Janice Lawrence

Other titles

Associate Dean of Science

Academic interests

• Aquatic microbial ecology
• Toxic cyanobacteria
• Virus-host interactions

Brief biography

Dr. Janice Lawrence completed her BSc (Marine Biology) and PhD (Biological Oceanography) at Dalhousie University. Her PhD thesis investigated the source and dynamics of algal toxins in cultured shellfish. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at UBC studying the role of viruses in phytoplankton ecology, and received an NSERC University Faculty Award to join UNB in 2003.

Janice’s current research focusses on the biological interactions that regulate toxin-producing cyanobacteria. She also collaborates with researchers at the University of Bergen studying the co-evolution of viruses and their hosts, and co-supervises students studying virus and viroid infections in crop plants at the Fredericton Research and Development Centre.

In her spare time Janice is building an off-grid cabin along the Wolastoq, and loves outdoor adventures including skiing, biking, hiking, paddling and swimming.

Courses taught

• BIOL3493 - Introduction to Virology

Selected research

C. Valadez-Cano, A. Reyes-Prieto, D.G. Beach, C. Rafuse, P. McCarron, J. Lawrence. 2023. Coexistence of anatoxin-producing and non-toxigenic Microcoleus “sub-species” in benthic mats from the Wolastoq, New Brunswick, Canada. Harmful Algae 102405.

C. Valadez-Cano, A. Reyes-Prieto, J. Lawrence. 2023. Novel virulent and temperate cyanophages predicted to infect Microcoleus associated with anatoxin-producing benthic mats. Environmental Microbiology 25(12): 3319-3332.

C. Valadez-Cano, K. Hawkes, R. Calvaruso, A. Reyes-Prieto, J. Lawrence. 2022. Amplicon-based and metagenomic approaches provide insight into toxin potential in understudied Atlantic Canadian lakes. FACETS. 7(1): 194-214.

R.A. Sandaa, M.R. Saltvedt, H. Dahle1, H. Wang, S. Våge, R. Blanc-Mathieu, I.H. Steen, N. Grimsley, B. Edvardsen, H. Ogata, J. Lawrence. 2021. Adaptive evolution of viruses infecting marine microalgae (haptophytes), from acute infections to stable coexistence. Biological Reviews. 97(1): 179-194.