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. Kelsey is a fellow of the EvoFunPath training program.







Raveena Manikku Badu

Technician 3.
Raveena helps keep the lab running smoothly, and works on soil bacterial isolations & genomics.







Anna Volakaki

PhD student (co-advised with Dr. Olivia Wilkins).
Anna is characterizing effects of different soil bacteria on plant physiology and nutrient uptake.






Laura Los

Technician 3.
Laura is contributing to several research projects, including profiling mixed oomycete communities from soil and diseased roots, characterizing impacts of Fusarium on malt quality, and screening wild populations of Fusarium graminearum for resistance to fungicides.



Hariniha Selvarajan

MSc student.
Hariniha is investigating interactions between Fusarium graminearum and bioactive compounds in barley.






Lab alumni

Ambroise Loeb, Mitacs Globalink visiting scholar

Kyle Remillard, Undergraduate summer research

Guénaël Artus, Mitacs Globalink visiting scholar

Atheena Quilal-lan, Undergraduate research project

Mehrdad Mohammadiani, MSc “Response of soil fungal communities associated with different soil fractions to tillage practices and crop rotation”

Tarin Farhana, MSc “How Fusarium graminearum affects intermediate wheatgrass and its mycobiome”

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 “Relationships among Fusarium graminearum infection, phenolic acid content, and the presence of a competing fungus in malting barley”

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