People
Graeme Howe received his Hon. B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Toronto. During his undergraduate studies, he had the opportunity to work with Prof. Dwight Seferos, learning to use computation to predict the properties and reactivities of small molecules. Graeme remained in Toronto to carry out his doctoral studies with Prof. Ron Kluger, studying the mechanisms of decarboxylation of thiamin-derived intermediates and aromatic acids. After receiving his doctorate in 2016, Graeme traveled south of the border to use physical organic chemistry to the study the mechanisms of unusual phosphotransferases under the supervision of Prof. Wilfred van der Donk at UIUC. Graeme began his independent career in the Department of Chemistry at Queen’s University in July of 2019.
Dr. Maria Cleveland was born in Moscow, Russia and lived concurrently between Sudbury, Ontario and Moscow, Russia until she graduated high school. Subsequently, she completed her undergraduate degree at Queen's University with a Major in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. She then pursued her P.h.D. in Chemistry at the University of British Columbia under the supervision on Dr. Harry Brumer working on biomass valorization using copper radical oxidases. After completing her degree in 2021, Dr. Cleveland moved back to Kingston to pursue her postdoctoral work in the Department of Chemistry at Queens under the guidance of three supervisors: Dr. Ross, Dr. Howe and Dr. Zechel. Dr. Cleveland’s work focussed on marine natural products discovery and enzymatic plastic degradation.
Dr. Jaeick Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea. He completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Korea University, majoring in Food and Biotechnology and enzymology, respectively. He then pursued a Ph.D. in the institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (U.K.) under the supervision of Dr. Christopher Dennison, investigating the role of bacterial cytosolic copper storage proteins. After receiving his Ph.D. in 2020, Dr. Lee returned to South Korea to undertake postdoctoral research in the Department of Food and Biotechnology at Korea University under the supervision of Dr. Young‑Wan Kim. His work focused on developing colorimetric detection assays using bacterial amino acid decarboxylases and producing water‑soluble glucosylated flavonoids using thermostable α‑glucosidase mutants. He subsequently moved to Kingston, Canada, to pursue a second postdoctoral position in the Department of Chemistry at Queen’s University under the supervision of Dr. Graeme Howe and Dr. David Zechel. His research has focused on the investigation and characterization of thermostable plastic‑degrading enzymes.
Zhenyu Hu is a Ph.D. candidate in the Howe Group. Originally hailing from Wuhan, China, he received his B. Eng degree in Pharmaceutical Engineering from Wuhan University of Technology. During the first two years of his undergrad, he had the privilege of leading two national-funded undergraduate projects in biological fermentation focusing on converting CO2 into bioplastic under the supervision of Dr. Tian Zhang and Dr. Pier-Luc Tremblay. Later, he worked with Dr. Huali Qin to construct indolizine-containing aliphatic sulfonyl fluorides. He then dedicated his graduation thesis to pharmacology, under the mentorship of Dr. Kai Yang, where he explored the relationship between the Pannexin channel and Parkinson's disease in mice. His research journey continues in the Howe Group, where he's involved in studying the enzymatic degradation of PET. He's excited to apply his diverse research experiences to contribute to future projects. When he's not doing experiments, you'll find him singing, cooking, and staying active by playing badminton. His current biggest wish is to secure a chance to attend Adele's concert.
Nick Smith lived in Kanata, Ontario, for his whole life before attending Queen's for a BScH degree in biology. He completed an undergraduate thesis project with Dr. George diCenzo (Queen's Biology), who is co-supervising his O project. Nick is interested in applying biochemistry and genetics to solve global challenges. Specifically, he is working to develop biotechnological tools that leverage symbiotes for legume growth, helping reduce pollution and increase agricultural outputs. Outside of Chernoff Hall or the Biosciences Complex, Nick enjoys reading, painting, and lifting weights.
Gaia Rota was born and raised in Bergamo, Italy. She received her Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology and her Master's degree in Biology-Ecology at Milano Bicocca University (Italy). In her undergraduate career, Gaia worked on an ecotoxicological project consisting in defining the environmental impact assessment of chemical compounds found in wastewater. During her Master's degree she spent a year at Thompson Rivers University, working on PFASs biodegradation under the supervision of Prof. Jonathan D. Van Hamme. She recently joined the Howe and diCenzo (Queen's Biology) Labs as a PhD student, working for the Open Plastic project on the identification and characterization of nylon-degrading enzymes. Outside the lab, you can find Gaia cooking for hours, petting every cat and dog she can find around or joining a whale-watching cruise.
Mikaela Coleman grew up in Monkland, Ontario before attending Queen’s to complete her BScH in Environmental Chemistry. Mikaela’s research experience began at the Royal Military College, where she worked under Dr. Iris Koch as part of the NSERC USRA program. There, she gained experience in the fields of environmental and analytical chemistry, studying arsenic speciation in soil. In the summer of 2024, Mikaela joined the Howe Lab to simultaneously begin her undergraduate thesis project and accelerated MSc degree. Her work in the Howe Lab involves the study of enzymatic nylon degradation. Outside of the lab, Mikaela loves reading, yoga, and practicing her cooking skills.
Josh Innis - Biography coming soon!
Erin Griffiths - Biography coming soon!
María Fernanda Flores Muro - Biography coming soon!
Baoyan Liu was born and raised in China. She holds a master's degree in evolutionary biology, where she began her formal research training in phylogeny and evolution. Her interdisciplinary background combines wet-lab experimentation with physics-based computational modeling. She has experience in enzyme-directed evolution as well as computational protein design and mechanistic studies using Rosetta, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and quantum chemical (QM) calculations. Baoyan is also expanding her expertise through advanced training in machine learning for bioengineering applications. As a Ph.D. student, she aims to integrate her background in evolution, computation, chemistry, and biology to advance the design of nylon-degrading enzymes. Outside the lab, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and spending time in nature.
Avery Foster is from Toronto, Ontario, and moved to Kingston, Ontario, to complete her Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Chemistry with a minor in Biology at Queen's University. She completed her undergraduate degree in 2026. During her undergraduate studies, Avery joined the Howe Lab to pursue her undergraduate research project, where she, along with her mentor Gaia, worked to engineer a novel nylon-degrading enzyme to advance a sustainable nylon-6 recycling method. Through this experience, she developed a strong interest in enzymology and returned to the Howe Lab to pursue a Master of Science in Chemistry. Outside of the lab, Avery enjoys running, reading, spending time with animals, and attempting to improve her crafting skills.
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