Principal Investigator
Dr. Rees Kassen
Dr. Rees Kassen is Full Professor and University Research Chair in Experimental Evolution at the University of Ottawa and the author of Experimental Evolution and the Nature of Biodiversity, published by Roberts and Company. In addition to his research, Rees has been active in science policy, having served as co-chair of the Global Young Academy, an international academy of early-career researchers based in Berlin and chair of the Partnership Group for Science and Engineering, an association of 26 professional and scientific organizations acting on behalf of over 50,000 members from academia, industry and government in Canada. Dr Kassen completed his PhD at McGill University and went on to an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship and Elizabeth Wordsworth Research Fellowship at St Hugh’s College, Oxford. He was an NSERC Steacie Fellow in 2010 and a World Economic Forum Young Scientist in 2010 and 2011.
Research Associate
Dr. Aaron Hinz
Aaron Hinz is a Research Associate with a background in microbiology and bacterial genetics. He completed his Bachelor's degree at Indiana University and PhD at the University of Washington in Seattle. After moving to Canada, he has worked in labs at the University of Ottawa and at Carleton University, focusing on the genetics of bacterial adaptation, antimicrobial resistance, and microbial transformation of toxic metals. He is currently a Research Associate with Rees Kassen at McGill University and is a member of the Coronavirus in the Urban Environment (CUBE) research team, which uses built environment sampling to monitor pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 in congregate settings.
PhD students
Partha Chakraborty
Partha is interested in looking at the impact of spatial structure on adaptive evolution. To do this, he evolves P. aeruginosa metapopulations in the laboratory by propagating them with varying migration network topologies under antibiotic stress. After obtaining an MSc in Biochemistry from the University of Calcutta, India, Partha briefly worked on the evolution of dispersal in laboratory populations of Drosophila in IISER Pune, India, which sparked his interest in the role of gene flow in adaptive dynamics. His current research will tell us whether spatial structure accelerates the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes in microbial populations.
Luz Angela Alonso Morales
Angela is a PhD candidate in Biology at the University of Ottawa . Her work uses a combination of computational, experimental, and molecular Biology to detect adaptive synonymous substitutions through patterns of parallel evolution in a Pseudomonas phylogeny and investigate the mechanisms behind those adaptive synonymous changes. In addition, her research also examines how environmental heterogeneity impacts the genomics of drug resistance in P. aeruginosa. Her research interests lie in understanding how bacteria adapt, by investigating the correlation between fitness effects and other phenotypic measurements from the lab with the natural populations of bacteria using phylogenomic, computational and molecular perspectives.
Caio Gomez Tavares Rosa
Caio is a PhD student researching experimental evolution with microbes. Originally from Brazil, he earned his bachelor's degree in biology at the University of São Paulo. Driven by his fascination with bacteria he started doing research in the genetics and molecular biology of P. aeruginosa, contributing to the characterization of a new gene. Currently, he is exploring the relationship between P. aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus and how they influence each other's evolution. Overall, it has been great doing research here and being immersed in Canada's multicultural environment. He spends his free time enjoying every new activity he can find and getting to know new people. He likes hiking, visiting museums, watching movies, and attending drag shows, but he also appreciates quiet evenings at home with video games.
Aditee Ashar
Aditee is a PhD student whose research focuses on investigating the Stress Gradient Hypothesis (SGH) within microbial populations. With a keen interest in exploring how environmental conditions influence the evolutionary dynamics of interactions over time, she aims to delve into how stressful environments can promote facilitation between microbial species. Her primary objective is to understand the conditions that encourage the evolution of facilitative behaviours among microorganisms. Aditee completed her masters from NMIMS University, India, where she investigated the effect of UV radiations on Antarctic microbes. When she's not in the lab, Aditee can often be found hiking, engrossed in a good book, or indulging her creative side with occasional painting.
Master students
Keaton William John Sinclair
Keaton is a Biology Master's student at the University of Ottawa studying patterns of repeated evolution in the gram-negative bacteria P. aeruginosa. Working on isolates from populations developed by Alex Hicks, Keaton's work involves the use of genomic techniques to test evolutionary biology theories of fitness landscapes. Keaton also works as part of the Ottawa Science Policy Network, a group of uOttawa graduates researching student perspectives in science policy at the university and government level.
Justin Ethan Gupta
Justin was first introduced to the world of microbial experimental evolution during his BSc at uOttawa. Joining the Kassen lab as an honours student set the stage for his MSc, where his research now centers on the emergence of evolutionary novelties. Employing experimental evolution, he is attempting to understand how bacteria can evolve to utilize novel carbon sources, such as aromatic hydrocarbons (BTEX and PAHs) associated with petrol. In this system he seeks to further our understanding of how novel features evolve in nature and the effect of the environment and the genetic architecture of organisms on their emergence. When he is not conducting cool experiments in the lab, his interests extend to reading strange books (in some circles), playing the sports, and experimenting with culinary arts, turning those who frequent his household into (un)willing culinary guinea pigs.
Jacob Van Oorschot
Jacob is a Masters student studying the fitness effects of synonymous mutations and the effects of population parameters on evolutionary dynamics. During his honours project in his undergrad at McGill in Microbiology and Immunology with Professor Shapiro, he investigated whether glyphosate, an herbicide, causes selection for antibiotic resistance in an environmental Pseudomonas species. Outside of school he enjoys basketball and music composition.
Leylia R. Petryk
Leylia Petryk is an MSc student in Dr. Kassen’s lab. For as long as they can remember, they’ve been fascinated with the smallest life forms and wanted to study them. As a child, they exasperated everyone in daycare by constantly running off after bugs and tearing up people’s lawns digging for worms. During their BSc at the University of Montreal, they worked for two years on the population genetics facet of a large research project on edible mealworms (Tenebrio molitor). Now, in the Kassen lab, they are working on even smaller organisms: the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Their current research looks into the effect of network topology and environmental heterogeneity on the spread of beneficial mutations. This work will help create more accurate evolutionary models that account for these impactful, yet often ignored, factors. Its insights will also directly help with efforts to manage the rising threat of rapidly spreading antibiotic resistance within microbial populations. In their free time, they like to create terrariums for their pet bugs, press-dry flowers for identification, and go hiking
Undergraduate students
Nick Chow
Nick is a fourth-year undergraduate student at McGill studying Biology and Political Science. This year, he will be completing an honours project in the Kassen Lab studying the role of compensatory mutations in the evolution of reduced costs of resistance in P. aeruginosa. Outside of the lab, he is involved in student government as the Co-President of the McGill Biology Student Union (MBSU), volunteers at a local cat shelter, and loves to keep up with current policy debates in US and Canadian politics.
Emma Helman
Emma is completing her Honours BSc in Biology and studies how spatial network structure influences the fitness costs of antibiotic resistance in the bacterium P. aeruginosa. Along with examining the costs of fitness, she will look at known resistance mutations and compensatory mutations using whole-genome sequencing. Emma hopes this project will eventually help inform more effective strategies to limit the spread of antibiotic resistance across hospital networks, where patient transfer patterns mirror these spatially structured microbial networks. Passionate about public health and science communication, you can find her adventuring in Montreal or running when she’s not in the lab.
Lucas Clemons
Lucas is an Anatomy and Cell Biology student at McGill, conducting his honours project on the impact of genetic background and environment on diversification in P. aeruginosa.