Dustin Maydaniuk
Lab affiliation: Cardona Lab
Degree(s) you hold: BSc in Microbiology
Degree being sought (M.Sc./Ph.D.): M.Sc.
Hometown (City, Country—list multiple if you have them!): Winnipeg, Manitoba
Your research project in one sentence: Studying the mechanism of action of two novel antimicrobials in Burkholderia cenocepacia
Degree(s) you hold: BSc in Microbiology
Degree being sought (M.Sc./Ph.D.): M.Sc.
Hometown (City, Country—list multiple if you have them!): Winnipeg, Manitoba
Your research project in one sentence: Studying the mechanism of action of two novel antimicrobials in Burkholderia cenocepacia
What do you do to relax when you have a lazy day at home?
To relax, I usually sit on the couch, usually with a large blanket and with a book, with my dog cuddling on my lap.
What are you most excited about for 2021? Goals? In 2021
I am excited to work more with my collaboration with a group in Chemistry to study the rate of influx and efflux of my antimicrobials. I am also looking forward to attending a few conferences this year, virtually of course.
What techniques do you/will you most often use in your project?
I use a lot of molecular biology techniques to assess the sensitivity of mutants to my compounds, to determine their mechanism of action. One of which is CRISPR interference (CRISPRi). This allows me to knock-down any gene I wish in my bacterium and control the amount of the gene expression.
What's one silly mistake you've made in the lab?
I borrowed someone else’s stock solution of rhamnose in the lab and I thought it said 2.0%, while in reality, it was 20%. I was wondering why my culture didn’t grow, yeah, they all died.
What are any current problems you are having with your research?
I am currently trying to use C. elegans as an infection model, to see if my antimicrobials will save worms infected with my bacterium. I performed a toxicity assay on the worms and the compounds are not toxic; however, they are not saving the worms from infections, unlike other clinical antibiotics. I am currently optimizing the experiments and looking into possible other infection models.
What did you hope to get out of grad school in the beginning compared to now?
I started grad school just over a year ago and originally, besides learning more about microbes, I wanted to develop the skills to work independently. Although that is still true to an extent, I’ve came to learn that some of the most interesting results/work come from collaboration with other scientists in the field and in other fields as well. Secondly, I am glad of the relationships I have with people in my lab, and I am hoping to interact more with other people in the department soon!
To relax, I usually sit on the couch, usually with a large blanket and with a book, with my dog cuddling on my lap.
What are you most excited about for 2021? Goals? In 2021
I am excited to work more with my collaboration with a group in Chemistry to study the rate of influx and efflux of my antimicrobials. I am also looking forward to attending a few conferences this year, virtually of course.
What techniques do you/will you most often use in your project?
I use a lot of molecular biology techniques to assess the sensitivity of mutants to my compounds, to determine their mechanism of action. One of which is CRISPR interference (CRISPRi). This allows me to knock-down any gene I wish in my bacterium and control the amount of the gene expression.
What's one silly mistake you've made in the lab?
I borrowed someone else’s stock solution of rhamnose in the lab and I thought it said 2.0%, while in reality, it was 20%. I was wondering why my culture didn’t grow, yeah, they all died.
What are any current problems you are having with your research?
I am currently trying to use C. elegans as an infection model, to see if my antimicrobials will save worms infected with my bacterium. I performed a toxicity assay on the worms and the compounds are not toxic; however, they are not saving the worms from infections, unlike other clinical antibiotics. I am currently optimizing the experiments and looking into possible other infection models.
What did you hope to get out of grad school in the beginning compared to now?
I started grad school just over a year ago and originally, besides learning more about microbes, I wanted to develop the skills to work independently. Although that is still true to an extent, I’ve came to learn that some of the most interesting results/work come from collaboration with other scientists in the field and in other fields as well. Secondly, I am glad of the relationships I have with people in my lab, and I am hoping to interact more with other people in the department soon!