Profile of researcher

Shawn Lewenza

PhD
Pronouns: He/him

Positions

Adjunct Associate Professor

Cumming School of Medicine

Associate Member

The Calvin, Phoebe and Joan Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases

Contact information

Phone number

Lab: +1 (403) 220-4222

Location

Lab: HSCB871

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Senior Communications Specialist

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Preferred method of communication

slewenza@athabascau.ca

Background

Educational Background

BSc Microbiology, University of Manitoba, 1994

Doctor of Philosophy Microbial Pathogenesis, University of Calgary, 2000

Post-doctoral fellow Bacterial Genomics, University of British Columbia, 2004

Post-doctoral fellow Bacterial membrane biology, Institut Pasteur, 2006

Biography

Dr Lewenza completed his PhD in Microbial Pathogenesis at the University of Calgary, followed by post-doctoral fellowships at UBC (2004-2006) and the Institut Pasteur (2004-2006). He accepted the Westaim-ASRA Chair in Biofilm Studies (2006-2012) at the University of Calgary, and transitioned to Athabasca University in 2015. Dr Lewenza's research, as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Calgary, spans microbial research areas that include antibiotic resistance, biofilms, bacterial regulatory and environmental sensing systems, and currently focuses on the use of whole cell bacterial biosensors and their application in antibiotic discovery and detection of oil sands wastewater pollutants. The lab is interested in applying naphthenic acid biosensors to environmental monitoring of naphthenic acids in the oil sands industrial processes.

Research

Participation in university strategic initiatives

Projects

NSERC - Bacterial biosensors for detection and bioremediation of wastewater pollutants

Genome Canada LSARP - Application of Genomics to Enhance Wetland Treatment Systems for Remediation of Processed Water in Northern Environments

Biosensors as high throughput screening tools to identify novel antimicrobials that target the bacterial membrane

Awards

  • Westaim-ASRA Chair in Bacterial Biofilm Research. Mechanisms of Biofilm Formation, Regulation and Inhibition (2006-2012), University of Calgary. 2006

Publications

In the News