Welcome!
Our research on water quality and microbial biotechnology focuses on biological drinking water treatment, wastewater treatment and pollutant biodegradation. We are interested in the ecology of the open microbial communities that these systems are characterized by and how to manage and leverage these communities to the benefit of humankind and the environment.
Latest news
February 14th, 2025
The Fowler lab had a cookie decorating session in honour of Valentines Day! Thank you Lucy Burns for making the cookies.
January 25th, 2025
Jane was featured in a Vancouver Sun article written by Nathan Griffiths discussing the contribution of atmospheric rivers to polluting Metro Vancouver waterways!
Click here to read the article.
The Fowler lab had a cookie decorating session in honour of Valentines Day! Thank you Lucy Burns for making the cookies.
January 25th, 2025
Jane was featured in a Vancouver Sun article written by Nathan Griffiths discussing the contribution of atmospheric rivers to polluting Metro Vancouver waterways!
Click here to read the article.
January 6th, 2025
It's a new year and the Fowler Lab is ready to start the year off strong. Starting with new members to our lab!
We welcome new lab member Fatemeh Ghodsi who has joined our lab as an ISS student and will be with us until Spring 2025.
Maggie Iliffe has re-joined our lab as a MSc student, continuing her research from her ISS project.
It's a new year and the Fowler Lab is ready to start the year off strong. Starting with new members to our lab!
We welcome new lab member Fatemeh Ghodsi who has joined our lab as an ISS student and will be with us until Spring 2025.
Maggie Iliffe has re-joined our lab as a MSc student, continuing her research from her ISS project.
December 10th, 2024
Lucy presented at the Arctic Change conference -> Title of the paper is "Arctic Lake Methane Cycling: Who's Who? Microbial ecology of methane cycling in Arctic lakes of the Mackenzie River Delta"
Click here for more information on the conference!
Lucy presented at the Arctic Change conference -> Title of the paper is "Arctic Lake Methane Cycling: Who's Who? Microbial ecology of methane cycling in Arctic lakes of the Mackenzie River Delta"
Click here for more information on the conference!
December 3rd, 2024
The Fowler lab members met for an amazing potluck including cultural dishes from around the world, a Secret Santa gift exchange, and an adventure to the Coquitlam escape room! The day was filled with lots of fun, amazing food, and great people.
The Fowler lab members met for an amazing potluck including cultural dishes from around the world, a Secret Santa gift exchange, and an adventure to the Coquitlam escape room! The day was filled with lots of fun, amazing food, and great people.
September 21st, 2024
Jane was interviewed for a CBC news discussing new found way to destroy "forever chemicals" in water! Click here to read the full article that features the interview with Jane.
"Making Waves: From Tap to Gut - Exploring the Impact of Drinking Water on the Gut Microbiota", authored by Hanieh Shakeri (PhD Candidate) and Dr. Jane Fowler is published! Congrats Hanieh and Jane!
Jane was interviewed for a CBC news discussing new found way to destroy "forever chemicals" in water! Click here to read the full article that features the interview with Jane.
"Making Waves: From Tap to Gut - Exploring the Impact of Drinking Water on the Gut Microbiota", authored by Hanieh Shakeri (PhD Candidate) and Dr. Jane Fowler is published! Congrats Hanieh and Jane!
September 9, 2024
Congratulations to Maggie Iliffe who successfully defended her ISS thesis entitled "Investigation of Aerosolized Methanotrophs and Other Microbes" today! We're also happy that Maggie has decided to stay in the lab as a Research Assistant to continue working on this project.
Congratulations to Maggie Iliffe who successfully defended her ISS thesis entitled "Investigation of Aerosolized Methanotrophs and Other Microbes" today! We're also happy that Maggie has decided to stay in the lab as a Research Assistant to continue working on this project.
September 4, 2024
It's the start of a new academic year, and we are excited to welcome Jungsoo Park to the lab as a postdoctoral fellow. Jungsoo will work on aeromicrobiology and metagenomic analysis of air samples from methane rich environments.
It's the start of a new academic year, and we are excited to welcome Jungsoo Park to the lab as a postdoctoral fellow. Jungsoo will work on aeromicrobiology and metagenomic analysis of air samples from methane rich environments.
