This is my current team - for past members, click here.
Last updated 13/08/2024
Rabia Fatima
Phd Candidate 2019 -(Biochemistry)
Rabia had joined us from a BSc at McMaster, with a thesis in the MacNeil lab. From worms to bacteria to phages, if her interests keep shrinking, we might soon have a physicist in the lab! She joined the lab as an RA for the summer before starting her MSc in September 2019, transfering to a PhD in Jan 2021 - and her exceptional progress warranted a Thomas Neilson Scholarship. Her project is part of a larger effort, alongside Amany’s, to investigate a new take on phage-antibiotic synergy. She was funded by an OGS, a CGS-M from NSERC, and now, a CGS-D! The pandemic drove her to baking and photography, starting “Chaotic Bake” which you can check out on Instagram. She also runs an online book store as a Director of Online Sales at Friends of the Mississauga Library . Her McMaster email is fatimr1@…
Gayatri Nair
PhD Candidate (MedSci) 2021-, Research Assistant IV B (Fall 2019-S2021)
Even prior to joining the lab, she could frequently be found in lab, keeping Hiba company. Mascot or Unofficial lab member? Might as well make it official - with her MSc defence in Sept 2019 marking her departure from the Surette lab, she joined us as an RA to work on the IIDR/Farncombe Joint Phage Initiative. She became so enamored with the lab, she started a PhD with us in the Fall of 2021, following up work identifying new signals of phage induction. She used to dance competitively in her undergrad, but now only with a company, but during the pandemic has complemented (?) that with some roller skating. She is supported by a Farncombe PhD Studentship.
Christine Cerson
PhD Candidate 2022-
(Biochemistry)
Christine met Dr. Hynes through his phage lectures in 3MI3. A few raised hands and some exceptionally sharp questions later, her fate was sealed. Now a member the Hynes lab supported by an OGS, looking for the opportunity to ask and answer a billion more questions. She is currently on Maternity leave, but I have it on good authority there’s a picture of her last gel takes the spiritual place of the ultrasound pictures she had over her lab bench - she’ll be back in July 2025. Oh, and her last picture (left) is from 2019 - so she and her supervisor have outdated pictures in common. If she doesn’t provide me a new one soon, it’ll have to be a picture of the baby.. Her McMaster email is cersonc@...
Jordan Mayol
MSc. Student 2023
(Biochemistry), Thesis (22-23), Summer 23
Jordan was drawn to the lab after being introduced to phages in Dr. Hynes’ 3MI3 lecture series, and has stuck around ever since. Outside of school, Jordan enjoys dancing, cycling, drinking oat milk lattes, and seeing how long he can hold a handstand for. He is part of the McMaster recreational dance team and works part-time at The PrEP Clinic in Toronto.
Ayesha Umair
MD/PhD 2024 -
Thesis (2023-2024)
Ayesha joined us as a thesis student from a BHSc (Hons) degree with a concurrent certificate in immunology, microbiology, and virology. In her spare time, she likes reading, chess, and video games. She displayed such a mastery of the field and the literature that I nomainated her for a CSM undergraduate award, and celebrated when she agreed to stick around for her PhD, as part of the McMaster MD/PhD program
Michael Hamilton
MSc Student 2024 -
Having heard about me from some PhD students that attended a seminar I gave at Guelph, where he did his undergraduate deree researching Lyme disease, he was curious about the potential role of phages in that context. He’s looking forward to a health-focused approach to studying phages. When not in the lab, he works at the Spine Surgery Clinic in Hamilton, or volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hamilton & Burlington. He used to run an at-home swim instruction buisness during the pandemic, and is an avid cross-country runner, so his PIs chances against him in the triathlon probably hinge entirely on the bike stage…
McMaster Undergraduate Students
Eve Adams
Thesis student 2024-2025 (Arts & Sci/MolBio)
Eve is a fourth-year thesis student in Arts & Science combined with Molecular Biology & Genetics, crushing her father’s hopes of having one more physicist in the family. To be fair, it’s a short step between Phage and Physics, as Max Delbrueck can testify. She has loved the inquiry-based Arts & Science mode of learning, which has reinforced and fuelled her interests in medical racism, activism through art, and the many ways a 14th-century poet can think of to torture his enemies. In her spare time she reads, embroiders, and even occasionally graces the stage in the Artsci faculty musical. Eve is excited to bring her unique perspective to the lab and begin this new “phage” of her life!
Sayna Salehzadeh
Thesis student 2024-2025 (ISci)
Drawn to the lab - in what appears to be a theme for this year’s cohort - by a seminar I gave on “Biasing Bacteriophage Behaviours”, she was hooked on phages - and even got a 3rd year program with Dr. Hosseini-Doust in to explore aerosolized bacteriophages. What is it with ISci students and coming into the lab with phage experience already? Regardless, she’s eager to build on that foundation in the lab for her thesis. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, volunteering in her community—whether with SACHA, Best Buddies Canada, or Hamilton General Hospital—and attempting to bake traditional Persian desserts in her off-campus house (though she isn’t always successful).
Bailey Sisk
Thesis Student 2024-2025 (Biochem)
Bailey was first intrigued by the evolutionary arms race between bacteriophages and bacteria during Dr. Hynes’ guest lectures in BIOCHEM 3MI3. In her spare time, she is usually on her way to get a tea or a coffee, but you might also see her playing volleyball, volunteering with the Student Walk Home Attendant Team (SWHAT), or working part-time as a receptionist and barista (not at the same time or place though)! She is looking forward to completing her thesis in the Hynes lab.
