News
July, 2023: Cameron and Kanchi receive QEII and OGS scholarships respectively, and Cameron transfers to the PhD program!
Dec 5, 2022: Congrats to Liam McCarthy on his Award of Excellence for PhD studies for 2022! Congrats Liam!
July 7, 2022: Liam’s paper is live on mBio! Check it out: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.00390-22
June 2022: Kanchi completes the CSHL Advanced Bacterial Genetics Class:
May 24-25, 2022: The lab attended the OISB retreat at the NAV Centre in Cornwall. Kanchi was selected for a platform talk and both Liam and Cameron presented excellent posters about their work on polyphosphate and protein acetylation, respectively!
April 29, 2022: Kanchi Baijal selected for 2022 Ontario Graduate Scholarship !
April 18, 2022: Kanchi Baijal selected for the prestigious CSHL Course in Advanced Bacterial Genetics!!!!
April 18, 2022: Our undergraduate TMM students Philipe and Melanie gave excellent poster presentations. Dalia ends her UROP project that uncovered new details about Gcn5 function. Selin ends her honours project after discovering a new regulator of polyP metabolism.
April 1, 2022: No fooling! Liam McCarthy was recognized as the top talk at PolyP day Spring 2022! Thanks to the organizers and congrats Liam!
March 9, 2022: Amanda Bentley-DeSousa wins for 2021 OISB Paper of the Year for the PhD Category! (A Tie with Shirley Qui from the Côté lab). Congrats to both!
February 4, 2022: Liam’s latest work on polyP online now: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.02.478728v1
Jan 14, 2022: Welcome to MSc student Cameron, and TMM rotation students Phil and Melanie!
November 15, 2021: We welcome Dalia Frank Kamenetski to the lab as a UROP project student!
Sept 23, 2021: Our work on polyP synthesis is out in peer-reviewed form in mBio.
September 9, 2021: Kanchi and Liam begin their work as instructors for the TMM Phage Hunters class! The students have become the teachers!
September 2021: Sarah McKeague ends her NSERC summer work in the lab - Sarah discovered new pathways related to polyphosphate biology that we will continue to explore. Look for her poster at the Faculty of Medicine Research Day!
September 2021: Amanda’s final paper accepted for publication in mBio - Look for the link soon!
August 3, 2021: New Commentary from Kanchi Baijal published in mBio https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mBio.01477-21
June 2021: Kanchi and Liam presented at the CSMB2021 Meeting on Protein homeostasis (Held Virtually)
May 27, 2021: Bittersweet day as Dr. Amanda Bentley-DeSousa moves on from the lab to a PDF position in Shawn Ferguson’s Lab at Yale University. Check out our “Graduates” page for highlights from Amanda’s time in the lab.
May 17, 2021: Kanchi Baijal publishes an awesome review focused on mammalian polyphosphorylation. Congrats Kanchi! https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bies.202100058
May 3, 2021: Sarah McKeague, an NSERC USRA Award Recipient begins her research project with the Downey Lab - Welcome Sarah!
April 2021: Liam McCarthy was awarded prestigious NSERC CGS-D award for graduate studies.
April 22, 2021: Amanda-Bentley-DeSousa defends her PhD thesis! Off to a postdoc with Shawn Ferguson at Yale! And her Thesis was nominated for a prize! Read here final paper here https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.15.434853v1
Funding update April 2021: The lab was recently awarded a CIHR Project Grant related to the biology of polyphosphate in bacteria, and an NSERC Discovery Grant related to the study protein lysine acetylation. We were also awarded an NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplement, that will allow for recruitment of additional trainees to jumpstart the project. The ability to secure these grants is due to the hard work of talented trainees in the lab.
February 19th, 2021: Our former PDF Dr. Emma Bondy-Chorney was awarded Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology (OISB) PDF Paper of the Year for her work published in Cell Reports in late 2020. Congrats Emma! If you recall, Liam McCarthy won for top MSc paper for 2019, so we have a good streak going! Who will it be for 2021?
January 2021: Check out our latest polyphosphate review by Alix Denoncourt: https://rdcu.be/cdkuK
January 2021: Dr. Onyekachi Ononye has joined the lab as a PDF from after a PhD at IUPUI. Onyekachi brings a wealth of experience in enzymatic assays, protein purification, and biochemistry that will make an important impact on our research program!
On October 23th, 2020: Rawan Nasser did a fantastic job defending her MSc Thesis! Congrats Rawan! See Rawan’s contributions published in bioRxiv here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.01.056192v1 Also coming next week to a journal near you!
On October 19th, 2020: Dr. Downey will speak about his work and careers in science to TMM 3rd year students in the TMM3009 course! Jack (see lab pets) will co-host.
