Waterloo's hub for microbial research

Exploration and exploitation of microbes

The Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research (WCMR) promotes research and education in the application of microbiological principles and techniques to address environmental, industrial, economic, and human health challenges.

Through the WCMR, members with diverse research interests and varying academic backgrounds come together to engage in collaborative research in which microbes, as part of aquatic, terrestrial, engineered and host-associated environments, are explored through:

• computational analysis of sequence data
• identification of constituent species
• annotation and identification of novel molecular activities
• development of synthetic biology applications
• engineering of microbial processes for industrial applications
• participation in international sharing
• standardization of big data
• understanding the role of microbes in society.

As a group, the Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research plans to unify, catalyze, and promote multidisciplinary research which explores and exploits microbes at the University of Waterloo. The WCMR also supports partnerships between students, researchers, and external partners through networking events, collaborative projects and science communication. As of 2017, the WCMR is an official centre of the University of Waterloo.