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Research overview: Jenna is characterizing and mapping dark germinating mutants to identify downstream targets of SMAX1 in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Principal Investigator

Shelley Lumba, Assistant Professor

I specialized in molecular genetics during my undergraduate studies (2000) and applied these principles to study plant hormone signalling and development during my PhD at the University of Toronto (2006). I established high-throughput protein interaction methods in my post-doctoral work at the University of Toronto. I became an assistant professor in the Department of Cell and Systems Biology at The University of Toronto in September, 2016. 

Postdoctoral Researchers

Zhenhua Xu

Research overview: Zhenhua is aiming to discover, and study the function of, the components in the strigolactone signaling pathway.

Bruno Aquino

Research overview: Bruno is working on a project to understand the function of proteins involved with strigolactone signaling pathway in seed germination.

James Bradley

Research overview: James is investigating how the highly sensitive strigolactone receptors found in certain parasitic plants function, and how this functionality has evolved. 

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Graduate Students

Michael Bunsick, PhD Candidate

Research overview: 

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Hayley McKay, MSc Candidate

Research overview: Hayley is researching the genetic pathways governing male and female flower development in the commercially important plant, Cannabis sativa.

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Rachel McCullough, MSc Candidate

Research overview: 

Undergraduate Students/Research Assistants

Flora Zhiqi Wang, 4th Year ROP

Research overview: Flora is identifying novel strigolactone receptors in arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. 

Jenna Hountalas, 4th Year ROP

Vanessa Ghorayeb, 4th Year ROP

Research overview: Vanessa is investigating the role of SMAX1 gene haplotypes on germination phenotype across global Arabidopsis thaliana accessions.

George Ly, 4th Year ROP

Research overview: George is conducting transcriptome-wide analysis of germination-related genes in Striga hermonthica

Gianni Pescetto, Research Assistant

Research overview: Gianni is researching the phenotypic characterization of receptor properties involved in germination.

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Lab Alumni

Cynthia Wong, MSc Student

2018 - 2020

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Claresta Adityani, MSc Student

2018 - 2020

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Stefan Scheutz, MSc Student

2017 - 2019

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Asrinus Subha, Research Technician

2017 - 2020

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Germanna Righetto, Postdoctoral Researcher

2019 - 2020

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