Past Members of the Geuking Lab

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.

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.

Nadia Yorke
Summer Student

Roopa Hebbandi Nanjundappa, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr. Nanjundappa’s research focuses on understanding how the intestinal microbiota modulates CD4+ T-cell responses in an antigen-specific manner. She completed her PhD in Immunology under the supervision of Dr. Pere Santamaria at the University of Calgary in April 2019. She then completed six months of clinical research training to understand the medical management of complex disease, including hepatitis B infection, under the supervision of Dr. Carla Coffin. During her PhD, she discovered how a gut microbial molecular mimic to pancreatic beta-cell auto-antigen can protect the host from inflammatory bowel disease. Her PhD work raised a strong interest and curiosity in her towards host and microbiota interaction.

Regula Burkhard, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher

Gabriela Quiroz-Olguin, PhD
PhD Student

Gabriela was a PhD student from Mexico who visited the Geuking and McCoy labs for 6 months from October 2019 to March 2020 to learn microbiome sequencing and IgA-SEQ. While working as a certified dietitian in Mexico City, Gabriela completed a Master’s Degree in Education at Universidad Tecnológica de Mexico. She then started a PhD in Clinical Nutrition at the Universidad Anahuac in Mexico City studying the effect of fasting and enteral stimulation on the IgA concentration in saliva of patients pursuing a stomal reversal. Gabriela is a great singer and guitar player. She also likes long distance running and has completed several half marathons.

Mia Koegler, MSc
MSc student

Mia completed her MSc in Immunology as part of the Leaders in Medicine joint MD/MSc program in the Geuking Lab. Her research focused on the antigen-specific adaptive immune response to commensal gut bacteria that disseminate systemically. Mia received the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Research Scholarship and the Dr. Joseph Davison Research Day Award. Mia obtained her BSc (Honours) in Anthropology (with a concentration in Primatology) in 2015 from the University of Calgary. In her spare time, Mia likes to paint, play piano, sing, and go camping.

Noah Cooke, BSc (Hons)
Undergraduate Honours student

After completing an Alberta Innovates summer studentship in 2018, Noah undertook his Bachelor of Health Sciences Honors Thesis in the Geuking Lab. Noah investigated whether outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) produced by commensal microbes could induce differentiation of CD4+ T cells. These nanoscale vesicles can function as vaccine platforms. Understanding how OMVs modulate T cell fate may allow for reprogramming of the CD4+ T cell compartment in autoimmune conditions. Outside of the lab, Noah enjoys cross-country skiing, running, hiking, cooking, and reading up on international relations.