University of Waterloo biology professor Trevor Charles wins inaugural Wiley Research Heroes Prize
February 27, 2025
Research helps advance knowledge, grow economies and improve societies among other things.
Conducting research with an inclusive lens ensures that all voices, perspectives and experiences are acknowledged, respected and represented.
Dr. Trevor Charles has been doing that since 1993 when he joined McGill University as an Assistant Professor.
The University of Waterloo professor for the last 27 years is among five researchers from around the world awarded the inaugural Wiley Research Heroes Prize for outstanding research contributions and commitment to inclusivity in academic and research settings.
University of Waterloo Associate Professor Dr. Valerie Ward nominated the esteemed microbiologist for the prize.
“The fact that a young professor in the department whom I had unofficially been mentoring appreciate what I have been trying to do throughout my career and took it upon herself to nominate me is quite satisfying,” Charles noted. “That means something to me. This platform also provides an opportunity for me to talk about what is important in my career and get across that what we do as researchers or scientists is for the greater good of society.”
There were over 1,713 nominees for the prestigious prize that is a platform to highlight individuals who ensure that research is inclusive, innovative and impactful.
“Oftentimes we don’t acknowledge the type of quiet leadership that makes an impact on those around us,” noted Ward who is a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Microalgae Biomanufacturing in the Department of Chemical Engineering. “Trevor is never afraid to speak up and remind people in a supportive way to consider equity in their decisions. When I first started as a faculty member, I didn’t fully internalize that my position would come with the opportunity to change things from what they are to what I wanted them to be. When working on organizing a conference with him, he reminded me that I now had that opportunity and that my students and, one day, junior colleagues would be looking to me to set what was acceptable. That kind of mentorship is so impactful, but often overlooked and underappreciated. That is why this award is meaningful to both of us.”
Dr. Punita Aneja, who was Charles’ first doctoral student when he began his teaching and research career at McGill University 32 years ago, said he is deserving of the prize.
“Trevor has a deep understanding and respect for the microbes he continues to study,” the Canada Revenue Agency Research & Technical Advisor said. “He has generously shared and passed down his knowledge, enthusiasm and love for microbiology through his research works with countless others. He truly brings head, heart and hand to contribute to a better understanding of the microbial world.
“As a scientist, he is brilliantly creative, insightful and dedicated. Despite having a full workload which included teaching, mentoring, writing or editing research papers and grant papers, he always found time to work in the lab as he still does now. This is truly amazing as he now also juggles many additional roles related to various commercial ventures he is involved with. He has continued to be a supportive and inspiring mentor to me. After I graduated and started working in industry, he and I continued our research collaboration to improve on-seed survival of rhizobial inoculants.”
Maria Trainer, who completed her PhD in Bacterial Molecular Genetics in 2008 under Charles’ supervision, said his approach was fundamental to her education and development as a scientist.
“While Trevor gives his students the freedom and independence to pursue their own research, he is always accessible and engaged when help is needed,” noted the Executive Director Registration Management at the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority in New South Wales. “His commitment to science, knowledge and the research enterprise is inspiring. It has been a real joy for me to watch his career continue to grow from strength to strength over the years. His quiet, calm and intelligent approach to innovation is very special and it is wonderful to see how he has continued to mentor and grow young scientists as his career has evolved.”
Committed to mixing science and entrepreneurship to assist Black communities and create sustainable impact, Charles is at the forefront of Waterloo region’s first Black-led incubator and accelerator program that addresses systemic inequalities and is unlocking opportunities for economic empowerment.
Funded by the Canadian government through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario to help improve Black communities through entrepreneurship, the LiftOff program – a collaboration between the Caribbean Canadian Association of Waterloo Region (CCAWR) and members of the Waterloo Region and Wellington County entrepreneurial ecosystem-- provides coaching, mentorship, networking and other business support.
“With Waterloo being the hub of tech, entrepreneurship and innovation, we thought we needed to have something for the Black community,” said Charles who was the Executive Director. “We developed partnerships and programs and brought on staff which was important because the CCAWR is run by volunteers.”
The funding was $2.9 million for three years.
“We had 10 cohorts with almost 150 entrepreneurs that came through the program in three years,” Charles said. “We also did a number of events in the community, including LiftOff Chat which was a networking event and panel discussions. Even though I am a scientist and not a businessperson, I thought this could do a lot for the Black community.”
Seed funding from governments provides startups with financial support to get their ideas off the ground. To go further, additional funding is necessary to sustain the initiative.
Charles and his group hired a consultant and formed a non-profit organization, LiftOff Black Innovation Hub (LBIH), that will raise corporate funding through various partnerships.
“That can then be used as matching funds for future government funding,” he pointed out.
Leading by example, Charles started science companies that are in the scaling stage.
He is the Chief Executive Officer of Metagenom Bio Life Science Inc. that is a biotech company specializing in DNA sequencing solutions for microbiome research and analysis.
Healthy Hydroponics, a subsidiary of Metagenom, provides pathogen monitoring services to hydroponic farms and growers to enhance the prediction of crop diseases and food safety.
Charles is also the Chief Science Officer of Earth Microbial Inc. that promotes the application of microbial science to agriculture practices to enable farmers to improve soil health, increase crop yields and protect the environment.
