Natalie Prystajecky

Basic Info
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Academic Rank:

Clinical Associate Professor, UBC, Environmental Public Health Microbiologist at Provincial Health Services Authority and University of British Columbia

Affiliation(s):

BCCDC

Location:

BCCDC

Short Bio

Dr. Natalie Prystajecky is an Environmental Microbiologist at the BCCDC Public Health Laboratory and a Clinical Associate Professor in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia. Her work is at the intersect of environmental exposures (food and water) and clinical outcomes. She uses emerging technologies to improve routine surveillance and outbreak investigations for foodborne and waterborne pathogens. she has received grant funding from the BCCDC Foundation, Canadian Water Network, NSERC, Genome BC and Genome Canada. Her current research interests include development of new water quality tests using metagenomics, targeted resequencing of wetland sediments to study the emergence of avian influenza strains and whole genome sequencing of Giardia and Salmonella. She is keen to promote the translation of research methods to routine testing in diagnostic and reference laboratories.

Academic
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Academic Backgrounds

  • PhD, University of British Columbia. 2010
  • Watershed Management, University of British Columbia. Certificate. 2008
  • BSc, University of Calgary. Cellular, Molecular and Microbiology (CMMB). 2003
  • BSc, University of Calgary. Environmental Science – Biology Focus. 2003

Awards & Recognition

  • Institute of Infection and Immunity (CIHR-III) Doctoral Research Award, Canadian Foundation for Infectious Disease (CFID)/Canadian Institute for Health Research. 2006-2009
  • Senior Trainee Top-Up Award, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR). 2006-2008
  • University of British Columbia PhD Tuition Award, University of British Columbia. 2005-2009

Selected Publications

Research
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Current Openings & Opportunities

Current Projects In My Lab include

Research

Specialties: Public health, environmental microbiology, drinking water, food quality, genomics, molecular diagnostics

Infectious Diseases

Teaching
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Teaching