Farncombe
Phage

I told you all, a few weeks back, that Anisha’s RIP was fantastic. Well, I wasn’t just blowing smoke; Anisha’s talk in the WISE "CREST” event last Friday won best talk - in the same category as PhD students and Postdocs. Extremely well-deserved, of course - not just for the (excellent) end product, but also how far she’s come in such a short time! This didn’t come naturally, it came through hard work and practice, and it’s paid off in a big way.

How in the blazes did this happen. The lab opened its doors January last year, and we're already at 13 people (one not pictured). I remember my postdoc supervisor telling me to aim for a Baseball team (9)… I’ve overshot. Perhaps we’ll do Rugby?

Day 3 of the FHS Plenary, and Anisha’s got her crack at impressing the poster judges with another mighty fine looking poster, and a fantastic ‘punchline’ too. Not content to rest on her laurels, she’s also presenting (a talk) at the WISE presentations tomorrow!

It’s the FHS Plenary, and three graduate students are presenting their work over the next 3 days. Here are Felix (Left) and Hiba (Right) presenting their posters - we’ve been experimenting with changing up posters a fair bit based on a video that has been making the rounds, and the students have, once again, out-done themselves.

I assume the embargo on this info is lifted, given my insitution announced it! This project will be challenging, multidisciplinary, and forcing me out of my comfort zone - but it’s also got huge potential ramifications and is extremely exciting.

https://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/articles/three-mcmaster-researchers-receive-grants-for-high-risk-fast-breaking-research/

I have to wonder… did they take the picture they have of me, print it, take a picture of it, print that, then scan it?

Our lab cleanup just wrapped up, and the whole place smells of … “Meadows and Rain”, according to the bottle. A full day lab shutdown feels like a lot, but it’s invariably worth it for that small victory against entropy (and the bulwark against contamination!).

Day two of the fourth iteration of the Phage Boot Camp! There’s even photographic evidence of me wearing a ‘nice’ shirt, but I may crop the picture a little further. So far, we have titres, we have BIMs, we have phage amplifications… delving into some PCR in the afternoon.

It really is that season, where good news seems to come so fast. Rabia (pictured), who will be starting with us in just a few weeks, was awarded an OGS Scholarship for her Master’s. Congratulations! I’ve also added her info to our “Team” page.

Jason Tran was also offered an NSERC CGS-M to pursue a Master’s - although I know that given how well his Med School interviews have gone, he may move on to greener pastures instead (aka the dark side?). All of us sincerely hope not, though!

This low-res picture, taken 9 years ago in Hamilton, was of a young Alex receiving an award at the CSM. Presenting in the Student Symposium was an amazing, formative experience. Nearly a decade later, I’m at McMaster (in a different capacity) and not one but TWO of my students have been selected to present in the student competitions - despite a far more competitive process. A well-deserved congratulations to Hiba (Poster Competition) and Jason Tran (Student Symposium). I can’t wait to see your presentations!

The Farncombe Research in Progress (RIP) talks are a big part of the trainee experience within the Farncombe Institute, but I know Anisha was dreading it. A lot. And yet, I don’t think anything so far has so well encompassed how far she’s progressed in the last (almost) full year since she joined the lab - she did a fantastic job. And every time we get to share our work and see that kind of engagement from the audience, I’m further reminded of just how [censored] cool what we do is.