October 16, 2020: Former TMM rotation student Amy Dagenais won the poster award for the Faculty of Medicine Research Day for her work on PASK motifs in bacterial proteins! Congrats Amy! Also congrats to PhD students Liam and Kanchi for their fantastic posters as well.
October 16, 2020: Our new paper on polyP function in human cells was accepted for publication and will be published soon! Stay tuned!
August 31, 2020:
After resubmitting her paper on polyP function in human cells, Dr. Emma Bondy-Chorney has left the lab to take up an awesome research associate job at Health Canada. We wish Emma the very best in all of her future endeavours!
July 22, 2020:
Recent Review on GCN5 and PCAF targeting on non-histone substrates (Pre-proof from BBA: Gene Regulatory Mechanisms):
Check it out here
June 16th, 2020:
Downey Lab undergrad Shauna Han graduated from the TMM undergraduate program!
June 4, 2020:
Amanda Bentley-DeSousa presented her latest work at the Ontario Cell Biology Symposium! Great talk Amanda!
May 1, 2020:
A BIG congrats to our PI Dr. Michael Downey for receiving tenure at the University of Ottawa!
May 1, 2020:
Check out our Biorxiv preprint for our newest polyP in mammals paper!
A broad response to intracellular long-chain polyphosphate in human cells
April 24, 2020:
A HUGE CONGRATS to Downey lab member Liam McCarthy for successfully passing for transfer exam today to become a PhD candidate! We are extremely lucky to have such a talented student with us!
April 23, 2020:
A HUGE CONGRATS to Downey lab member Kanchi Baijal for successfully passing for transfer exam today to become a PhD candidate! We are very lucky to have such a talented student with us!
Feb 4, 2020:
A BIG congrats to the members of the Downey lab Liam McCarthy, Amanda Bentley-De Sousa, Alix Denoncourt, and past Downey lab members Yi‐Chieh Tseng and Matthew Gabriel, for winning the Paper of the Year Award (MSc) at the OISB Networking and Paper of the Year Awards 2020! Check our their winning paper:
Dec 4, 2019:
The Downey lab is so proud of our Award winners at the 2019 Faculty of Medicine Awards in Education! Congrats again Liam and Emma!
Nov 25, 2019:
The Downey lab has several AMAZING updates! A big congrats to several of Downey lab members for winning the following awards:
Emma Bondy-Chorney - Postdoc - 2019 Postdoctoral Fellow Leadership Award
Liam McCarthy – MSc Candidate - 2019 MSc Award of Excellence for Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Amanda Bentley-De Sousa - PhD Candidate - Best PhD talk award at Cellular and Molecular Medicine Research Day (Thursday October 24th)
Kanchi Baijal – MSc Candidate - Best MSc poster at Cellular and Molecular Medicine Research Day (Thursday October 24th)
June 12, 2019:
Downey lab PhD Candidate Amanda Bentley-De Sousa is having a great time at the CSHRF Canadian student Health Research Forum conference. Amazing students chosen from the top 5% students from institutes!
Update: Congrats to PhD Candidate Amanda Bentley-De Sousa for winning the silver prize for her poster at the CSHRF Canadian student Health Research Forum conference!
May 9, 2019:
We had such a great time at our 2nd Annual Downey Lab Science Day at York Street Public School! A big thanks to the students, teachers, and all the members of the Downey Lab!
May 6-7, 2019: The Downey lab had great time at the 2019 Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology Conference! A big CONGRATS to Downey Lab PhD Candidate Amanda Bentley-De Sousa for winning one of the best oral presentation prize and Downey lab postdoc Emma Bondy-Chorney for winning best postdoc poster prize.
May 1, 2019: A HUGE congrats to Downey Lab MSc student Liam McCarthy for winning 2nd place for best MSc poster at CMM Graduate Student Day.
April 1, 2019: The Downey lab has an immediate opening for a graduate student (PhD level preferred) or post-doc to study polyphosphate biology or lysine polyphosphorylation (a new PTM) in yeast or E. coli. Experience in biochemistry or bacterial genetics is an asset. Please email Dr. Michael Downey (mdowne2@uottawa.ca) to inquire.
March 30, 2019: A HUGE CONGRATS to Downey lab PhD Candidate Amanda Bentley-De Sousa for receiving a NSERC PSG D Doctoral Scholarship!
Dec 6, 2018: The Downey lab is extremely happy to congratulate Amanda Bentley-De Sousa (PhD Candidate) for winning the CMM PhD Award in Excellence!
