Current research in my lab focuses on host-pathogen-environment interactions and applies an interdisciplinary approach to evaluate how environmental stress influences the immune system, and health, of animals at the organismal, cellular and molecular levels.
Profiles
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My research interests include non-coding RNA-based mechanisms that regulate of gene expression as it relates to the host-pathogen interactions in wildlife infectious diseases. My current research as an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow focuses on microRNA-mediated regulation of the amphibian immune system in response to Frog Virus 3 infection.
For more information on my research, visit my website.
My research focuses on validating eDNA methodologies alongside conventional taxonomic identification in local waterways.
Awards
2019 Ages Foundation Bursary from rare Charitable Research Reserve ($4,000 – 1st place prize)
2018 Arthur J. Niimi best student poster presentation, Canadian Ecotoxicity Workshop
My research investigates the impacts of multiple stressors on fish DNA & RNA production and release. For more information on my research please see my profile at https://thecraiglab.com/people/
Awards
2018 NSERC PGS-D
I began my M.Sc. studies in Fall 2019 and transferred to the PhD program in Fall 2020. My research aims to identify novel antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) from the skin of the North American wood frog, determine the factors that influence their expression, and describe their role in innate immune defence.
My research is focused on developing and using environmental DNA methodologies to characterize fish populations in remote Patagonian rivers.
More details on my research can be found here: https://uwaterloo.ca/servos-group/people-profiles/erika-burton-0
I joined the Katzenback Lab as a MSc student in the Spring of 2021. My research aims to identify if exposure to microplastics has immunotoxic effects on developing North American wood frogs, which could be contributing to amphibian declines. I will be exploring intrinsic host factors through transcriptional changes, in addition to evaluating changes in the commensal skin microbiome.
I started in the Katzenback lab for my M.Sc. in the Fall of 2021. I will be joining the environmental DNA (eDNA) project to explore amphibian populations in Ontario. My research will consist of a comparative analysis of eDNA techniques to more conventional amphibian detection methods such as visual encounter and call surveys.
I am joining the Katzenback lab this Spring as a fourth-year student in the Honours Biology Co-op Program with a minor in Anthropology. My research will characterize the potential antibacterial activity of four novel peptides identified by the lab, and their possible antiviral activity to Frog Virus 3.
In Fall 2021, I will continue with the lab and begin working on my Senior Honours Project (Undergraduate Thesis).