Available graduate positions

Project 1 - Ecological impacts of wastewater treatment in Nunavut (pending funding). The project will involve multiple aspects of water quality and ecological impact assessment. Two graduate students are required, one working on assessment of microbial populations using high throughput sequencing, and a second student looking at ecological impacts on fish using proteomics approaches. 

Project 2 - Proteomics analysis of immunoglobulins in interstitial fluids (pending funding). This project will use proteomics approaches for the characterization of the protein complement of interstitial fluids and protein sequencing of immunoglobulins. The project will involve bioinformatics methods and mass spectrometry data analysis.

Contact Information: brendan.mcconkey@uwaterloo.ca

Climate change is altering the probability of heat waves and cold snaps, and consequently the probably that species at risk may face averse temperature conditions. In collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the PhD candidate will use use stage-structured population models and climate data from Natural Resources Canada to model temperature extremes and extinction risk for endangered aquatic species in Ontario river systems.

Currently researchers at Fisheries and Oceans Canada use an optical plankton counter in the Great Lakes to estimate zooplankton abundance. The PhD will use using machine learning techniques to develop species recognition of the invasive aquatic zooplankton, spiny waterflea (Bythotrephes longimanus), from this low quality image data stream. 

Contact Information: kcuddington@uwaterloo.ca

Graduate student positions are available to study carbohydrate/amino acid metabolism of hyperthermophiles, a group of microorganisms isolated mainly from deep sea hydrothermal vents and growing at temperatures at 90°C and above. The main goal of the research is to elucidate metabolic pathways and enzyme evolution by using a multidisciplinary approach including functional genomics, biochemistry, molecular microbiology and bioengineering to study thermostable enzymes and electron transfer proteins. There are possibilities to explore potential applications of these enzymes in biotechnology.

Contact Information: kma@uwaterloo.ca

Looking for a PhD and MSc student to work on the Impact of Forest Fires on Rivers with increased Algal growth and Molecular Identification of Algal communities in Drinking Water Reservoirs.

Contact Information: kirsten.muller@uwaterloo.ca

Graduate Student Opportunities: Ecological Research in Arctic Freshwater Ecosystems

PROJECT AIMS: to develop an improved understanding of how human-induced changes in Arctic freshwater ecosystems (i.e., climate change, resource development) may impact the health of northern freshwater resources and the provision of ecosystem services (e.g., sustainable fisheries, drinking water quality). The team will use cutting-edge methods to establish baseline studies of the Lake Greiner watershed, from its lowest trophic levels (micros, algae, benthic invertebrates, plankton) to its upper trophic levels (fish), to describe how the function and structure of aquatic ecosystems support plankton, macroinvertebrate and juvenile fish production, the diversity of organisms, and the habitats upon which the health and sustainability of fisheries ultimately depend.

Contact Information: m3power@uwaterloo.ca

The Spafford lab is investigating the origins of electrical excitability and nervous systems.  The Spafford lab are characterizing the expressed genes of voltage-gated sodium and calcium channels that are responsible for action potential spikes in the most simple organism to have these ion channels, a single-cell choanoflagellate.  The Spafford lab use patch clamp electrophysiology to record the electrical activity of the expressed genes, and are using an multi-electrode array recording device to record the nervous system-like electrical communication that is formed between organisms, when these single cell choanoflagellates transition from singulates to colonial life stages.

Contact Information: david.spafford@uwaterloo.ca

Research in the Martin Lab focuses on identifying points of convergence in pathways that direct neurodegeneration in order to apply therapeutics to multiple neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Huntington disease (HD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). More specifically, we study how the post-translational modification of proteins with the lipid palmitate through palmitoylation directs proteins to membranes during autophagy, a cellular process that is essential for removing toxic proteins and damaged organelles. Our approach is highly collaborative and multi-faceted involving the identification of human SNPs, population genetics, protein characterization, chemical biology and high-resolution microscopy. Various aspects of these studies are performed in yeast, cell culture and/or mouse models.

Contact Information: dale.martin@uwaterloo.ca