Research Interests
functional metagenomics, synthetic biology, technology development
Education
Ph.D. Student in Molecular Biology (Sept. 2010 — present)
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
Thesis: Functional Metagenomics of the Human Gut Microbiome
Supervisor: Trevor C. Charles, Ph.D.
M.Sc. in Molecular Genetics (Sept. 2008 — Nov. 2010)
University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Thesis: A Phage Display System to Profile the DNA-Binding Specificities of C2H2 Zinc Fingers [T-Space]
Supervisor: Timothy R. Hughes, Ph.D.
B.Sc. in Honours Biomedical Sciences (Sept. 2004 — June 2008)
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
Cumulative GPA: 93%
Refereed Publications
K.N. Lam, H. van Bakel, A.G. Cote, A. van der Ven, and T.R. Hughes (2011). Sequence speci ficity is obtained from the majority of modular C2H2 zinc fi nger arrays. Nucleic Acids Research doi: 10.1093/nar/gkq1303 [PubMed]
M.A. Trainer, D.S. Capstick, A. Zachertowska, K.N. Lam, S.R.D. Clark and T.C. Charles (2009). Identifi cation and characterization of the intracellular poly-3-hydroxybutyrate depolymerase PhaZ of Sinorhizobium meliloti. BMC Microbiology 10: 92AA. [PubMed]
Hung, C. Yoon, N. Yeung, S. Leung, F. Mirrahimi, N. Xu, S. Nagaraj, T. Khiabani, N. Ngai, E.Sales de Andrade, T. Zhu, C. Lochovsky, J. Lukovich, J. Yang, C. Herriot, A. Tran, L. Chen, H. Kim,G. Ye, W.Y. Cheung, M. Yeung, K. Lam, K. Savisky, R. Puri, A. Mirrahimi, H. Sikder, A. Najmi,C.C. Qu, B. Ingalls and S. Davies (2007). The Cells-see-us cellular thermometer. IET Synthetic Biology 1: 79 [IEEE Xplore]
Acknowledgements in Publications
W.W. Navarre, S. B. Zou, H. Roy, J.L. Xie, A. Savchenko, A. Singer, E. Edvokimova, L.R. Prost, R. Kumar, M. Ibba, and F.C. Fang (2010). PoxA, YjeK, and Elongation Factor P Coordinately Modulate Virulence and Drug Resistance in Salmonella enterica. Molecular Cell 39: 209-221 [PubMed]
Seminars and Talks
Snoop Through Poop: Function-Based Metagenomics of the Human Gut Microbiome. Graduate Student Research Conference, University of Waterloo. April 25, 2012.
Exploring the DNA-binding specifi city of C2H2 zinc fingers. Department of Molecular Genetics Student Seminars, University of Toronto. March 2, 2010.
Validating the E ectiveness of pSA005 as an expression vector for use in Sinorhizobium meliloti. Biology 499 Colloquium, University of Waterloo. March 29, 2008.
Compucoli: A Biological Adder. Biology Seminar Series, University of Waterloo. February 5, 2008.
Compucoli: A Biological Half-Adder. International Genetically Engineered Machines Competition, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. November 3, 2007.
Poster Presentations
C. Manassieva, K.N. Lam, J. Cheng and T.C. Charles (2011). Functional Screening of Soil Metagenomic Libraries for Bacterial Conjugation Genes. Presented at the Argonne Soil Metagenomics Workshop. Bloomingdale, IL, USA.
K.N. Lam, J.L. McGuire, J. Cheng and T.C. Charles (2011). Cloning High-Molecular-Weight and Plasmid DNA from the Human Gut Microbiome for Functional Screening. Presented at the American Society of Microbiology General Meeting. New Orleans, LA, USA. [PDF]
K.N. Lam, J.L. McGuire, J. Cheng and T.C. Charles (2011). Snoop Through Poop: Cloning DNA from the Human Gut Microbiome for Function-Based Screening. Presented at the University of Waterloo Graduate Student Research Conference. Waterloo, ON, Canada.
K.N. Lam and T.R. Hughes (2010). C2H2 zinc finger modules typically retain sequence specifi city in modular assemblies. Presented at the Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory Meeting on Systems Biology: Global Regulation of Gene Expression. Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
S. Sharifpoor, D. van Dyk, M. Costanzo, H. Friesen, K. Lam, B. Papp, C. Myers, C. Boone, B.Andrews (2009). Global Map of Kinase Function Revealed by Kinase Networks. Presented at the International Conference on Systems Biology. San Francisco, CA, USA.
