Marissa Chee-A-Tow

I am a fourth year Arts & Science student at the University of Guelph, specializing in biology, biotechnology and French with a certificate in business. I started volunteering in Dr. Hajibabaei’s lab in February 2020. I assist with various lab protocols, such as sample homogenization, and DNA extraction, as well Read more…

Siavash Nazari

Siavash Nazari BSc (MSc Student) I received my BSc. in Computer Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in July 2015. I have a passion for nature and the magnificence of the living, and throughout my undergraduate studies I pursued this passion by attending several herpetology workshops as well as taking Read more…

Rachel Smith

Rachel Smith, BSc. (Laboratory Technician) I completed my B.Sc. in Marine and Freshwater Biology at the University of Guelph. I started in the Hajibabaei lab as an undergraduate NSERC USRA summer student in 2014, continued working through the last year of my degree and started as a full-time technician in Read more…

Shannon Eagle

Shannon Eagle, MSc. (Laboratory Manager) I completed my B.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Genetics and my M.Sc. in Evolutionary Biology both at the University of Guelph. As an undergraduate student, I worked in the Hajibabaei lab. There I performed subsampling, DNA extractions, PCRs, gel electrophoresis, DNA sequencing, and DNA sequence Read more…

Kristen Dienst

Kristen Dienst (Undergraduate Student) I am a third year Animal Biology student at the University of Guelph, and I have been a part time work study student in the Hajibabaei lab since January 2015. I aspire to become a veterinarian, and I am applying to the Ontario Veterinary College this Read more…

Françoise Kanga

Françoise Kanga, PhD Françoise Kanga obtained a PhD in Applied Biological Sciences (2012) and a MSc in Nematology (2005), both from the University of Ghent, Belgium. She also holds a diploma in Agricultural Sciences from the Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences (FASA), Cameroon (2003). Her primary research areas include Read more…

Shadi Shokralla

Shadi Shokralla, Ph.D. Dr. Shokralla’s graduate training, in conjunction with the Stanford Genome Technology Centre, was in molecular techniques for detection of microbial resistance amongst clinical isolates of bacteria. His main research interest is in technology development within next-generation sequencing platforms including Roche 454 GS FLX and Illumina MiSeq systems. Read more…

Gina Capretta

Gina Capretta  BASc., B.Ed., (MSc. Student) After completing a BASc. from McMaster University in 2002, I headed for Teacher’s College at the University of Toronto and earned a B.Ed (Biology/Chemistry) with a specialization in gifted education. Over the last ten years, I taught science and math to elementary, secondary, and Read more…

Nicole Fahner

Nicole Fahner, HBSc. (MSc. Student) Before coming to the University of Guelph for graduate studies, I attended the University of Toronto where I received an Honours B.Sc. in Forensic Science and Biology. Through some work experience in the Royal Ontario Museum’s Natural History collection and an internship at the Natural Read more…

Lisa Ledger

Lisa Ledger, B.Sc. (M.Sc. Student) After completing a bachelors degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of Guelph in June 2010, I started graduate work in the Hajibabaei lab in January of 2012. One of the overarching interests of my academic career has been how to use the techniques Read more…