Alla Gagarinova

Academic interests

• Systems biology
• Genetic intereactions and chemogenomics;
• Proteomics;
• New antibacterials;
• Host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions;
• Environmental adaptation and antibiotic resistance.

Brief biography

I completed my Honours BSc degree with High Distinction in Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Toronto in Mississauga, MSc in the Department of Biology at the University of Western Ontario (now Western University, in London, Ontario), and PhD in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto. I completed my postdoctoral research at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina.

At UNB, I use interdisciplinary approaches to investigate bacterial biology, genetic and protein-protein interactions, environmental adaptation, antimicrobial resistance, as well as host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions. Our in-house state-of-the-art robotic instrumentation allows large-scale bacterial colony pinning, liquid handling, and high-throughput screening. Additional instrumentation, including mass spectrometers, next-generation sequencers, real-time cell metabolic analysers, and qPCR equipment, is available through collaborators.

Courses taught

• BIOL3013 Advanced Genetics

Available positions

• undergraduates (wet lab)
• graduate students (wet and dry lab)
• a postdoc (wet lab)
• a technician (wet lab)
  •  

Prospective undergraduate UNB students: Email Dr. Gagarinova your name, student number, a description of what you hope to do in the lab (i.e., research experience course, Honours Thesis, volunteer, work), and how this experience will support your future endeavours.

Prospective graduate students: Make sure you qualify for admission to the UNB Graduate Biology program before reaching out. To express your interest, email Dr. Gagarinova your unofficial transcripts, a statement of interest, and a CV indicating your qualifications. Your email must indicate that you checked and meet admission requirements.

Prospective technicians and postdocs: Email a cover letter (a) describing why you would like to join my lab, (b) stating your status in Canada/need for a visa, and (c) providing names and contact information of 3 referees along with information about how they know you.

Also include (1) your CV detailing all your previous laboratory experiences and research contributions and (2) your transcripts from undergraduate and highest-level degrees.

Qualified candidates will have experience in one or more of the following: molecular microbiology, molecular biology, genetics, and tissue culture. Note, to qualify for a postdoc status candidates must be within five years of their PhD.

All qualified candidates will be considered, but Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given a preference.

Selected research

Gagarinova A, Hosseinia A, Rahmatbakhsh M, Istace Z, Phanse S, Moutaoufik M T, Zilocchi M, Zhang Q, Aoki H, Kim S Y, Aly K, Babu M. (2022). Auxotrophic and prototrophic conditional genetic networks reveal the rewiring of transcription factors in Escherichia coli. Nature Communications. 13(1): 4085.

Grishin A, Voth K, Gagarinova A, Cygler M. (2022). Structural biology of the invasion arsenal of Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. The FEBS Journal. 289(6):1385-1427.

Rahmatbakhsh M, Gagarinova A, Babu M. (2021). Bioinformatic analysis of temporal and spatial changes during infection. Frontiers In Genetics, Sec. Systems Biology Archive.

Gagarinova A, Hosseinnia A, Babu M. (2021). Quantitative genetic screens for mapping bacterial pathways and functional networks. Methods in Molecular Biology. 2381: 3-37.