Kody Fung

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Kody is currently a student at the University of British Columbia studying Microbiology & Immunology. Bringing his experience from the classroom and labs to Microbiome Insights, his role includes performing important experiments for downstream analyses such as DNA extraction, Short Chain Fatty Acid Analyses, Gel electrophoresis, and many other things. Kody’s largest interest outside of work is in playing sports; he participates in several of sports leagues including basketball, badminton, and volleyball.

Sarah Carden

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Sarah Carden has a BSc in Food Science and Health from University of Limerick and a MSc in Biomedical Sciences from University of Galway (Ireland). From Sarah’s time in Limerick, she developed an understanding of the microbiome that exists in the human body, particularly the gut microbiome. The main focus was how food can affect your gut microbiota and how in turn this can affect other parts of your body for example the gut-brain barrier. She has prior professional experience in both laboratory and manufacturing environments working in quality control and assurance. At Microbiome Insights, she deals with accounts that relate to Nutrition, Gut Health, Skin, and the Oral Microbiome.

Seanon Crean

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Seanon Crean has a BSc in Chemistry from University College Cork and a MSc in Pharmaceutical Business and Technology from Griffith College Dublin (Ireland). Her professional background extends from working in both laboratory and sales/service environments. At Microbiome Insights, she manages accounts related to Skin, Nutrition, Gut Health, and the Oral Microbiome.

Khoi Nguyen

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Khoi is responsible for integrating sequencing data, ecological statistics and machine learning methods to study host-microbe interactions. Khoi graduated from the University of Alberta from the department of Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Science. There, he and his collaborators spearheaded efforts to understand how diet shapes human gut microbiomes and how their interactions influence health and disease. He has authored and co-authored publications in leading scientific journals such as Microbiome and Cell-Host & Microbe.

Hatem Dhaker

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Hatem is a passionate software developer with an academic background in computer science. He brings to Microbiome Insights nearly 8 years of experience in software design, architecture, and development with a wide range of technologies at local startups and international organizations. Prior to joining the company, Hatem worked as a full stack software developer with the Vanbex group, where he helped build and launch several successful blockchain products. When he is away from the keyboard, Hatem can be found cycling, hiking, and exploring the natural wonders of beautiful British Columbia.

Ben Tantika

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Ben earned his B.Sc. (Hons) and M.Sc. from the University of British Columbia, concentrating on Microbiology, Molecular Biology, and Genetics. During his undergraduate and graduate thesis study, he conducted research on wine microbes with the goal of unlocking the mysteries of how microorganisms affect wine’s sensorial and chemical profiles. Ben previously worked as research technician and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technician specializing in all things related to Sanger and Illumina NGS DNA Sequencing technology. Ben joined Microbiome Insights in 2018, bringing more than six years of experience in advanced techniques in both wet and dry lab settings.

Bill Mohn

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Dr. William (Bill) Mohn is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology in the Life Sciences Institute at the University of British Columbia. Bill earned his B.A. from Colgate University and his Ph.D. from Michigan State. He was a Research Associate at the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa prior to moving to UBC as an Assistant professor in 1993.

Bill has done pioneering research on bacterial metabolism of chlorinated compounds, terpenoids, lignocellulose and steroids. He is a leader in microbial ecology and the development of methods to investigate highly complex microbial communities and is internationally recognized for his research.

Bill’s current research employs classical, molecular, genomic, and metagenomic approaches to study interactions between the host microbiome and immune system as well as bacterial metabolism of lignocellulose and steroids. He was awarded the UBC Killam Research Prize and the Canadian Society of Microbiologists Murray Award for career achievement. He was elected to both The American Academy of Microbiology and the Board of Directors of the International Society for Microbial Ecology. Pseudomonas mohnii was named in recognition of his pioneering contributions.

