Melania Cristescu
My research addresses fundamental questions about the evolution and maintenance of biological diversity in aquatic systems, with focus on: 1) the genetics of aquatic invasions, 2) the nature and scale of recombination and mutation rate variation across genomes and, 3) molecular methods for biomonitoring. For example, our research group is developing molecular methods for large scale monitoring of biodiversity trends and ecosystem health. These non-invasive and sensitive methods are based on traces of DNA and RNA released by organisms into their environment (environmental nucleic acids). Thus, our research provides innovative solutions and future perspectives on environmental problems.
Email: melania.cristescu[at]mcgill.ca
Graduate Students
Julien Beaulieu (PhD)
I am an aquatic ecologist interested in how different scales of ecology (population, communities and ecosystem) interact with each other and how those interactions are affected by abiotic factors. My PhD project includes a replicated whole ecosystem experiment where invasive brook trout were size-selectively harvested along an elevation gradient. My objectives are to determine how eDNA and eRNA concentrations can predict fish demography, and how does fish demography impact invertebrates communities, consumer-driven nutrients dynamics, and lake metabolism.
Email: beaulieu.julien.3 [at] courrier.uqam.ca (beaulieu.julien.3[at]courrier.uqam.ca)
Jigar Trivedi (PhD)
I am interested in the interplay of evolutionary forces in shaping and maintaing genetic variation. I am also interested in the downstream impact of mutations on transcriptional processes. I address my research goals by propagating mutation accumulation lines of Daphnia pulex, minimizing selection and allowing mutations to accumulate in the genome. I am particularly interested in assessing the colonization of nuclear genome by the mitochondrial DNA.
Email: jigar.trivedi [at] mail.mcgill.ca (jigar.trivedi[at]mail.mcgill.ca)
Aleksei Sychterz (PhD)
Email: sashasychterz[at]gmail.com
Elizabeth Weller (PhD)
Email: lizzy.weller[at]gmail.com
Wendy Morgado (PhD)
I am a microbiologist interested in non-invasive methods for evaluating ecosystem health. As a PhD student, I evaluate the ecology and applications of environmental nucleic acids, focusing on 1) the state and degradation of molecules when they are released into the aquatic environment, 2) their transportation in networks that simulate lotic ecosystems, and 3) the use of environmental transcriptomics to monitor the physiological responses of communities under environmental stress. I combine laboratory experiments with highly replicated field experiments at LEAP.
Email: wendy.morgadogamero [at] mail.mcgill.ca (wendy.morgadogamero[at]mail.mcgill.ca)
Lab Alumni
Orianne Tournayre (2023 – 2025)
Takahiro Maruki (2020 – 2025)
Mathilde Salamon (2023-2024)
Xiaoping He (2022-2024)
Egor Katkov (2022-2024)
Marie-Eve Monchamp (2019-2023)
Christina Pernice Tadiri (2020-2021)
Robert Hechler (2018-2022)
Kaushar Kagzi (2018-2021)
Tiffany Chin (2014-2020)
Katie Millette (2014-2020)
Alessandra Loria (2014-2020)
Sen Xu (2007-2012)
MSc Students
Kaushar Kagzi (2018-2021)
Michaela Harris (2016 – 2019)
James Bull (2015 – 2017 )
Guang Zhang (2014 – 2017 )
Jullien Flynn (2015 – 2016 )
Sarah Finlayson (2013 – 2016)
Ianina Altshuler (2010 – 2012)
James J. Vaillant (2010 – 2012)
Bora Demiri (2009 – 2011)
Anna Constantin (2008 – 2010)
Dan Bock (2008 – 2010)
Postdoctoral Fellows
Tiffany Chin (2021 – 2022)
Alessandra Loria (2021 - 2022)
Christina Pernice Tadiri (2020 – 2021)
Mathew C Yates (2018 – 2021)
Sergio Jose Hleap (2018 – 2020)
Joanne Littlefair (2016 – 2019)
Frederic Chain (2014 – 2016)
Emily Brown (2013 – 2016)
Roland Vergilino (2012 – 2014)
Martha Patricia Celis-Sagado (2012 – 2014)
Aibin Zhan (2009 – 2012)
Christophe Lejeusne (2007 – 2008)
Emmanuel Egbosimba (2008 – 2009)