Morag Graham, BSc, PhD

Dr. Graham is chief of genomics at Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory (Public Health Agency of Canada) and adjunct professor with Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (University of Manitoba).

Dr. Graham works collaboratively to translate research ideas to acquired knowledge; from samples to large genomic data sets (microbial genomics and metagenomics).

She has led / co-investigated numerous applied microbiology and public health projects funded by Genome Canada, the federal Genomic Research and Development Initiative (GRDI), Canadian Safety and Security Program (CSSP), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM), and the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society of Canada.

She advocates for robust quality standards and best practices in applying emerging laboratory technologies.

Dr. Graham has operationalized microbial genomics for public health and assisted in modernizing several of Canada’s key national pathogen disease surveillance systems.

Her lab is currently generating COVID-19 genomic sequences to assist Canada’s pandemic response, while continuing to generate molecular data for non-COVID infectious disease surveillance, testing and ongoing research.

Education

NIH Visiting Fellow, Rocky Mountain Lab, NIAID - National Institutes of Health, USA
Doctor of Philosophy, Microbiology, University of Guelph
Honours Bachelor of Science, Cooperative Biochemistry , University of Waterloo

Awards

Award (Team) Instant Award for dedicated contribution to the establishment of CanCOGeN, SARS-CoV-2 sequencing and public health genomics in Canada. Public Health Agency of Canada (2020)

Citation (Team, NML Genomics Core) Public Health Agency of Canada - Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Branch 2018 Perseverance Award (2018)

Citation (Team, GRDI Shared Priority Projects) Public Service Award of Excellence, 2016 (Scientific Contribution) - Genomics R&D Initiative Shared Priority Projects. Government of Canada - Treasury Board Secretariat (2016)

Citation (Individual) 2015 Dr. Andrés Petrasovits Award for Excellence in Public Health, for exceptional achievement by an individual or team at any level to further the mandate of the Public Health Agency of Canada (2016)

Citation (Team, Research Paper) James H. Nakano Citation (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) for Best National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Paper in 2014. (Katz et al 2014 PMID: 23820394). US CDC, NCEZID. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014)