- Overview
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Humans have evolved to live in partnership with trillions of microbes that inhabit nearly every part of our bodies — including our skin, lungs, and gut. This vast and complex community of bacteria, fungi, and viruses interacts with many body systems and can influence how we stay healthy or become sick. These microbial communities, known collectively as the microbiome, are themselves shaped by changes in our bodies over time.
My proposed research aims to study how the microbiome changes before and during disease, to uncover early signs that could predict illness. Understanding these changes could help us develop new diagnostic tools that allow medical teams to detect and treat disease sooner and more precisely.
- Publications
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Humoral immunity to endemic coronaviruses in older adults increases post-COVID-19 vaccination and in correlation with their anti-SARS-CoV-2 responses
Sarah E. Woodward and Brynn McMillan and Gabrielle N. Gaultier and Ana Citlali Márquez and Tahereh Valadbeigy and Karen Simmons and Aidan M. Nikiforuk and Sofia R. Bartlett and Inna Sekirov and Muhammad Morshed and Manish Sadarangani and Agatha N. Jassem
DOI: 10.1101/2025.08.26.25334476
08/2025 - Research
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Evaluating the role of cervicovaginal microbiome in progression of HPV infection and CIN outcomes (FOCAL MOMENTUM)
This project is funded by the VFoundation for cancer research (PI Dr. Gina Ogilvie). It capitalizes on an existing and well characterized sample set collected during the FOCAL study, which was pivotal in prompting the shift to HPV-based cervical cancer screening. The microbiome of the cervicovaginal samples is being characterized via cpn60 sequencing, which allows for enhanced resolution of cervicovaginal communities. To facilitate correlation with studies utilizing 16S-based analyses, a subset of samples will also have 16S-based characterization performed.
The results are linked to rich metadata that includes HPV- and CIN-related outcomes, as well as sociodemographic parameters. The main aims are to determine biomarkers in baseline cervicovaginal microbiomes of participants diagnosed with HPV that are associated with histologically confirmed progression to CIN2+ lesions vs.Evaluating SARS-CoV-2 and endemic coronaviruses serological responses in pregnancy
This project was funded by a CITF grant (PI Dr. Deb Money). It seeks to evaluate population level serological responses to SARS-CoV-2 and endemic coronaviruses in pregnant individuals. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was evaluated in cohorts of pregnant individuals over 3.5 years to correlate serological responses and their magnitude to individuals’ vaccination history and SARS-CoV-2 strains circulating in the BC population during the time. The same cohorts were evaluated with respect to serological responses to 4 endemic human coronaviruses and those responses correlated to SARS-CoV-2 responses. The study aimed to utilize population level samples to investigate cross-reactivity of serological responses to related coronaviruses and their correlation with SARS-CoV-2 vaccination history.
The adverse effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on pregnancy outcomes has been described and the study also examined the correlation of the dynamics and functionality of serological responses to SARS-CoV-2 over time and pregnancy outcomes in a sub-group of participants. This project is nearing its completion.GrantsCo-Applicant. HPV FOCAL LEGACY: Longterm Evaluations of Gains in Cervical Cancer Prevention. Funding Source: CIHR
Co-Investigator. FOCAL MOMENTUM (MicrObiome Monitoring for ElimiNaTion of Cervical Cancer) Study. Funding Source: VFoundation
Principal Investigator. PILOT TB: Phylogenetic Improvements using Long-Read Sequencing for Understanding Transmission of M. tuberculosis. Funding Source: BC Lung Association
Co-Investigator. Linking Transmission Metadata to Viral Genotype and Serological Responses of COVID-19. Funding Source: CFI
Co-Investigator. One Health Genomics: COVID-19 Adaptation Investigation in Mink. Funding Source: Genome BC
Co-Investigator. CARE-COVID-19: Characterizing Antibody Response to Emerging COVID-19 Virus. Funding Source: Genome BC
Principal Investigator. PACEiiR: Prognostication of ACE II Receptor. Funding Source: Genome BC
Prof. Niranjan ‘Tex’ Kissoon to receive honorary doctorate at the University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies (UWI) in Kingston, Jamaica is recognizing Prof. Niranjan “Tex” Kissoon as one of their extraordinary individuals to be honoured at their graduation ceremony this year for his life's work in global health focusing on paediatric critical care and sepsis advocacy and research.
