People

Justin Nodwell
Principal Investigator

I got hooked on science when I was 15 years old while watching a stop action film of dividing plant cells on the TV show “The Nature of Things” and David Suzuki’s voice announced that people were trying to understand how this process worked. It was an extraordinary moment – how do those irregular yet organized biological shapes work?

I went on to a BSc in genetics and a PhD in molecular biology. I have been fortunate to have outstanding mentors, Jack Greenblatt as a PhD student and Richard Losick when I was a postdoctoral fellow. I started my lab at McMaster University in 1998. In 2013 the lab moved to University of Toronto as Chair of Biochemistry and now sit as Vice-Dean of Research & Health Science Education.

Dr. Sheila Pimentel-Elardo
sheila.elardo@utoronto.ca

After completing her PhD from the University of Wuerzburg in Germany, Sheila joined the Nodwell Lab in 2010 as a Postdoctoral Fellow. She eventually took on a Senior Research Associate position since 2014. Her current research interests include secondary metabolites and signaling molecules from microbiomes associated with diverse organisms and metagenomes.

Outside the lab, Sheila loves spending time with her family, painting, relaxing by the beach and watching sunsets!

Jing Li
j.li@utoronto.ca

Jing joined the Nodwell lab in 2016 as our go-to lab technician. Amongst the lab, she has been deemed the “Cloning Queen” with her magical ways in all sorts of bacteria, fungi and yeast!

Outside the lab, Jing likes to take nature walks and enjoy the flowers. She also likes to cook home meals and side note: her spice tolerance level outmatches everyone when it comes to food, so beware!

Dr. Kirsten Meyer
k.meyer@utoronto.ca

Kirsten joined the Nodwell lab as a postdoc in 2020. Kirsten did her PhD in Pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University, and a first microbiology postdoc at Northeastern University. Kirsten is interested in developing new strategies to counter antimicrobial resistance, and in the Nodwell lab she’s exploring mechanisms Streptomyces have to enhance the activity of the antimicrobial small molecules they produce. In particular she looks at the production of combination antimicrobials, and at antimicrobial packaging in extracellular vesicles. 

During covid her interests outside the lab have been taking care of house plants, watching sunrises and sunsets, and spending hours playing the boardgame Pandemic.

Dr. Anne van der Meij
anne.vandermeij@utoronto.ca

Anne completed her PhD at Leiden University in the Netherlands and joined the Nodwell group in 2021. As a microbiologist, her favourite microbes are Streptomyces bacteria. Currently, she is studying their development and metabolite production when they are breaking down dead insects! This is important because it bridges the gap of how Streptomyces influences the Earth’s nutrient cycles.

Outside the lab, Anne spends her time bouldering, hiking and finding the ultimate cup of coffee!

Dr. Hanna Ostapska
hanna.ostapska@utoronto.ca

Hanna completed her PhD in the department of Microbiology and Immunology at McGill University. Hanna joined the Nodwell lab as a postdoctoral fellow in 2023. Hanna is investigating interspecies signalling for the induction of secondary metabolites of marine Streptomyces. Isolated from sea sponges, the oldest multicellular animals on earth, these bacteria harbour cryptic biosynthetic gene clusters that may encode for drug-like molecules with novel structures and mechanisms of antimicrobial activity. 

Outside the lab, Hanna enjoys being out in nature, hiking, jogging and doing photography. Hanna expresses her creativity through sketching and exploring the visual arts.

Marina Suppi
PhD Candidate
marina.suppi@mail.utoronto.ca

Marina completed a BSc in Microbiology at Autonomous University of Barcelona and a MSc in Advanced Immunology at the University of Barcelona. Marina joined the Nodwell lab as a PhD student under a joint program between the University of Toronto and the University of Melbourne. Her work will focuses on exploring cell wall recycling pathways in resistant Staphylococcus aureus for further antibiotic discovery.

Marina was born and raised in Barcelona, the heart of the Mediterranean you may say, so she enjoys good food, dancing, outdoor adventures, and a nice vermouth under the sun.

Katharine Myler
PhD Candidate
k.myler@mail.utoronto.ca

Katy completed her BSc in Biochemistry and Chemistry at the University of Guelph in 2019, moved to Toronto to begin her graduate studies in the Nodwell Lab in 2021. She is investigating the relationship between mutations in cell wall homeostasis pathways and antibiotic resistance patterns in Staphylococcus aureus.

When she’s not training with the Varsity Blues rowing team, Katy enjoys exploring the city, returning to Stoney Creek for home-cooked meals, or watching documentaries.

Valerie Chow
PhD Candidate
vcw.chow@mail.utoronto.ca

Ian Douglas
MSc Candidate
ianw.douglas@mail.utoronto.ca

Postdoctoral Fellows

Glenna Kramer, 2020
Vaccine Clinic Documenter, UHN

Ahmed El-Sherbeni, 2018
PDF, University of Toronto

Leslie Cuthbertson, 2013
Huntsville High School

Maira Medellin-Pena, 2010

Kapil Tahlan, 2009
Associate Professor, Memorial University

Andrews Willems, 2007
Lecturer, McMaster University

Lab Technicians

Susan MacMillan, 2003-2007

Jill Regoeczi, 1998-2003

Undergrad/Visiting Students

Ines Ben Makhlouf, 2024

Ian Douglas, 2023

Aakash Natarajan, 2023

Devin Robb, 2023

Ryan Pinch, 2023

Hannah Tyrrell, 2022-2023

Théophile Lambert, 2022

Tyler Luizinho, 2022

PhD Graduates

Jan Falguera, 2024

Nicholas Kotoulas, 2023
PDF, University of Toronto

Simoun Icho, 2022
Consultant, Bain & Company

Stephanie Tan, 2022
Scientist, Interface Biosciences

Vanessa Yoon-Calvelo, 2020
Medical Science Liason, Rapid Novor

Louis Ho, 2020
Scientist, Eurofins Scientific

Martin Daniel-Ivad, 2019
PDF, Dr. Emily Blaskus, Harvard University

Scott McAuley, 2019
Equity Research Analyst, Paradigm Capital

Stefanie Mak, 2017
Program Manager, STEMCELL Technologies

Tomas Gverzdys, 2017
Associate Research Scientist, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Charul Jani, 2015
Research Scientist, Ragon Institute

Arryn Craney, 2012
Clinical Microbiologist, Orlando Health

Steven Ahn, 2012
Research Associate, University of Toronto

Ye Xu, 2012
Associate Research Scientist, PPD

Stephanie Au-Young, 2010
Research Associate, SickKids Research Institute

Nancy McKenzie, 2008
McMaster University

Marcus Eccleston, 2006

Tamara O’Connor, 2005
Assistant Professor, John Hopkins University

Michael Hudson, 2004
Director of Synthetic Biology, LifeMine Therapeutics

MSc Graduates

Mayeesha Khan, 2024
Medical student, McMaster University

Cyrus Savalanpour, 2022

Maxime Lefebvre, 2021
Microbiology Lab Technician, Mount Sinai Hospital

Gaelen Moore, 2019
Lab technician, Dr. Hyun Kate Lee, University of Toronto

Emilie Song, 2018
PhD, Max Plank Institute of Biochemistry

Margot Smith, 2013
PhD, McMaster University

Nabeela Hameed, 2013
VideoComm Technologies

Salman Ahmed, 2012
SunLife Financial

Catherine Au-Yeung, 2010
Graphic Designer

Elizabeth Marton, 2008
ApoPharma

Khoa Nguyen, 2008

Dachaun Zhang, 2002

Reem Samir Ahmed Ali, 2002