CV
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Academic Appointments
2023 — present Postdoctoral researcher, Jeffrey Joy Lab - B.C. Centre for Excellence HIV/ AIDS, University of B.C., Faculty of Medicine
Academic Degrees
PhD in Genetics, Massey University, 2020
• Thesis: “Temperature- and host-dependent regulation of virulence factors in an insect pathogenic bacterium, Yersinia entomophaga.”
MSc in Biology, University of Victoria, 2014
• Thesis: “The microbial associates and putative venoms of seed chalcid wasps (Hymenoptera: Torymidae: Megastimgus).”
BSc in Biology, Vancouver Island University, 2007
• Graduated with distinction.
Awards
- [2023 — 2025] Michael Smith Labs BC Health Research Training Fellowship Award
- [2016 — 2019] Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan
- [2015] Declined Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships - Doctoral Program
- [2015 — 2018] NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship - Doctoral
- [2018] New Zealand Society for Microbiology – Student Travel Grant
- [2017] New Zealand Society for Microbiology – Best Student Talk
- [2012] University of Victoria – M.C. Melburn Award
- [2011] University of Victoria – Amelia Leith Memorial Fellowship
- [2007] NSERC Undergraduate Research Award
Professional Experience
- [2013 – 2015 & 2020 – present] BC Ministry of Environment and Parks – Environmental Assessment Office, Project Assessment Officer
- [2020 - 2021] Postdoctoral researcher - Rob Colautti Lab - Queen’s University - tick sampling, student supervising, tick microbiome and metatranscriptome
- [2011] Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Aquaculture Resource Management Branch, Aquaculture Management Coordinator
- [2007 – 2011] McNaughton Environmental Consultants Ltd., Fisheries Field Biologist
- [2005; 2006] Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Foundation, Seasonal Field Assistant
Teaching, Mentoring and Outreach
Invited Talks and Conference Presentations
Small viral RNA evolution and the origin of SARS-CoV-2: Insights from functional genomics.
oral presentation at 31st International Dynamics & Evolution of Human Viruses, Squamish, BC, Canada
Unbiased metagenomic analysis of Ixodes scapularis microbiomes in the Kingston Frontenac region
Invited symposium talk at Canadian Lyme Disease Research Network annual general meeting, remote
From venoms to virulence factors, transcriptomics provides insights into challenging systems
Invited seminar lecture at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agassiz BC, Canada
Exploring the potential role of cold-shock proteins as regulators of virulence in the insect pathogenic bacteria, Yersinia entomophaga
Talk at New Zealand Microbiological Society Conference, Dunedin, New Zealand
The in vivo transcriptome of the insect pathogen, Yersinia entomophaga
Talk at Australian Society for Microbiology Conference, Brisbane, Australia
The in vivo transcriptome of the insect pathogen, Yersinia entomophaga
Poster at American Society for Microbiology Conference, Atlanta GA, USA
The in vivo transcriptome of the insect pathogen, Yersinia entomophaga
Talk at New Zealand Microbiological Society Conference, Auckland, New Zealand
From venoms to virulence factors – Revealing ecological and evolutionary insights with RNA-seq
Invited symposium talk at Entomological Society of America, Denver CO, USA
In vivo RNAseq – in a pinch
Talk at New Zealand Microbiological Society Conference, Christchurch, New Zealand
Publications
Two transcription factors and one antisense RNA underlie the thermoregulated insect pathogenicity of Yersinia entomophaga MH96.
Paulson, A.R., O’Callaghan, M., Zhang, X.-X., Naren, N., Schoof, M., and Hurst, M.R.H. 2025. Two transcription factors and one antisense RNA underlie the thermoregulated insect pathogenicity of Yersinia entomophaga MH96. Gene, 149955.
Nuclear-acting small viral RNAs target enhancer sequence in human lung via heterotriplex formation in SARS-CoV-2.
Paulson, A.R., Montoya, V. & Joy, J.B. (In prep). Nuclear-acting small viral RNAs target enhancer sequence in human lung via heterotriplex formation in SARS-CoV-2
Lysis cassette-mediated exoprotein release in Yersinia entomophaga is controlled by a PhoB-like regulator.