June 12-14 2024
Lab members attended the WEST conference at UBC. Soobin and Lucy both gave 3 minute talks about their research. Soobin won a second prize for the 3 minute talks. She is on a role this year!
Lab members attended the WEST conference at UBC. Soobin and Lucy both gave 3 minute talks about their research. Soobin won a second prize for the 3 minute talks. She is on a role this year!
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June 13 2024
Ronak Salamat Ravandi was awarded her BSc today!
Ronak Salamat Ravandi was awarded her BSc today!
May 21 2024
Joyce, Ronak and Jane met with Matt Brown and Maddie Ankenman from Swim Drink Fish for training on their water sampling and sample processing methodologies at their Granville Island office. Swim Drink Fish is a not for profit that aims to increase people’s connectedness to water, as “connection leads to protection”. They do incredible work measuring water quality in fresh and marine waters across the country, mainly carried out by citizen scientist volunteers. The lab recently started a couple of projects collaborating with Swim Drink Fish to monitor water quality at several areas that are being proposed for recreational use, and to carry out microbial source tracking to identify sources of persistent contamination at locations in Metro Vancouver. The photos below were taken by Matt Brown
Joyce, Ronak and Jane met with Matt Brown and Maddie Ankenman from Swim Drink Fish for training on their water sampling and sample processing methodologies at their Granville Island office. Swim Drink Fish is a not for profit that aims to increase people’s connectedness to water, as “connection leads to protection”. They do incredible work measuring water quality in fresh and marine waters across the country, mainly carried out by citizen scientist volunteers. The lab recently started a couple of projects collaborating with Swim Drink Fish to monitor water quality at several areas that are being proposed for recreational use, and to carry out microbial source tracking to identify sources of persistent contamination at locations in Metro Vancouver. The photos below were taken by Matt Brown
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May 14 2024
We welcomed new lab members Joyce Wong, an MSc student and Maggie Iliffe, an ISS student who will be with us until the end of the summer. Ronak has also re-joined the lab as a USRA and Mitacs intern for 6 months.
We welcomed new lab members Joyce Wong, an MSc student and Maggie Iliffe, an ISS student who will be with us until the end of the summer. Ronak has also re-joined the lab as a USRA and Mitacs intern for 6 months.
March - April 2024
Soobin competed in the 3 minute thesis competition this year with an outstanding talk entitled “What's your favourite drink? Mine's water!”. She won second place in the Faculty of Science heat, which allowed her to compete in the SFU-wide competition, where she also won second place! Congratulations, Soobin, we are so proud of you. See the list of all winners and recordings from the SFU-wide competition here.
Soobin competed in the 3 minute thesis competition this year with an outstanding talk entitled “What's your favourite drink? Mine's water!”. She won second place in the Faculty of Science heat, which allowed her to compete in the SFU-wide competition, where she also won second place! Congratulations, Soobin, we are so proud of you. See the list of all winners and recordings from the SFU-wide competition here.
March 21, 2024
The SFU Biology Department hosts a poetry competition every year. This year, Soobin Yim poem entitled “Water Lover“, inspired by her MSc research, won second place. You can read her poem below and those of the other winners here
Congratulations Soobin!
Water Lover
By Soobin Yim
A big gulp of ice water on a hot day; A gentle sip of warm tea on a cold day; Whatever day it may be, Water is the best drink for me.
We’re lucky to have clean water whenever, Wherever, and as much as needed… but forever? Life we learn in biology is not constant, But rather constantly changing, even at this instant. How can we keep our drinking water’s biological stability To keep all of us away from a drinking water calamity?
The tiny life revolving in our drinking water is my main curiosity. To remove harmful microbes in water is the city’s number one responsibility; However, sometimes resilient microbes survive even the strongest treatment. Without proper management, their numbers will be left only to augment!
That is why, I, the Water Lover, have entered the scene To investigate the factors that could be used to intervene, And control the regrown microbes traveling through the pipes To ensure the water you get at your tap can be enjoyed in all types: Ice-cold, piping hot, even a lukewarm cup of water to be ready for you Is what, I, the Water Lover, most importantly, hope to do.
