Who We Are

education

David Heinrichs completed his PhD at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario under the supervision of Dr. Keith Poole investigating iron acquisition in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. He then completed a PDF under the guidance of Dr. Chris Whitfield at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario where he studied lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis and assembly in Escherichia coli. He joined the Faculty in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Western Ontario in 1999. 

News Features

Western News - UN focus on superbugs right on target for researcher

e. deh@uwo.ca     Twitter @deheinrichs

izabela batko, Msc

Graduate student

I completed my Honors BMSc and MSc in Microbiology and Immunology at Western University. As a graduate student in the Heinrichs laboratory, my research interests are the iron acquisition strategies of Staphylococcus aureus small colony variants (SCVs). 

Vincent Du, Bmsc

Graduate Student

I completed my Honors BMSc in Microbiology & Immunology at Western University under the supervision of Dr. David Heinrichs as a 4th-year thesis student. Currently, I am investigating the intracellular response of Staphylococcus aureus to antibiotic and environmental stress.

Ron Flannagan, Phd

research associate

Funding

I completed my PhD at Western University under the supervision of Dr. Miguel Valvano and completed a PDF at SickKids Hospital in Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Sergio Grinstein. My research interests include eukaryotic cell-membrane biology and host-microbe interactions. I currently investigate the mechanisms by which Staphylococcus aureus evades antimicrobial strategies of phagocytic cells.

Avery Gaudreau, BSc

Graduate student

I completed my Honours BSc in Biochemistry at the University of Ottawa, where my 4th-year thesis focused on antibiotic resistance dissemination in Acinetobacter baumannii plasmids. As a graduate student in the Heinrichs lab, I am working on the characterization and development of several small-molecule inhibitors that inhibit Staphylococcus aureus.

Camille Leblanc, BMSC

graduate student

I completed my Honors BMSc in Microbiology and Immunology at Western University, where I completed a 4th year thesis project in the Heinrichs laboratory. Now as a graduate student in the Heinrichs lab, I am continuing my investigation of Staphylococcus aureus pathogenesis.

Thiago Nunes, Msc

Graduate Student

I completed my Bachelor’s of Biomedicine and Masters of Health Technologies at Bahiana School of Medicine and Public Health in Salvador, Brazil. My research interests are studying the intracellular lifestyle of Staphylococci.

Evan Papalambropoulos, BSc

Graduate Student

I completed my Honors B.Sc. in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Waterloo.  As a graduate student in the Heinrichs Laboratory, I am currently assessing the pathogenic mechanisms of Staphylococcus aureus regulatory systems.

Maryam Rad, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

I completed my Ph.D. in microbiology at Shahid Beheshti University in Iran. I joined the University of British Columbia (UBC) as VIRS in January 2022 under the Supervision of Professor Hongbin Li, where I researched protein engineering. I continued my VIRS at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in July 2022 under the supervision of Dr Michael Adachi, where I studied biofunctionalization, and designed rapid diagnostic tests. My current focus is on designing devices for detection of pathogens and antibody-based approaches as anti-infectives.

Paroma Roy, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

I completed my MSc in Biotechnology from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, India. I then completed my PhD at University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA, under the supervision of Dr. Paul Fey, where I studied the mechanism of skin adherence by Staphylococcus epidermidis. Currently, I am investigating the intracellular survival of small colony variants of Staphylococcus aureus.

david watson, MSC

Lab Technician

I completed my BSc (Hons.) at Western University and began my research in the Heinrichs lab as a 4th-year thesis student. I continued to pursue my research interests in bacterial pathogenesis and host-microbe interactions as a Master's student in the lab. I currently investigate the mechanisms by which Staphylococcus lugdunensis evades antimicrobial strategies of phagocytic cells. 

Grace Zhang, BSc

Graduate student

I completed my Honours Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Genetics at McMaster University. Under the supervision of Dr. Herb Schellhorn, I completed a 4th-year thesis project studying the RpoS-controlled metabolic pathways of Escherichia coli required for adaptation to starvation. My research in the Heinrichs lab focuses on investigating regulatory mechanisms of Staphylococcus aureus pathogenesis.

Undergraduate students

Natalie Jarycki