Molecular basis of Type IV pili-mediated Pseudomonas aeruginosa – host interactions
Shuaiqi Guo and Dao Nguyen

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major cause of hospital-acquired and chronic infections, known for its ability to resist many treatments and persist in vulnerable patients. This project focuses on how the bacterium uses hair-like structures called Type IV pili to attach to host cells—an essential first step in establishing infection.By focusing on the pilus tip protein PilY1, the team aims to uncover key mechanisms that drive infection and inform future strategies to combat hard‑to‑treat diseases.

The team has been awarded $40,000 to support this innovative, early-stage research.

The post CRBS-MI4 Blue-Sky Seed Funding Results appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

Launched in November 2025, this competition supports bold, innovative research advancing our understanding of infection across three key areas: pandemic preparedness, antimicrobial resistance, and microbes that shape human health.

Reprogramming Gut Bacteria into Living Vaccines
Lucienne Tritten & Irah King

Many infections begin in the gut, yet most vaccines are designed to work in the bloodstream rather than at the body’s mucosal surfaces. This project explores a groundbreaking approach: using harmless gut bacteria as “living vaccine factories.” By reprogramming naturally occurring bacteria to produce tiny vaccine-carrying particles directly in the intestine, this strategy could provide continuous, localized protection right where infections start. If successful, this work could pave the way for low-cost, easily deployable vaccines built from the body’s own microbiome.

Tracking the Spread of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Hospitals
Yves Longtin & Dao Nguyen

Carbapenems are among the last-resort antibiotics used to treat severe infections. However, resistance to these drugs is rising rapidly worldwide, including in Quebec, posing a serious threat to patient care. This project investigates how these resistant bacteria spread in hospitals: between patients or within individuals through mobile genetic elements called plasmids. In the first Canadian study of its kind, the team will track how these bacteria evolve and spread among patients at the Jewish General Hospital. Their findings will help inform more effective infection prevention strategies, both at the hospital and patient level.

Each team will receive $150,000 to support their research over up to 24 months.

This round of funding was made possible through the generous support of the Pathy Family Foundation and MI4.

Read More

2026 MI4-Pathy Seed Fund Grant (SFG) – Round 7. MI4 Website.

The post MI4-Pathy Seed Fund Grant Winners appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

Developed by a team led by Sara Mahshid at McGill University, Dao Nguyen of the Meakins-Christie Labs, and Cedric Yansouni of the RI-MUHC, QolorPhAST uses nano-engineered colour-changing sensors that respond to bacterial metabolism. When paired with machine-learning image analysis, the system rapidly identifies both the bacterial species and its antibiotic susceptibility without the need for overnight cultures.

In blind testing on clinical urine samples, the device showed high accuracy compared to gold-standard laboratory methods, while delivering results in a fraction of the time. Designed to be low-cost, portable, and easy to use, QolorPhAST could support faster, more precise treatment decisions for infections such as urinary tract and sexually transmitted infections.

The team is now working toward commercialization. As antimicrobial resistance continues to rise globally, innovations like this may represent a critical step toward preserving the effectiveness of existing antibiotics.

Read More

McGill researchers develop quick test that stands to curb antimicrobial resistance. System that can identify bacteria in less than 40 minutes could help physicians prescribe the appropriate antibiotics, amid ongoing urgency of antimicrobial resistance crisis. McGill Newsroom. February 4, 2026.

McGill researchers, including scientists at The Institute, develop rapid test to curb antimicrobial resistance. System that can identify bacteria in less than 40 minutes could help physicians prescribe the appropriate antibiotics amid the ongoing antimicrobial resistance crisis. The Institute News. February 13, 2026.

Read the Article

Ultra-rapid nanoplasmonic colorimetry in microfluidics for antimicrobial susceptibility testing directly from specimens. Jalali M, AbdElFatah T, Del Real Mata C, I Hosseini I, Yedire SG, McKay GA, Corsini R, Siavash Moakhar R, Shieh H, Reszetnik G, Hamidi SV, Yansouni CP, Nguyen D, Mahshid S. Nat Nanotechnol. 2026 Feb 2. doi: 10.1038/s41565-025-02075-z.

