Richard Hamelin

Research

My team works in forest protection, using the genomics toolbox to better understand and fight tree diseases. Our work is driven by the fact that invasive species are threatening our trees and forests. Prevention and early interventions provide the best protection against such threats. Rapid and accurate diagnosis is at the center of pest and disease prevention strategies. Genomics allow us to sequence and scan genomes of pathogens and insects and discover genomic regions that can be used to identify potential invasive species and assess the risk they pose to Canada’s forests. By building databases comprising the genomes of hundreds of pathogens and insects we can also extract genomics profiles and assign samples to a potential source. This is important to inform teams involved in invasive species control and eradication and allows them to prevent future introductions.