The PI
Kristi Baker, PhD
Assistant Professor Department of Experimental Oncology Cross Cancer Institute and University of Alberta 11560 University Avenue , Rm 3334 Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1Z2, Canada Tel. 780-432-8571 Email. [email protected] |
The Team
Courtney Mowat
I am Courtney Mowat, a research technician in Dr. Kristi Baker's lab at the Cross Cancer Institute. I completed my undergraduate degree in honours molecular genetics at the UofA in 2016, where I got to learn about how awesome gene regulation is and that it could be manipulated using biological tools that are already found in nature. This made me a perfect fit for Kristi's lab, because cancer is essentially gene regulation gone wrong and I get to use genetic tools to create models for studying cancer biology. I started doing research in Kristi's lab as an undergraduate researcher in 2015, and finished my MSc in Cancer Science under her supervision in 2019. My research focuses on how different forms of genetic instability impact the mucosal immune system of the gut to influence the development of colorectal cancer with the aim to find adjuvant therapies to enhance overall colorectal cancer survival. Shayla Mosley
Hi my name is Shayla Mosley and I'm a PhD student in the Baker lab. I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta in Molecular Genetics. My research focuses on how genetic instability and DNA damaging therapies induce an anti-tumour immune response. Savita Ayyalasomayajula
Hello! This is Savita, a current Master's student in Oncology at the University of Alberta in Dr. Baker's lab. I completed my undergraduate degree in B. Sc General Sciences at the UofA. My project focuses on the interaction between gut microbes and the effects of chemotherapy on colorectal cancer progression. Specifically, I am interested in looking into the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drug 5-Fluorouracil on colon cancer cells, in the presence of pks+ vs pks- E. coli. Angie Chen
Hello! I'm Angie Chen and I started as a graduate student in the Baker lab in the Fall 2021 semester. I have been working in the lab since the summer of 2019 and have completed an undergraduate thesis project in the lab as well. My project primarily focuses on the release of mitochondrial DNA into the cytoplasm and how this enhances the immune response in genetically unstable colorectal cancer cells. Heidi Nwosu
Hello! My name is Heidi Nwosu and I’m currently pursing my Bachelor of Science degree specializing in Cell biology at the University of Alberta. In my project, I specifically study differential regulation of a canonical intracellular signalling pathway called the WNT/B-catenin pathway, and how stimulation of this pathway through interactions with the gut microbiota, affects differences in gene expression and downstream protein activation in different subtypes of colorectal cancer. Through this interaction, I would be able to study how bacterial virulence factors affect the mutational capacity of colorectal cancer through avenues such as DNA repair. Jasmine Dhatt
Hello! My name is Jasmine Dhatt and I am currently in my fourth year of a Bachelor of Science with a Specialization in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. Throughout my degree, I have had a strong focus on genetics, which is what drew me to the Baker Lab. The cancer cell lines we work with are characterized by chromosomal instability or microsatellite instability, resulting in differing DNA damage repair abilities. My project focuses on T cell recruitment by these different types of cancer cells when stimulated with metabolites such as short chain fatty acids. |
Lab Alumnae
Undergraduate Students
Ilsa Bhatti
Kyle Nickel
Louise Ibalio
Hamda Memon
Surina Grover
Yulin Xi
Jianyin Liu
Katie Du
Stephanie Rush
Ananya Sandhu
Ilsa Bhatti
Kyle Nickel
Louise Ibalio
Hamda Memon
Surina Grover
Yulin Xi
Jianyin Liu
Katie Du
Stephanie Rush
Ananya Sandhu
Interested in joining the team?