Graduate Students
Farah Al-Anbagi
MSc Student
Supervisor: Andrew Cameron
Farah is a new MSc student starting in Fall 2026. During her undergrad at the U of R, she completed two summer research terms and an honours project with IMSS, in which she studied the role of intrinsic antibiotic resistance genes in Klebsiella.
Mina Basiri
PhD Candidate
Supervisor: Chris Yost
Mina’s research involves plant-microbe interactions, with a specific emphasis on deciphering the functions and importance of genes in rhizosphere and root microorganisms, particularly Rhizobium. Through her research, she employs techniques such as INSeq and RNA-Seq.
Gracie Farago
MSc Student
Supervisor: Chris Yost
Gracie’s research focuses on increasing our understanding of the genetic mechanisms that allow Rhizobium to survive in the rhizosphere and colonize host plant roots. She aims to characterize genes that are differentially regulated by the root exudate erythritol or changes in soil pH, which are both factors that impact root colonization success.
Rafa Grajales
MSc Student
Supervisor: Chris Yost
Rafa is a Biotech Engineer with a passion for biological sciences and is currently pursuing an MSc in Biology. His work focuses on the interaction between microorganisms potentially inhibiting the growth of fungi-like pathogens that affect pulse crops in the region. In his free time, he is passionate about sports and really enjoys sci-fi series.
Vanna Hung
MSc Student
Supervisor: Andrew Cameron
Bere Mondragon
MSc Student
Supervisors: Carly Graham & Tzu-Chiao Chao (UofR)
Bere’s research is directed toward developing and improving detection methods for emerging pathogens and plasmids carrying antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater. Currently, her goal is to develop an on-site, reliable test for influenza by implementing genetic techniques that allow high specificity and sensitivity without the need for complex lab equipment.
Cassandra Omay
MSc Student
Supervisors: Andrew Cameron & Carly Graham
Cass is a new MSc student starting in Fall 2026. During her undergrad at the U of R, she completed an independent research semester on optimizing lysis of cyanobacteria for downstream in-field tests and an Honours project looking at the responses of enteric bacteria to exposure to common antidepressants.
Nicola Pollock (She/They)
MSc Student
Supervisors: Cory Sheffield (RSM) & Andrew Cameron
Nicola’s research focuses on the relationship between habitat quality and abundance/diversity of native pollinators in agricultural landscapes in Southern Saskatchewan. She is using various insect trapping methods, crop pollination and yield metrics, along with eDNA collection from flowers to study this.
Laura Schnell
PhD Candidate
Supervisors: Andrew Cameron & Jordyn Broadbent (ECCC)
Laura studies aquatic microbes. Currently, she is focused on early detection of cyanobacterial toxin genes in dugouts. This project focuses on using RT-qPCR and isothermal amplification to detect toxin transcript levels. These will then be compared to toxin quantities over time to validate the predictive ability of transcript measurements.
Ashton Sies (He/Him)
PhD Candidate
Supervisor: Andrew Cameron
Ashton uses genomics, bioinformatics, and environmental DNA (eDNA) to study plasmid ecology and evolution, alongside microbial and animal communities in natural ecosystems. His work takes place in Saskatchewan and Coastal British Columbia and is grounded in partnerships with First Nations, NGOs, government agencies, and academic collaborators.
Megan Zak
PhD Student
Supervisor: Andrew Cameron
Megan studies the role of nucleoid-structuring proteins (NAPs) in regulating DNA transcription. Using techniques such as RNA-seq and qPCR, her work examines how environmental stressors and NAP silencing networks influence the expression of plasmid-borne genes, including those for horizontal gene transfer and antibiotic resistance.
Undergraduate Students
Amin Akhavan (He/Him)
NSERC USRA Recipient
Supervisor: Chris Yost
Amin is entering his second year of a BSc in Biochemistry at the U of R. His interests include microbial genetics, human and cancer genetics, biochemistry, and organic chemistry; he is also pursuing a future career in surgery and plans to apply for medical school in Saskatchewan. Amin’s research focuses on developing a laboratory tool for measuring Rhizobium growth in different conditions and identifying synergistic and antagonistic microbial interactions with Rhizobium.
Michela Sisti
Honours Student
Supervisors: Peter Leavitt (UofR) & Andrew Cameron
Thomas Schamber (He/Him)
Technician
Supervisor: Chris Yost
Thomas studies plant pathogen interactions, primarily metabarcoding of microbes in quinoa and pea crops.