Laura Hug

Dr. Laura Hug is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology whose research examines the diversity and function of microbial communities in contaminated sites.

Research in the Hug lab seeks to define microbial diversity and function at contaminated sites (primarily municipal landfills). Her lab sequences the total DNA, RNA and protein (meta-omics) of microbial communities to identify which organisms are there, and which pathways are active. She uses enrichment culturing to explore microbial community interactions and to develop new bioremediation tools. The combination of genome-enabled metabolic prediction with tracking contaminant degradation in the lab clarifies how microbes are shaping the environment. Beyond developing tools for environment remediation, the Hug lab examines essential questions in biology – how do organisms adapt to the harsh conditions at contaminated sites? How and when did the ability to degrade a man-made product evolve? In what ways are microbial communities more than the sum of their parts, and do these interactions drive global cycles? Her research expands our understanding of the tree of life, while simultaneously developing solutions to emerging and priority contaminants.

Hug’s research addresses anthropogenic environmental change by studying microorganisms that mitigate methane emissions and degrade human‑made contaminants such as plastics and solvents. Her work aims to directly apply scientific discoveries to ongoing environmental challenges, with a focus on reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment. By exploring both the diversity of life and its resilience, her research supports more sustainable stewardship of Earth’s ecosystems.

• Microbial diversity and function

• Contaminated site microbial ecology

• Total community (meta-omic) analyses, including metagenomics (DNA), metatranscriptomics (RNA), and proteomics (proteins)

• Bioremediation

• Bioinformatics, systematics and evolution

• Protection of surface and groundwater resources

• 2012, PhD Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Canada

• 2007, MSc Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Canada

• 2005, BSc Molecular Biology and Genetics, University of Guelph, Canada

• 2024 – 2031, Member, Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists

• 2022 – 2023, Top 10 most cited article, EMIR (Johnson & Hug, 2022)

• 2022, Canadian Society for Microbiologists Thermo Fisher Award

• 2021, Outstanding Performance Award, University of Waterloo

• 2021, Ontario Early Researcher Award

• 2019, Profiled within the Notable Women In Science lamp post banner campaign, Guelph, Ontario

• 2016 – 2029, Tier II Canada Research Chair in Environmental Microbiology

• 2015, Kavli Fellow, National Academy of Sciences

• 2013, Post-Doctoral Fellowship, NSERC

• 2012, Outstanding Student Poster, American Society for Microbiology General Meeting

• 2011, Doctoral Completion Award, University of Toronto

• 2010, Yoshio Masui Prize in Molecular Biology, University of Toronto

• 2009, Canada Graduate Scholarship D Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement, NSERC

• 2008, Governor General’s Gold Medal, Dalhousie University

• 2007, Helen Sawyer Hogg Graduate Admission Award, University of Toronto

• 2007, Mary H. Beatty Fellowship, University of Toronto

• 2007, University of Toronto Fellowship, University of Toronto

• 2007, Canada Graduate Scholarship D, NSERC

• 2005, Postgraduate Scholarship M, NSERC

• 2005, Honorary Pre-Doctoral Scholarship, Killam Foundation

• Senior Editor, ISME Communications

• Reviewer for Nature, The ISME Journal, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology, BMC Genomics, Microbiome, Bioinformatics, Environmental Science and Technology, FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Frontiers in Environmental Science, Biodegradation, and PLoS ONE (ad hoc)

• American Society for Microbiology (Member)

• Canadian Society for Microbiologists (Member)

• International Society for Microbial Ecology (Member)

• 2024 – Present, Adjunct Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto

• Waterloo Center for Microbial Research, University of Waterloo (Member)

• Water Institute, University of Waterloo (Member)

• BIOL 346 - Microbial Ecology and Diversity
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026
• BIOL 645 - Recent Advances in Microbial Ecology
  • Taught in 2022

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• For the full list of Laura Hug's publications, please see Google Scholar.

• D. Grégoire, N. George, & L.A. Hug. (2023) Microbial methane cycling in a landfill on a decadal time scale. Nature Communications. 14: 7402 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43129-x

• L.A. Johnson & L.A. Hug. (2022) Cloacimonadota metabolisms include adaptations in engineered environments that are reflected in the evolutionary history of the phylum. Environmental Microbiology Reports, 14(4): 520-529 https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.08.463351

• N.A. George, C. Chen, K. Anantharaman, & L.A. Hug. (2025) Discarded diversity: Novel megaphages, auxiliary metabolic genes, and virally encoded CRISPR-Cas systems in landfills. Virology Journal 22: 370 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12985-025-02990-6

• M. Chen, D. S. Grégoire, P. St-Germain, C. Berdugo-Clavijo, L.A. Hug. (2025) Microbial diversity and capacity for arsenic biogeochemical cycling in aquifers associated with thermal mobilization. Science of the total environment. 977: 179357 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179357

• L.A. Hug, B.J. Baker, K. Anantharaman, C.T. Brown, A.J. Probst, C.J. Castelle, C. N. Butterfield, A.W. Hernsdorf, Y. Amano, K. Ise, Y. Suzuki, N. Dudek, D.A. Relman, K.M. Finstad, R. Amundson, B.C. Thomas, & J.F. Banfield. (2016) A new view of the tree of life. Nature Microbiology 1: 16048 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.48

• Giant burst of tiny organisms discovered on the tree of life. Scientific American and Quanta Magazine (2015)