Bill has over 150 peer-reviewed publications and has led or co-led several interdisciplinary collaborative research projects. He served on the Editorial Boards of Applied & Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology as well as on advisory boards for several major research initiatives, including the Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate Advisory Committee at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Bill teaches microbial ecophysiology and has supervised 19 postdocs, 34 graduate students and 55 undergraduate researchers.

Examples of recent publications

Career publications

Levy-Booth DJ, Hashimi A, Roccor R, Liu L, Renneckar S, Eltis LD, Mohn WW. 2020. Genomics and metatranscriptomics of biogeochemical cycling and degradation of lignin-derived aromatic compounds in thermal swamp sediment. ISME J 15:879–893, doi.org/10.1038/s41396-020-00820-x

Amenyogbe N, Dimitriu P, Smolen KK, Brown EM, Shannon CP, Tebbutt SK, Cooper PJ, Marchant A, Ghoetghebuer T, Esser M, Finlay BB, Kollmann TR, Mohn WW. 2020. Biogeography of the relationship between the child gut microbiome and innate immune system. mBio 12:e03079-20, doi.org/10.1128/mBio.03079-20

Cait A, Cardenas E, Dimitriu P, Amenyogbe N, Dai D, Cait J, Sbihi H, Stiemsma L, Subbarao P, Mandhane PJ, Becker AB, Moraes TJ, Sears MR, Lefebvre DL, Azad MB, Kollmann T, Turvey SE, Mohn WW. 2019. Reduced genetic potential for butyrate fermentation in the gut microbiome of infants who develop allergic sensitization. J Allergy Clin Immunol, 144:1638-1647

Levy-Booth DJ, Giesbrecht IJW, Kellogg CTE, Heger TJ, D’Amore DV, Keeling PJ, Hallam SJ, Mohn WW. 2018. Seasonal and ecohydrological regulation of active microbial populations involved in DOC, CO2 and CH4 fluxes in temperate rainforest soil. ISME J 13:950-963, doi.org/10.1038/s41396-018-0334-3

Holert J, Cardenas E, Bergstrand L, Zaikova E, Hahn A, Hallam SJ, Mohn WW. 2018. Metagenomes reveal global distribution of bacterial steroid catabolism in natural, engineered and host environments. mBio 9:e02345-17, doi.org/10.1128/mBio.02345-17

 

 

Mike Liggett

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Michael Liggett brings 30 years of experience in the health care and finance industries. Michael was a practicing pharmacist for 7 years before obtaining his training and certification as a Chartered Accountant. After spending 7 years at Price Waterhouse Coopers (then Price Waterhouse), he joined Inflazyme Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in the capacity of Chief Financial Officer. He provided leadership through multiple financings and other strategic initiatives before successfully transitioning the company to establish its footprint in the forestry sector as Eacom Timber. His background includes over 14 years as a public company CFO with strategic and operational expertise and proven success in finance, M&A, strategic partnerships, restructurings, and risk management. BSc in Pharmaceutical sciences at the University of British Columbia. Chartered Accountant designation.

 

Pedro Dimitriu

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Pedro Dimitriu is MBI’s senior scientist and Senior Director of bioinformatics. He is in charge of integrating sequencing data, ecological statistics, and machine learning methods to study host–microbe interactions. Before joining the company, Pedro was a postdoctoral fellow at UBC’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology. There, he and his collaborators spearheaded efforts to understand how the human gut and lung microbiomes interact to influence health and disease. He has authored and co-authored publications in the leading scientific journals Science Translational Medicine, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, and Journal of Allergy and Clinical immunology.

Erick Cardenas

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Erick Cardenas is MBI’s Senior Director of Bioinformatics and Gut Health Program Manager. He earned his B.Sc. from Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, and his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Erick has conducted research on the role of microbial communities in bioremediation, plant-growth promotion in biofuel crops, and nutrient cycling in forest soils. He brings to MBI expertise in the analysis of metagenomes, and in the development of statistical and bioinformatics tools.