Author: rgishida

Alyssa Colins is our undergraduate Hounors student who has been working with our PhD-candidate Jessica Josephson to elucidate the impact of colitis, diet, and microbiome on the immune, metabolic, and behavioural profiles. Alyssa has demonstrated deep passion for research and great attention to details since she joined our lab as a volunteer in early 2025. In our recent undergraduate honor’s research poster presentation event at UBC Okanagan, Alyssa won the Best Poster Awards in Biochemistry and the People’s Choice Award. Congratulations Alyssa!

Madeline Frazer joined our team as a master student in September of 2025. She is impact of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup^®, on the microbiome of wildlife animals that are in proximate areas where the herbicide is used for forestry and agricultural purposes. Her research is part of the GROW (Glyphosate Research on forest Organisms and Wildlife health) project, which in collaboration with the Swan River First Nation, the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, the British Columbia Wildlife Federation, and the British Columbia and Alberta Trappers Associations, assessing the effects of glyphosate on wildlife health.

Congratulations Madeline for winning the best poster presenter award at the Biology and Biochemistry UBCO Graduate Student Symposium!

Watch Madeline’s video explaining her workflow here!

Congratulations Dr. Andrea Verdugo-Meza for winning an abstract award at the Keystone Symposia 2026 at Banff, Alberta. Andrea also successfully defended her PhD in early December of 2025. The conference was also attended by Dr. Deanna Gibson, Jessica Josephson (PhD candidate), and Dr. Jacqueline Barnett (Gibson Lab alumni) who all shared their research at the Gibson Lab.

Dr. Deanna Gibson was Awarded the Women in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Award by Crohn’s and Colitis Canada. The Crohn’s and Colitis Canada Grants-in-Aid of Research program is intended to support research on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Funds are dedicated for the support of research which is conducted by qualified investigators with an appointment in not-for-profit research or academic facilities located in Canada. This research program helps to advance prevention, treatments, health policy and to ultimately find cures. For more details, visit here.