People
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Sara N. Andres
Sara received her BSc in Biochemistry (2005) from the University of Guelph. She then completed her PhD in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences (2011) at McMaster University under the supervision of Dr. Murray S. Junop. In 2012 Sara joined the laboratory of Dr. R. Scott Williams at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in North Carolina before returning back to McMaster University to establish her lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences in 2017. Sara's love of science continues outside the lab, where she studies food science through baking treats for her lab, and physics by playing goal in her hockey league.
Research TECHNICIAN
Dr. Madoka Akimoto
Madoka received her MSc in Pharmaceutical Science from the University of Tokyo, and earned her PhD in Chemical Biology from McMaster University. She joined the lab in 2023 as our research technician, and currently manages the x-ray diffraction and protein crystallization equipment as part of the McMaster X-Ray Diffraction Facility. She also works in the Centre of Microbial Chemical Biology, performing experiments and training users on instrumentation in the lab.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Dana Sowa
PhD candidate (2019-present). Dana obtained her BSc in Biochemistry and Biotechnology from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2019. She is currently investigating DNA DSB repair mechanisms in bacteria. She currently holds a NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship Doctoral (PGS-D) award. Outside of the lab she enjoys playing competitive video games and reading the occasional fantasy book.
Monica Warner
PhD candidate (2019-present). Monica completed her Honours Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from McMaster University. She is now working on DNA repair mechanisms in the lab. Outside of the lab, Monica loves to read and enjoys going on hikes with her friends.
Kristi Lichimo
MSc candidate (2022-present). Kristi received her BSc in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of British Columbia. She holds a CIHR Graduate Scholarship and is currently investigating DNA damage bypass mechanisms in bacteria. Outside of the lab, Kristi enjoys playing badminton and volleyball (badly), painting, and making tacky crafts for people.
Caitlin Doubleday
PhD candidate (2023-present). Caitlin received her MSc in Biochemistry from Queen's University.
Harman Dev
MSc candidate (2023-present). Harman received his BSc in Biochemistry from McMaster Univeristy, and completed his 4th year thesis project in the Andres Lab, before joining as a graduate student.
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Ashravi Vora
4th year thesis student
Asha Subramaniam
4th year thesis student
Vritti Vashi
4th year thesis student
Samantha Reeve
4th year thesis student
Katherine Matthew
4th year thesis student
Interested in our work and would like to join the lab? Fill out an application to see if we have any openings!
LAB ALUMNI
Graduate Students
Andriana Tetenych - 2020-2022
Lucas Koechlin - 2018-2020 - @ Western University Medical School
Undergraduate Students
Harman Dev - 2022-2023 - @McMaster University Graduate School
Anmol Marwaha - 2022-2023 - @McMaster University MBDC program
Evan Hum - 2021-2022 - @McMaster University MBDC program
Hana Nazal - 2021-2022
Sahil Karnani - 2021-2022 -@McMaster University Graduate School
Anthea Mo - 2020
Noorisah Khan - 2020 - @ McMaster University MBDC program
Benhur Amare - 2020
Prakhar Shah - 2020 - @ McMaster University Graduate School
Amir Ali Akhlaghi - 2021 - @ McMaster University Undergraduate
Nethmi Rajapakse - 2021 - @ McMaster University Undergraduate
Jose Rascon - Summer 2019 Mitacs Globalink Intern
Veronica Tran - 2018-2020 -@ McMaster University Graduate School
Harry Sandhu - 2019-2020 - @ McMaster University MBDC program
Tarin Moni - 2019-2020
Neeti Jain - 2019-2020 - @ McMaster University Undergraduate
Cody Caba - 2018 - @ Research and Industry
Pardis Balari - 2018-2019 - @ Queens University Medical School
Akile Ozkan - 2018-2019 - @ University of Sydney School of Dentistry
Joshua Marando - 2018-2019 - @McMaster MSU President
Eugenia Yeung - 2017-2018 - @ University of Ottawa Medical School
Krish Khurana - 2017-2018 - @ McMaster University MBDC program