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Bioinformatics & Functional Genomics

Research in the area of  ‘bioinformatics and functional genomics’ leverages the power of genomic and post-genomic technologies, to address fundamentally important biological questions in a wide range of organisms, from a molecular level, through to a population perspective.  Our laboratories provide a superb training environment for motivated post-doctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduates.

Expandable List

  • BIOL 6DD3 / Molecular Evolution
  • BIOL 708 / Quantitative Methods in Ecology and Evolution
  • BIOL 709 / Special Topics in Biology
  • BIOL 715 / Topics in Evolutionary Genetics
  • BIOL 720 / Bioinformatics
  • BIOL 721 / Topics in Molecular Evolution
  • BIOL 724 / Molecular Ecology
  • BIOL 742 / Molecular and Metabolomic Responses of Plants to Environmental Perturbations
  • BIOL 775 / Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Genomics
  • Education *750 / Principles and Practices of University Teaching

Explore the Graduate Courses page for more information

  • 3.5 million dollar Ontario Research Fund grant awarded to Dr. Weretilnyk to use next generation sequencing to reveal the incredible stress tolerance mechanisms of the Yukon native plant Thellungiella. The long term goal is use this knowledge to improve crop stress tolerance and sustainability.
  • 2.8 million dollar ORF grant awarded to Dr. Herb Schellhorn and colleagues, to fund studies into water contamination by E. coli bacteria
  • Infection modelling by the Dushoff lab has provided key insights into the spread of HIV and influenza infections (as published in PLoS Biology and PNAS)
  • Recent work by the Evans lab has uncovered new amphibian species (as profiled on CBC), revealed variation in the genetic mechanisms for sex determination in frogs, and explored how social systems affect gene evolution in primates
  •   Functional genomic analyses by the Finan lab (funded by Genome Canada) have significantly advanced our understanding of bacterial-plant symbiosis
  • The Golding lab is a national leader in understanding molecular evolution, and has provided important analyses into antibiotic resistance (Nature, 2011), and the bubonic plague (Nature, 2011)
  • Discoveries in the Elliot lab have revealed novel mechanisms governing bacterial development (PNAS, 2011), and led to the development of new strategies to stimulate antibiotic production (mBio, 2012)
  • Work in the Stone laboratory focuses on ‘big picture’ questions, as befits the Associate Director of the Origins Institute here at McMaster

Bioinformatics & Functional Genomics

A portrait of Jonathan Dushoff

Jonathan Dushoff

Professor, Faculty of Science Research Chair

A portrait of Marie Elliot

Marie Elliot

Professor, Department Chair, Faculty of Science Research Chair

A portrait of Ben Evans

Ben Evans

Professor, Associate Chair (Graduate Studies)

A portrait of Jonathon Stone

Jonathon Stone

Associate Professor, Director, Origins Institute, Associate Chair (Undergraduate Studies)