People

Kewin joined the group of Professor Patrick Cai in 2019 as a postdoctoral research associate. He performed his PhD at the University Aix-Marseille, France, under the supervision of Prof. Jean-Paul Bourdineaud and Dr. Christelle Adam-Guillermin, aiming at integrating the epigenetic response in the field of radioecotoxicology. He then joined in 2017 the research team lead by Dr. Jean-Paul di Rago, France, to work on the nuclear relocation of mitochondrial genes in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
His current research aims at implementing a fully synthetic, size-reduced and functional mitochondrial genome in S. cerevisiae by removing the presumably non-essential inter- and intragenic sequences, representing more than 80% of the mitochondrial genome size. Kewin truly believes that mitochondria play a central role in eukaryotic cell’s adaptive capabilities and evolution.
In his spare time, Kewin enjoys learning about psychology, playing guitar and cooking.

Mark joined the Cai Lab in 2022 as a computational post-doc. He completed his PhD at Queen’s University Belfast, under the supervision of Professor Paulo Prodohl, which entailed a Population Genomics approach to managing European oyster populations. Mark’s interests are in computational tools to assist the design-build-test-learn cycles of synthetic biology and genomics projects. Mark enjoys cycling, reading and watching science-fiction.

Ravi joined the group of Professor Patrick Cai in 2023 as a postdoctoral research associate. He finished his PhD from University of Aberdeen, UK under the supervision of Professor Ian Stansfield, working on transcriptional regulation of tRNAs and translational elongation factor EEF2A in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. He then joined the lab of Dr. Yulia Yuzenkova in 2021 as a postdoctoral research associate at Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Newcastle University where he worked on NAD+ capped RNA in E.coli and its role in regulating transcriptional and translational efficiency. His current research aims at engineering of human artificial chromosomes and application of tRNA neochromosomes in regulating translational efficiency. In his free time, he likes capturing moments and places through photography.

Ryan joined the lab as a post-doctoral research associate in 2024. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Medical Sciences with an honors specialization in Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences from the University of Western Ontario in 2017. During his undergraduate years, he worked in an entomology lab, studying the evolution of moths, but also worked in a pizzeria, as a supplement salesman, and in a General Motors car factory. He then pursued a PhD in the Biochemistry department, focusing on the development of genetic tools for microbes, algae, and yeasts. During his PhD, he published papers concerning mitochondrial genome engineering, microbial chassis, improved DNA delivery methods and development of antifungals. For this work he was awarded the prestigious Alexander Graham Bell Canadian Graduate Scholarship and received his doctorate in 2023.

Ryan’s current research interests involve utilising synthetic genomics to create bottom-up platforms for high-throughput genome engineering to address important global challenges, such as creating future drugs to combat antimicrobial resistance.

Outside of the lab, Ryan is a retired professional gamer. He enjoys weightlifting, backpacking, and reading a wide range of books — from “Autobiography of a Yogi” to “The History of Western Philosophy” to “Musashi” — and exploring forgotten scientific manuscripts and textbooks.

Ana joined the lab as a post-doctoral research associate in 2024. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil) and her MSc and PhD in genetics from the same institution, focusing on wildlife genetics and forensic genetics. As part of her PhD, she spent a year in the lab of Prof. George Church at Harvard University. Upon completing her PhD, Ana returned to the Church Lab as a postdoctoral research fellow to work primarily on genome editing and DNA repair pathways.
In her free time, she enjoys traveling, making art, and spending time with animals and plants.