Lab members
Dr. Matthew Bakker
Principal investigator.
Matthew completed his PhD in Plant Pathology at the University of
Minnesota. He did a post-doc at Colorado State University and worked as a staff
scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture before joining the Department of
Microbiology at the University of Manitoba. Matthew teaches Microbes
In Our Environment, Introductory Biogeochemistry, and
contributes to Graduate Microbiology and to Evolution of
Fungal Pathogens.
Anuradha Jayathissa
PhD candidate (co-advised with Dr. Dilantha Fernando).
Anuradha is studying impacts of Fusarium spp. on malt quality,
and investigating hydrophobin proteins produced by Fusarium.
Anuradha is an alumnus of the EvoFunPath
training program.
M. Shimosh Kurera
PhD student (co-advised with Dr. Sean Walkowiak).
Shimosh is developing methods for rapidly identifying unknown
Fusarium and rust strains via MALDI biotyping. Shimosh is an
alumnus of the EvoFunPath training program.
Brian Harrison
MSc student.
Brian is researching trichothecene mycotoxins that are produced by the
fungal plant pathogen Fusarium graminearum. Brian is an alumnus
of the EvoFunPath training program.
Kelsey Wog
MSc student (co-advised with Dr. Aleeza
Gerstein).
Kelsey is studying the evolution of resistance towards fungicides in
Fusarium graminearum.
Raveena Manikku Badu
Technician.
Raveena helps keep the lab running smoothly, and researches impacts of
soil bacteria on plant roots.
Atheena Quilal-lan
Undergraduate research project.
Atheena is performing research related to microbial transformation of
deoxynivalenol.
Lab alumni
Mehrdad Mohammadiani, MSc
Tarin Farhana, MSc
Ridhima Arora, Undergraduate
Robin Nelson, Co-op
Raveena Manikku Badu, Co-op
Linh Le, Undergraduate summer research
Gillian Mitchell-Lawson, Co-op
Mailly Pham, Co-op
Daksh Patel, Co-op
Janice Fajardo, MSc
Natasha Melnichuk, PhD student intern
Danielle Pascual, Co-op
Athena Monayao, Co-op
Jenny Solanki, Undergraduate summer research
Urim Iyasere, Co-op
Arshani Alukumbura, MSc
Minimal impacts on the wheat microbiome when
Trichoderma gamsii T6085 is applied as a biocontrol agent to
manage fusarium head blight disease
Heidi Ahrenholtz, Co-op
Damian Elizalde Amezcua, Undergraduate honours
Meagan Smith, Undergraduate summer research
Shana Mann, Indigenous Summer Student Intern
Heather Inglis, Undergraduate
Shaima Eissa, Lab Technician III
Lab alumni from US Department of Agriculture
Dr. Hina Shanakhat, PhD student
intern
Modification of deoxynivalenol by a fungal laccase
paired with redox mediator TEMPO
Dr. Briana Whitaker, PhD student
intern
Bacterial endophyte antagonism toward a fungal pathogen
in vitro does not predict protection in live plant
tissue
Jake Brown, Technician
Nathan Kemp, Research Associate
Sarocladium zeae is a systemic endophyte of
wheat and an effective biocontrol agent against fusarium head
blight
Kelsey Roberts, Undergraduate summer research