Our mission is to use microbes to recover critical metals and mitigate pollution
The biogeochemistry of critical metals
How can microbes help us recover the critical metals hidden in electronic waste? Our lab tackles this question by combining microbiology, molecular biology, environmental chemistry, and materials science to understand how microbes transform valuable metals such as cobalt and rare earth elements in e-waste. Students use DNA sequencing, ICP-MS, electrochemistry, metabolomics, and genetic approaches to uncover new mechanisms controlling the fate of these metals in the environment. This interdisciplinary research is carried out in collaboration with partners in the solid waste sector, including eCycle Solutions Inc., ensuring that the solutions we develop are grounded in real-world challenges and industry needs. We’re always looking for undergraduate and graduate students to help advance this research. If you’re interested in microbes, critical metals, and developing more sustainable approaches to resource recovery, please reach out!
 Conceptual diagram of how we characterize microbial communities and metal cycling pathways in e-waste |
 Scanning electron microscope image of a corroded cobalt wire |
Microbial controls on toxic metals in polluted ecosystems
The other arm of the lab focuses on how microbes control the fate of priority contaminants, including metals. Our lab investigates the microbial cycling of mercury, arsenic, copper, and nickel across diverse ecosystems including landfills, petroleum extraction sites, mine tailings and northern environments. Students combine geochemical analyses with microbial ecology tools to characterize how microbes control the mobility and toxicity of metals in these habitats. This is collaborative research carried out with Dr. Alexandre Poulain (UOttawa), Dr. Laura Hug (UWaterloo), Dr. Elliott Skierszkan (Carleton), in addition to partners from Natural Resources Canada, the National Research Council, and Imperial Oil.
 Example of a mine tailings field site where we characterize microbes |
 Microbes removing arsenic from solution by precipitating sulphur-bearing minerals |
Sustainable strategies to managing plastic pollution
Our research explores how plastics can be identified, transformed, and biodegraded in environmental and engineered systems. We combine Raman spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, microbiology, and molecular approaches to develop new strategies for monitoring and understanding plastic cycling. This research is a collaboration with Dr. Yaxi Hu’s FACT lab where we develop new analytical chemistry methods and machine learning algorithms to identify plastics and byproducts of plastic biodegradation in solid waste. We also work with Dr. Allyson Brady (Carleton) and Dr. Nagissa Mahmoudi (McGill) to combine carbon isotope analyses with whole-community DNA sequencing to study microplastic biogeochemistry in wetlands in the Ottawa/Gatineau region. We are currently recruiting for the wetland project, so if you’d like to join our team, please check out this posting!
 Examples of plastic particles identified with machine learning |
 Dr. Allyson Brady and Dr. Daniel Grégoire subsampling sediments for plastic analyses in Gatineau |
Microbial solutions to “forever chemicals”
We have recently expanded into examining how microorganisms transform persistent environmental contaminants with a focus on halogenated contaminants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). We combine whole-community DNA and RNA sequencing with analytical chemistry to identify the microbial pathways and environmental factors that control PFAS transformation. Current projects examine how the gut microbiome influences PFAS chemistry and toxicity in collaboration with Dr. Amy Rand. We also contribute directly to policy advice on these pollutants through collaborative research with Environment and Climate Change Canada that examines how microbes in landfills can be used to study the toxicity of halogenated contaminant mixtures. We use these findings to examine how microbial adaptations to halogenated compounds in landfills can be used for bioremediation with our partners at SiREM.
 Microbial pathways to breaking down forever chemicals in the gut |
 Bioremediation cultures for chloroform in action |