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Dr. Paul Jaschke
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Current Lab Members
Higher-Degree Research Students
Natalie Roberts - MRes Student (Jan 2024 - Current)
Western Sydney University Bachelor of Science (Advanced Science) (2022)
Project: I am working with Pamela to use Synthetic Biology to engineer bacteriophage to lyse uropathogenic E. coli L-form (cell-wall deficient) bacteria. L-form bacteria are typically resistant to phage infection and clinically relevant antibiotics and may also have a role in recurrent bacterial infections. In this research, I aim to determine which genes are involved in pseudolysogeny (i.e., the inability of phage to lyse their bacterial host) and how phage deficient in these genes shape up against L-form bacteria.
Western Sydney University Bachelor of Science (Advanced Science) (2022)
Project: I am working with Pamela to use Synthetic Biology to engineer bacteriophage to lyse uropathogenic E. coli L-form (cell-wall deficient) bacteria. L-form bacteria are typically resistant to phage infection and clinically relevant antibiotics and may also have a role in recurrent bacterial infections. In this research, I aim to determine which genes are involved in pseudolysogeny (i.e., the inability of phage to lyse their bacterial host) and how phage deficient in these genes shape up against L-form bacteria.
Sanila Asad - MRes Student (Aug 2022 - Current)
Graduate Diploma, Infection and Immunity, The University of Sydney (2019)
B.Sc. (honours) in Biotechnology, Forman Christian College (2014)
Project: My project is focused on understanding why some bacteriophage can infect slow growing cells with altered membrane (called L-form) and some cannot. The results of this work will inform our choices of phage used in phage therapy and in combination antibiotic/phage therapy.
Graduate Diploma, Infection and Immunity, The University of Sydney (2019)
B.Sc. (honours) in Biotechnology, Forman Christian College (2014)
Project: My project is focused on understanding why some bacteriophage can infect slow growing cells with altered membrane (called L-form) and some cannot. The results of this work will inform our choices of phage used in phage therapy and in combination antibiotic/phage therapy.
Hannah Zhu - PhD Student (May 2021 - Current)
Masters of Research, Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University (2020)
B.Sc. in Medical Sciences, Macquarie University (2018)
Project: My project is focusing on establishing a high-throughput synthetic biology pipeline for the rational design and synthesis of novel phages to be used as therapeutic treatment of antibiotic resistant pathogens. Specifically, I am targeting multidrug resistant uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) that is a common cause of acute, chronic, and recurrent urinary tract infections. I aim for generating a diverse library of UPEC-targeting phages with improved performance and efficacy, using the proposed phage engineering pipeline.
Masters of Research, Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University (2020)
B.Sc. in Medical Sciences, Macquarie University (2018)
Project: My project is focusing on establishing a high-throughput synthetic biology pipeline for the rational design and synthesis of novel phages to be used as therapeutic treatment of antibiotic resistant pathogens. Specifically, I am targeting multidrug resistant uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) that is a common cause of acute, chronic, and recurrent urinary tract infections. I aim for generating a diverse library of UPEC-targeting phages with improved performance and efficacy, using the proposed phage engineering pipeline.
Pamela Tsoumbris - Ph.D. Student (Oct 2021 - Current)
B.Sc. in Molecular Molecular Biology and Genetics, The University of Sydney (2018)
MRes in Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University (2021)
Project: I am currently interested in harnessing synthetic biology to engineer bacteriophage to become more efficient at lysing atypical bacterial infections. In doing so, I hope to broaden our understanding of phage interactions with bacterial hosts – specifically in the context of uropathogenic E. coli.
B.Sc. in Molecular Molecular Biology and Genetics, The University of Sydney (2018)
MRes in Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University (2021)
Project: I am currently interested in harnessing synthetic biology to engineer bacteriophage to become more efficient at lysing atypical bacterial infections. In doing so, I hope to broaden our understanding of phage interactions with bacterial hosts – specifically in the context of uropathogenic E. coli.
Dominic Scopelliti - PhD Student (Feb 2020 - Current)
BMedScs, Macquarie University (2018)
Masters of Research, Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University (2019)
Project: I am currently interested in utilising mass spectrometry to characterise proteins expressed using an orthogonal translation initiation system in E. coli. It is my goal to improve our understanding of how the use of an orthogonal system may impact protein expression and to explore its potential applications in synthetic biology.
BMedScs, Macquarie University (2018)
Masters of Research, Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University (2019)
Project: I am currently interested in utilising mass spectrometry to characterise proteins expressed using an orthogonal translation initiation system in E. coli. It is my goal to improve our understanding of how the use of an orthogonal system may impact protein expression and to explore its potential applications in synthetic biology.
