Faculty profile headshot photo of Richard Hamelin

Richard Hamelin

Professor
Department Head, Forest Conservation Sciences

Forest Sciences Centre 3042
2424 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
Canada

work phone: 604-827-4441

Research Areas:

I study diseases of trees and I use genetic and genomic approaches to better understand forest disease epidemics and to develop innovative diagnostic and surveillance tools.


Projects

BioSAFE: (Biosurveillance of Alien Forest Enemies). Genomics-enhanced surveillance and monitoring of alien forest insects and pathogens.

CoAdapTree. Development of models and tools to predict and monitor climate-change impact on forest health.

Biology and genomics of tree rust diseases.

DNA barcoding of Forest Pathogens.


Awards

Fellow, American Phytopathological Society, 2020

Scientific Achievement Award, International Union of Forest Research Organization, 2014

Hommage René-Pomerleau for pioneering work in Forest Pathology Award (Quebec Society for Plant Protection, 2008) 2008
Merit Award (Canadian Forest Service, 2008) 2008
Merit Award for Creativity and Innovation (Natural Resources Canada, 2008) 2008
Certificate of Recognition Award (Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 2007) 2007
Graduate Research in Engineering and Technology (GREAT) Award, (B. C. Science Council, 1985) 1985
President’s award, (Simon Fraser University 1984) 1984

