معرفی
Christopher Lawson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto, affiliated with the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. He serves as Principal Investigator of the Microbiome Engineering Lab and is part of BioZone – the Centre for Applied Bioscience and Bioengineering. His research focuses on engineering anaerobic microbiomes for resource recovery from waste streams using systems biology, synthetic biology, and machine learning approaches.
- B.A.Sc., M.A.Sc. (University of British Columbia)
- Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
- Postdoctoral Training (Berkeley Lab)
Lawson's work addresses the challenge of controlling complex microbial interactions in engineered systems to enable scalable biotechnologies for renewable energy, chemicals, and materials. His lab develops high-throughput methods integrating automation and computational tools to optimize microbiome assembly and metabolic fluxes.
Recent publications highlight advancements in metabolic modeling, isotope tracing, and systems-level analysis of anaerobic microbiomes, with applications in wastewater treatment, anammox granules, and bioenergy production. His research bridges fundamental microbiology with industrial-scale bioprocess engineering.
Scientific Awards
- ISME/IWA BioCluster Rising Star Award (2022)
- Jacobs Engineering Group/AEESP Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award (2020)
- Wesley Eckenfelder Graduate Research Award (2019)
- WEF Canham Graduate Studies Scholarship (2018)
- NSERC Post-Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral (2014)
Lawson actively mentors students and postdocs, emphasizing technical rigor, communication skills, and independence. His lab collaborates within BioZone and with industry partners to advance "team science" principles. Current projects focus on creating engineered microbiomes for commercial-scale waste valorization.
