The following trainees were awarded scholarships from CAN-AMR-Net for the 2025-2026 academic year for their work tackling antimicrobial resistance from multiple perspectives including applied and environmental sciences, public health, agriculture and fundamental biology.
20 trainees were funded from 12 institutions across Canada, marking a total investment of $235,000 in the national AMR research ecosystem.
Postdoctoral fellow
Supervisor: Dao Nguyen (McGill University)
Project Summary: “I use novel plasmonic materials embedded in miniature (microfluidic) systems for rapid AMR screening. We investigate applications in bloodstream infections to reduce the overall turnaround time from currently 48-72 hrs to less than 60 mins.”
MSc student
Supervisor: Gustavo Ybazeta (Laurentian University)
Project summary: “My project investigates how wastewater treatment plants contribute to antibiotic resistance by co-selecting resistance genes and metal resistance genes under environmental stressors. Through year-long, weekly sampling across multiple wastewater treatment plants in Northeastern Ontario, the study examines drivers of resistance gene dynamics and horizontal gene transfer.”
PhD student
Supervisor: David Renaud (University of Guelph)
Project Summary: “The importance of prudent antimicrobial use in dairy calves is often overlooked. I’m evaluating whether an antimicrobial stewardship educational program designed for dairy producers can improve their attitudes, mindsets, and behaviours toward responsible antimicrobial use in calves.”
PhD student
Supervisor: Casey Hubert (University of Calgary)
Project summary: “My PhD project involves the quantification and characterization of endospores throughout the wastewater treatment process and different sources of wastewater (i.e., municipal versus hospital) to help uncover the potential role these robust bacterial cell types play in the spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment.”
PhD student
Supervisor: Xiaonan Lu (McGill University)
Project Summary: “My research integrates smart microfluidic diagnostics for AMR-relevant foodborne pathogens with mechanistic investigations into bacterial stress tolerance, protein condensation, and dormancy under antibiotic pressure. This combined approach links rapid detection with biological insights into antimicrobial persistence.”
MSc student
Supervisor: Amy Lee (Simon Fraser University)
Project summary: “I’m a One Health trainee investigating antimicrobial resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae using comparative genomics and microbial genome-wide association studies, with a focus on plasmid dynamics and integrative approaches spanning human, animal, and environmental health.”
MSc student
Supervisor: Justin Di Trani (University of Alberta)
Project summary: “My research focuses on structural characterization of electron transport chain complexes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa using single particle cryogenic electron microscopy.”
PhD student
Supervisor: Diego Mobrega (University of Calgary)
Project Summary: “Using my background in veterinary medicine, my research uses advanced data visualization, machine learning, natural language processing, and large language models to improve the accessibility of AMR data and enhance the WHO antimicrobial resistance surveillance program (GLASS).”
Postdoctoral fellow
Supervisor: Leah Cowen (University of Toronto)
Project Summary: “The research project for which I have received support from CAN-AMR-Net focuses on combining antifungal drug screening with drug-drug interaction screening to identify novel drug combinations with therapeutic potential for treating fungal diseases.”
PhD student
Supervisor: Xiaolin Wei (University of Toronto)
Project Summary: “My DrPH dissertation will examine antimicrobial prescribing patterns and clinician behaviours in Albertan primary care using mixed methods. It will explore variability across demographics such as gender and rurality and investigate the role of provider continuity to inform targeted stewardship intervention”
PhD student
Supervisor: Caroline Duchaine (Laval University)
Project summary: “As a PhD student in microbiology at Université Laval, I focus my research on biomonitoring the biological component of air, also known as bioaerosols. The project aims to assess their potential impacts on indoor and outdoor air quality, as well as on human and animal health, particularly in agricultural settings.”
Postdoctoral fellow
Supervisor: Freeman Lan (University of Toronto)
Project summary: “I apply ultrahigh-throughput single-cell genomics to track antimicrobial resistance within complex microbial communities, focusing on how mobile genetic elements drive the spread of resistance genes across clinical and environmental settings.”
MSc student
Supervisor: Kapil Tahlan (Memorial University)
Project summary: “My research explores soil-derived carbapenem antibiotics as potential solutions to drug-resistant Gram-negative infections, while investigating how carbapenem resistance genes disseminate between environmental and clinical settings within a One Health framework.”
PhD student
Supervisor: Maud de Lagarde (Université de Montréal)
Project summary: “Surveillance of antibiotic resistance in avian pathogenic Escherichia coli at the human–animal–environment interface in Benin and Quebec, using whole-genome sequencing. This project aims to identify antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes, as well as associated plasmids, to better understand the circulation of multidrug-resistant bacteria across ecosystems.”
PhD student
Supervisor: Justin Di Trani (University of Alberta)
Project summary: “My research focuses on structural characterization of electron transport chain complexes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa using single particle cryogenic electron microscopy.”
MSc student
Supervisor: Greg German (University of Toronto)
Project summary: “Bacteriophages (or phages) are viruses that specifically infect and kill bacteria, offering a promising alternative to antibiotics. My project investigates why bacteria that cause urinary tract infections vary in their susceptibility to phages, focusing on the bacterial surface structures that enable phage attachment and entry into the cell.”
MSc student
Supervisor: Rachel Gregor (University of Toronto)
Project summary: “My research develops a machine learning framework that integrates genomic and metabolomic data to uncover novel secondary metabolites from marine microbes. By linking biosynthetic gene clusters to their chemical signatures through multimodal embeddings, this work establishes a scalable pipeline for natural product discovery with broad implications for drug development and global health challenges.”
Postdoctoral fellow
Supervisor: Zhenyu Cheng (Dalhousie University)
Project summary: “Our project investigate how Pseudomonas aeruginosa secretes the protease PrpL to evade host complement-mediated immunity during acute lung infection. We aim to elucidate the molecular mechanism of PrpL-driven immune evasion and identify small-molecule inhibitors as potential therapeutics for pseudomonal pneumonia.”
PhD student
Supervisor: Andrew G. McArthur (McMaster University)
Project summary: “My work involves building next-generation genomic surveillance tools for antimicrobial resistance. Using protein language models, he is focused on improving the detection of emerging and divergent β-lactamase threats, with the long-term goal of deploying foundation models that operate at a global sequencing scale.
PhD student
Supervisor: Herman Barkema (University of Calgary)
Project summary: “My PhD research uses a One Health approach to study Mycoplasma bovis in Alberta dairy herds using molecular diagnostics and genomic tools.The goal is to improve surveillance and control while supporting antimicrobial stewardship and sustainable dairy production.”