Selected Publications

Modi, D., Simard, S., Bérubé, J., Lavkulich, L., Hamelin, R. and Grayston, S.J., (2020). Long-term effects of stump removal and tree species composition on the diversity and structure of soil fungal communities FEMS Microbiology Ecology 96(5)
Hessenauer, P., Fijarczyk, A., Martin, H., Prunier, J., Charron, G., Chapuis, J., Bernier, L., Tanguay, P., Hamelin, R.C. and Landry, C.R. (2020). Hybridization and introgression drive genome evolution of Dutch elm disease pathogens. Nature Ecology and Evolution 4(4), pp.626-638
Capron, A., Stewart, D., Hrywkiw, K., Allen, K., Feau, N., Bilodeau, G., Tanguay, P., Cusson, M. and Hamelin, R.C. (2020). In Situ Processing and Efficient Environmental Detection (iSPEED) of tree pests and pathogens using point-of-use real-time PCR. PloS one 15(4), p.e0226863
Tabima, J.F., Søndreli, K.L., Keriö, S., Feau, N., Sakalidis, M.L., Hamelin, R.C. and LeBoldus, J.M. (2020). Population Genomic Analyses Reveal Connectivity via Human-Mediated Transport across Populus Plantations in North America and an Undescribed Subpopulation of Sphaerulina musiva. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 33(2), pp.189-199
Wong, B., Leal, I., Feau, N., Dale, A., Uzunovic, A. and Hamelin, R.C. (2020). Molecular assays to detect the presence and viability of Phytophthora ramorum and Grosmannia clavigera PloS one 15(2), p.e0221742
Blackburn, G., Bilodeau, P., Cooke, T., Cui, M., Cusson, M., Hamelin, R., Keena, M., Picq, S., Roe, A., Shi, J. and Wu, Y. (2020). An applied empirical framework for invasion science: confronting biological invasion through collaborative research aimed at tool production. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 229
Hamelin, R.C. and Roe, A.D. (2020). Genomic biosurveillance of forest invasive alien enemies: A story written in code Evolutionary Applications 13(1), pp.95-115
Georges-Filteau, J., Hamelin, R.C. and Blanchette, M. (2020). Mycorrhiza: genotype assignment using phylogenetic networks Bioinformatics 36(1), pp.212-220
Djoumad, A., Nisole, A., Stewart, D., Holden, D., Zahiri, R., Inoue, M.N., Martemyanov, V.V., Levesque, R.C., Hamelin, R.C. and Cusson, M. (2020). Reassessment of the status of Lymantria albescens and Lymantria postalba (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Lymantriinae) as distinct ‘Asian gypsy moth’species, using both mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data. Systematic Entomology 45(2): 493-504
Dhillon, B., Kema, G.H., Hamelin, R.C., Bluhm, B.H. and Goodwin, S.B., (2019). Variable genome evolution in fungi after transposon-mediated amplification of a housekeeping gene. Mobile DNA 10(1), p.37
Hebert, F.O., Freschi, L., Blackburn, G., Béliveau, C., Dewar, K., Boyle, B., Gundersen-Rindal, D.E., Sparks, M.E., Cusson, M., Hamelin, R.C. and Levesque, R.C. (2019). Expansion of LINEs and species-specific DNA repeats drives genome expansion in Asian Gypsy Moths Scientific Reports 9(1), pp.1-10
Grünwald, N.J., LeBoldus, J.M. and Hamelin, R.C. (2019). Ecology and evolution of the sudden oak death pathogen Phytophthora ramorum. Annual review of phytopathology 57, pp.301-321
Feau, N., Ojeda, D.I., Beauseigle, S., Bilodeau, G.J., Brar, A., Cervantes‐Arango, S., Dale, A.L., Dhillon, B., Hammett, C., Herath, P. and Shamoun, S.F. (2019). Improved detection and identification of the sudden oak death pathogen Phytophthora ramorum and the Port Orford cedar root pathogen Phytophthora lateralis. Plant Pathology 68(5), pp.878-888
Stewart, D., Nisole, A., Djoumad, A., Zahiri, R., Lamarche, J., Levesque, R.C., Hamelin, R.C. and Cusson, M. (2019). A needle in a haystack: a multigene TaqMan assay for the detection of Asian gypsy moths in bulk pheromone trap samples. Biological Invasions 21(5), pp.1843-1856
Tsui, C.K.M., Beauseigle, S., Ojeda Alayon, D.I., Rice, A.V., Cooke, J.E., Sperling, F.A., Roe, A.D. and Hamelin, R.C. (2019). Fine-scale genetic diversity and relatedness in fungi associated with the mountain pine beetle. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 48(8), pp.933-941
