Alaa Selim
MSc, Dr. Shih's lab
In my research, I use digital microfluidics (DMF) as a platform to expand the abilities of Biosensors, developing a protein-based biosensor that will automate the process of analyte detection.
SynBioApps
Canada's first training program for Synthetic Biology
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Brandon Jaunky
MSc, Dr. Kharma's lab
My research focuses on introducing modularity to the nuclease deficient CRISPR/dCas9 system by controlling its half-life in yeast. I will also combine the system with transcriptional activating domains to study oscillating effects.
Charlotte Golden
MSc, Dr. Brett's lab
My research focuses on the isolation and humanization of yeast exosomes for use as bio-therapeutics. I am constructing a library of yeast with proteins, lipids, and sugars that release bioactive exosome populations that can be recognized and internalized by human cell targets.
Chiara Leal Alves
PhD, Dr. Shih's lab
My research involves genetic engineering of cellulase enzymes to create enzymes capable of degrading cellulosic materials for biofuels production. I am doing directed evolution studies using microfluidics devices under ionic conditions.
Curtis Logan
MSc, Dr. Brett’s lab
My research focuses on the humanization of yeast for bio-therapeutic applications. I am constructing a library of yeast with the ability to produce exosomes containing human gene products that can be internalized by target human cell populations. These nanoparticles have exciting potential applications as vehicles for gene therapy, therapeutic RNAs and novel biologics.
Devina Singh
MSc, Dr. Kachroo's lab
In humans, disruption of highly conserved essential cellular machinery has been linked to diverse diseases. I am focusing on these conserved human genes and propose to systematically “humanize” yeast cells by replacing each essential yeast gene with the human version.
Farhat Zafar
MSc, Dr. Kachroo's lab
Human disease can be studied through the “humanization” of yeast cells. My research focuses on replacing a gene in the sterol biosynthesis pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with its human ortholog in order to study mevalonate kinase deficiency.
Felipe Perez
MASc, Dr. Shih’s and Dr. Potvin-Trottier’s labs
My project consists in developing a high-throughput platform for single cell screening using microfluidics and optics. It will allow us to culture clonal cell lines and isolate individual cells with desired traits using optical tweezers.
F. Ifthiha Mohideen
PhD, Dr. Kwan's lab
Using synthetic biology tools, I am engineering an improved biocatalyst for the production of a high value anthracycline anticancer drug. Using a novel in vitro enzymatic pathway, I have produced modified sugar-donor substrates for the enzymatic synthesis of anthracyclines.
Giselle McCallum
PhD, Dr. Potvin-Trottier's lab
My project involves building a tuneable and robust synthetic oscillator. We hope that building this gene network will lead to a deeper understanding of natural biological oscillators, and have potential biomedical applications.
Henri Thomas
MASc, Dr. Kharma's lab
My research is focused on the computational design of RNA-based circuits for selective targeting and silencing of pathogenic genes.
Iain Summerby-Murray
MSc, Dr. Martin's lab
My research is focused on identifying acid tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and developing a production host from these acidophilic yeasts.
Imge Ozugergin
PhD, Dr. Piekny's lab
I am studying how a DNA-sensing pathway helps set up the division plane in early C. elegans embryos. By knocking down and mutating proteins in this pathway, I will further our understanding of the pathway and identify its targets.
Jay Pimprikar
MASc, Dr. Shih’s lab
My research focuses on hybridizing synthetic biology and microfluidics to create a novel, low-cost in-vitro diagnostic for infectious disease detection. I am working on building a protein-based biosensor for rapid analyte detection at the point-of-care.
Jenny-Ann Gagnon
MSc, Dr. Shih's lab
My project is designing an automated gut-on-a-chip device that would allow the testing of several conditions in parallel. I will use the device to test different types and concentrations of chemotherapeutic agents, as well as different bacteria strains found in the gut microbiota.
Keegan Scott
MSc, Dr. Kwan’s lab
My research focus is on identifying and creating tools for glycan engineering. These tools will be used to humanize the glycome of yeast exosomes to develop a novel system for delivering a payload into human cells.
Kenza Samlali
PhD, Dr. Shih's lab
My research is focused on developing novel devices for single-cell engineering and analysis. I love anything hardware/software/biology related, and preferably work across these disciplines.
