Andrei is a RA in the lab for summer 2023. His interests involve studying host-pathogen interactions on a population and single-cell scale using high-content screening methods.

Kendall completed her BSc and MSc at Queen’s University on organophosphonate natural products and is transitioning into preclinical research and microbiology. In her spare time she likes to train for triathlons, walk her puppy Luna and go camping.

Isha is an undergraduate student in the Biomedical Discovery & Commercialization program and joined the lab in the summer of 2023 as part of her fourth-year thesis. Her project focuses on studying E. coli-host-interactions in various cell types. Outside the lab, Isha enjoys swimming, playing football, and watching movies.

Melissa is joining the lab as an RA for the summer after completing a BHSc in Biochemistry and will begin graduate studies in Fall 2023. She is interested in understanding how enteric pathogens gain increased invasiveness during an infection while identifying compounds with unique antimicrobial activity against them. Outside the lab, Melissa enjoys teaching or taking dance classes, thrifting, and visiting her favourite spots in Hamilton

Lena completed a BSc in Biochemistry and is now a graduate student in the lab studying immunomodulatory host-microbe interactions with adherent invasive E. coli (AIEC) in Crohn's disease models. 

Katie completed her undergraduate thesis in the lab and joined the lab as a graduate student in May 2023. Her project explores how host processes and xenobiotics influence behavior of enteric pathogens in the gut. Outside the lab, Katie is a member of McMaster's recreational dance team and enjoys reading and hiking.

Madie is an undergraduate student in Integrated Science with a concentration in Biochemistry. Madie joined the Coombes lab in 2021/22 as part of her third-year independent project investigating adherent invasive E. coli transcriptional reprogramming in Crohn’s disease models and will be staying on for a joint thesis project with the Sloboda lab

Megan is originally from the United States and received her B.S. in Biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University and Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine from the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. Her dissertation research examined the role of diet as a modifiable factor of inflammatory bowel disease pathogenesis. Outside of the lab, Megan enjoys reading, going to the gym, and hiking.

Aline is a Research Technician in the Coombes lab who joined the group in 2015. Prior to joining the lab, she worked abroad at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry near Munich and at the Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute at McMaster.

Marie-Ange completed an MSc in Microbiology at Laval University studying mobile genetic elements in the adaptation of a pathogenic bacteria. In the Coombes lab, Marie-Ange is studying the mechanisms by which intracellular bacteria can evade the host immune response. Marie-Ange holds a Canada Graduate Scholarship from CIHR and a doctoral award from Fonds de recherche du Québec.

Claudia completed her B.Sc. in Microbiology at the University of Havana and then worked for three years as a researcher at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of Cuba. Later, she completed her Masters in Microbiology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she evaluated the protective efficacy of a passive immunization therapy against A. fumigatus.

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