About Us

Meet Andrew

Andrew Kropinski is a graduate of the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the University of British Columbia. He later joined the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where his research focused on the isolation and characterization of bacteriophages active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. His work contributed to the development of cloning tools and facilitated the isolation of lipopolysaccharide-defective mutants of this bacterium.

A transformative experience at the Microbial Diversity summer course at the Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hole, MA) sparked a long-standing interest in spirochetes, leading to extensive research on the glycolipids of Spirochaeta aurantia.

During a sabbatical, Andrew transitioned from academia to a leadership role at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), where he spearheaded initiatives involving whole genome sequencing of foodborne pathogens.

Since retiring from PHAC in 2014, he has served as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pathobiology at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. In this role, he continues to mentor graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in phage biology, genomics and taxonomy.

Andrew has received two teaching awards from Queen's University and has been honored as an academician by both the American Academy of Microbiology and the Georgian National Academy of Sciences. His scholarly contributions include 244 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 30 book chapters, and five books.

Passionate about science and mentorship, Andrew remains actively engaged in research. Outside the laboratory, he enjoys cooking, fine dining, theatre, baroque music, and travel.