Roe, A.D., Torson, A.S., Bilodeau, G., Bilodeau, P., Blackburn, G.S., Cui, M., Cusson, M., Doucet, D., Griess, V.C., Lafond, V., Paradis, G., Porth, I., Prunier, J., Srivastava, V., Tremblay, E., Uzunovic, A., Yemshanov, D., Hamelin, R.C. (2019). Biosurveillance of forest insects: part I—integration and application of genomic tools to the surveillance of non-native forest insects Journal of Pest Science 92(1), pp.51-70
Bilodeau, P., Roe, A.D., Bilodeau, G., Blackburn, G.S., Cui, M., Cusson, M., Doucet, D., Griess, V.C., Lafond, V.M.A., Nilausen, C., Paradis, G., Porth, I., Prunier, J., Srivastava, V., Stewart, D., Torson, A.S., Tremblay, E., Uzunovic, A., Yemshanov, D., Hamelin, R.C. (2019). Biosurveillance of forest insects: part II—adoption of genomic tools by end user communities and barriers to integration Journal of Pest Science 92(1), pp.71-82
Dale, A.L., Feau, N., Everhart, S.E., Dhillon, B., Wong, B., Sheppard, J., Bilodeau, G.J., Brar, A., Tabima, J.F., Shen, D., Brasier, C.M., Tyler, B.M., Grünwald, N.J., Hamelin, R.C. (2019). Mitotic Recombination and Rapid Genome Evolution in the the Invasive Forest Pathogen Phytophthora ramorum. mBio 10 e02452-18.
Bergeron, M.J., Feau, N., Stewart, D., Tanguay, P. and Hamelin, R.C. (2019). Genome-enhanced detection and identification of fungal pathogens responsible for pine and poplar rust diseases PloS one 14(2), p.e0210952
Cullingham, C.I., Janes, J.K., Hamelin, R.C., James, P.M., Murray, B.W. and Sperling, F.A. (2019). The contribution of genetics and genomics to understanding the ecology of the mountain pine beetle system Canadian Journal of Forest Research 49(7), pp.721-730
Leal, I., Bergeron, M.J., Feau, N.$, Tsui, C.K.M., Foord, B., Pellow, K., Hamelin, R. and Sturrock, R (2019). Cryptic speciation in western North America and eastern Eurasia of the pathogens responsible for laminated root rot Phytopathology 109(3), pp.456-468
Brar, S., Tabima, J.F., McDougal, R.L., Dupont, P.Y., Feau, N.$, Hamelin, R.C., Panda, P., LeBoldus, J.M., Grünwald, N.J., Hansen, E.M. and Bradshaw, R.E. (2018). Genetic diversity of Phytophthora pluvialis, a pathogen of conifers, in New Zealand and the west coast of the United States of America Plant Pathology 67(5), pp.1131-1139
La Mantia, J., Unda, F., Douglas, C.J., Mansfield, S.D. and Hamelin, R.C. (2018). Overexpression of At GolS3 and Cs RFS in poplar enhances ROS tolerance and represses defense response to leaf rust disease Tree Physiology 1-14
Feau, N; Beauseigle, S; Bergeron, MJ; Bilodeau, GJ; Birol, I; Cervantes-Arango, S; Dhillon, B; Dale, AL; Herath, P; Jones, SJM; Lamarche, J; Ojeda, DI; Sakalidis, ML; Taylor, G; Tsui, CKM; Uzunovic, A; Yueh, H; Tanguay, P; Hamelin, RC (2018). Genome-Enhanced Detection and Identification (GEDI) of plant pathogens PeerJ
Shamoun, S., Rioux, D., Callan, B., James, D., Hamelin, R., Bilodeau, G., Elliott, M., Levesque, C.A., Becker, E., McKenney, D. and Pedlar, J. (2018). An Overview of Canadian Research Activities on Diseases caused by Phytophthora ramorum: Results, Progress and Challenges Plant disease 102(7), pp.1218-1233
Picq S, Keena M, Havill N, Stewart D, Pouliot E, Boyle B, Levesque RC, Hamelin RC, Cusson M. (2018). Assessing the potential of genotyping‐by‐sequencing‐derived single nucleotide polymorphisms to identify the geographic origins of intercepted gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) specimens: A proof‐of‐concept study Evolutionary Applications 1;11(3):325-39
Djoumad, A., Nisole, A., Zahiri, R., Freschi, L., Picq, S., Gundersen-Rindal, D.E., Sparks, M.E., Dewar, K., Stewart, D., Maaroufi, H., Levesque, R.C. Hamelin, R.C. and Cusson, M. (2017). Comparative analysis of mitochondrial genomes of geographic variants of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, reveals a previously undescribed genotypic entity Scientific Reports, 7(1), p.14245.
Dario I. Ojeda Alayon, Clement K. M. Tsui, Nicolas Feau, Arnaud Capron, Braham Dhillon, Yiyuan Zhang, Sepideh Massoumi Alamouti, Celia K. Boone, Allan L. Carroll, Janice E. K. Cooke, Amanda D. Roe, Felix A. H. Sperling, Richard C. Hamelin (2017). Genetic and genomic evidence of niche partitioning and adaptive radiation in mountain pine beetle fungal symbionts Molecular Ecology 26(7): 2077-2091
