Microbial ultrastructure

The Tocheva lab investigates the basic principles that govern key microbial processes such as membrane remodeling, host-pathogen interactions, and DNA segregation. The lab combines advanced structural approaches with in-depth molecular, biochemical and bioinformatic analyses to elucidate the role and function of essential microbial components and macromolecular assemblies.

Research Strength: Implementation of advanced structural biology approaches such as correlative light and electron microscopy, super resolution light microscopy, cryo-focused ion beam milling, and cryo-electron tomography.

Collaboration Interest: Interested in collaborations focused on characterizing the structural basis of host-pathogen interactions under native conditions.

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Antimicrobial resistance and the community

As the lead for antimicrobial resistance at the BCCBC, Dr. David Patrick’s work focuses on tracking and combating antimicrobial resistance, understanding the drivers of antibiotic use in communities, reducing unnecessary consumption, and exploring the link between antibiotic use and asthma or other atopic diseases at the population level.

Research Strength: Population health focus. Data rich. Connected to public health, clinical practice and health promotion.

Collaboration Interest: Translation of findings from smaller study designs to population health impact.

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A world without vaccine-preventable diseases

Dr. Manish Sadarangani is the director of the Vaccine Evaluation Center (VEC) at BC Children’s Hospital, where several studies are underway to surveil and identify risk factors associated with the biggest threats for multi-drug resistance bacterial infections in children, including Klebsiella, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus.

Research Strength: clinical vaccine trials, observational clinical studies, antibody responses to vaccine and infection, pre-clinical development of mouse models, bacterial genomics, infectious disease epidemiology

Collaboration Interest: Leading a new UBC research cluster: ‘PREVENT-AMR: Prevention of AMR via a One Health Approach’ – looking for interested members to join.

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Evolution of emerging and established pathogens

Dr. Joy uses and develops evolutionary genetic methods to study and understand evolutionary processes in the context of molecular epidemiology, pathogen evolution, and macroevolution. His laboratory integrates evolutionary theory and computational methods with genomic, clinical and socio-demographic attribute data to make inferences relevant to public health and clinical practice, as well as for the fields of evolutionary biology and molecular epidemiology more generally. His laboratory’s work is currently focused on pathogen emergence (e.g. SARS-CoV-2 and Lassa virus), the dynamics of viral epidemics such as HIV and HCV, within-host evolution, and development of novel methods for understanding epidemic dynamics based on sequence data.

Research Strength: His laboratory’s work is currently focused on pathogen emergence (e.g. SARS-CoV-2 and Lassa virus), the dynamics of viral epidemics such as HIV and HCV, within-host evolution, and development of novel methods for understanding epidemic dynamics based on sequence data.

Collaboration Interest: We welcome opportunities to partner on projects in molecular epidemiology, evolutionary genetics, and public health. Collaborations may take many forms, including joint analyses, co-supervision of trainees, or the development of new methods and datasets, with colleagues in Canada and Internationally.

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Tuberculosis - Immunity - Drug Discovery

Dr. Jim Sun’s lab investigates host immunity to bacterial pathogens and uses this knowledge to develop novel host-directed therapies and bacteria-directed antibiotics to combat antimicrobial resistance. We aim to uncover new molecular mechanisms of host resistance or susceptibility to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other intracellular pathogens that persist in macrophages.

Research Strength: We are a cellular microbiology lab that uses multidisciplinary approaches including functional genomics, high-resolution and high-content imaging, flow cytometry, and multi-omics to solve our research questions. Our strengths are in host-pathogen interactions, macrophage biology, CRISPR genome editing, functional cellular assays, and library screening.

Collaboration Interest: We are looking to collaborate with researchers working with clinical TB materials, small molecule or biologics libraries, lung organoid models, TB co-infection morbidities, and Indigenous communities in BC.

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Infectious disease progression through mathematical modelling

Dr. Cyrille Kenne’s research focus is on multiscale mathematical modeling of infectious diseases using partial differential equations. His work aims to understand pathogen-host dynamics and develop comprehensive models to analyze disease progression.

Research Strength: Development of mathematical and mechanistic models to capture multi-scale pathogen-host interactions and provide theoretical insights into infectious disease progression.

Collaboration Interest: Open to collaborations on data-driven and mechanistic modeling of infection dynamics, model validation using experimental or clinical datasets, and interdisciplinary approaches linking microbiology, immunology, and computational modeling.

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Tuberculosis and the battle of drug-resistance

Dr. Yossef Av-Gay's lab aims to understand the mechanisms by which Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) survives and replicates inside human macrophages, with the goal to develop new host directed therapies (HDT) treatments for tuberculosis (TB) and Non tuberculosis Mycobacteria (NTMs) to combat drug-resistant strains. Past therapies developed in the Av-Gay’s lab exemplified by nitric oxide inhalation therapy, are currently in clinical trials for lung infections.

Collaboration Interest: Dr. Av-Gay collaborates closely with industry and other academic groups to progress novel drug development and is actively looking for collaborators in the field.

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Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) molecular interactions and pathogenic functions

Dr. Maria Tokuyama’s lab studies virus-host interactions and seeks to investigate how components of the virome shape immune responses and affect outcomes of disease. The lab currently studies immune responses against a range of viruses including endogenous retroviruses, HSV-2, ZIKV, and highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Research Strength: Our research strengths are in sexually transmitted viruses and autoimmune diseases (lupus and multiple sclerosis). We have technical expertise in a range of techniques including bioinformatics analysis of viral elements, scRNAseq analysis, standard virology techniques, use of mouse models to study infections, vaginal organoids to study sexually transmitted infections, antibody functionality assays, spectral flow cytometry, and a range of immunological assays.

Collaboration Interest: We’re looking for collaborators who have access to clinical specimens and/or transcriptome datasets to investigate links between the virome, immune response, and clinical outcomes.

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Deletion of ESX-3 and ESX-4 secretion systems in Mycobacterium abscessus results in highly impaired pathogenicity.

PrePARE Member: Elitza I. Tocheva  Read

Dental antibiotic use in British Columbia from 1996 through 2023: Are we backsliding? 

PrePARE Member: David Patrick   Read

Editorial: Preventing childhood asthma the neglected impact of existing public health interventions.

PrePARE Member: David Patrick  Read

ICD-10 Codes to Identify Adverse Drug Events Associated with Antibiotics in Administrative Data.

PrePARE Member: David Patrick  Read

Future immunisation strategies to prevent Streptococcus pneumoniae infections in children and adults.

PrePARE Member: Manish Sadarangani Read

Transfer of Anti-klebsiella Pneumoniae Immunity Following Infection in Mice is Protective Against Lethal Challenge in Offspring.

PrePARE Member: Manish Sadarangani Read

Antimicrobial resistance and vaccines in Enterobacteriaceae including extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

PrePARE Member: Manish Sadarangani Read

Generalized treatment as prevention plus focused pre-exposure prophylaxis is the key to controlling HIV/AIDS.

PrePARE Member: Jeffrey B. Joy  Read

The Parkinson’s drug benztropine possesses histamine receptor 1-dependent host-directed antimicrobial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

PrePARE Member: Yossef Av-Gay Read