Dr. Heather Wiebe
Principal Investigator
Heather obtained her B.Sc. in chemistry from the University of the Fraser Valley in 2011. She then moved to Simon Fraser University, where she received her Ph.D. under the co-supervision of Prof. Michael Eikerling and Prof. Noham Weinberg in 2018. Prior to joining Vancouver Island Unversity in 2020, Heather spent 2 and a half years as a postdoctoral research associate in Prof. Graeme Ackland’s group at the University of Edinburgh, studying quantum phase changes in hydrogen under extreme high pressure. Heather’s area of expertise lies in computational chemistry and modelling, with a focus on the response of complex systems to applied pressure. She is particularly interested in studying the effect of pressure on biological systems such as proteins and lipid membranes, and how these systems have adapted to high pressure in deep-sea organisms. Outside of research, Heather enjoys playing tabletop games – the more dice the better!
Graduate Students
We are actively recruiting M.Sc and Ph.D. students. Please get in touch via the contact information located at the bottom of the page if you are interested!
Savannah Mercer
Savannah obtained her B.Sc. in Chemistry with a minor in Biology at Vancouver Island University in 2024. Savannah’s current work involves examining the biological activity of carfentanil analogs. This includes using molecular modeling to study the interactions between the analogs and the µ-opioid receptor, which is responsible for inducing both the physiological and toxic side effects of opioids. Savannah has also worked on researching the physico-chemical mechanism of pressure-resistance in deep-sea proteins using free energy calculations. Outside of research, Savannah enjoys running and reading.
Undergraduate Students
Marieke Jongkind
Marieke is a second-year student studying biology at Vancouver Island University. Marieke’s work is part of a bigger project investigating the effects of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) as a stabilizing molecule for proteins in adverse conditions. Her part in this project involves running simulations on a deep-water fish (C. Armatus)with differing concentrations of TMAO to see what effect TMAO has on the protein’s volume. In addition to her work in the lab, Marieke enjoys caring for her plants, going on walks, and listening to her vinyl records.
Brooke Grounds
Brooke is entering second year of the physics program at the University of Victoria (UVic), transferring into the program from Vancouver Island University (VIU), and is planning a combined major in physics and biochemistry. She is working on simulations of the protein of a shallow water fish species (G. morhua) in systems that have differing concentrations of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) to look into the effect that TMAO has on the protein’s volume. This is in connection to a larger project investigating how proteins of deep water fish are resistant to pressure. In her free time, Brooke enjoys learning languages and baking.
Sahil Dhillon
Bio in progress.
Emerson McConnell
Emerson is a third-year chemistry student at Vancouver Island University. He also serves as the Co-president of the VIU Chemistry Club and acts as a student representative for VIU’s Faculty of Science and Health. Building on Simon’s research, Emerson’s work investigates the impact of the metabolite Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) on lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in both deep-sea and shallow-water fish by assessing protein stability and dissociation free energy for LDH across varying TMAO concentrations. Emerson also works on a separate project involving characterizing the physiochemical properties of 6PPDQ and its analogs. When not in the lab, Emerson can usually be found watching scary movies, drinking coffee, and organizing his CD collection.
Gabe Aniello
Bio in progress.
Lab Alumni
Jae Chung (USRA) 2025
Project: QM/MM calculations of the catalytic mechanism of pressure-adapted enzymes
Rosie Munro (VIU REACH award and CHEM 491) 2022 – 2025
Project: Rational design of a pressure-driven unimolecular rotor
Project: A computational investigation of an antimicrobial motor
Savannah Mercer (USRA) 2021 – 2024
Project: The effect of amino acid substitution on the thermodynamic stability of lactate dehydrogenase at high pressure
Project: Molecular docking studies of carfentanil analogues
Simon Maguire (USRA, CHEM 491 and research associate) 2021 – 2024
Project: The effect of amino acid substitution on the volume change of unfolding in pressure-resistant lactate dehydrogenase
Project: Chemical fate predictions of 6-PPD quinone and analogs
Serena Jiang (VIU undergraduate) 2022 – 2023
Project: The effect of pressure on the dissociation of actin filaments
Josh Jai (VIU undergraduate) 2023
Project: Fragmentation patterns in prostaglandins from first principles
Andrea Krabbe (VIU undergraduate) 2023
Project: Volumetric effects of trimethylene-N-oxide on lysozyme
Jordan Davis (VIU undergraduate) 2021 – 2022
Project: The effect of amino acid substitution on the volume change of unfolding in pressure-resistant lactate dehydrogenase
Diego Franco (VIU undergraduate) 2021 – 2022
Project: Fragmentation patterns in prostaglandins from first principles
Emily Mahony (VIU undergraduate) 2021
Project: The effect of trimethylamine-N-oxide on the dissociation of the lactate dehydrogenase tetramer complex
Mark Bracken (Research assistant) 2021
Project: Catalytic activity of lactate dehydrogenase at high pressure from QM/MM simulations