Dr. Olivia Wilkins leads the Plant Systems Biology research group at the University of Manitoba. She received her PhD from the University of Toronto in 2010. From 2011 to 2015, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Genomics and Systems Biology at New York University. In 2015, she was a Visiting Scientist at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. In 2013, she was awarded a Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development Award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2016, she joined the Faculty at McGill University, and in 2019 she joined the Faculty at the University of Manitoba. She is an Associate Editor at Genome (Canadian Science Publishing). She is also a Core Network Participant in the Plant Cell Atlas. 

Sean is interested in how plant cells perceive and process information about their environment. His thesis focuses on using gene regulatory network prediction to understand spatial responses to drought across the rice leaf. When he’s not in the lab, you can catch him on his patio with a book and his cat Niffler.

​Zahra is interested in identifying genes and pathways related to metabolites that assist plants during abiotic and biotic stresses through single-cell RNA and spatial sequencing techniques. In her free time, she studies criminology.

Anna is interested in interactions between plant roots and microbial inoculants, aiming to unveil the mysteries of plant-microbe symbiosis. Her thesis focuses on high throughput identification of microbes exhibiting plant growth-promoting activity and determining the most effective crop-inoculant pairs. Furthermore she will focus on multi-scale genomic analysis of the early plant-inoculant interactions. In her free time, she enjoys immersing herself in nature and indulging in hiking adventures.

Chi is interested in the high-throughput identification of microbial inoculants with plant growth promoting properties. Chi aims to apply and expand her knowledge in microbiology to determine the inoculants that can increase crop yields, to elucidate the plant-microbe interactions, and to learn more about plant biology. Outside of research, Chi enjoys cooking, going to concerts and comedy shows, and relaxing with her cat Shallot.

Ni is a Masters student interested in plant-microbe interactions, particularly in how microbes can enhance plant growth and health. Outside of academics, Ni enjoys hiking in nature and spending time with her cat, Tibbers. 

Elisa is a fourth year biochemistry student with an interest in post-translational modification as regulators of gene expression.

Obaid is a fourth-year undergraduate project student interested in analyzing the effects of hydraulic stressors on rice developmental pathways using scRNA-seq data. Outside the lab, Obaid enjoys exploring forests, foraging for mushrooms.