1. Where do you work, what is your position, and who is your advisor?

Hi! My name is Blake Soares, and I work in Peter L. Davies’ lab here at Queen’s University. I’m currently a second year MSc student.

2. How do you describe your work to people who aren’t in your field?

In our lab, we research long adhesin proteins that are expressed and displayed on the surface of several Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. We specifically look at the interactions the terminal ends of these proteins make with (mainly) sugars, proteins, and other molecules that may be on a host cell’s surface. We then look into ways to inhibit these interactions (mainly sugar-binding interactions) to block bacteria from colonizing host cell surfaces in humans and aquatic animals that cause or worsen infections.

3. Other than glycomics, what areas of research do you think are important in advancing One Health (i.e. the health of people, animals, and the environment)?

Any research that pertains to finding ways around antibiotic resistance and resistant strains that have become more numerous in recent years. Be this developing newer generations of antibiotics or finding new/different bacterial virulence factors to inhibit is crucial for saving more lives.

4. What is your favourite aspect of your research?

The best part of my research is having such fantastic collaborators and lab mates who are very supportive and helpful when the science gets tough! Having many minds across 3 different Universities (Queen’s, UofT, and McGill) working on an issue has helped the project move faster and reach some amazing conclusions.

5. If you had to choose a completely different career path, what would it be?

One of my dreams used to be to study ancient Roman and Greek archaeology and history, as the “Classics” classes here at Queen’s were some of my favorites. It would be amazing to do field research on these ancient cultures and try to solve the ways of the past!

6. What is your favourite experiment to do, and why?

Doing biofilm microtiter assays have to be my favourite, as it’s so interesting to see the incredible complex systems and combination of molecules bacteria have in order to survive under a myriad of environmental conditions. It’s even more interesting to see how the addition of one single molecule can disrupt these systems effectively!

Short bio

My name is Blake Soares, and I’m currently a 2^nd year MSc Student here at Queen’s university. I’ve been at Queen’s as a student since 2020, and am originally from Brampton, ON. I am investigating how bacterial pathogens like Vibrio vulnificus bind and colonize their hosts. We are trying to develop reagents and methods to block bacterial adhesion before biofilm formation can take hold. If I’m not in the lab, I’m usually playing guitar, watching soccer or football, or playing video games.