S. Sharifpoor, D. van Dyk, M. Costanzo, H. Friesen, K. Lam, B. Papp, C. Myers, C. Boone, B. Andrews (2009). Global analysis of kinase interactions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using Synthetic Dosage Lethality and Synthetic Lethality. Presented at the Canadian Institute For Advanced Research Networks Meeting. Whistler, BC, Canada.
M.A. Trainer, S.R.D. Clark, K.N. Lam, and T.C. Charles (2008). Analysis of Dicarboxylate Transport Genes in Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Presented at the University of Waterloo Graduate Student Research Conference. Waterloo, ON, Canada.
D.A. Nash*, K.N. Lam*, A. Masella*, B. Ingalls and B.J. McConkey (2007). Compucoli: A Biological Half-Adder. Presented at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition. Cambridge, MA, USA. *authors contributed equally to this work
M.A. Trainer, A. Zachertowska, D. Capstick, K.N. Lam and T.C. Charles (2007). Sinorhizobium meliloti phaZ mutants accumulate poly-3-hydroxybutyrate during symbiosis. Presented at the North American Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation Conference. Milwaukee, WI, USA.
Honours and Competitive Awards
- CIHR Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement, 2012 ($6,000)
- Best Poster Award, University of Waterloo Graduate Student Research Conference, 2011
- University of Waterloo J. Alan George Student Leadership Award, 2011 ($1,000)
- University of Waterloo President’s Scholarship, 2010 — 2012 ($10,000)
- CIHR Banting and Best Canada Graduate Scholarship — Doctoral, 2010 — 2012 ($70,000)
- University of Waterloo Provost’s Entrance Scholarship, 2010 ($5,000)
- Ontario Graduate Scholarship, 2010 — 2011 ($15,000, declined)
- University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine External Award Bonus, 2008 — 2010 ($6,000)
- NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship — Master’s, 2008 — 2010 ($34,800)
- Ontario Graduate Scholarship, 2008 — 2009 ($15,000, declined)
- NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award, 2008 ($4,500, declined)
- Lem Si Ho Tong Youth Group Scholarship, 2004 — 2008 ($1,400)
- University of Waterloo Faculty of Science Alumni Gold Medal, 2008 (Top Graduating GPA)
- Queen Elizabeth II Aiming for the Top Scholarship, 2004 — 2008 ($14,000)
- University of Waterloo Faculty of Science Dean’s List, 2005 — 2008
- University of Waterloo Faculty of Science Upper-Year Scholarship, 2007 — 2008 ($500)
- NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award, 2007 ($4,500)
- University of Waterloo Biomedical Sciences Upper-Year Scholarship, 2006 — 2007 ($400)
- NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award, 2006 ($4,500)
- University of Waterloo Faculty of Science Upper-Year Scholarship, 2006 ($500)
- University of Waterloo Entrance Scholarship, 2004 ($1,000)
Teaching and Marking Experience
- Genetics Tutorial, University of Waterloo (Jan. 2012 — present)
- University of Waterloo Professional Development Program, WatPD (Sept. 2011 — present)
- Molecular Biotechnology Tutorial, University of Waterloo (May 2011 — Aug. 2011)
- Plant Molecular Genetics Laboratory, University of Waterloo (Jan. 2011 — Apr. 2011)
- Human Physiology Laboratory, University of Waterloo (Jan. 2007 — Apr. 2007)
- Functional Histology Laboratory, University of Waterloo (Sept. 2006 — Dec. 2006)
Service and Extracurricular Activities
Note Taker
International Functional Metagenomics Workshop (May 2012)
Volunteer, Let’s Talk Science
Faculty of Science Community Outreach, University of Waterloo (Nov. 2011-present)
Secretary, Biology Graduate Student Association
Department of Biology, University of Waterloo (Aug. 2011-present)
Judge, Department of Biology Oral Presentations
Graduate Student Research Conference, University of Waterloo (Apr. 2011)
Vice-President, Donnelly Centre Graduate Student Association
Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto (Sept. 2009 — Aug. 2010)
Representative, Molecular Genetics Graduate Student Association
Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto (Jan. 2009 — Aug. 2010)
Member and Event Coordinator, Lem Si Ho Tong Youth Group
The Lem Si Ho Tong (Sept. 2004 — Aug. 2010)
Team Leader, UW iGEM Team
International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) Team, University of Waterloo (May 2006 — Apr. 2008)
