Our Research
Microorganisms have played a dominant role in shaping the chemical and physical properties of our planet. Today, our society relies on the vast biodiversity of microorganisms to provide ecosystem services at municipal scales, such as water and wastewater treatment and bioremediation.
From an engineering context, our research focuses on developing biotechnology platforms that harness the metabolic diversity of microbial communities to preserve our planet’s valuable natural resources and promote the circular bio-economy.
We apply molecular-microbiology approaches coupled with process engineering fundamentals to understand how to control and predict microbial processes so that we can better design sustainable biotechnologies.
Microbial Ecology
In order to effectively manage and engineer microbiomes for resource recovery, we need to not only know what microbes are present in different engineered ecosystems, but also what they are doing and how they are doing it. Such information can be used to inform new process-level models that help to predict carbon and nutrient flows through engineered water systems, providing a path forward for improving engineering designs.
We utilize a suite of molecular microbiology techniques to probe microbial ecophysiology in water microbiomes. Our group utilizes stable isotope probing (SIP) techniques to label biomolecules and track the growth of microorganisms by integrating multi-omics (e.g. metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metaproteomics). We also are developing new protocols for the use of long-read sequencing in metagenome and amplicon sequencing. Ultimately, we utilize this molecular information to inform strategies to optimize engineered systems for enhanced resource recovery from waste streams.
Recent Projects:
NSERC Alliance Grant (with Metro Vancouver): Developing a platform for rapid online DNA monitoring of microbial communities in wastewater treatment systems (2021 – 2024)
Joint Genome Institute Community Science Program: Resolving carbon fluxes within microbial communities inhabiting full-scale bioenergy facilities (2021-2023)
Anaerobic Digestion
Many waste streams contain valuable organic carbon that can be converted to high-value biofuels via microbial processes. Anaerobic metabolisms are particularly desirable for waste transformations, due to low microbial biomass yields and the high diversity of possible end-products that can be produced.
We are currently conducting research on improving the efficiency of anaerobic digestion for renewable biogas production from organic solid wastes as well as wastewater sludge. Projects in this area currently focus on:
- Elucidating adaptation of microbial communities to high ammonia levels.
- Identifying novel syntrophic bacteria and methanogens.
- Mapping metabolic networks of full-scale anaerobic digesters.
Recent Projects:
NSERC Collaborative Research and Development Grant (with Convertus Group): Advancing renewable methane production from municipal food waste using applied genomics (2020 – 2023)
Genome British Columbia Sector Innovation Program: Adaptive capacities of microbiomes converting wastewatergrown microalgae into biomethane (2018 – 2021)
Nutrient Removal
Anthropogenic inputs of nutrients, like phosphorus and nitrogen, are harmful to many natural environments due to excess eutrophication. These nutrients are found in high concentrations in wastewater, and can be potentially recovered as valuable renewable fertilizers.
We are exploring various energy-efficient biological processes for removing and recovering nutrients from wastewater.
Projects in this area currently focus on:
- Short-cut nitrogen removal in activated sludge
- Novel polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) in enhanced biological phosphorus removing systems
- Aerobic granular sludge for simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal
Recent Projects:
Mitacs Accelerate (with AECOM): Advancing biological phosphorus removal from wastewater using ecogenomics (2019 – 2020)
Genome BC Sector Innovation Program: Development of rapid eDNA based rapid monitoring tools for improved
wastewater treatment process control (2020-2023)
