Dr. Shawn Lewenza
Dr. Shawn Lewenza
Professor
Contact information
Email: slewenza@athabascau.ca
Phone:
My undergraduate BSc and graduate PhD degrees were completed in Microbiology, with a specialization in studying bacterial pathogens and how they cause disease. I did postdoctoral fellowships at the University of British Columbia, and the Institut Pasteur in Paris, France. My infectious disease research focussed on understanding how bacterial pathogens form biofilms that contribute to antibiotic resistance, immune evasion and chronic bacterial infections. We showed that extracellular DNA is much more than an extracellular matrix polymer that facilitates aggregate and biofilm formation. My lab demonstrated that eDNA can also induce the expression of many genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa that promote antibiotic resistance, evading neutrophil extracellular traps, and that ultimately support long-term survival during chronic infections.
Currently, we are focussed on environmental microbiology and studying the bacteria from oil sands process-affected water (OSPW). We have designed bacterial biosensors that detect naphthenic acids, one of the primary pollutants in the tailings ponds. These engineered microbes constitute a simple and sensitive biotechnology that can be used to detect naphthenic acids in water, but also as a rapid screening tool to identify microbes and genes required for naphthenic acid bioremediation. I am also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Calgary, where my basic research is carried out.
Research interests
- Microbiology
- biosensors
- gene regulation
- antibiotic resistance
- biofilms
- genomics
Educational credentials
- BSc University of Manitoba, Microbiology
- PhD University of Calgary, Bacterial Pathogenesis, Dr Pam Sokol
- PDF University of British Columbia, Dr Bob Hancock, Antibiotic Resistance, Genomics
- PDF Pasteur Institut, Dr Tony Pugsley, Protein Secretion, Membrane physiology
Professional affiliations
- University of Calgary, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Adjunct Professor
- Athabasca River Basin Research Institute (ARBRI), Member