2026 Christine Beattie Award Winner:

Congratulations Mckenna Eklund! 

The Christine Beattie Award recognizes early career researchers who have demonstrated excellence in zebrafish research. It also recognizes the commitment that Dr. Christine Beattie had to training the next generation of zebrafish researchers.

Mckenna Eklund

Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Canada

Mckenna Eklund is a PhD candidate in Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Alberta and a visiting PhD student at the University of Bath. Using zebrafish as a model system, her research explores how the innate immune receptor NOD2 maintains intestinal epithelial homeostasis and shapes immune-microbe interactions in the gut. Her doctoral work has uncovered a role for estrogen signaling in modulating NOD2-dependent intestinal biology, with broader relevance to inflammatory bowel disease. Mckenna Eklund is a PhD candidate in Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Alberta and a visiting PhD student at the University of Bath. Using zebrafish as a model system, her research explores how the innate immune receptor NOD2 maintains intestinal epithelial homeostasis and shapes immune-microbe interactions in the gut. Her doctoral work has uncovered a role for estrogen signaling in modulating NOD2-dependent intestinal biology, with broader relevance to inflammatory bowel disease.