Assistant Professor Dr. Carolina Tropini (Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Biomedical Engineering) is excited to share the Tropini lab’s vision for the future of microbiome research. In the recent manuscript for mSystems - “How the physical environment shapes the microbiota” – the Tropini lab’s research highlights the importance of measuring physical parameters for the prediction of microbial dynamics and microbiota therapies. Living systems, from micro- to macro-scales, are strongly impacted by physical factors such as... Read More
News
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Thomas Deckers (Engineering Physics) and Eric Liu (Physics and Astronomy) are current Co-op students in the Tokuyama lab researching Endogenous retrovirus signatures in COVID-19. An equally collaborative process between the two, Deckers and Liu presented their research at the Canadian Society for Virology virtual symposium. With over 100 attendees from all over Canada and 24 3-Minute-Thesis presentations, they received an award for second place! “8 to 10 percent of our DNA is made up of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) that have become fixed in our genomes... Read More
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Our newest lecturer, Evelyn Sun, first joined the Department of Microbiology and Immunology as an undergraduate student in the Biotech program. From there, she stayed in the department for her entire educational life! From undergraduate student to a graduate student in the Hancock lab to a post-doctoral research fellow in the department, she is now what the Hancock lab calls an SOB: Survivor of Bob. The Hancock lab’s research touches on multiple themes to address the growing antibiotic resistance problem: 1) the development of novel broad-spectrum therapeutic strategies... Read More
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Do you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine? Do you have concerns about whether you should get vaccinated or not? In this seminar, Dr. Tokuyama, a viral immunologist in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, provides an overview of how the COVID-19 vaccine works and how the vaccine generates an immune response that protects us against severe disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. The discussion is a live recording about why vaccination is important for individuals and the larger community, and a Q&A session. Dr. Tokuyama is a new faculty in the... Read More
Monday, July 26, 2021
HOW A VACCINE IS MADE FACTS The COVID-19 vaccine was created in under a year. Despite this, NO safety shortcuts were taken. There is no live COVID-19 virus in the vaccine so you will not get COVID from getting vaccinated. 3 COMPONENTS OF A VACCINE FORMULATION 1. The antigen – Picking one or more components of the disease-causing organism that you want to mount an immune response to 2. The adjuvant – Generates signals that will fully trigger the immune response to those antigens... Read More