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.
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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Farncombe Institute Post-doctoral Scholarship – 2023
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
Peter Hall
Peter Hall is a PhD student in the Caminero Lab. He completed a BHSc in Biochemistry at Queen’s University (2015-2019) and a Master’s degree in Biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario. During his time at Queen’s, he also completed an 8-month co-op placement at the SUNY at Albany Cancer Research Center and a 4-month placement at Agriculture and Agri-food Canada. His previous thesis studied how mutant leucine tRNAs altered the host viability and protein homeostasis in yeast and mammalian cells.
Kelly Kan
Kelly Kan is a MSc student co-supervised in the Caminero Lab and Verdu Lab. She completed a BMSc with an Honours Specialization in Biochemistry at Western University. Her project aims to investigate the role of microbial dietary protein metabolism in gastrointestinal diseases. In the Caminero Lab, she is studying the influence of dietary amino acids on mTOR activation and inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease using a mouse model of colitis.
Undergraduate Students
Pranshu is a third-year project student in the Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization program. He is currently investigating the involvement of mTOR signalling in Inflammatory Bowel Disease for the protein metabolism project. Pranshu is looking forward to using techniques such as immunohistochemistry and western blot to assess how different protein sources and diets impact mTOR activity.
Awards:
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Farncombe Institute Summer Studentship Scholarship – 2023
Pranshu Muppidi
Izzah Sattar is a fourth 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.
Awards:
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TRIANGLE Summer Studentship – 2023
Izzah Sattar
Cynthia Ling is a fourth-year undergraduate thesis student in the Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization program. Under the supervision of Dr. Barbosa da Luz, Cynthia is researching the effect of lactose intolerance on inflammatory bowel disease. She is excited to analyze the gut microbiome and work with mice models.
Cynthia Ling
Research Staff
Rebecca Dang
Rebecca Dang is the Research Lab Technician and Clinical Coordinator 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 including leading the food intolerance study in the clinic, administrative aspects, and overall operations of the lab.
Alumni
Hassaan Abbasi was a fourth year student in the Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization program. He conducted his senior thesis on the impacts of various protein sources on mTOR activity and DSS induced colitis. Hassaan is currently in the Master of Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization at McMaster University.
Hassaan Abbasi
Gavin Yuen was a fourth year thesis student in the Chemical Biology program. His thesis used mouse models to understand the role of intestinal microbiota on peanut immunogenicity. Gavin is currently studying in the Master of Biotechnology program at the University of Toronto.
Gavin Yuen
Niki Patel was a fourth year thesis student in the Molecular Biology and Genetics program. She worked on the tryptophan project under the supervision of Liam.
Dominika Boron was the leader of the clinical research in the Caminero Lab. She completed her Master’s of Science focused on the upper respiratory tract microbiome. Dominika communicated and coordinated with physicians in the IBD clinic to recruit patients for our clinical project.
Angelica Estevez was a fourth-year thesis student in the Biochemistry program, specializing in Biomedical Research. Her senior thesis investigated the role of different dairy components in worsening inflammation in ulcerative colitis.
Angelica
Estevez Perez
Niki Patel
Dominika Boron
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. 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