means a critical understanding of plasmids is crucial to the proper study of the environmental resistome. I am interested in understanding how the mobilome drives the acquisition, spread and evolution of ciprofloxacin and meropenem resistance in non-clinical settings. I will be using functional/comparative genomics to characterize novel ciprofloxacin and meropenem resistance plasmids and in doing this, determine how mobile genetic elements including transposons, insertion sequences, phages and integrons drive the antibiotic resistance evolution and spread in the environment.		  	
		 	 	
		 	 	
						 
			Claire Freeman 
			MSc Student 
			Email | Twitter		 		Research Focus: Microbes pass around genes using mobile genetic elements called plasmids. Plasmids offer immense benefit to their respective hosts by encoding genes involved in heavy metal resistance, pathogenicity, and resistance to antibiotics. I am interested in the genetic factors that may influence how plasmids are passed between hosts, plasmid diversity, and how they may change as they pass through a complex environment like a municipal wastewater treatment plant.    	
		 	 	
		 	 	
						 
			Jennifer Russell 
			MSc Student 
			Email 		 		Research Focus:  With the increase in antibiotic use and environmental pollution, microbes have been evolving in order to survive. This has lead to the emergence of multiple-antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which is a major concern for human and environmental health. Wastewater treatment facilities, in particular, have been shown to encourage and select for the development and proliferation of antibiotic resistant bacteria due to the sublethal stress caused by treatment, the incomplete removal of antibiotics from the water, and genetic exchange. I am interested in how the microbial communities in Regina’s Wastewater Treatment Facility are changing as they are processed through the system.      	
		 	 	
		 	 	
						 
			Mir Akter 
			PhD Student 
			Email 		 		Research Focus:  Bacteria of the genus Rhizobium are gram negative soil microorganism which induces nitrogen-fixing nodules on the roots of legumes such as peas, beans, clover and alfalfa. The Rhizobium fixes nitrogen from the air into ammonia, which acts as a natural fertilizer for the plants. The genetic network involved in cell envelope development and adaptation is only partially described in the rhizobia, although it is a very important component for symbiosis. I am interested in learning the gene regulation of Rhizobium leguminosarum (Rleg) to identify novel genes with unknown function and regulatory pathways required for cell envelope structure and function.      	
		 	 	
		 	 	
						 
			Zainab Ahmed Seidi 
			MSc Student 
			Email 		 		Research Focus:  The phenomenon of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes is a significant problem worldwide. These genes protect the bacterium from the quinolone antibiotics inhibition. Tracking the transfer of these plasmids that carrying quinolone resistance genes will improve our understanding about there ability to spread and persistence in the environment.

Adeyinka Ajayi, M.Sc. PhD Student Email \| LinkedIn	Research Focus: Plasmids are a major constituent of the mobilome (community of MGEs). Their self-replicating property coupled with their ability to carry resistance genes and other MGEs that encode antibiotic resistance means a critical understanding of plasmids is crucial to the proper study of the environmental resistome. I am interested in understanding how the mobilome drives the acquisition, spread and evolution of ciprofloxacin and meropenem resistance in non-clinical settings. I will be using functional/comparative genomics to characterize novel ciprofloxacin and meropenem resistance plasmids and in doing this, determine how mobile genetic elements including transposons, insertion sequences, phages and integrons drive the antibiotic resistance evolution and spread in the environment.


Claire Freeman MSc Student Email \| Twitter	Research Focus: Microbes pass around genes using mobile genetic elements called plasmids. Plasmids offer immense benefit to their respective hosts by encoding genes involved in heavy metal resistance, pathogenicity, and resistance to antibiotics. I am interested in the genetic factors that may influence how plasmids are passed between hosts, plasmid diversity, and how they may change as they pass through a complex environment like a municipal wastewater treatment plant.


Jennifer Russell MSc Student Email	Research Focus: With the increase in antibiotic use and environmental pollution, microbes have been evolving in order to survive. This has lead to the emergence of multiple-antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which is a major concern for human and environmental health. Wastewater treatment facilities, in particular, have been shown to encourage and select for the development and proliferation of antibiotic resistant bacteria due to the sublethal stress caused by treatment, the incomplete removal of antibiotics from the water, and genetic exchange. I am interested in how the microbial communities in Regina’s Wastewater Treatment Facility are changing as they are processed through the system.


Mir Akter PhD Student Email	Research Focus: Bacteria of the genus Rhizobium are gram negative soil microorganism which induces nitrogen-fixing nodules on the roots of legumes such as peas, beans, clover and alfalfa. The Rhizobium fixes nitrogen from the air into ammonia, which acts as a natural fertilizer for the plants. The genetic network involved in cell envelope development and adaptation is only partially described in the rhizobia, although it is a very important component for symbiosis. I am interested in learning the gene regulation of Rhizobium leguminosarum (Rleg) to identify novel genes with unknown function and regulatory pathways required for cell envelope structure and function.


Zainab Ahmed Seidi MSc Student Email	Research Focus: The phenomenon of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes is a significant problem worldwide. These genes protect the bacterium from the quinolone antibiotics inhibition. Tracking the transfer of these plasmids that carrying quinolone resistance genes will improve our understanding about there ability to spread and persistence in the environment.