Team MitoMetabLab
~ FALL 2024 ~
Kimberly Dunham-Snary, MPS, PhD
Dr. Kimberly Dunham-Snary received her PhD in Molecular & Cellular Pathology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2014 under the supervision of Dr. Scott Ballinger, where she elucidated the connections between mitochondrial genetics and body composition. In 2015, she joined Dr. Stephen Archer's laboratory in the Department of Medicine at Queen's University for her postdoctoral fellowship. There, she identified the mitochondrial pulmonary vascular oxygen sensor, and discovered a novel role for mitochondria in neutrophil function. In 2020, she accepted an Assistant Professor position in the Departments of Biomedical & Molecular Sciences, and Medicine at Queen's and is currently a Tier II Canada Research Chair. Her research interests remain in the field of mitochondrial biology – how genetic and structural changes to mitochondria alter cell function in both physiology and pathology, specifically the interplay between mitochondrial dynamics, mitochondrial genetics and proliferative signalling in cardiometabolic diseases. Her goal is to understand how these processes intersect in the context of disease and to develop a 'mitochondrial-metabolomic fingerprint' of cardiometabolic diseases. An avid motorsports and canine enthusiast, when not in the lab, she can be found exploring with her loyal companion, Steve McQueen, or catching the latest Grand Prix or Motor Speedway event.
PhD Students
Mia Wilkinson
Mia is a Translational Medicine PhD student who is continuing her studies with MitoMetabLab after completing her fourth year Life Sciences Honours Thesis (2021-22) and successful mini-MSc defence in late 2023. She determined tissue-specific changes in gene expression between white adipose tissue depots, and examined the complicated matrix of mitochondrial genetics, white adipose tissue location, and diet, and has demonstrated a correlation between platelet and skeletal muscle bioenergetics in healthy mice. From Vancouver Island, BC, she is passionate about investigating the role mitochondrial genetics plays in the aetiology and pathology of cardiometabolic diseases. Her PhD will explore the utility of platelets as a liquid biopsy for cardiometabolic health. Outside of the lab, she works as a personal care attendant and academic aide for a fellow Queen's graduate student, is an Events Coodinator for Operation Smile Queen’s Chapter, and the Fundraising Chair for Queen’s Lyme Disease Coalition – Madoc Chapter.
Your Name Here
MitoMetabLab is recruiting PhD students! For more information, click here!
MSc Students
Samsara Boots
Sam is a DBMS MSc student from Kingston, Ontario, who originally joined the team as a Work Study student. Through her studies at university, as well as prior experiences working in patient care, she developed a strong passion for molecular genetics and medicine. She is an integral team member, helping manage the lab's resources, and collaborates on every ongoing project in the lab. Her MSc will explore differential metabolite abundance in the plasma and skeletal muscle of our mouse model. Outside of the lab she is an artist and a musician, as well as an executive member of the Queens’ Trivia team.
Dalia Miller
Dalia is a Translational Medicine MSc student who originally joined the team as a volunteer, remained as a student technician, and then completed a research independent study! Dalia's MSc project is investigating the impact of mitochondrial DNA signature on temporal morphometric differences in MNX mice fed a Western-style diet. She will be exploring ongoing measures such as weight gain, relative glucose tolerance and insulin resistance, and endpoint measures such as fat mass vs lean body mass, white adipose tissue distribution, and intramuscular lipid accumulation.
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MitoMetabLab History Note: Dalia was the lab's first employee!
Michelle Kuriakose
Michelle is an Experimental Medicine MSc student who is continuing her students with MitoMetabLab after completing her fourth year Life Sciences honours thesis. Her MSc will focus on exploring the link between diet-induced inflammation, specifically, activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, and both mitochondrial and vascular function in the MNX mouse model. The rest of Michelle's bio is coming soon - stay tuned!
Thomas Rollin
Tommy is a Translational Medicine MSc student who joined MitoMetabLab in September 2024. His MSc will focus on determining mitochondrial phenotypic differences between platelets and megakaryocytes and we seek to understand the mechanism behind mitochondrial changes in platelets observed in a mouse model of diet-induced cardiometabolic disease. The rest of Tommy's bio is coming soon - stay tuned!
Abhishek Shastry
Abhishek is a Translational Medicine MSc student who is continuing his studies with MitoMetabLab after completing his fourth year Life Sciences Honours Thesis. He identified changes in key metabolic pathways in the skeletal muscle between strains of laboratory mouse and the implications for type II diabetes treatment. Abhi hails from Ajax, Ontario and his MSc project will explore links between the skeletal muscle metabolome and transcriptome in preclinical cardiometabolic disease. Outside of the lab, he is an Academic Coordinator with Queen's Tamil Students' Association.
UPDATE - Abhi was awarded his MSc in November 2024! Stay tuned for the next website update!
Undergraduate Students
Prusha Balaratnam
Prusha is an alumna of Discovery Team MetaGene and is continuing her affiliation with MitoMetabLab as a Work Study student. The rest of Prusha's biography is coming soon - stay tuned!
Jayne Kang
Jayne is a fourth year Health Sciences student continuing her third- and fourth-year research project(s) in MitoMetabLab. She is optimizing protocols to assess differences in mitochondrial structure in aortic endothelial cells in mouse models of cardiometabolic disease and will explore changes in mitochondrial dynamics in endothelial cells of MNX mice. Outside of the lab, Jayne volunteers as a Run Club executive and as an outreach director at MEDLIFE Queen’s.
Kiana McCauley
Kiana is a fourth year Health Sciences student completing her fourth-year research project in MitoMetabLab. She is focusing on using immunohistochemical imaging and molecular biology assays to chronicle the development of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in the MNX mouse model. the rest of Kiana's biography is coming soon - stay tuned!
Jamie Turner
Jamie is a fourth-year Life Sciences Honours thesis student in MitoMetabLab. She is conducting validation studies of our transcriptomic mapping of white adipose tissue heterogeneity in the MNX mouse model. Jamie is also joining an ongoing collaborative project with Dr. Dunham-Snary and (the newly minted) Dr. Rachel Bentley of Dr. Stephen Archer's research team, helping complete an investigation into the properties of the mitochondrial nucleoid in pulmonary arterial hypertension. The rest of Jamie's biography is coming soon - stay tuned!
Updates regarding Discovery 599 Team-Based Undergraduate Research are coming - stay tuned!
