Dirk began his PhD under the supervision of Dr. Hendrik Poinar in 2019, after finishing a BSc in biochemistry with a minor in molecular biology at the University of Guelph. In 2020, Dr. Wright agreed to take him under cosupervision, and he therefore joined the lab early that year.
Dirk is working to create novel techniques inspired by ancient DNA analysis to use for the sequencing-based diagnosis and characterization of infectious disease. Currently, he is working to develop novel library preparation and enrichment techniques, to better capture and sequence pathogen-associated DNA in a range of settings.