Principal Investigator
Dr. Alberto Caminero
Dr. Caminero is an Assistant Professor at McMaster University. After completing a PhD at University of León under the supervision of Dr. Javier Casqueiro and Dr. Santiago Vivas where he investigated gluten-degrading microbes, Dr. Caminero pursued postdoctoral research in the Verdu Lab. His postdoctoral research focused on gluten metabolism by microbiota in the context of Celiac disease. Dr. Caminero aims to facilitate a multidisciplinary research group which explores microbial metabolism and its various connections to human health.
Highlighted Awards & Grants:
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Canadian Institutes of Health Research Project Grant Competition – 2020
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Crohn's and Colitis Canada Grants-in-Aid Research Competition – 2021
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Canada Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund Competition – 2020
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Tri-agency Institutional Programs Exploration Grant – 2020
Post Doctoral Fellow
Dr. Bruna Barbosa da Luz
Bruna Barbosa da Luz is a biologist with a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences (2011-2016), Master’s degree in Pharmacology (2016-2018) and PhD. in Pharmacology (2018-2022) from the Federal University of Parana (UFPR0) under the supervision of Dr. Maria Fernanda Werner in Brazil. She has previous experience studying the effects of natural products in GI disease using experimental models of protection and healing of peptic ulcers, intestinal motility, visceral pain and inflammatory bowel disease in animal models.
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During her PhD. studies, she gained experience working with intestinal cells and organoids to examine the intestinal epithelial barrier in Dr. Wallace MacNaughton’s lab at the University of Calgary.
Awards:
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Canadian Institutes of Health Research Graduate Scholarship: PhD – 2021
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Canadian Institutes of Health Research Graduate Scholarship: Master's – 2019
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Farncombe Institute Graduate Scholarship – 2019
Liam Rondeau
Liam Rondeau is a PhD student in the Caminero Lab. He completed a BHSc in Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization. His undergraduate thesis was conducted in the Verdu Lab which involved an industry project with Nestlé. His PhD research explores aryl hydrocarbon receptor, an intracellular receptor which is dysregulated in inflammatory bowel disease. Liam uses a wide variety of techniques to reach his research goals including multiple mouse models of colitis, cell culture, and microbiome analysis.
Graduate Students
Undergraduate Students
Hassaan Abbasi is a fourth year student in the Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization program. He is currently conducting his senior thesis on the impacts of various protein sources on mTOR activity and DSS induced colitis. Outside of academics, Hassaan enjoys powerlifting and playing basketball with friends.
Hassaan Abbasi
Gavin Yuen is a fourth year thesis student in the Chemical Biology program. His thesis uses mouse models to understand the role of intestinal microbiota on peanut immunogenicity. Gavin employs a wide variety of techniques in microbiology and animal-handling to test his hypotheses and make new discoveries. Gavin is excited to learn more about peanut metabolism and how this can potentially translate to improved clinical outcomes for patients with peanut anaphylaxis.
Gavin Yuen
Niki Patel is a fourth year thesis student in the Molecular Biology and Genetics program. During the summer, she has been working with Dominic to optimize ELISA protocols for the peanut metabolism project. In the fall, she is excited to continue working in the lab on the tryptophan project under the supervision of Liam.
Niki Patel
​Angelica Estevez is a fourth-year thesis student in the Biochemistry program, specializing in Biomedical Research. Her senior thesis investigates the role of different dairy components in worsening inflammation in ulcerative colitis. She employs mice models with DSS-induced colitis to examine the relationship between diet and colitis severity. Angelica hopes that her efforts in describing the role of protein and sugar milk components in IBD pathogenesis can inform future research and potential treatments and prevention.
Angelica Estevez Perez
Izzah Sattar is a third year project student in the Biochemistry program. With a keen interest in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, Izzah has been assisting Liam with mouse models over the summer. She will continue to work on tryptophan models.
Izzah Sattar
Research Staff
Dominika Boron is the leader of the clinical research in the Caminero Lab. She completed her Master’s of Science in October 2022 with a focus on the upper respiratory tract microbiome. Her expertise in microbiome research has prepared her to investigate the role of microbial metabolism in food intolerances in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Dominika communicates and coordinates with physicians in the IBD clinic to recruit patients for our clinical project with enthusiasm.
Dominika Boron
Rebecca Dang
Rebecca Dang is the Research Lab Technician in the Caminero Laboratory. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences from McMaster University and M.Sc. in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine from Western University. She assists with the various research projects, administrative aspects, and overall operations.
Alumni
Jessica Linton was the lab manager and clinical coordinator of the Caminero Lab. Her Bachelor of Science in Animal Biology at University of Guelph prepared her to coordinate the various mouse projects of the lab. She is currently in Dental School at the University of Toronto.
Jessica Linton
Dominic Haas was an undergraduate thesis student in the Bachelor of Health Sciences program. He assisted Liam Rondeau in studying the aryl hydrocarbon receptor in the context of inflammatory bowel disease. His research focused on dietary intervention and its ability to shape the microbiota and activate aryl hydrocarbon receptor. He is currently a Ph.D student at The Scripps Research Institute.
Dominic Haas
Avery Rhind was an undergraduate project student in her second year of the Bachelor of Health Sciences program. Her project investigated peanut-degrading bacteria from mouse intestinal contents. She is currently continuing her undergraduate studies at McMaster University.
Avery Rhind