Current Members of the Geuking Lab

Dr. Markus Geuking is an Associate Professor in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. He is a member of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases as well as of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. Dr. Geuking obtained his PhD in Immunology from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (Switzerland) where he worked in the lab of Nobel Prize Laureate Prof. Rolf Zinkernagel. He studied host-microbial immune interactions using germ-free and gnotobiotic models during his postdoctoral studies at McMaster University (Hamilton, Canada). He then continued this work as a research associate at the University of Bern (Switzerland) before joining the University of Calgary in 2016.

Dr. Geuking has over 30 peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Science and Immunity. He has received the AbbVie IBD Grant (2015), Lutz Zwillenberg Award (2012), and Swiss National Science Foundation Ambizione Grant (2010).

Mike Dicay
Lab Manager

Michael manages the McCoy and Geuking labs. He investigates the role of the microbiome in many different disease states. He performs experiments and helps graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and staff with their projects while making sure the labs run smoothly. Michael has over 25 years of research experience with the University of Calgary; he started in Neuroscience, investigating stem cell neuroplasticity for several years working with Dr. Sam Weiss, and then worked in the field of inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract with Dr. John Wallace and Dr. Wally MacNaughton before joining the McCoy and Geuking labs.

Kirsten Wilson
MSc student

Kirsten investigates how bacteria-specific T helper cell subsets impact humoral antibody responses with translational implications in immune-mediated disorders such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and vaccine development. She completed her BScH at Queen's University with a specialization in molecular biology, and has presented her work at international conferences in Canada and the United States. Her laboratory specializations include DNA cloning, DNA isolation, PCR, production of proteins, protein assays, gene crosses, and biochemical and immunological analysis of proteins. In her free time, she enjoys anything involving the mountains including rock climbing, ice climbing, and skiing.

Sharon Dong
MSc student

Sharon investigates the impact of intestinal microbial colonization during pregnancy on Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) development in offspring. To do so, she is engineering auxotrophic bacterial species capable of transiently colonizing germ free mouse mothers. This way, she can study the effect of microbial metabolite transfer on the development of T1D in the offspring mice. When she is not in the lab, Sharon enjoys activities with her friends and likes to stay active, go on hikes, dance, and meet new people.

Isla Skalosky
MSc student

Nadia Yorke
Summer Student