Schoof, M., O’Callaghan, M., Hefer, C., Glare, T. R., Paulson, A. R., & Hurst, M. R. (2023). Lysis cassette-mediated exoprotein release in Yersinia entomophaga is controlled by a PhoB-like regulator. Microbiology Spectrum, 11(2), e00364-23.
Multiomics reveals symbionts, pathogens, and tissue-specific microbiome of blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) from a Lyme disease hot spot in southeastern Ontario, Canada.
Paulson, A. R., Lougheed, S. C., Huang, D., & Colautti, R. I. (2023). Multiomics reveals symbionts, pathogens, and tissue-specific microbiome of blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) from a Lyme disease hot spot in southeastern Ontario, Canada. Microbiology Spectrum, 11(3), e01404-23.
In vivo transcriptome analysis provides insights into host-dependent expression of virulence factors by Yersinia entomophaga MH96, during infection of Galleria mellonella.
Paulson, A.R., M. O’Callaghan, X.-X. Zhang, P.B. Rainey and M.R.H. Hurst. 2020. In vivo transcriptome analysis provides insights into host-dependent expression of virulence factors by Yersinia entomophaga MH96, during infection of Galleria mellonella. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics: 11(1) 1-12.
Whole-body transcriptome of seed-parasitic wasp, Megastigmus spermotrophus, reveals ecological and evolutionary insights.
Paulson, A.R., J. Ehlting, P. von Aderkas and S.J. Perlman. 2020. Whole-body transcriptome of seed-parasitic wasp, Megastigmus spermotrophus, reveals ecological and evolutionary insights, in Shelomi, M. (ed.) Transcriptomics in Entomological Research. CAB International, pp. 113-135.
Transcriptome analysis provides insight into venom evolution in a seed-parasitic wasp, Megastigmus spermotrophus.
Paulson, A.R., C. Le, J. Dickson, J. Ehlting, P. von Aderkas and S.J. Perlman. 2016. Transcriptome analysis provides insight into venom evolution in a seed-parasitic wasp, Megastigmus spermotrophus. Insect Molecular Biology: 25(5) 604-616.
Bacterial Associates of Seed-Parasitic Wasps (Torymidae: Megastigmus).
Paulson, A.R., P. von Aderkas and S.J. Perlman. 2014. Bacterial Associates of Seed-Parasitic Wasps (Torymidae: Megastigmus). BMC Microbiology 14.1: 224.
Susceptibility of four non-indigenous Ascidian species in British Columbia (Canada) to invertebrate predation.
Epelbaum, A., C.M. Pearce, D.J. Barker, A.R. Paulson and T.W. Therriault. 2009. Susceptibility of four non-indigenous Ascidian species in British Columbia (Canada) to invertebrate predation. Marine Biology. 156(6): 1311-1320.
Botryllid tunicates: Culture techniques and experimental procedures.
Epelbaum, A., T.W. Therriault, A.R. Paulson and C.M. Pearce. 2009. Botryllid tunicates: Culture techniques and experimental procedures. Aquatic Invasions. 4(1): 111-120.
Peer Reviewer
- BMC Biology, BMC Genomics, Environmental Entomology, Insect Science, Molecular Ecology, and Tick & Tick-borne Diseases.
Professional Memberships
- Canadian Society of Microbiologists
- The RNA Society
- American Society for Virology
- Vancouver RNA Club
Expertise
- In vivo transcriptomics for infection and immunity research;
- Arthropod microbiome, meta-transcriptome, RNA viruses, endosymbionts, Yersinia, and Galleria mellonella;
- R, Unix Shell, high-performance cluster computing;
- RNA biology, small viral RNA, RNA-RNA & RNA-DNA cross-kingdom signalling;
- Short-read sequencing (16S, RNA-seq, small RNA-seq), experimental design, molecular microbiology, molecular ecology;
- Engagement and consultation with Indigenous Nations and Treaty Partners on the review of major projects.