John Archibald

Dr. John Archibald is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. He holds the Arthur B. McDonald Research Chair of Excellence and serves as Director of the Institute for Comparative Genomics (ICG). His research focuses on genome evolution, endosymbiosis, and molecular phylogeny, particularly in microbial systems. Dr. Archibald has been a faculty member since 2003 and is affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine and the School of Graduate Studies. He has held roles such as University Research Professor (2016–2021) and has authored over 170 scientific publications and two books, including One Plus One Equals One: Symbiosis and the Evolution of Complex Life.

• PhD in 2001 from Dalhousie University
• Postdoctoral research with Patrick Keeling at UBC
• Leading the Archibald Lab, which studies microbial genomics and symbiotic evolution

His research interests include the evolution of plastids, lateral gene transfer, and the genomic footprints of endosymbiosis. Notable achievements include pioneering work on nucleomorph genomes and the role of symbiosis in eukaryotic origins. Dr. Archibald has received prestigious awards such as the CSMB Senior Investigator Award (2024) and Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada (2017).

Recent work includes studies on protist pangenomics, symbiotic genome sequencing, and the evolutionary dynamics of microbial pathogens like monkeypox virus. His lab collaborates on projects like the Aquatic Symbiosis Genomics initiative, aiming to decode symbiotic relationships across life's tree.