People
Principle Investigator
Yan Wang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Evolutionary Genomics
Primary affiliation: Biological Sciences
Graduate affiliations: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology; Environmental Sciences; Cell & Systems Biology
University of Toronto
Office: SW542 at Scarborough Campus
Email: yanxw.wang@utoronto.ca
ORCID Profile:0000-0002-5950-8904
ResearchGate;
Google Scholar; Publons
Postdoctoral fellows
Dr. Carrie Pratt is a postdoctoral fellow studying microbial symbioses in wood-feeding insects, with a focus on forest disease and wood degradation. She completed her Ph.D. and M.S. at Oklahoma State University studying anaerobic gut fungi in tortoises and carrion beetle microbiomes and previously worked on pollinator and soil microbiomes at the University of North Dakota. Outside the lab, she enjoys hikes with her dog, Potato.
Graduate students
Huimei Yang is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB). She completed her Honours B.Sc. in Integrative Biology at the University of Toronto (UTSC) and M.Sc. in Bioinformatics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong prior joining the WangLab. Huimei's thesis is about the genome evolution and gene expression profiles of Harpellales fungi using long-read sequencing data.
Tao Yang is a visiting Ph.D. student from Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Science. Tao is interested in non-target screening of pollutants affecting fungal communities in Ontario watersheds. Outside of the lab, he enjoy he enjoys hiking, working out, and playing eSports.
Eric Wilson is an MSc student in the EEB Department. His thesis focuses on investigating a species complex of insect-gut associated fungi using genomic approaches. In his free time, he likes to work out, listen to music, go on random walks, and play video games.
Undergraduate researchers
Erienne Marasigan has been an undergraduate research fellow in the lab and is currently conducting an Honors Thesis on microscopy and genomics of unculturable microbial fungi found in Rouge National Urban Park and Highland Creek. Erienne is in the Specialist of Human Biology program and likes to read, tinker with miniature model kits, and watch movies with family and friends.
Zaina Mansuri is an Honors Thesis student specializing in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. Zaina's thesis focuses on immune gene expression in Aedes aegypti larvae when colonized by the gut-dwelling fungus Zancudomyces culisetae. Beyond her academic pursuits, Zaina enjoys playing ultimate, cooking, and crafting home decor.
Aurora Tung is an Honors Thesis student majoring in Molecular Biology, Immunology and Disease, and Human Biology. Aurora's thesis investigates the influence of the fungus Zancudomyces culisetae on cannibalism in larval Aedes aegypti. Outside the lab, Aurora enjoys excavating fossils, playing baseball, and baking.
Melody (Xin) Mo is a second-year undergraduate student at UTSG, studying bioinformatics, computational biology, and computer science with a focus on scientific computing. Melody is working on selenoprotein project and assisting with general lab routines. When not in the lab, Melody enjoys reading and exploring the city.
Palden Wangchuk is a work-study student specializing in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. His current research project focuses on developing a spore isolation protocol for Smittium Minutisporum. He also serves as the lab manager helping day-to-day operations and maintaining laboratory routines. In his free time, he loves to exercise, play video games, and explore Toronto.
Zeinab Jaber is a BIOD95 student specializing in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. Her current research project revolves around cross-kingdom horizontal gene transfer in eukaryotes, specifically looking at relationships involving fungi. In her free time, she likes doing crosswords, playing guitar and reading.
Aisha Chan is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying a double major in Biochemistry and Conservation & Biodiversity. She is currently working on characterizing fungal biofilm formation in mosquito larvae gut. Outside of the lab, Aisha enjoys exploring trails, photographing insects and drawing.
Erin Middleton is a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing a double major in Neuroscience and Human Biology with a minor in theatre. Erin is currently working on genome assembly of symbiotic fungi and functional annotation. Outside of the lab, Erin enjoys playing lacrosse and hockey, acting, and painting.
Jatynne Raj is a third-year undergraduate student double majoring in Human Biology and Molecular Biology, Immunology, and Disease. She is working on a project locating the selenocysteine insertion sequence in Zancudomyces culisetae genome. Outside of lab, Jatynne enjoys travelling and playing the piano.
Alumni
Graduate Students
- Shal Chaudhary, 2020-2023, M.Sc. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (CGS-M & PSD awardees; Now at Impact Assessment Agency of Canada).
- Paige Van Rooy, 2022-2023, M.Sc. in Environmental Sciences.
- Jessica Cho-Ah-Ying, 2023-2024, M.Sc. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
- Wendy Zhang, 2023-2024, Work-Study graduate student on Scientific Illustration project.
- Sixtine Dietsch, 2024-2025, Work-Study graduate student working on trichomycetes fungi.
- Erin Middleton, 2025 Fall BIOB98 student.
- Indiana Lu, 2025 Fall BIOB98 student.
- Rodrigo Lusa, 2025 Summer, Mitacs visiting student from PUCPR (Brazil).
- Xinyue Wang, 2025 Summer, Mitacs visiting student from Peking University (China)
- Sumhithaa Sriram, 2024-2025 BIOD98 Honors Thesis student
- Dennis Liu, 2024-2025 BIOD98 Honors Thesis student (Now at Northwestern University M.Sc. program)
- Bomin Kim, 2024-2025 Work-study student
- Livia Del Bo, 2025 Winter, BIOB98 student
- Esme Padgett, 2024 Summer, Mitacs visiting student from Durham University (UK)
- Isabella Moreira, 2024 Summer, Mitacs visiting student from Universidad de las Américas Puebla (Mexico)
- Maria Zimmermann, 2024 Summer, Volunteer
- Jessica Pinto, 2024 Winter, BIOB98 student
- Stephanie Chan, 2023 Fall, BIOB98 student
- Yue Wu, 2023 Fall, Mitacs visiting student from Wuhan University (China)
- Malaika Baig, 2023 Summer, Work-Study student
- Sofia Chughtai, 2023 Summer, Work-Study student
- Monique Ngan, 2023 Summer, Work-Study student
- Jay Lu, 2023 Summer, visiting student from Western University
- Haider Alsafar, 2022-2023, BIOD98 Honors Thesis student (Now at University of Toronto M.Sc. program)
- Sarah Fatima, 2022-2023, Work-Study, BIOB98/99 student
- Yibing Wu, 2022 Summer, University of Toronto Excellence Awardee (Now at University of Hongkong Ph.D. program)
- Maija Lehn, 2022 Summer, TD Undergraduate Research Fellow
- Lynn Li, 2022 Summer, Data Sciences Undergraduate Scholar
- Renato Sasso, 2022 Summer, BIOB98 student
- Yue Xia, 2022 Winter, BIOB98 student (Now at Memorial University Ph.D. program)
- Zac Cornaby, 2022 Winter, BIOD95 student
- Hania Siddiqui, 2022 Winter, BIOB98 student
- Joaquin Fogel, 2022 Winter, BIOB98 student
- Sidra Fallaha, 2022 Winter, BIOB98 student
- Nicole Howes, 2021 Fall, visiting student from University of Waterloo (Now at University of British Columbia M.Sc. program)
- Huai Shiou Shih, 2021 Summer, BIOD95 student (Now at University of Toronto - Mississauga M.Sc. program)
- Nishang Lin, 2020-2021, BIOD98 student (Now at Imperial College London M.Sc. program)
- Aliza Khaitin, 2020 Fall, BIOB98 student
- Asad Hassan, 2020 Summer, BIOD95 student
- Nazia Nusrat, 2020 Summer, BIOD95 student
Undergraduate Students