Our People

PRINCIPLE INVESTIGATOR

Dr. Maxwell completed her BSc in Biochemistry at the University of Waterloo and her PhD in Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto. She has been working on various aspects of phage biology since her PhD work, starting with studies of phage assembly, and moving into the phage-host evolutionary arms race.

Fun Fact: Dr. Maxwell has a large collection of power tools and knows how to use them.

LAB MANAGER

Diane Bona completed her MSc at York University in 2000 in the Department of Biology. She is the original member of the Maxwell Lab!

Fun Fact: Diane has three kids AND three cats

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Véronique Taylor obtained her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph where a side project involving phage motivated her to join the Maxwell lab as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2017. She’s currently interested in the effect of bacterial communication on phage lifecycles.

Fun Fact: Véronique makes her own hot sauce.

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

Landon J. Getz completed his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at Dalhousie Univeristy in 2022, before moving to Toronto to pursue a Postdoctoral Fellowship with Dr. Karen Maxwell. His work is focused on antiphage defence mechanisms in Vibrio spp.

Fun Fact: Landon has a cat named Susan!

PSOTDOCTORAL FELLOW

Chen Gong earned his PhD in Biological Sciences from the University at Buffalo, where he studied toxin-producing phages. He then decided to harness these tiny viruses as allies in the fight against multi-drug-resistant bacteria, joining the Maxwell Lab in 2024 to develop engineered phages for therapeutic applications.

Fun fact: Chen used to be a lab pirate wearing scary eye pinch. Now, he quits pirate life and gets his eye back.

GRADUATE STUDENT

Pramalkumar Patel completed his Honors in Microbiology at the University of Alberta and earned Ph.D. in the Maxwell Lab, 2005. He loves the rush of discovery and is currently investigating antiphage weaponries present in Pseudomonas phages.

Fun Fact: Pramal has a 1500 rating in chess.

GRADUATE STUDENT

Bella Kim completed her Honours in Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Western University in 2023. She moved away from home in London, ON to start her graduate studies at the Maxwell lab. Her work involves identifying the biological and structural basis of antiphage defence proteins in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Fun Fact: Bella will always opt for an iced coffee with extra ice, no matter how cold the weather is.

GRADUATE STUDENT

Amy (Licheng) Qian is from Beijing and completed her Honours BSc in Microbiology and Immunology at McGill University. She can’t picture herself doing a PhD degree in any lab that’s not a phage lab. Her current project focuses on characterizing novel antiphage defence systems in Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Fun Fact: Amy has been trying to stop dumping her stipend at the MaRS Starbucks.

GRADUATE STUDENT

Alyssa Vander Zee completed an Honours BSc in Genetics and Biochemistry at Western University in 2023. She came back to Toronto to begin her graduate research investigating the regulation of anti-phage systems in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Fun Fact: Alyssa did competitive dance for over 10 years

GRADUTE STUDENT

Aakash grew up in Winnipeg and completed his B.Sc. Honours in Microbiology at the University of Manitoba. He joined the Maxwell Lab in 2024 and is studying the strategies used by bacteriophages of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to exploit their hosts.

Fun fact: Aakash spends his free time playing video games, reading, and making various teas.

GRADUATE STUDENT

Matthew McCarthy completed his BSc in Integrated Science (iSci) at McMaster before joining the Maxwell Lab for his PhD in 2024, after spending several summers working in the lab during his undergraduate degree. His research aims to explore the different ways phages can overcome bacterial defence.

Fun fact: Before becoming interested in phages, Matthew’s plan was to study dinosaurs!

GRADUATE STUDENT

Sam used to be a co-op student and now are doing a rotation in the lab. They are working under Dr. Landon Getz to screen and characterize antiphage defense systems in Vibrio species.

Fun Fact: Sam's dream job is to be Chief Science Officer on the starship USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D.