// About
Mark Louie D. Lopez, Ph.D., R.P.Bio.
I am a molecular ecologist and a registered professional biologist (RPBio) in British Columbia, Canada. As a freshwater biologist by training, I use metatranscriptomics, DNA metabarcoding, and qPCR-based environmental DNA analysis to study population and community dynamics in freshwater ecosystems.
Using the genes-to-ecosystem approach, I aim to understand how freshwater populations respond to natural and anthropogenic disturbances.
I am a postdoctoral fellow cross-appointed in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, working with Dr. Caren Helbing, and in the School of Public Administration, working with Dr. David Castle at the University of Victoria. I lead projects for iTrackDNA, developing and implementing eDNA tools for ecological monitoring in collaboration with First Nations communities and the Thriving Ecosystems initiative, where we co-design eDNA-based biodiversity monitoring projects with partners across British Columbia and Alberta to inform conservation management and policy.
As part of my Liber Ero Fellowship, I manage a work plan under Alberta's Oil Sands Monitoring Program, braiding Indigenous Knowledge with sedimentary DNA analysis to reconstruct historical aquatic community composition in lakes across the Oil Sands region — establishing ecological baselines for long-term environmental monitoring.
In January 2027, I will be joining the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Oklahoma as an Assistant Professor, where I will be leading the Molecular Freshwater Ecology and Conservation (MFEC) Laboratory.
// Expertise
Research Methods
Environmental DNA (eDNA)
Species-targeted qPCR assay design and validation for monitoring key species including taxa at risk and invasive species.
DNA Metabarcoding
High-throughput sequencing for characterizing aquatic community composition and biodiversity in freshwater systems.
Metatranscriptomics
RNA-based profiling of active gene expression across communities to capture biological responses to environmental change.
Sedimentary DNA
Reconstructing historical aquatic community composition from sediment cores to establish long-term ecological baselines.
Braiding Knowledge
Braiding Indigenous Knowledge with molecular monitoring in collaboration with Indigenous communities.
Freshwater Monitoring
Genes-to-ecosystem approaches for understanding how freshwater populations respond to natural and anthropogenic disturbances.
