This is my current team - for past members, click here.
Last updated 19/04/2024
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.
Tamina Angel Jose
PhD Candidate 2019-(Biochemistry)
She claims to come from the land of coconuts, banana chips and men who wear skirts everyday. I didn’t know any of these things about Kerala, in India. Following a B.Sc. from Mahatma Ghandi University and an M.Sc. from Madras University, Tamina came to us in Fall 2019 to brave a land with almost no coconuts in order to build on her training and experience in microbiology. When asked for some facts about her, she said she tries terribly hard (and fails) at being funny - and laughs at her own jokes. I respect that! Her project involves investigating the interactions between phages and probiotics. In the pandemic, she rediscovered her love (and talent!) for music, proudly on display on her instagram. Her McMaster email is joset1@…
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. She completed an undergraduate thesis under the co-supervision of Drs Moran-Mirabal and Bowdish, using fluorescence microscopy. Now she is joining the Hynes lab supported by an OGS, looking for the opportunity to ask and answer a billion more questions. She listens to just about every genre and subgenre of music and forgets that she's singing along while she works, she can and will go full-nerd on fluorescence optics talk if you mention microscopy, she bakes a mean red velvet cheesecake brownie (on special occasions), and she can at-least-sort-of read in 5 languages - ironically none of which are Italian, the language most of her extended family speaks natively. And her last picture (left) is from 2019 - so she and her supervisor have that in common. 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
McMaster Undergraduate Students
Devron Swaby
Summer Studentship (2024)
Devron is an incoming third-year Honours Life Sciences Co-op student at McMaster University. His interest in phages was sparked during an evolutionary biology lecture in his first year (we’re getting them younger!), and will be joining us for an NSERC USRA-funded studentship. Besides phages, he is deeply committed to health equity! His clinical research experience explored psychosocial factors associated with chronic kidney disease and transplantation, and he engages in community-based research and initiatives to advance equitable access to healthcare & education for African Caribbean & Black communities. Somehow in all that he still finds some time for cooking and binge-watching (although he won’t tell me what).
Rudra Sheth
Summer Studentship (2024)
Rudra joins us as a summer student in his 2nd year of the Health Sciences program. His adventure into the Gut Microbiome oddly began on a somber evening studying chess. Numbers and puzzles are his thing, and when he found out about the number of microbes living in the body (10^15, almost as many chess positions exist), he went from unpacking the 64 squares to looking for a lab position with us. As an avid South Asian activist looking to find ways to mitigate cardiovascular disease and raise awareness of their dangers, he hopes that the friendly viruses we work with may have some sort of solution
Jean-Christophe Panzer
Summer Studentship (2024)
A second-year Honours Biochemistry student entering the research specialization, he was drawn to the lab by his interest in how the presence of bacterial signalling molecules can influence lysis-lysogeny decisions in phages. He also impressed his TA, Christine, which probably helped get his foot in the door! In his free time, he reads - especially fantasty novels (someone else I can chat Name of the Wind with?) and volunteers/works with elderly individuals and young children.