A big scoop of water sample taken on one day; A gentle counting of present bacterial cells on the same day; So far, I’ve tested the controls, so I must do several other things Like identify microbes in the drinking water community and think, “How do the microbial communities change with nutrients over time after UV disinfection…” … Still lots in mind, and upon gathering more data, I must do a deeper reflection.
But for now, I’ll say goodbye to you As I have lots of research to do! Because as you can very well see That water is the drink for you and me!
The SFU Biology Department hosts a poetry competition every year. This year, Soobin Yim poem entitled “Water Lover“, inspired by her MSc research, won second place. You can read her poem below and those of the other winners here
Congratulations Soobin!
Water Lover
By Soobin Yim
A big gulp of ice water on a hot day; A gentle sip of warm tea on a cold day; Whatever day it may be, Water is the best drink for me.
We’re lucky to have clean water whenever, Wherever, and as much as needed… but forever? Life we learn in biology is not constant, But rather constantly changing, even at this instant. How can we keep our drinking water’s biological stability To keep all of us away from a drinking water calamity?
The tiny life revolving in our drinking water is my main curiosity. To remove harmful microbes in water is the city’s number one responsibility; However, sometimes resilient microbes survive even the strongest treatment. Without proper management, their numbers will be left only to augment!
That is why, I, the Water Lover, have entered the scene To investigate the factors that could be used to intervene, And control the regrown microbes traveling through the pipes To ensure the water you get at your tap can be enjoyed in all types: Ice-cold, piping hot, even a lukewarm cup of water to be ready for you Is what, I, the Water Lover, most importantly, hope to do.
A big scoop of water sample taken on one day; A gentle counting of present bacterial cells on the same day; So far, I’ve tested the controls, so I must do several other things Like identify microbes in the drinking water community and think, “How do the microbial communities change with nutrients over time after UV disinfection…” … Still lots in mind, and upon gathering more data, I must do a deeper reflection.
But for now, I’ll say goodbye to you As I have lots of research to do! Because as you can very well see That water is the drink for you and me!
March 21, 2024
Jane gave a seminar at the WASH Talks Seminar Series on the CHAD group and the challenges of sanitation in the arctic and permafrost zones. You can find recordings of this and other WASH talks here
Jane gave a seminar at the WASH Talks Seminar Series on the CHAD group and the challenges of sanitation in the arctic and permafrost zones. You can find recordings of this and other WASH talks here
March 4-7, 2024
Jane attended the Cold/High Altitude Anaerobic Digestion (CHAD) Conference in Fairbanks, Alaska from March 4-7, where she gave a presentation on the challenges and knowledge gaps associated with psychrophilic anaerobic digestion. This was an inspiring conference with attendees from diverse backgrounds who were extremely engaged in the goal of improving sanitation in the Arctic. Highlights included the Army Corps of Engineers Permafrost Tunnel, Chena Hot Springs and a workshop on making fake poop.
Jane attended the Cold/High Altitude Anaerobic Digestion (CHAD) Conference in Fairbanks, Alaska from March 4-7, where she gave a presentation on the challenges and knowledge gaps associated with psychrophilic anaerobic digestion. This was an inspiring conference with attendees from diverse backgrounds who were extremely engaged in the goal of improving sanitation in the Arctic. Highlights included the Army Corps of Engineers Permafrost Tunnel, Chena Hot Springs and a workshop on making fake poop.
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December 15, 2023
The research group celebrated the holidays by going climbing together. Wishing everyone peaceful holidays and a happy new year! Thank you to Soobin for organizing the climbing and to Jo for organizing the secret Santa!
The research group celebrated the holidays by going climbing together. Wishing everyone peaceful holidays and a happy new year! Thank you to Soobin for organizing the climbing and to Jo for organizing the secret Santa!