Koa Wells
MASc, Dr. Kharma's lab
I am trying to develop a model for an oscillating gene circuit that will then be tested in a wet lab. The goal is for the circuit to have a short period of around 10-20 minutes.
Krista Jager
MSc, Dr. Potvin-Trottier's lab
I use microfluidics as a platform to study the dynamics of synthetic gene circuits at the single cell level.
Manjari Shrivastava
PhD, Dr. Whiteway's lab
The goal of my study is to determine the rewiring of the transcription factors in Candida albicans, an opportunistic human pathogen, as compared with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the non-pathogenic baker’s yeast.
Mathieu Husser
PhD, Dr. Martin's lab
I am studying cellular processes by genetically engineering human cells using high-throughput equipment.
Michelle Vandeloo
MSc, Dr. Kachroo’s lab
My research aim is to create and characterize a yeast model organism with a fully humanized sterol biosynthesis pathway. This model organism will be useful to study Mendelian diseases involving genes implicated in this essential metabolic pathway.
Nicolas Kamel
PhD, Dr. Kharma's lab
I am using machine learning to design larger riboswitch-based genetic circuits. These circuits would allow future synthetic biologists to program more complex decision-making processes into cells.
Nicholash Bedi
MASc, Dr. Shih's lab
I am using microfluidic technologies to improve culture media for clean meat production.
Paige Allard
MSc, Dr. Potvin-Trottier’s lab
My research focuses on investigating the trade-off between metabolic burden and precision of synthetic circuits in E. coli. I use a microfluidic platform called the mother machine to observe single-cell dynamics in a tightly controlled environment.
Pegah Hadavi
MASc, Dr. Kharma's and Dr. Perreault's labs
My research involves using synthetically generated selective riboswitches to target the transcripts of mutant proteins responsible for neurodegenerative diseases.
Raymond Al Homsi
MSc, Dr. Whiteway's lab
I am testing the efficacy of novel antifungal drugs using high-throughput screening assays against the GRACE library of the fungal pathogen Candida albicans.
Reuben Warkentin
MSc, Dr. Kwan's lab
My research aims to develop novel sugar binding proteins for use in cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. We are using high-throughput directed evolution in combination with computational methods to excel the production of these binding proteins.
Saba Mesgari
MSc, Dr. Potvin-Trottier's and Dr. Kachroo's labs
My research aims to design a dual fluorescent reporter to quantify humanized proteasome activity in yeast. This will allow us to determine how changes to human proteasome subunits impact the rate of removal of proteins within the cell.
Sabrine Najeh
PhD, Dr. Perreault's lab
I am using ribozyme design and in vitro evolution techniques to identify ribozymes that can be controlled allosterically. These ribozymes will be used to sense multiple intracellular conditions unique to cancer cells, to specifically target RNAs in order to kill these cells.
Sajinth Thampipillai
MSc, Dr. Wu (NRC) and Dr. Whiteway’s labs
My research project focuses on the fundamental aspects of engineering to improve GPCR signaling in yeast as a platform/tool for the study of heterologous GPCR and for potential for drug discovery.
Samuel Little
PhD, Dr. Shih's lab
My project focuses on using automated liquid handling techniques to perform the genetic engineering of human immune cells. Specifically, I am interested in miniaturizing and automating the transfection and culture of mammalian cells.
Sarah Laframboise
PhD, Dr. Baetz's lab
My research project is focused on understanding a strange phenotype in yeast called a nuclear flare which leads to a flux in membrane synthesis. Based on deletion of yeast lysine acetyltransferase, I am uncovering a role of acetylation in governing this lipid synthesis pathway.
Tina Papzotos
MSc, Dr. Potvin-Trottier's lab
My research is focused on engineering E. coli populations to exhibit non-genetic heterogeneity. I am using a synthetic oscillator to achieve switching between interdependent metabolic states within a clonal population.
Trisha Ghosh
MSc, Dr. Kwan's lab
My research aims to design potent inhibitory molecules for the enzyme UDP-galactopyranose mutase which is responsible for cell wall biosynthesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. I will utilise FIT (Flexible In vitro Translation) and RaPID systems to select molecules from a library of macrocyclic peptides and affibodies against our target.
