Graduate Students:
Alicja Puchta obtained an MSc from Dr. William Sheffield’s lab at McMaster
University and is now a PhD candidate in the Bowdish lab. Alicja will be tackling one of the fundamental questions of immunology – why and how does our immune system decline with age? By determining why the elderly are so susceptible to pneumococcal pneumonia, she aims to discover the molecular mechanisms of immunosenescence. And if she happens to inadvertently discover how to keep us all young and healthy forever, I’m sure we’ll find some use for that discovery too. Distinctions: abstract chosen for talk at the 5th Annual Infection and Immunity Research Forum University of Western Ontario (Nov 2010), abstract chosen for talk at CREST conference (March 2011), Pro-Immune Travel scholarship and Departmental Travel scholarship to present poster at the Keystone Meeting “Immunity in the respiratory tract” (Feb 28th – Mar3rd, Vancouver), Poster presentation at the McMaster Innovation Showcase Poster Competition (June ’11)
Zhongyuan Tu is the first member of the Bowdish lab. He started as an undergraduate 
recipient of an IIDR summer studentship to study how the macrophage scavenger receptor MARCO signals and how this signalling contributes to macrophage functions such as adhesion, phagocytosis and motility. Zhongyuan liked his project (and the lab?) so much that he’s decided to continue as a MSc student. He spends his day wrestling with DNA, grappling with alignments and dreaming of publishing in Cell. Distinctions: won IIDR summer studentship, Summer 2009, won Best Undergraduate Poster with H. Wong, A. Jiang at IIDR Opening Symposium (Oct 2009), won Biorad Best Poster Award for Student < 6 mo, with S. Chauvin, F.Whelan at the 5th Annual Infection and Immunity Research Forum University of Western Ontario (Nov 2010), finalist for poster presentation in Health Sciences Graduate Studies Plenary May 2011.
Some might say that MSc student Fiona Whelan,
is one of the luckiest in the lab as she is the only member of the Bowdish lab who doesn’t get accused of being on Facebook when she spends all day at her computer. That’s because Fiona, who graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in computer science, is our resident bioinformatics expert. She is taking a phylogenetic approach to identifying cryptic signalling motifs in macrophage pattern recognition receptors under the co-supervision of Dr. Brendan McConkey from the University of Waterloo. (Click on links to wiki-up on what that last sentence might mean).Distinctions: won Biorad Best Poster Award for Student < 6 mo, with S. Chauvin, Z. Tu at the 5th Annual Infection and Immunity Research Forum University of Western Ontario (Nov 2010), won best poster presentation at CREST conference (March 2011), finalist for poster presentation in Health Sciences Graduate Studies Plenary May 2011, Google Anita Borg Finalist Scholarship (2011).
Mike Dorrington, a recent graduate from UBC, is our latest MSc student. Mike is 
determining how the macrophages of the upper respiratory tract recognize pathogens such as Streptococcus pneumoniae. The upper respiratory tract (sinuses) are the gateway to the pathogens that cause influenza, pneumonia, colds and sore throats and yet we know precious little about how our immune system deals with these threats. If Mike comes at you asking for a wash of your nasal passage to get these immune cells out, try and resist the urge to run away – indeed rest assured that you’ll be contributing to some really interesting research that may one day lead to novel vaccination strategies. Distinctions: won e-bioscience Best Poster Award for Student < 6 mo, with A. Jiang at the 5th Annual Infection and Immunity Research Forum University of Western Ontario (Nov 2010)
Post-doctoral fellows:
Dr. Chris Verschoor graduated with a PhD from the University of Guelph, Department of Animal Science. After completing an extremely productive PhD on the genetics of
susceptibility to infection in dairy cattle, Dr. Verschoor decided to apply his knowledge of genetics, immunology and molecular biology to the study of the immunology of aging in a slightly more erratic and less compliant sample set, i.e. humans. Working closely with Dr. Jennie Johnstone and Dr. Cynthia Balion, Dr. Verschoor aims to determine the exact mechanisms that predispose the elderly to pneumonia and determine if there is any way to determine who is at most risk of developing disease. We’re hoping that his work is of immediate help to grandparents (and grandchildren) everywhere. Distinctions: M.G. DeGroote Postdoctoral fellowship (2011-2012).
Dr Preethi Jayanth graduated with a PhD from Queen’s University from the Department of Microbiology & Immunology. She brings with 
her a wealth of knowledge on cell signalling. Her current project, funded by an ASPIRE-Pfizer award, is on elucidating the complex interactions between influenza and pneumonia infections. For reasons that aren’t entirely clear an influenza infection, which in and of itself might not be fatal, predisposes healthy adults to what can be fatal pneumonia. Furthermore we know almost nothing about how these co-infections contribute to infection in the elderly. By teasing apart this complex interplay of pathogens, we hope to come up with novel therapies.
Dr. Peter Pelka: In a way Dr. Pelka is returning to his roots by coming back to McMaster where he did his PhD work with 
Dr. Peter White. In the interim he had a very productive post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Joe Mymryk at UWO. Having formally been a connoisseur of all things viral, Dr. Pelka is now studying bacterial microbiome of the upper respiratory tract. Although the upper respiratory tract is the gateway to infections such as influenza, pneumonia and the common cold, we actually know very little about the normal microbial residents and how they function to protect us from nasty pathogenic intruders. In close collaboration with Dr. Mike Surette, Dr. Pelka aims to understand host-pathogen and host-commensal interactions in the upper respiratory tract.
Undergraduates:
Fearless leader:
Dawn’s project is – in theory – pushing back the boundaries of macrophage biology. In practice she spends a lot of time writing grants, learning to love safety and making sure that her students have all they need to get their work done. When she’s wearing a lab coat she’s generally pretty happy, when she’s in her office she does a lot more scowling.
Honorary Members:
Prof. Mark McDermott – collaborator and expert in mucosal immunity.
Alumni:
Harikesh Wong (July 2009-August 2010) 4th yr Biochemistry thesis student, currently a graduate student at the University of Toronto. Distinctions: won Best Undergraduate Poster with A. Jiang Z. Tu at IIDR Opening Symposium (Oct 2009)
Tanja Thurn (September 2010-May 2011) Technician, currently working as a Medical Lab Technologist at the Juravinski Cancer Centre
Iris Wang (May 2010-September 2011) Technician, currently working in the lab of Dr. Mark Loeb.
Alex Jiang (June 2009-July 2011) 3rd & 4th year thesis student. Distinctions: Pathology & Molecular Medicine summer studentships (Summer 2009), won Best Undergraduate Poster with H. Wong, Z. Tu at IIDR Opening Symposium (Oct 2009), won ebioscience Best Poster Award for Student < 6 mo, with M. Dorrington at the 5th Annual Infection and Immunity Research Forum University of Western Ontario (Nov 2010)
Sarah Chauvin (May 2010 – September 2011) 4th year Biochemistry thesis student. NSERC-USRA award winner. Distinctions: won NSERC USRA (Summer 2011), won Biorad Best Poster Award for Student < 6 mo, with F. Whelan, Z. Tu at the 5th Annual Infection and Immunity Research Forum University of Western Ontario (Nov 2010)