November 9, 2023
Hanieh and Jane published a review article together with Leili Abkar (currently a postdoc in Sara Beck's lab at UBC) on the microbial ecology of the drinking water microbiome in urban systems in Science of the Total Environment. For the next 50 days, this article can be accessed free using this link
October 6, 2023
Convocation day - we had two graduates this year - Manjot Sidhu and Josephine Huynh
Hanieh and Jane published a review article together with Leili Abkar (currently a postdoc in Sara Beck's lab at UBC) on the microbial ecology of the drinking water microbiome in urban systems in Science of the Total Environment. For the next 50 days, this article can be accessed free using this link
October 6, 2023
Convocation day - we had two graduates this year - Manjot Sidhu and Josephine Huynh
This summer we had an international group with people from 8 different countries, so we hosted a culture day where we talked about where we're from and shared food from home. Summertime is also birthday season!
June 14-16, 2023
The lab attended the WEST conference - two virtual days, and one day in person at UBC. There were great talks, and we met new friends and old ones. Presenters from the lab had great success in the awards - Hanieh Shakeri won the best poster, Soobin Yim won the People's Choice poster, and Ramis Rafay won runner up for Best Presentation in the Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology Session I. We celebrated the winners with ice cream.
The lab attended the WEST conference - two virtual days, and one day in person at UBC. There were great talks, and we met new friends and old ones. Presenters from the lab had great success in the awards - Hanieh Shakeri won the best poster, Soobin Yim won the People's Choice poster, and Ramis Rafay won runner up for Best Presentation in the Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology Session I. We celebrated the winners with ice cream.
May 31, 2023
The lab had a picnic in downtown Vancouver to celebrate summer and welcome two new lab members - Manjot Sidhu and Marcus Nordstrand. Our spikeball skills are improving
The lab had a picnic in downtown Vancouver to celebrate summer and welcome two new lab members - Manjot Sidhu and Marcus Nordstrand. Our spikeball skills are improving
April 25, 2023
The lab was awarded a New Frontiers in Research Fund Exploration Grant! This is a two-year, $250,000 project called "Innovating greenhouse gas mitigation using aeromicrobiology: Microbes as a sink for methane and other atmospheric pollutants". We will look into the distribution of methanotrophs in the atmosphere, and examine different types of atmospheric transformations that may occur using metagenomics. We are then collaborating with UBC atmospheric chemist Dr. Nadine Borduas-Dedekind's group to look at metabolic activity by methanotrophs under atmospheric conditions. As part of this project, the Fowler lab is looking for a postdoctoral fellow to join the lab.
The lab was awarded a New Frontiers in Research Fund Exploration Grant! This is a two-year, $250,000 project called "Innovating greenhouse gas mitigation using aeromicrobiology: Microbes as a sink for methane and other atmospheric pollutants". We will look into the distribution of methanotrophs in the atmosphere, and examine different types of atmospheric transformations that may occur using metagenomics. We are then collaborating with UBC atmospheric chemist Dr. Nadine Borduas-Dedekind's group to look at metabolic activity by methanotrophs under atmospheric conditions. As part of this project, the Fowler lab is looking for a postdoctoral fellow to join the lab.
February 28, 2023
There was a major snowfall last night, so campus was closed for SNOW DAY! We went back to the COVID-style zoom lab meeting this week. Thanks Ramis for the photo.
February 13, 2023
A special issue of the journal Interface Focus focusing on 'Microbial Ecology for Engineering Biology' and edited by Jane and Tom Curtis (Newcastle) has been released (this is Part 1/2)! The Royal Society wrote a blog post about this special issue. The issue includes an editorial about the importance of a cultural shift in academia to improve progress in the development of new technologies that will solve the very real challenges our society faces. It also includes a paper co-authored by Jane on the community assembly processes of biofilms of different thicknesses in nitrifying MBBRs. Find the author accepted manuscript in the Publications section of this website. Check out the full issue at the link above to see the other exciting papers that contributors wrote!
January 4, 2023
Welcome to new lab members. Josephine Huynh and Ronak Salamat have joined as new undergraduate members, and Soobin Yim started her MSc as part of the NSERC CREATE for Water and Sanitation in low resource contexts
There was a major snowfall last night, so campus was closed for SNOW DAY! We went back to the COVID-style zoom lab meeting this week. Thanks Ramis for the photo.