The post Rapid Diagnostic Test Will Dramatically Change How Antibiotics are Prescribed appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

The winners for best oral presentation were:

Sammy Robayo
MSc student with Jonathon Campbell
Consideration of Risks and Consequences of Tuberculosis and Its Prevention in Cost-Utility Analyses Among Immigrants to Low-Incidence Countries: A Systematic Review

Katelyn Liu
PhD student with Simon Rousseau
Investigating OLFM4 and SHC4 in Severe COVID-19: Implications in Immunothrombosis and Disease Progression

Sydney Joy
PhD student with James Martin
GM-CSF-Treated Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages Improve Pulmonary Fibrosis in a Bleomycin Model of Interstitial Lung Disease

The winners for best poster presentation were:

Alexander Ni
Resident with Maxime Cormier
Benralizumab for Life-Threatening Exacerbations of Eosinophilic Asthma: A Case Series

Alyson Deprez
PDF with Basil Petrof
Impact of Trained Immunity on Macrophage and Muscle Stem Cell Function in Dystrophic (mdx) Mice

Jacquelyn Rich
PhD student with Dao Nguyen
Antibiotic tolerance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates from chronic cystic fibrosis infections

Leonor Simoes
PhD student with Darcy Wagner
Reversing ethyl cinnamate based optical clearing for co-registration of light-sheet fluorescence microscopy datasets with multi-dimensional histological analysis

Leonardo Jurado
PhD student with Maziar Divangahi
A fungal-derived adjuvant significantly amplifies the antitumoral potency of BCG via training granulopoiesis

Mina Sadeghi
PhD student with Maziar Divangahi
Unraveling the Mechanisms of BCG-Induced Early-Life Protection Against Tuberculosis

Rafael Intrevado
MSc student with Anne-Marie Lauzon
Investigating the Mechanisms Resisting Bronchodilatory Responses in Asthma and Fatal Asthma

Willem Rijnbout St James
MSc student with Carolyn Baglole
Characterizing the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor as a Regulator of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Photos from the Event

Photo Credits: Inga Murawski (top row) and Ari Daghlian (bottom row)
Thank you to the Heisler Family for attending the Seymour Heisler Memorial Lecture

The post 2025 RESP Research Day Poster and Oral Winners appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

Grant Title:
Harnessing host-pathogen interactions to improve eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the HEMT era  

About the Grant:
Dr. Day Nguyen’s research is focused on improving how we treat lung infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa—a common and stubborn bacteria that affects many people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Some strains of this bacteria are especially good at avoiding the body’s immune system, making them hard to eliminate. This study will test a promising new antibody called gremubamab, which is designed to help the immune system fight off Pseudomonas infections more effectively. By studying different strains of the bacteria in people with CF, Dr. Nguyen hopes to find out if gremubamab can help clear these infections and prevent them from coming back. If successful, this could lead to a powerful new treatment option for people living with CF.

The post Dao Nguyen Receives Cathleen Morrison Research Impact Award appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

Recent research challenges the conventional understanding by providing evidence that P. aeruginosa can also exist within airway epithelial cells, not just in the mucus. This finding suggests that the bacteria might persist intracellularly, contributing to ongoing infections. The study, which analyzed lung samples from CF patients, found that despite being rare, intracellular P. aeruginosa exists and could be a hidden reservoir for chronic infections. These insights could lead to new treatment strategies that target both the extracellular and intracellular presence of P. aeruginosa in CF patients.

Read the Article

Malet K, Faure E, Adam D, Donner J, Liu L, Pilon SJ, Fraser R, Jorth P, Newman DK, Brochiero E, Rousseau S, Nguyen D. Intracellular Pseudomonas aeruginosa within the Airway Epithelium of Cystic Fibrosis Lung Tissues. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2024 Jun 15;209(12):1453-1462. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202308-1451OC. PMID: 38324627.