Lamarche, J., Potvin, A., Stewart, D., Blais, M., Pelletier, G., Shamoun, S.F., Hamelin, R.C. and Tanguay, P. (2017). Real‐time PCR assays for the detection of Heterobasidion irregulare, H. occidentale, H. annosum sensu stricto and the Heterobasidion annosum complex Forest Pathology 47(2): e12321
Gagnon, M.C., Feau, N., Dale, A.L., Dhillon, B., Hamelin, R., Brasier, C., Grünwald, N.J., Brière, S.C. and Bilodeau, G (2017). Development and validation of polymorphic microsatellite loci for the NA2 lineage of Phytophthora ramorum from whole genome sequence data Plant Disease Plant Disease
Feau, N. and Hamelin, R.C. (2017). Say hello to my little friends: how microbiota can modulate tree health New Phytologist 215(2): 508-510
McKown, AD, J Klápště, RD Guy, RY Soolanayakanahally, J La Mantia, I Porth, O Skyba, F Unda, CJ Douglas, YA El-Kassaby, RC Hamelin, SD Mansfield & QCB Cronk (2017). Sexual homomorphism in dioecious trees: extensive tests fail to detect sexual dimorphism in Populus Scientific Reports 7:1831
Feau, N, Taylor, G.; Dale, A.L., Dhillon, B., Bilodeau, G. J.; Birol, I., Jones, S.J.M. and Hamelin, R. C (2016). Genome sequences of six Phytophthora species threatening forest ecosystems Genomics Data, 10:85-88
Stewart, D., Zahiri, R., Djoumad, A., Freschi, L., Lamarche, J., Holden, D., Cervantes, S., Ojeda, D.I., Potvin, A., Nisole, A. and Béliveau, C., Capron, A., Kimoto, T., Day, B., Yueh, H. Duff, C, Levesque, R.C., Hamelin, R. C. and Cusson, M. (2016). A Multi-Species TaqMan PCR Assay for the Identification of Asian Gypsy Moths (Lymantria spp.) and Other Invasive Lymantriines of Biosecurity Concern to North America PLoS One PloS one, 11(8), p.e0160878
Rafael E. Arango Isaza , Caucasella Diaz-Trujillo , Braham Dhillon , Andrea Aerts, Jean Carlier, Charles F. Crane, Tristan V. de Jong, Ineke de Vries, Robert Dietrich, Andrew D. Farmer, Claudia Fortes Fereira, Suzana Garcia, Mauricio Guzman, Richard C. Hamelin, Erika A. Lindquist, Rahim Mehrabi, Olman Quiros, Jeremy Schmutz, Harris Shapiro, Elizabeth Reynolds, Gabriel Scalliet, Manoel Souza Jr., Ioannis Stergiopoulos, Theo A. J. Van der Lee, Pierre J. G. M. De Wit, Marie-Françoise Zapater, Lute-Harm Zwiers, Igor V. Grigoriev, Stephen B. Goodwin , Gert H. J. Kema (2016). Combating a global threat to a clonal crop: banana black Sigatoka pathogen Pseudocercospora fijiensis (synonym Mycosphaerella fijiensis) genomes reveal clues for disease control PLoS Genet PLoS Genet 12, no. 8 (2016): e1005876.
Herath, P., Beauseigle, S., Dhillon, B., Ojeda, D.I., Bilodeau, G., Isabel, N., Gros-Louis, M.C., Kope, H., Zeglen, S., Hamelin, R.C. and Feau, N. (2016). Anthropogenic signature in the incidence and distribution of an emerging pathogen of poplars Biological Invasions, 18(4):1147-1161
Sakalidis, M.L., Feau, N., Dhillon, B. and Hamelin, R.C. (2016). Genetic patterns reveal historical and contemporary dispersal of a tree pathogen Biological Invasions 18(6):1781-1799
McGregor, R.R., Sakalidis, M.L. and Hamelin, R.C. (2016). Neofusicoccum arbuti: a hidden threat to Arbutus menziesii characterized by widespread latent infections and a broad host range Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology 38(1):70-81
Ojeda, D.I., Dhillon, B., Tsui, C.K.M. and Hamelin, R.C. (2013). SNP discovery in Leptographium longiclavatum, a mountain pine beetle-associated symbiotic fungus, using whole-genome resequencing Molecular Ecology Resources 14: 401–410
Porth, Ilga, Jaroslav Klapste, Athena D. McKown, Jon La Mantia, Richard C. Hamelin, Oleksandr Skyba, Faride Unda et al. (2013). Extensive functional pleiotropy of REVOLUTA substantiated through forward genetics Plant physiology
La Mantia, Jonathan, Jaroslav Klápště, Yousry A. El-Kassaby, Shofiul Azam, Robert D. Guy, Carl J. Douglas, Shawn D. Mansfield, and Richard Hamelin (2013). Association analysis identifies Melampsora× columbiana poplar leaf rust resistance SNPs PloS one 8, no. 11: e78423
Winder, R.S., J. Lamarche, C.P. Constabel, and R.C. Hamelin. (2013). The effects of high-tannin leaf litter from transgenic poplars on microbial communities in microcosm soils Frontiers in Microbiology 4
Tsui, C. K-M., DiGuistini, S. Wang, Y. Feau, N., Dhillon, Braham, Bohlmann, J. and Hamelin, R.C. (2013). Unequal Recombination and Evolution of the Mating-Type (MAT) Loci in the Pathogenic Fungus Grosmannia clavigera and Relatives G3: Genes| Genomes| Genetics 3: 465-480