February 13, 2023
A special issue of the journal Interface Focus focusing on 'Microbial Ecology for Engineering Biology' and edited by Jane and Tom Curtis (Newcastle) has been released (this is Part 1/2)! The Royal Society wrote a blog post about this special issue. The issue includes an editorial about the importance of a cultural shift in academia to improve progress in the development of new technologies that will solve the very real challenges our society faces. It also includes a paper co-authored by Jane on the community assembly processes of biofilms of different thicknesses in nitrifying MBBRs. Find the author accepted manuscript in the Publications section of this website. Check out the full issue at the link above to see the other exciting papers that contributors wrote!
January 4, 2023
Welcome to new lab members. Josephine Huynh and Ronak Salamat have joined as new undergraduate members, and Soobin Yim started her MSc as part of the NSERC CREATE for Water and Sanitation in low resource contexts
November 2, 2022
The Fowler lab won first place in the wild card category of the SFU Biology Department 2022 Photo Contest. This image shows lab members testing out a new core sampler built by Undergraduate student Andy Liyang at Barnet Marine Park. From left: Ramis, Soobin, Andy, Hanieh. See all the winners here
October 26, 2022
The lab published a new paper in collaboration with Jorge Rodriguez's group at Khalifa University. This is the second part of a story on glucose fermentation by natural microbial communities and focuses on strategies for increasing chain elongation and valerate production during fermentation
The Fowler lab won first place in the wild card category of the SFU Biology Department 2022 Photo Contest. This image shows lab members testing out a new core sampler built by Undergraduate student Andy Liyang at Barnet Marine Park. From left: Ramis, Soobin, Andy, Hanieh. See all the winners here
October 26, 2022
The lab published a new paper in collaboration with Jorge Rodriguez's group at Khalifa University. This is the second part of a story on glucose fermentation by natural microbial communities and focuses on strategies for increasing chain elongation and valerate production during fermentation
October 7, 2022
Undergraduate students Soobin Yim and Andy Liyang received their Bachelors degrees!
September 2022
ISS student Soobin Yim successfully defended her Bachelor thesis
Undergraduate students Soobin Yim and Andy Liyang received their Bachelors degrees!
September 2022
ISS student Soobin Yim successfully defended her Bachelor thesis
August 29, 2022
Hanieh, Ramis and Jane attended the Personal Cloud Chemistry Colloquium at UBC hosted by Dr. Nadine Borduas-Dedekind. Jane gave a talk on the interactions that humans have with microbes in air and water. Other speakers included Dr. Borduas-Dedekind (UBC Chemistry), Dr. Chris Carlsten (UBC Medicine) and Dr. Michael Koehle (UBC Kinesiology).
August 14-19, 2022
Jane attended the ISME conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, She presented a talk entitled "Mass effects under the microscope: A key archetype in biological treatment systems?" and was a panelist in a Roundtable on 'What advancements are necessary to predict and control
microbiomes?' hosted by Mohit Verma and Roland Wilhelm from Purdue
University.
July 2022
PhD students Ramis Rafay and Hanieh Shakeri Moghaddam passed their candidacy exams!
June 12, 2022
The lab went for a bike ride around Stanley Park together. Thanks for planning, Soobin!
Hanieh, Ramis and Jane attended the Personal Cloud Chemistry Colloquium at UBC hosted by Dr. Nadine Borduas-Dedekind. Jane gave a talk on the interactions that humans have with microbes in air and water. Other speakers included Dr. Borduas-Dedekind (UBC Chemistry), Dr. Chris Carlsten (UBC Medicine) and Dr. Michael Koehle (UBC Kinesiology).
August 14-19, 2022
Jane attended the ISME conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, She presented a talk entitled "Mass effects under the microscope: A key archetype in biological treatment systems?" and was a panelist in a Roundtable on 'What advancements are necessary to predict and control
microbiomes?' hosted by Mohit Verma and Roland Wilhelm from Purdue
University.
July 2022
PhD students Ramis Rafay and Hanieh Shakeri Moghaddam passed their candidacy exams!
June 12, 2022
The lab went for a bike ride around Stanley Park together. Thanks for planning, Soobin!
June 9, 2022
The lab was awarded an NSERC CREATE grant on ‘Water and Sanitation for Low Resource Contexts’. This project is led by Caetano Dorea at UVic, and Jane is a co-PI along with 9 other researchers from across Canada. This grant will provide funding for graduate student training in WASH for the next six years.