Read the Editorial

Crabbé A. Intracellular Pseudomonas aeruginosa: An Overlooked Reservoir in the Lungs of People with Cystic Fibrosis? Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2024 Jun 15;209(12):1421-1423. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202402-0388ED.

The post Intracellular Pseudomonas aeruginosa in CF appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

Irah King (Nominated Principal Investigator)
Team Members: Corrine Maurice, Ali Ahmadi
Funding Agency: New Frontiers in Research Fund – Exploration (2023 Competition)
Application Title: Integrating parasitology and bioengineering to improve gut health
Summary: Intestinal helminths remain one of the most prevalent causes of infectious disease in the world that secrete a multitude of factors that alter the microbiota and regulate the immune response to prevent their expulsion, but also promote tissue healing to ensure the survival of their hosts. This project will explore the secretions from helminths as potential new anti-inflammatory treatments. The plan is to develop smart, ingestible capsules that can precisely release these helminth-derived products to targeted parts of the intestine. These capsules will also collect detailed information on the local microbial and metabolic environment. This innovative approach could lead to a non-invasive, compact, and highly specific system for drug delivery and monitoring.

Dao Nguyen (Co-Investigator)
Director: Yves Brun (Université de Montréal).
Funding Agency: Canada Biomedical Research Fund and Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund.
Application Title: PandemicStop-AI: for an accelerated response to pandemics.
Summary: This project will use artificial intelligence to discover new antibiotics and develop new technologies to manufacture these novel antibiotics in Canada.

Dao Nguyen and Maziar Divangahi (Co-Investigators)
Lead: Lyle Whyte
Funding Agency: Canadian Space Agency FAST 2023 Program
Application Title: Development and application of an integrated surface melt probe in Icy Moon and Mars analogue sites for biosignature detection and Mars sample return planetary protection risk assessment
Summary: Concerns have been raised about the potential biohazard risk of returning samples from space missions that might contain biological entities capable of replicating and causing disease in humans. The team will analyze the pathogenicity risk of samples collected from extreme environments on Earth (i.e glaciers and arctic sea ice) to ensure the development of instruments and detection protocols. This work will help ensure the safety of samples returned from future missions to icy moons and Mars.

Gregory Fonseca (Co-Investigator)
Team Members: Greg Dekaban, Marco Prado, Vania Prado, Jane Rylett (Schulich Medicine & Dentistry, Western University)
Funding Agency: Krembil Foundation
Application Title: Determining Why Immune Regulation Fails to Control Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease.
Summary: This project will understand the impact of the aging process in the development of Alzheimer’s and use spatial data to show the location of inflammation in the brain, along with machine learning models to analyze the inflammation.

Read the Press Release:
Krembil funds help researchers seek answers to misfiring of brain’s immune system in battling Alzheimer’s. A grant of $2.4 million will enable Greg Fonseca of the RI-MUHC and a team of researchers from Western University to learn more about the role of inflammation in this debilitating disease. RI-MUHC News. April 25, 2024

The post New 2024 Grants to Meakins Faculty appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

Monica Cella (PhD with Dao Nguyen). Bourses de réintégration à la recherche / Doctorat FRQS. Title: Analyses métagénomiques pour comprendre la dynamique de transmission des bactéries résistantes aux carbapénèmes dans les hôpitaux.

Monica Cella (PhD with Dao Nguyen and Jesse Shapiro). Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships. Title: Metagenomic analyses to understand transmission dynamics of carbapenem resistant bacteria within hospital settings

Fajri Gafar (PDF with Dick Menzies). Formation postdoctorale – citoyens d’autres pays FRQS. Title: Tracer le chemin vers un traitement individualisé de l’infection et de la maladie tuberculeuse.

Quazi Sufia Islam (PhD with Carolyn Baglole). Bourse Tremplin.