Ellina Trofimova - Ph.D. Student (Feb 2022 - Current)
MRes in Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University (2021)
MSc in Chemical and Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University (2019)
Project: My project is focused on engineering icosahedral bacteriophages to extend their bacterial host range. Additionally, I use bioinformatics to understand the genetic determinants of phage infection. Altogether, my research is aimed to broaden the fundamental knowledge of the bacteriophage infection process to create more efficient treatments with phage therapy..
MRes in Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University (2021)
MSc in Chemical and Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University (2019)
Project: My project is focused on engineering icosahedral bacteriophages to extend their bacterial host range. Additionally, I use bioinformatics to understand the genetic determinants of phage infection. Altogether, my research is aimed to broaden the fundamental knowledge of the bacteriophage infection process to create more efficient treatments with phage therapy..
Lab Alumni
Macquarie University
Dr. Andy Hutvagner (completed PhD 2023)
• Research Scientist at EnGeneIC
Kein Huynh (completed MRes 2022)
• Compounding Assistant (Baxter Healthcare)
Dr. Russel Vincent (completed MRes 2017; PhD 2021)
• Postdoctoral Researcher in George Church's lab at Harvard Medical School
Dr. Dominic Y. Logel (completed PhD 2020)
• Fermentation scientist at Hydgene Renewables
Dr. Bradley Wright (completed PhD 2020)
• Postdoctoral Associate in the Wilusz Lab at Baylor College of Medicine
Amy Callaghan
• Scientific Officer at Laverty Pathology
Karl Myers
• Lawyer at Meridian Lawyers
Nicolas Aryanpour
• PhD student Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
Pandelitsa (Zoe) Yiasemides
• Scientific Officer at Laverty Pathology
• MQ Department of Molecular Sciences Summer Vacation Scholarship Student (2018)
• Research Scientist at EnGeneIC
Kein Huynh (completed MRes 2022)
• Compounding Assistant (Baxter Healthcare)
Dr. Russel Vincent (completed MRes 2017; PhD 2021)
• Postdoctoral Researcher in George Church's lab at Harvard Medical School
Dr. Dominic Y. Logel (completed PhD 2020)
• Fermentation scientist at Hydgene Renewables
Dr. Bradley Wright (completed PhD 2020)
• Postdoctoral Associate in the Wilusz Lab at Baylor College of Medicine
Amy Callaghan
• Scientific Officer at Laverty Pathology
Karl Myers
• Lawyer at Meridian Lawyers
Nicolas Aryanpour
• PhD student Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
Pandelitsa (Zoe) Yiasemides
• Scientific Officer at Laverty Pathology
• MQ Department of Molecular Sciences Summer Vacation Scholarship Student (2018)
Stanford University
Gabrielle Dotson
• Bioinformatician at bit.bio
• Ph.D. Candidate at University of Michigan - Department of Computational Medicine & Bioinformatics
• Bioengineering undergrad, Stanford University
Kay Hung
• General Surgery Resident, Stanford Medicine, Stanford University
• Bioengineering undergrad, Stanford University
Erica Lieberman
• Discovery and Automation Team Lead at Eligo Bioscience
• Bioengineering undergrad, Stanford University
Diane Liu
• Engineering Manager at Path
Jon Rodriguez
• Chairman & Chief Product Officer at preamble
• Chief Scientist/Founder of Epiphany Eyewear/Vergence Labs acquired by Snapchat
Adrian Sierra
• Software Engineer at Adobe
• Bioinformatician at bit.bio
• Ph.D. Candidate at University of Michigan - Department of Computational Medicine & Bioinformatics
• Bioengineering undergrad, Stanford University
Kay Hung
• General Surgery Resident, Stanford Medicine, Stanford University
• Bioengineering undergrad, Stanford University
Erica Lieberman
• Discovery and Automation Team Lead at Eligo Bioscience
• Bioengineering undergrad, Stanford University
Diane Liu
• Engineering Manager at Path
Jon Rodriguez
• Chairman & Chief Product Officer at preamble
• Chief Scientist/Founder of Epiphany Eyewear/Vergence Labs acquired by Snapchat
Adrian Sierra
• Software Engineer at Adobe
The University of British Columbia
Amelia Hardjasa
• Data Analyst at EnerNOC, Vancouver, Canada
Tobie Patterson
• Analyst, Public Health Initiatives at Fraser Health Authority, Canada
Elizabeth Digby
• Medical School at the University of Calgary, AB, Canada
Connie Lee
• Physiotherapy in Victoria, BC, Canada
• Data Analyst at EnerNOC, Vancouver, Canada
Tobie Patterson
• Analyst, Public Health Initiatives at Fraser Health Authority, Canada
Elizabeth Digby
• Medical School at the University of Calgary, AB, Canada
Connie Lee
• Physiotherapy in Victoria, BC, Canada