Boutigny, A.-L., Guinet, C., Vialle, A., Hamelin, R.C., Andrieux, A., Frey, P., Husson, C., and Ioos, R. (2013). Optimization of a real-time PCR assay for the detection of the quarantine pathogen Melampsora medusae f. sp. deltoidae Fungal Biology 117, no. 6: 389-398.
Boutigny, A. L, Guinet, C., Vialle, A. Hamelin, R.C., Frey, P., and Ioos, R. (2013). A sensitive real-time PCR assay for the detection of the two Melampsora medusae formae speciales on infected poplar leaves European Journal of Plant Pathology, 136(3), 433-441
Ohm, R.A., Feau, N., Henrissat, B., Schoch, C.L., Horwitz, B.A., Barry, K.W., Hamelin, R.C. and others (2012). Diverse Lifestyles and Strategies of Plant Pathogenesis Encoded in the Genomes of Eighteen Dothideomycetes Fungi PLoS Pathogen 8: e1003037
de Wit PJGM, van der Burgt A, Ökmen B, Stergiopoulos I, Abd-Elsalam KA, Aerts AL, Bahkali AH, Beenen HG, Chettri P, Cox MP, Datema E, de Vries RP, Dhillon B, Ganley AR, Griffiths SA, Guo Y, Hamelin RC, Henrissat B, Kabir MS, Jashni MK, Kema G, Klaubauf S, Lapidus A, Levasseur A, Lindquist E, Mehrabi R, Ohm RA, Owen TJ, Salamov A, Schwelm A, et al. (2012). The Genomes of the Fungal Plant Pathogens Cladosporium fulvum and Dothistroma septosporum Reveal Adaptation to Different Hosts and Lifestyles But Also Signatures of Common Ancestry PLoS Genet, 8:e1003088
Vialle, A., Feau, N., Frey, P., Bernier, L. and Hamelin, R. C. (2012). Phylogenetic species recognition reveals host speciation among poplar rust fungi Molecular Phylogeny and Evolution: 66:628–644
11. Conrad L. Schoch, Keith A. Seifert, Sabine Huhndorf, Vincent Robert, John L. Spouge, C. André Levesque, Wen Chen, Hamelin, R.C. and Fungal Barcoding Consortium. (2012). Nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region as a universal DNA barcode marker for Fungi Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109 (16) 6241-6246
Feau, N., Vialle, A., Allaire, M., Maier, W. and Hamelin, R. (2011). DNA barcoding in the rust genus Chrysomyxa and its implications for the phylogeny of the genus. -Mycologia 2011 DOI: 10.3852/10-426
Duplessis, S., Cuomo, C. A., Lin, Y. C., Aerts, A., Tisserant, E., Veneault-Fourrey, C., Joly, D. L., Hacquard, S., Amselem, J., Cantarel, B. L., Chiu, R., Couthinho, P., Feau, N., Field, M., Frey, P., Gelhaye, E., Goldberg, J., Grabherr, M., Kodira, C. D., Kohler, A., Kues, U., Lindquist, E. A., Lucas, S., Mago, R., Mauceli, E., Morin, E., Murat, C., Pangilinan, J. L., Park, R., Pearson, M., Quesneville, H., Rouhier, N., Sakthikumar, S., Salamov, A. A., Schmutz, J., Selles, B., Shapiro, H., Tanguay, P., Tuskan, G. A., Henrissat, B., Van de Peer, Y., Rouzé, P., Ellis, J. G., Dodds, P.N., Schein, J. E., Zhong, S., Hamelin, R. C., Grigoriev, I. V., Szabo, L. J. and Martin, F. (2011). Obligate Biotrophy Features Unraveled by the Genomic Analysis of Rust Fungi -Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, May 2, 2011, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1019315108
Tsui, C. K. M., Wang, B., Khadempour,L., Alamouti,S. M., Bohlmann, J., Murray, B. W. and Hamelin, R. C. (2010). Rapid identification and detection of pine pathogenic fungi associated with mountain pine beetles by padlock probes -Journal of Microbiological Methods, Volume 83:26-33.
Feau, N., Mottet, M. J. , Périnet, P., Hamelin, R. C. and Bernier, L. (2010). Recent advances related to poplar leaf spot and canker caused by Septoria musiva, -Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology, 32: 122-134
Khadempour,L., Alamouti, S. M., Hamelin, R., Bohlmann, J. and Breuil, C. (2010). Target-specific PCR primers can detect and differentiate ophiostomatoid fungi from microbial communities associated with the mountain pine beetle Dendroctonus ponderosae. -Fungal Biology, Volume 114: 825-833.
Stefani, F. O. P., Tanguay, P., Pelletier, G., Piche, Y, and Hamelin, R. C. (2010). Impact of Endochitinase-Transformed White Spruce on Soil Fungal Biomass and Ectendomycorrhizal Symbiosis -Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2010) vol. 76 (8) pp. 2607-2614
Hamelin, R. C. (2006). Molecular epidemiology of forest pathogens: from genes to landscape Canadian Journal Of Plant Pathology 28: 167-181