The Research Team
Dr. Joerg Overhage, Principal Investigator
Joerg is an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow and an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Sciences. His research group uses a combination of functional genomics, metabolomics, biochemical and microbiology techniques to study antimicrobial resistance and chronic biofilm infections. He studied microbiology at the University of Muenster (Germany) and undertook postdoctoral research at Massey University (New Zealand), UBC (Vancouver) and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (Germany). In 2010, he started his research group at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT, Germany) and relocated to Carleton University in 2017. He has published over 65 peer-reviewed journal and review articles and filled 3 patent applications.
Graduate students
BHSc Madison Adams
Madison completed her Bachelor’s of Health Sciences with a Concentration in Biomedical Sciences and a Minor in Biology here at Carleton University in April 2023 and is now extending her undergraduate thesis research in her PhD's degree. The focus of her research is to study the oxidative stress responses of Pseudomonas aeruginosa against reactive chlorine species (RCS), including hypochlorous acid—the active ingredient in household bleach and an immune-derived antimicrobial compound. Her work involves various molecular and microbiology techniques such as biofilm modelling, functional genomics, and advanced microscopic imaging. A better understanding of P. aeruginosa RCS stress responses would provide novel insights into the nature of bacterial stress responses, mechanisms of virulence and antimicrobial resistance, and potential intervention biotargets for the prevention/treatment of numerous healthcare-associated infections.
BHSc Megan Montgomery (Together with Dr. Edana Cassol)
Megan graduated from Carleton University in April 2024 with a Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) degree, concentrating in Biomedical Sciences. During her undergraduate studies, she completed an Honours Thesis examining dual-species biofilms formed by P. aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis—two bacterial species commonly co-isolated from chronic wounds. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Health Sciences at Carleton University. Her research, co-supervised by Dr. Edana Cassol, focuses on macrophage–biofilm interactions, with particular emphasis on dual-species E. faecalis–P. aeruginosa biofilms. To investigate these interactions, she is developing an in vitro three-dimensional chronic wound model containing macrophages and biofilm-state bacterial cells. This model will be used to characterize live biofilm–macrophage interactions through flow cytometry, cytokine quantification via ELISA, and RNA sequencing.
BSc Ada Dam (Together with Dr. Edana Cassol)
Ada completed her BSc in Biology with a Concentration in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Carleton University, where she developed a strong interest in microbiology and human health. Her Master’s research focuses on characterizing the chronic wound microbiome, particularly pressure injuries, to understand how bacterial communities affect wound chronicity and delayed healing. She uses Oxford Nanopore sequencing for metagenomic analyses, complemented by fluorescence microscopy and culture-based methods to study bacterial diversity, resistance genes, and the spatial organization of wound pathogens. These approaches aim to improve understanding of how bacterial communities may influence chronic wound healing outcomes (together with Dr. Edana Cassol).
BSc and BEd Bella Johnston
Bella holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and a Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University. During her undergraduate studies, she developed a strong interest in antimicrobial resistance while conducting research with the company CARB-X. She is now continuing to explore this topic in the Overhage Lab, where she studies the priority pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Her project focuses on cyclic-di-GMP, a near-ubiquitous secondary messenger that regulates many important bacterial processes, with the goal of clarifying its role in resistance to HOCl-mediated oxidative stress. She ultimately hopes to help translate these findings into new treatment and prevention strategies.
Undergraduate students
Jillian Andrews, BHSc summer student
Jillian is a 3rd year undergraduate student in the Bachelor of Health Sciences program, with a concentration in biomedical science and a minor in biology. She is an NSERC URSA recipient whose research focuses on characterizing the Tiny Earth collection of antibiotic-producing soil bacterial isolates and investigating DAPG-producing Pseudomonas species within this collection.
Overhage Lab Alumni
Arianna Lemmo, undergraduate BHSc thesis student
Favour Okarike, undergraduate BHSc thesis student
Lauren Dupius, undergraduate BHSc thesis student
Nazanin Nasiri, HST graduate student (together with Drs. Cassol and Dang)
Zainab Adebayo, undergraduate BHSc thesis student
Sofia Chávez, Mitacs Globalink Research Internship
Amanda Pace, HSTP graduate student (together with Drs. Cassol and Dang)
Rayhane Mejlaoui, MSc graduate student (together with Dr. Edana Cassol)
Waleska Stephanie da Cruz Nizer, PhD graduate student
Kira Allison, MSc graduate student(together with Dr. Edana Cassol)
Hailey Mosher, undergraduate BHSc thesis student
Larissa Caroline de Jesus, Mitacs Globalink Research Internship
Kylen Ridyard, undergraduate BHSc thesis student
Carole Beaulieu, lab technician
Fahad Kabir, MSc graduate student (together with Dr. Edana Cassol)
Zoya Versey, MSc graduate student (together with Dr. Edana Cassol)
Sandra Zigic, undergraduate BHSc thesis student
Vasily Inkovskiy, undergraduate BHSc thesis student
Nasif Choudhury, undergraduate BHSc thesis student
Sarah Bickley-Gardner, undergraduate BHSc thesis student
Mariam Elsawy, undergraduate BHSc student
Darien Klein, undergraduate BHSc thesis student
Claire Chapman, undergraduate BHSc student
Benjamin Voss, MSc graduate student (Karlsruhe Institute or Technology, KIT)
Sina Schoenwaelder, PhD graduate student (KIT)
Marie Eckstein, MSc graduate student (KIT)
Jan Herzer, PhD graduate student (KIT)
Felix Ritzmann, MSc graduate student (KIT)
Janine Strehmel, PhD graduate student (KIT)
Linda Guedemann, undergraduate and MSc graduate student (KIT)
Martina Rueger, undergraduate and MSc graduate student (KIT)
Nikola Strempel, PhD graduate students (KIT)
Beatrix Tettmann, PhD graduate students (KIT)
Frauke Lämmer, MSc graduate student (KIT)
Julia Ehrmann, undergraduate student (KIT)
Jaana Westmeier, undergraduate student (KIT)
Jacqueline Mann, undergraduate student (KIT)
Jasmin Vowinkel, MSc graduate student (KIT)
Nadine Waeber, MSc graduate student (KIT)
Anke Neidig, lab technician (KIT)