Jesse Shapiro was a postdoctoral fellow from 2011 to 2013. During his time in the lab, he studied the evolutionary genomics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Lassa virus. Dr. Shapiro sees his greatest accomplishments during his tenure as collaborating with brilliant scientists and advising the next generation of brilliant scientists.
Following his time in the lab, he joined the Université de Montréal as a Research Chair in Microbial Evolutionary Genomics. He is now an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in the Genome Centre at McGill University.
The Shapiro lab’s research tracks evolving microbial populations in real time, using whole-genome and whole-community DNA sequencing to understand their evolution and predict how they adapt to changing environments. This work encompasses freshwaters subject to seasonal cyanobacterial blooms, the human gut during cholera infections, the evolution and ecology of antibiotic resistance, and semi-natural mesocosms at LEAP. The Shapiro lab has helped elucidate the origins of bacterial species, leading to a more unified species concept across domains of life, and has developed genome-wide association study (GWAS) methods tailored for bacteria. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they also collaborated with the Quebec Public Health department to sequence SARS-CoV-2 genomes for the purposes of phylogenetic analysis and molecular dating to learn more about viral introduction and spread in Canada.
Check out the Shapiro lab here!
“The Sabeti lab is the ideal balance between being able to run your own mini lab while at the same time feeling very supported. Pardis creates and environment where postdocs can find the collaborators and connections needed for their projects.”