Sahar Mikaeeli (PhD with Jean Bourbeau and Simon Rousseau). Formation de doctorat FRQS. Title: Exacerbation aiguë de la BPCO : Variantes du gène CFTR et leur interaction avec les facteurs de risque environnementaux.

Kamila Romanowski (PDF with Jonathon Campbell). Formation postdoctorale -Citoyens canadiens et résidents permanents FRQS. Title: Distiller l’impact des séquelles post-tuberculeuses sur les décisions de coûtefficacité concernant le dépistage et le traitement de l’infection tuberculeuse au Canada.

Emily Wilson (PhD with Carolyn Baglole). Formation de doctorat FRQS. Title: L’activation des récepteurs d’hydrocarbures aryliques par les produits à base de cannabis inhalés régule l’inflammation pulmonaire.

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The post Spring 2024 Student Awards appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

The winners for best oral presentation were:

Sophia Goldman
MSc student with Dao Nguyen
Pseudomonas aeruginosa evasion of neutrophil-mediated clearance in persistent Cystic Fibrosis infections

Benjamin Mappin-Kasirer
Resident with Nicole Ezer, Emily McDonald, Todd Lee
Development of a clinical risk score for the prediction of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in hospitalized patients

Matheus Schultz
PhD student with Anne-Marie Lauzon
Holding It Together: Investigating h-Caldesmon’s Impact on Smooth Muscle Efficient Force Maintenance

The winners for best poster presentation were:

Kriti Agarwal
PhD student with Tania Janaudis-Ferreira
Recruitment, Retention, and Adverse Events in Long-COVID Virtual Rehabilitation Trial

Vincenza Caruana
PhD student with Carolyn Baglole
Evaluating the Atherosclerotic Effects of a Chronic E-Cigarette Exposure in a Hyperlipidemic Mouse Model

Bavanitha Thurairajah
PhD student with Irah King
Investigating gut microbiota determinants of IL-17-producing γδ T cells during early life

Susan Westfall
Postdoctoral fellow with Irah King
A type I immune-stromal cell network mediates disease tolerance and barrier protection against intestinal infection

Elizabeth Lapshina
MSc student with Maziar Divangahi
The crosstalk between the peritoneal cavity and bone marrow in β-glucan-induced trained immunity

Kristina Nikolaou
MSc student with Maziar Divangahi
The mystery of the BCG vaccine in protection against SARS-CoV-2

The post 2024 RESP Research Day Poster and Oral Winners appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

MIMM Graduate Student Research Day – May, 2024

POSTER PRESENTATION WINNER:

Sumaiya Jusab
MSc student with Dao Nguyen
The role of the type 3 secretion system on the long-term survival of intracellular Pseudomonas aeruginosa in airway epithelial cells

ORAL PRESENTATION WINNERS:

Mina Sadeghi
PhD student with Maziar Divangahi
Regulation of bone marrow iron metabolism in hematopoiesis and host defence against TB

Jacquelyn Rich
PhD student with Dao Nguyen
Proteomic profiling of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa stringent response

11th Annual TB Research Day – March, 2024

BEST BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL & HEALTH OUTCOME ORAL PRESENTATION:

Mina Sadeghi
PhD student with Maziar Divangahi
Investigating the regulation of bone marrow iron metabolism in hematopoiesis and host defense against TB

BEST 2023 PUBLICATION AWARD (Emil Skamene Award for Best Paper in Basic Biomedical Research):

Kim A. Tran
PhD student with Maziar Divangahi
BCG immunization induces CX3CR1hi effector memory T cells to provide cross-protection via IFN-γ-mediated trained immunity

Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s

Kaitlin Olsen
MSc student with Irah King
Investigating type 3 immunity and early life IgA in promoting life-long intestinal immune resilience

Andrei Bogza
MSc student with Irah King
Investigating the tripartite relationship between helminth infection, the gut microbiome, and stunting in early life

The post 2024 Graduate Student Award Winners appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.