A warm CBIOMES-welcome to new McNichol Group Research Technician Katherine Rutherford.
by Helen Hill for CBIOMES
Katherine is excited to join the CBIOMES group, working in the Microbial Ecology Lab with Jesse McNichol at Saint Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. Her academic background includes a BSc in Animal Science and an MSc in Plant Molecular Genetics, with most of her previous research experience rooted in agriculture and biology. She is currently completing a PhD in Biology at Dalhousie University (Halifax, NS), focusing on plant-pollinator interactions in and around blueberry fields.
As a research technician, her first project involves characterizing the microbial community of a euxinic marine basin located in the western arm of Whycocomagh Bay in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. She says, the plan is then to investigate the physiological responses of targeted microdiverse guilds—those mediating key biogeochemical processes such as sulfur and methane oxidation—to environmental stressors. The ultimate goal is to understand the resilience of these microbial functions in the face of large-scale environmental perturbations.
Story image: When she’s not in the lab Katherine enjoys reading, gardening, and spending time on her family farm!