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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

Janice Strap
PhD

Associate Professor

Biology

Faculty of Science

The over arching theme of my research program is the investigation of how microbes synthesize and interact with biomaterials. Understanding the mechanisms that drive biosynthesis and degradation of biomaterials has wide reaching implications and applications in diverse fields such as medicine, agriculture and material science. Current research in my lab includes: (1) Molecular genetic and biochemical characterization of cellulose biosynthesis in Acetic Acid Bacteria (AAB); (2) Molecular characterization of plant-microbe interactions facilitated by natural biopolymers; (3) Microbial delignification of biofuel feedstock.

Contact information

Science Building - Room 4055
North Oshawa
2000 Simcoe Street North
Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5

905.721.8668 ext. 2935
905-721-3304 (fax)

Janice.Strap@ontariotechu.ca
https://mmbl-straplab.weebly.com/


Research topics

  • Plant-microbe interactions
  • Gluconacetobacter
  • AAB
  • Komagataeibacter
  • Bacterial Cellulose
  • Phytohormones
  • Biopolymers
  • Cellulose Biosynthesis
  • Lignocellulose Degradation
  • Streptomyces
  • Natural Products
  • Microbe-microbe Interactions
  • Cell Signalling
  • Biofilm
  • Regulation, Microbial Peptides

Areas of expertise

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biotechnology
  • Microbial Genetics
  • Biochemistry
  • Biofilm
  • Genetic Regulation
  • Biodegradation
  • Natural Products
  • Cellulose

Background

Dr. Janice Strap attended the University of Alberta where she earned her PhD in 2000 in the lab of Dr. Brenda Leskiw. She moved to the University of Idaho (Moscow, Idaho) where she was a post-doctoral scholar in the laboratory of Dr. Don Crawford until 2003. She then worked with Dr. Ron Crawford at the Environmental Biotechnology Institute and was appointed Adjunct Professor in the Microbiology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Department (University of Idaho). In 2006, Dr. Strap joined the Faculty of Science at the Ontario Tech University (Ontario Tech) as an Assistant Professor. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 2013.

Education

  • BSc University of Alberta 1990
  • MSc University of Alberta 1993
  • PhD University of Alberta 2000

Courses taught

  • APBS 6010 Research in Applied Bioscience
  • APBS 6300 Advanced Topics in Biological Chemistry
  • BIOL 4070 Advanced Biochemistry
  • BIOL 4060 Functional Genomics and Proteomics
  • BIOL 4050 Advanced Topics in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
  • BIOL 4020 Environmental Risk Characterization
  • BIOL 4430 Directed Studies
  • BIOL 4410 Biology Thesis Project I
  • BIOL 4410 Biology Thesis Project II
  • BIOL 3080 Biochemistry II
  • BIOL 1020 Biology II
  • CHEM 4410 Chemistry Thesis Project I; co-supervised
  • CHEM 4410 Chemistry Thesis Project II; co-supervised