MBB RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Note that not all faculty members will advertise positions on the Research Opportunities website; students should contact faculty members they are interested in working with regardless of whether or not they have a position advertised.

Research Opportunity Faculty Member Description
USRA Dr. Ralph Pantophlet Join the Pantophlet Lab for a unique opportunity in vaccine R&D, focusing on glycoimmunology. We seek a passionate, upper-division undergraduate committed to impactful public health research for a full-time VPR USRA role. Gain hands-on experience in a leading lab and contribute significantly to HIV vaccine-related studies. Apply by emailing rpantophlet@sfu.ca with your research interests, academic goals, transcript, and CV. Be part of our team of dedicated researchers! (Posted 29JAN2024)
MBB 481/2/3, MBB 491/2
Dr. Dheva Setiaputra The Setiaputra lab works on studying the molecular determinants of mammalian DNA repair pathways and its effects on gene editing and cancer therapy. Projects include studying the biochemistry of DNA double-strand break repair proteins, developing genomic approaches to understand CRISPR gene editing kinetics, and using AI to mine the protein interactome to discover new binding partners. Interested students are encouraged to e-mail Dr. Setiaputra with a CV and a copy of their academic transcript, as well as a general statement on which types of projects they are particularly interested in. (Posted 09AUG2023)
Volunteers Dr. Dheva Setiaputra Come join us to learn molecular and cell biology techniques in the field of DNA repair, cancer therapy, and CRISPR gene editing. Interested students should e-mail Dr. Setiaputra with a CV, transcript, and a short description of their professional goals. (Posted 09AUG2023)
MBB 481/2/3, MBB 491/2, MBB 498 Dr. Mark Paetzel The Paetzel lab investigates the structure and mechanism of membrane bound enzymes, viral enzymes and the molecular machinery involved in targeting and translocating proteins to and across biological membranes. We use molecular biology, protein expression, purification, characterization, X-ray crystallography and structural bioinformatics. Interested students should e-mail Dr. Paetzel describing their research interests along with a copy of transcripts and CV. (Posted 09AUG2023)
MBB 481/2/3, MBB 491, MBB 492 Dr. Valentin Jaumouillé

Genetic engineering approaches to cancer immunology

The Jaumouillé lab is interested in immunotherapies that promote the elimination of cancer cells through professional phagocytes. Our goal is to understand the mechanisms that restrict the anti-tumoral capacity of phagocytes to develop more effective therapeutic strategies. Our approach is to employ genetic engineering techniques to study and manipulate immune cells, including CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, chimeric antigen receptors, retroviral and transposon expression systems. Interested students should e-mail Dr. Jaumouillé with a brief description of their research interests and include a current transcripts and CV. (Posted 18Jul2023)

MBB 481/2/3 Dr. Jonathan Choy 15-credit Direct Research opportunities are available in the Choy lab for individuals interested in studying how immune responses contribute to transplant rejection and autoimmune disease. Interested students should e-mail Dr. Choy describing their research interests along with a copy of transcripts and CV.
MBB 481/2/3 Dr. Nancy Hawkins

The Hawkins lab studies the role of asymmetrically localized proteins and the Wnt signaling pathway in asymmetric cell division in C. elegans. We have focused on the protein HAM-1, that is asymmetrically localized at the cell cortex in many dividing cells in the embryo. This protein also has a DNA binding domain and localizes to the nucleus. We proposed that the asymmetric localization at the cell cortex is one mechanism to specifically distribute the protein to one of the two daughter cells during division. The goal is to watch the segregation of HAM-1 in living embryos during cell division. To accomplish this goal, the directed research project will involve generating a plasmid construct that fuses the ham-1 gene to a gene encoding a photoconvertible fluorescent protein (Dendra2). This construct will then be used to generate transgenic C. elegans. A series of experiments will then be undertaken to visualize Dendra2::HAM-1 localization and segregation in transgenic embryos.   

NSERC/VPR USRAs Dr. Nancy Hawkins Molecular mechanisms underlying asymmetric cell division
MBB 481/2/3 Dr. Nancy Hawkins Molecular mechanisms underlying asymmetric cell division
MBBB481/2/3 Dr. Fiona Brinkman
Multiple bioinformatics projects: Antimicrobial gene mobility; Pathogen-associated gene analysis; Data curation and visualization of integrated microbiome, clinical, environmental data.
Directed Research Dr. Peter Unrau RNA aptamer and ribozyme selection and characterization opportunities.