Biology

ymorbey@uwo.ca

BGS 2074

bneff@uwo.ca

Collip Bldg. CB 204

brubin2@uwo.ca

BGS 3072

bsincla7@uwo.ca

BGS 2056/GH13

gtaylor8@uwo.ca

BGS 3072

rgthorn@uwo.ca

BGS 3047

vtai4@uwo.ca

BGS 2028

Predator-prey interactions and the 'Ecology of Fear'

research may be conducted On-line or On-Campus depending on the Covid-19 circumstances.
For more information on the work we do in my lab, please see my webpage: lianazanette.com

lzanette@uwo.ca

Collip Bldg. CB 207

Marine ecology and Educational Technology

Projects will be data related (no lab or field work) and able to be completed remotely and online. Projects will explore a long-term data sets in the abundance of marine species from systematic and haphazard surveys. Students will focus on elucidating the complex relationships between multiple species and across developmental life stages (e.g., juvenile stages versus adults). In addition, there will be an emphasis on examining how temporal variation in abiotic variables (e.g., temperature) determines the abundance and distribution of marine populations. Students will be responsible data quality control, data management, data visualization and data analysis and will be working primarily in R.

paulmensink@uwo.ca

NCB 443

Researchers in the K Hill lab study patterns in biological data.

1] We study patterns in the composition of genomes.

2] We study patterns in cell responses recorded in trace files or spectral data.

3] We study patterns in mutations across the genome landscape.

We use the patterns to classify our data into species types, mutagen exposure type, genome instability type and diseases type.

Undergraduate research in the Hill Laboratory [2022-2023] will focus on:

1] the use of genome signatures for the classification of organisms [taxonomic classification] and biological samples [disease classification]. A genomic signature describes the pattern in the base composition of the primary DNA sequence that is pervasive across a genome. The inherent composition of a primary DNA sequence is considered as a genomic signal that is associated with a species or a phenotype. We are examining the capability of classifying genome sequences by particular environmental mutagen exposures, and genomic instabilities associated with different cancer types.

2] Another project will examine spectral data from physiological assays and cell response assays and use machine learning approaches to classify the responses into disease types. Our research projects are primarily bioinformatics and computational projects designed to use supervised and unsupervised machine learning approaches to classify biological data based on similarities in composition. The projects are designed to learn about signals in biological data.

The projects provide learning regarding:

1] genomic signatures, genome instability, mutational mechanisms, and mutation signatures or

2] cell response assays [RAMAN spectroscopy, electroretinography]. The skill sets to be developed are basic introduction to R, python, machine learning and statistical analyses associated with comparisons of signals in biological data. The goal is to see how well we can classify biological data into informative classes. The research can be applied to identification of an emergent species or identification of a disease type.

3] Wet bench projects associated withmutation detection are associated with ongoing research aimed at understanding the mutations that arise with development in different somatic mouse tissues.

khill22@uwo.ca

WSC 333

jkaragia@uwo.ca

BGS 3080

gkelly@uwo.ca

WSC 359

skohalmi@uwo.ca

WSC 319

amoehrin@uwo.ca

BGS 2080

aperciva@uwo.ca

WSC 305

atimoshe@uwo.ca

BGS 3032

cguglie2@uwo.ca

BGS 3012

bernards@uwo.ca

BGS 2025

smacfie@uwo.ca

BGS 2051

Phenylpropanoids in legumes

Phenylpropanoid pathway produces a plethora of plant specialized metabolites with human health benefits. They play an important roles in plant-environment interaction such as plant defense against biotic and abiotic stresses. We study the genes and their regulators (such as transcription factors) involved in the biosynthesis of a subset of these compounds such as isoflavonoids and proanthocyanidins. Knowledge of the pathway producing these compounds will allow us to tailor production to aid human health, nutrition and crop yield.

Prospective 4999 students can look forward to working with direct mentorship of a PhD candidate. During the course of the project the student will be exposed to a broad range of molecular biology, bioinformatics and genetics and analytical chemistry techniques and equipment. My research lab is situated at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Station, which houses state of the art facilities and is located just 10 minutes from the University of Western Ontario campus.

Sangeeta.Dhaubhadel@canada.ca

Abdelali.Hannoufa@canada.ca

Protein chemistry of pulse crops

We recently identified a gene expressed in the seed coat of common bean involved in the regulation of seed water uptake. This gene encodes an enzyme, pectin acetylesterase, which hydrolyzes acetyl groups in the carbohydrate polymer, pectin. Removal of acetyl groups favors interactions with calcium ions, making the seed coat impermeable. The gene also affects physical dormancy resulting in delayed germination of older seed. Evidence indicates that the gene was selected for during the domestication of the crop. A prospective 4999 student will investigate synteny and functional conservation of this gene in related legume crops. While the initial stages of the project will involve bioinformatics, there may be opportunities to use molecular and biochemical techniques, including gene cloning, DNA sequencing, Western blotting and quantification of pectin acetylation in seed coat of different species.

Frederic.Marsolais@agr.gc.ca

rima.menassa@canada.ca

Ed.Topp@canada.ca

aiming.wang@canada.ca