With expertise in bacterial molecular genetics, his research focuses on plant-microbe interactions, functional metagenomics and bacterial genome engineering for bio-products.
In scientific research, artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used to automate complex data analysis, generate hypotheses, identify patterns and accelerate discoveries.
Charles and his research team might have been ahead of the technology game changer.
“Part of the research we do has to do with DNA sequencing,” the former Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research director said. “We use that to characterize microbial communities. Microbes live everywhere and impact many aspects of life. They carry out different bio-geochemical cycles like carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. They are also involved in food safety and they cause diseases. All of that has to do with the microbes that are present. Using DNA sequencing, we can take a gram of soil, extract the DNA and figure out exactly what microbes are present there. That data is compared using machine learning and artificial intelligence which we have been doing for over 15 years. We didn’t really think of it as AI. Now we can take all that is generated by AI and apply it to what we have been doing over the years. It is still early, but there is going to be so much innovation as the tools are more widely used.”
Waterloo is recognized for its innovation and research, particularly in technology, engineering and environmental sustainability and is home to many tech companies and North America’s largest co-op program.
Charles admits now knowing much about the southwestern Ontario greenbelt or university before he got there 27 years ago.
“It took me a while to understand how Waterloo is different,” said the award-winning researcher who completed his PhD in Molecular Biology at McMaster University in 1991 and was a Senior Fellow in Gene Nester’s lab at the University of Washington for two years before returning to Canada to join the McGill University faculty. “Innovation and entrepreneurship are encouraged by its open IP policy that allows a student or faculty to own any intellectual property they develop unless it is part of their contract. It is not owned by the university. What that means is that you are free to take that intellectual property and patent it or use it to start your company without having to go through the university’s commercialization office.
“Most universities take ownership of it and you have to negotiate with the Office of Research or the commercialization office for licensing so that you can use it. That is one of the reasons why we have BlackBerry, OpenText and all of these tech companies in the Waterloo region that promote an entrepreneurial culture throughout the university and the community.”
There were very few Black faculty members when Charles joined the university.
That has changed.
“For most of the time I was here, there were one or two Black professors,” he said. “With the George Floyd murder in 2020 came a lot of reckoning. A Black Faculty Collective was formed with about 12 Black professors who were here at the time. We had virtual meetings weekly and got to know each other. That was transformative and we lobbied the institution for a Black & Indigenous Excellence hiring exercise.”
To address systemic underrepresentation of Black and Indigenous faculty, the university launched cluster hiring initiatives that saw the addition of 10 new Indigenous and 10 Black faculty members.
Last July, Alexie Tcheuyap joined the University of Waterloo as its first Black dean. The former University of Toronto French & Francophone Studies professor heads the Faculty of Arts.
Curiosity is a natural part of children’s development.
It is also considered the driving force behind scientific discovery.
For one of his early birthdays, Charles received a book from his dad with a brief message, ‘To Trevor, Happy Birthday Future Scientist’.
In high school in British Columbia where he was born and raised, medicine was at the top of his professional careers.
“I was always naturally curious about the biological world,” said Charles who is an International Alliance for Phytobiomes Research board member. “During my first year in pre-med at the University of British Columbia, I took my first microbiology course that involved lab work doing experiments. I was fascinated by that and wanted to do research and discover. I didn’t think about my career too much. All I knew was I wanted to do some sort of research.”
Dr. Trevor Charles (Photo contributed)
The eldest of four siblings, his parents – Carlton and Norma -- met at UBC.
Leaving Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) where he was a 100-yards junior champion, dad competed in the 100 and 200-yard sprints while at UBC where he graduated with an undergraduate degree in Economics and a Master’s in Social Work before pursuing a Law degree in his 50s at the University of Windsor and graduating in 1994.
Carlton ‘Carlos’ Charles classmates included Linda McCurdy, the daughter of the late Howard McCurdy who was the New Democratic Party first Black Member of Parliament.
The biology professor and first tenured Black faculty member in Canada died in February 2018.
The Charles’ family were close friends of the late Emery Barnes who was the first Black speaker of a Canadian legislature and Rosemary Brown who was the first Black woman elected to a Canadian legislature in 1972.
A retired teacher/librarian, Norma Charles has authored 21 books, including ‘Runner, The Life of Harry Jerome, World’s Fastest Man’.
He set seven world records in track and field and helped create Canada’s sports ministry before he died in 1982.
In the summer of 1981, Charles — who played the piano, trombone and trumpet and dabbled in reggae bands - worked with Jerome in a recreational track and field program.
“I learned a lot from Harry in terms of being self-sufficient and not relying on anyone for your success,” he pointed out. “He was very reserved and a no-nonsense person.”
Jerome’s younger sister, Valerie Jerome who competed in the 100-metre event at the 1960 Olympics and authored ‘Races: The Trials & Triumphs of Canada’s Fastest Family’ that was released in 2023, was one of Charles’ track and field coaches.
The British Columbia high school 400-metre hurdles champion in 1981 focused on the triple and long jumps in university.
Charles and his wife of 37 years, Cheryl Charles who migrated with her family from T&T at a young age, have two children.
Clarissa Charles is a Communication & Outreach Officer in the Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering department at the University of Waterloo and a digital content creator while Tarin Charles has three degrees and is teaching in Winnipeg.