Sept 19, 2018: The Downey lab is extremely happy to congratulate Anthony Rössl on the successful completion of his MSc in Molecular and Cellular Medicine defense. Anthony did an incredible job during his defense and the members of the Downey lab are very proud!
Aug 20, 2018: The Downey lab is extremely happy to congratulate Charlotte Holinier on the successful completion of her MSc in Molecular and Cellular Medicine defense. Charlotte did an amazing job during her defense and the members of the Downey lab are very proud! Charlotte is the first graduate student to complete her MSc from the Downey lab. Congrats!
July 31, 2018: Our postdoc Emma Bondy-Chorney had an amazing time at the 2018 Toronto RNA Enthusiasts' Day (TREnD) conference. Keynote speaker Dr. Geraldine Seydoux gave a great talk and so did all the trainees!
June 5, 2018: The Downey lab is super excited to welcome our our new students Rawan Nasser, Liam Mccarthy, and Kanchi Baijal.
June 3, 2018: A big congrats to our postdoc Emma Bondy-Chorney for receiving a Rare Disease Foundation and the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation (BCCHF) grant, of her proposal “Acetylation of NPC2 and its potential as a new therapeutic target in Niemann-Pick Disease”. This is the third Rare Disease Foundation grant the Downey lab has received.
May 2, 2018: A BIG CONGRATS to the Downey lab's Amanda Bentley-De Sousa (PhD Candidate) for winning second place in the UofO CMM Poster Day!
April 19, 2018: The Downey lab is excited to have our review about "Non-histone targets of KAT2A and KAT2B implicated in cancer biology" published in Biochem Cell Biol.
March 27, 2018: The Downey lab is so excited to have our latest publication in Cell Reports!
A BIG congrats to Amanda Bentley-De Sousa (PhD Candidate) for her first author paper in Cell Reports! Also, a big congrats to second author Charlotte Holinier (MSc Candidate) and contributing authors Emma Bondy-Chorney (postdoc), Yuka Sai, Jimmy Tseng (MSc Candidate), and Ada Christine Nwosu (PharmD) for this paper as well.
And we got the COVER of Cell Reports!
March 22, 2018: A big congrats to our postdoc Emma Bondy-Chorney for winning 1st place in the Cellular and Molecular Medicine category for her poster at the 10th Annual University of Ottawa Postdoctoral Research Day. This event was a huge success and we want to thank the uOttawa Postdoctoral Association (PDA) for organizing it.
March 2018: A big congrats to our postdoc Emma Bondy-Chorney for receiving an NSERC Postdoc Fellowship for her KAT2A splicing project!
March 3, 18: The Downey lab is excited to welcome the newest addition to our lab, Blessy Mikhail, a 3rd year TMM student.
Feb 23, 18: The Downey lab had an amazing time at York Street Public School today! The students did a great job helping us with our experiments. We build DNA models and extracted DNA from strawberries. We can't wait to visit again :)
Jan 2018: A big congrats to our PhD candidate Amanda and MSc student Charlotte for being awarded ASBMB travel awards for their upcoming conference!
Jan 2018: A big congrats to our postdoc Emma Bondy-Chorney for receiving a Uottawa PDF travel grant!
Dec 13, 2017: Big congrats to our post-doc Emma for receiving a Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) Travel Award! She is looking forward to attending the upcoming conference: Cancer Epigenetics: New Mechanisms, New Therapies.
Dec 13, 2017: A big win for our Masters student Anthony at the 4th Canadian Conference on Epigenetics! He took home a top poster prize! Way to go Anthony!
November 2017: The Downey lab is so excited to welcome members of the D'Amours Lab of uOttawa to join our lab meetings. Check out their lab info here:
October 31, 2017: Congrats our post-doc Emma Bondy-Chorney for winning the 2017 Best Thesis Award CMM!
October-November: The Downey lab is so excited to welcome The Russell Lab of uOttawa to our brand new Joint Lab meetings once a month. These joint lab meetings is a great way to form friendships and collaborations with other talented researchers here at uOttawa. Check out their website to see all the cool stuff they do!
October-November: A big CONGRATS to our MSc Student Anthony Rössl on his many Awards! These are really piling up 😊
Award for Excellence in Graduate Studies (2017)
Best Poster Presentation Award at 2nd uOttawa CCSB Conference (2017)
Taichman Award for best M.Sc. poster presentation (2017)
September 4: The Downey Lab welcomes our newest Honours Student Matt Gabriel!
September 13-16: Charlotte Holinier had a great time and learned a lot at the 2017 46th Science Writers and Communicators of Canada annual conference. Check out her efforts to increase the Downey Lab's online presence and communication at our Facebook and Instagram!
