Where are you from and what brought you to the University of Alberta?
I was lured away mid-career to the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta from the University of Manitoba where I also did my graduate training in epidemiology. But I grew up in Toronto and worked as a NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) pharmacist at Mount Sinai Hospital for 10 years after university.
How would you define your main topic of research and why do you cherish this topic in particular?
The infant gut microbiome and how it is affected by early life. There are many reasons why I truly cherish this topic. It enables me to generate findings, some for the first time, on the micro-hazards (pun intended) of early life exposures that I hope will better inform families and change health care practice. It enables me to collaborate with James Scott to lead the SyMBIOTA program, funded by CIHR’s first round of Microbiome Initiative team grants. It enables me to apply epidemiological methods to microbiome science, and it has enabled me to mentor some truly amazing trainees on microbiome research.
What is the latest scientific breakthrough that blew you away and why?
Our nature exposure paper recently published in Environmental International. The fact nature exposure affected formula-fed infants to a greater extent than breastfed infants is not what I hypothesized. However, it does give hope for mothers who cannot breastfed and it provides evidence for my own story. A physician advised my mother to stop breastfeeding because her ‘poisonous’ milk was making me vomit. On the other hand, I spent my baby life propped up on pillows on grass in a backyard while my parents gardened. Too much information? Thankfully, acid suppressants were not available back then.
What’s the most surprising thing you have encountered in the lab?
Facilitated by the AllerGen network and UAlberta FoMD Communications, my lab’s microbiome research has generated KT with clever titles like ‘Puppy Power.’ Some titles are really funny. My favourite is: ‘Good germs in gross places: The secret super powers of poop, dog drool, and snot.’
What is your life motto and how does it help you in research?
Finish what you start. This motto drives my work ethic, accountability, and productivity. But it is not always easy to practice and at times not necessary. For sure, it has caused me angst.
If we asked people who know you to give us two of your most striking personality traits what would they be?
I think people would say that I am determined. Those that know me well will have picked up on my love of humour.
Maintaining a work-life balance can be challenging in research. What advice would you give to junior researchers to help them maintain balance in work and in life?
I am not a great model of work-life balance except for the fact I have always selected my home residence to be close to nature, with views of trees, and a place to plant a garden. The blog I wrote for Nature Conversancy Canada sums it up nicely. And I have kayaked/hiked in many beautiful places in Canada and around the world. So, my advice is to regularly seek opportunities to be awed by nature.
Did you want to be a scientist when you were a child?
Being a scientist is not something I aspired to as a child but I always wanted to help others as a health professional. I had the opportunity to do that as a NICU pharmacist. This first career also exposed me to clinical research and motivated me to pursue graduate training. And now my microbiome research helps others to make health care decisions.