NSERC announcement | Story in Saanich News.
June 2, 2022
The lab went to the beach for lab meeting today to test out the new core sampler that undergraduate student Andy Liyang made. This resulted in several hilarious videos and we have clear issues to troubleshoot with the sampler. Some members of the lab played ultimate frisbee for the first time ever!
The lab was awarded an NSERC CREATE grant on ‘Water and Sanitation for Low Resource Contexts’. This project is led by Caetano Dorea at UVic, and Jane is a co-PI along with 9 other researchers from across Canada. This grant will provide funding for graduate student training in WASH for the next six years.
NSERC announcement | Story in Saanich News.
June 2, 2022
The lab went to the beach for lab meeting today to test out the new core sampler that undergraduate student Andy Liyang made. This resulted in several hilarious videos and we have clear issues to troubleshoot with the sampler. Some members of the lab played ultimate frisbee for the first time ever!
March 29, 2022
Jane and Tom Curtis finally held their long-awaited Theo Murphy conference on ‘Microbial Ecology for Engineering Biology’ hosted by the Royal Society in Oxfordshire, UK. The conference was a refreshing change from zoom-based conferences with plenty of interactions and discussion with scientists from disciplines ranging from theoretical ecology to environmental engineering, biophysics and geotechnical engineering. We are very excited to see the new research collaborations and other outcomes that arose from this meeting.
Royal society link
Jane and Tom Curtis finally held their long-awaited Theo Murphy conference on ‘Microbial Ecology for Engineering Biology’ hosted by the Royal Society in Oxfordshire, UK. The conference was a refreshing change from zoom-based conferences with plenty of interactions and discussion with scientists from disciplines ranging from theoretical ecology to environmental engineering, biophysics and geotechnical engineering. We are very excited to see the new research collaborations and other outcomes that arose from this meeting.
Royal society link
March 10, 2022
New paper in collaboration with Jorge Rodriguez’s research group at Khalifa University in UAE. In this work we tested the upper limits of substrate concentrations during fermentation, and found that the microbial communities adapted to this by producing longer chain fatty acids.
See the paper here
August 2021
Jane received funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation to fill the lab with all kinds of great tools like a flow cytometer, automation systems, a qPCR machine, bioreactors and field equipment!
See the news article here
July 23, 2021
The lab held a potluck as its first social event to celebrate the arrival (and end of quarantine period) for our new grad students, Ramis and Hanieh!
New paper in collaboration with Jorge Rodriguez’s research group at Khalifa University in UAE. In this work we tested the upper limits of substrate concentrations during fermentation, and found that the microbial communities adapted to this by producing longer chain fatty acids.
See the paper here
August 2021
Jane received funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation to fill the lab with all kinds of great tools like a flow cytometer, automation systems, a qPCR machine, bioreactors and field equipment!
See the news article here
July 23, 2021
The lab held a potluck as its first social event to celebrate the arrival (and end of quarantine period) for our new grad students, Ramis and Hanieh!
July 16, 2021
The lab’s first PhD students, Hanieh Shakeri and Ramis Rafay have finally arrived in Canada and are free from quarantine! It was so great to finally meet them in person, and I’m so excited about the work they will do.
The lab’s first PhD students, Hanieh Shakeri and Ramis Rafay have finally arrived in Canada and are free from quarantine! It was so great to finally meet them in person, and I’m so excited about the work they will do.
August- January 2020
Finally got to access the lab post-COVID it is now cleaned up and ready for action… now I just need to wait for the students.
Finally got to access the lab post-COVID it is now cleaned up and ready for action… now I just need to wait for the students.
April 2020
Jane was awarded an NSERC Discovery Grant on ‘Managing microbial communities with functional ecology’ to work on the microbial ecology of the drinking water microbiome.
Jane was awarded an NSERC Discovery Grant on ‘Managing microbial communities with functional ecology’ to work on the microbial ecology of the drinking water microbiome.
Our lab is located on the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
The picture showcasing SFU is copyright Simon Fraser University.
The picture showcasing SFU is copyright Simon Fraser University.