August 1, 2017: The Downey Lab says good-bye to our lab technician and friend Yuka Sai and summer student Jimmy Tseng. We wish Yuka all the best in her new career as a big-shot lawyer and we know Jimmy is going to be a very successful grad student. On the bright side though we welcome our new lab technician Alix Denoncourt! Check out our Good-Bye/Hello party pic!
June 11, 2017: It’s been a while since we have done a good update – here are the highlights:
The lab participated in the Relay for Life and the Walk for Muscular Dystrophy
The entire lab attended the CSMB2017 conference in Ottawa and presented their latest work!
Honours student Kevin Sanu completed his thesis and undergraduate degree
Anthony Rössl won first prize for his poster at CMM Poster Day
We received new funding from the JP Bickell Foundation and the Rare Disease Foundation. The Rare Disease Foundation grant was written by graduate student Amanda Bentley-DeSousa. Dr. Downey also received an Early Researcher Award from the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science.
Dr. Emma Bondy-Chorney joined the lab as a post-doc
Amanda Bentley-DeSousa passed her transfer exam to become the lab’s first PhD student!
Marie-Ève Dufor joined the lab as a TMM rotation student and summer student
September 11th, 2016: A few updates for the lab. First welcome to Charlotte Holinier, who will begin her MSc this September. Also welcome to Kevin Sanu, an honours student who will work on novel aspects of substrate targeting by histone acetyltransferases. Finally, our first paper from the lab is now online:
http://www.genetics.org/content/early/2016/08/15/genetics.116.193524.long
July 16th, 2016: The lab was recently awarded a CIHR 'Project Grant' for 5 years. This grant funds our work studying PTMs regulating cell growth. We are grateful for the support!
July 16th, 2016: Christine Nwosu will be leaving us to start a PharmD program at the University of Toronto. Taking over for Christine as our technician will be Yuka Sai (MSc uOttawa), who joins the lab at an exciting time! Congratulations to Christine and Welcome Yuka!
May 28, 2016: Anthony, Amanda, and Mike just returned from the Canadian Symposium on Telomeres and Genome Integrity in Calgary. Congrats to both Anthony and Amanda for fantastic posters! An extra shout-out to Amanda who won second place for her efforts!
The lab was also recently awarded a 'Microgrant' from the Rare Disease Foundation for work aimed at harnessing protein acetylation to modulate conserved pathways mutated in disease
April 9, 2016: Anthony Rössl a current honours student in the lab, was recently accepted into the Cellular and Molecular Medicine graduate program and will continue his work on regulators of protein acetylation as an MSc student in the lab! Congrats Anthony!
Amanda Bentley-DeSousa recently presented her MSc research at the CMM poster day.
Ahwon Jeong presented her work at the UROP poster session! Ahwon will carry out an NSERC summer studentship in the Chemistry Department.
The lab recently received funding from NSERC , CCSRI, and the National Ataxia Foundation to study basic and applied aspects of protein acetylation.
November 10, 2015: New Publication from our lab - everything you wanted to know about acetylation in yeast:
Michael Downey and Kristin Baetz: Building a KATalogue of acetyllysine targeting and function. Briefings in Functional Genomics. Online ahead of print.
October 29, 2015: Congratulations to Amanda Bentley-DeSousa who received an honourable mention for her poster at CMM Research Day. Great work Amanda!
August 28th, 2015: Congratulations to Yi-Chieh Tseng who won 3rd place for his Project Pitch entitled "Beyond Histone Deacetylation: New Functions of Sirtuins in Yeast" at the Connecting Young Minds conference at the University of Ottawa!
February 6, 2015: Mike welcomes the long awaited ULT freezer to the lab.
November 7, 2014: Our latest paper was just accepted! Lots of cool new pathways to explore in the world of acetylation.
Downey M, Johnson JR, Davey NE, Newton BW, Johnson TL, Galaang S, Seller CA, Krogan N, and Toczyski DP. (2014) Acetylome profiling reveals overlap in the regulation of diverse processes by sirtuins, Gcn5 and Esa1. Molecular and Cellular Proteomics. In press. Click on the paper for a link to the early online version of this work.
I established my own research group in November of 2014 at the University of Ottawa in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. The lab is already up and running and we are hard at work trying to understand how acetylation regulates our favourite pathways. I am looking for talented students (undergraduate and graduate) and post-docs to join my team. I aim to create an open and interactive lab environment and to establish ongoing collaborations with other research groups at uOttawa and internationally. Work in my group will employ diverse and cutting edge techniques to address high-impact questions in molecular biology and genetics.
Interested students should consult the CMM graduate program page:
Interested students should also contact the Cellular and Molecular Medicine website for application details.
Please contact me at mdowne2@uottawa.ca for further information.