A younger white man with short, light brown hair and a bit of stubble smiling broadly into the camera wearing a black sweater.
People

Scott McCain

Assistant Professor

BSc, Western University
PhD, Dalhousie University
Postdoctoral Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Email
s.mccain@utoronto.ca

Prospective Students:

I am currently accepting MSc and PhD students. Interested applicants should send a CV, an unofficial transcript along with a cover letter summarizing their research interests, academic background, and skills. Please check my lab website for additional details.

Visit Lab

Research

I am interested in discovering and quantifying how molecular processes within cells give rise to organism-level behaviours, which in turn shape ecosystem-scale phenomena. My work sits at the intersection of molecular systems biology and ecosystem ecology, where I build mathematical and statistical models constrained by real-world observations and laboratory experiments.

My interests range from the human gut to the global ocean (I’m relatively ecosystem agnostic), but I am currently focused on aquatic and groundwater ecosystems, particularly how microbes influence properties like water quality.