Members

Julien Couture-Senécal

Ph.D. Candidate

Julien obtained a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science at the University of Toronto where he completed his senior thesis on immunomodulatory biomaterials. For his Ph.D., he is interested in developing nanomaterials to deliver multiplexed RNA vaccines for immunotherapies. In his free time, Julien likes to ride his bike around the city and learn new tunes on the guitar.

Wanda Janaeska

B.A.Sc. Candidate

Wanda is currently pursuing a B.A.Sc. in engineering science with a specialization in biomedical systems engineering. Her research interest lies at the intersection of nanotechnology and medicine for efficient and effective therapeutic designs. She loves skating, hiking, and has recently picked up film photography as a hobby. Wanda was the recipient of a 2022 NSERC USRA scholarship.

Meng Qi Jiang

B.Sc. Candidate

Meng Qi is pursuing a double major in Pharmacology and Health & Disease, and a certificate in Business Fundamentals at the University of Toronto. Meng Qi is interested in designing and developing therapeutic solutions to target diseases and their clinical application to benefit patients. Meng Qi is particularly interested in nucleic acid-based nanotechnology’s therapeutic potential in different pathological contexts. Meng Qi enjoys playing the piano, running, cooking, and hip hop dance.

Avery Kemble

B.HSc. Candidate

Avery is pursuing a B.HSc (Honours) in Biochemistry at McMaster University. She is interested in the intersection of synthetic chemistry and biology, and enjoys that the chemistry she performs has therapeutic applications. She is a dancer and a skier and loves the Toronto Maple Leafs. Avery is the recipient of a 2023 Medicine by Design Summer Research Studentship.

Anson Lau

Ph.D. Candidate

Anson specialized in Neuroscience for his undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto and completed his thesis under the supervision of Professor Derek van der Kooy. He is interested in utilizing nanotechnology to create a novel therapeutic system that delivers nucleic acids in various pathological settings such as cancer. In his spare time, he enjoys biking and exploring the city as well as snowboarding.

Fabiha Mahbub

B.Sc. Candidate

Fabiha is pursuing a Bachelor of Medical Sciences with an Honours Specialization in Physiology and Pharmacology at Western University. She is interested in nanomedicine and the development of nanotechnology to tackle biomedical challenges. In her spare time, she enjoys playing the guitar, acrylic painting, and biking. Fabiha was the recipient of a 2023 Medicine by Design Summer Research Scholarship.

Jagriti Natraj

B.A.Sc. Candidate

Jagriti is currently pursuing a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science with a specialization in Biomedical Systems Engineering. Her research interest is in the therapeutic potential of nucleic acid nanomedicine. She enjoys playing basketball, running, dancing and music. Jagriti is the recipient of the 2023 ESROP scholarship.

Alanna Manning

Alumni

Alanna is from a small town just outside of the GTA. She is a very active person who enjoys most sports and outdoor activities. Alanna attended Alabama State University for her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering and researched natural polymer adhesives. She was also a member of the women’s soccer team. For her M.A.Sc. research at the University of Toronto, she developed RNA nanoparticles for repeated systemic administration. Her current work involves the commercial development of RNA delivery platforms.

Ana-Maria Oproescu

Ph.D. Candidate

Ana-Maria (Mia) began her journey in biomedical research at The University of British Columbia, completing her B.Sc. in Integrated Science with a focus on molecular genetics and neuroscience. As an undergraduate student, she spent four years working at the UBC-affiliated spinal cord injury research centre, ICORD, as a researcher, scientific blog editor and volunteer coordinator. Her love of molecular neuroscience research brought her to the University of Toronto, where she completed her M.Sc. on cortical neurogenesis as an NSERC-funded student under the supervision of Professor Carol Schuurmans. Now in her Ph.D., Mia looks forward to developing organic nanoparticles for a range of therapeutic use cases. Outside of her research, she is passionate about improving accessibility to education, being in nature, and drawing landscapes and portraits.

Janice Pang

Ph.D. Candidate

Since becoming involved with biomedical research at an early age, Janice Pang was intrigued about disease pathogenesis and developing novel therapeutics. At the University of British Columbia, she studied in the Integrated Sciences undergraduate program, focusing on molecular biology and immunology. Her undergraduate thesis investigated immunometabolism in macrophages. Her other projects included glucose metabolism in microvascular endothelial cells, inflammation and microRNA biomarker discovery in type 2 diabetes. As an undergraduate co-op and Mitacs Scholar at Amgen, she helped to develop a novel technology to aid in therapeutic antibody discovery. In her Ph.D., she looks forward to exploring the possibility of developing novel RNA-based therapeutics and helping establish a nucleic acid tech hub in Toronto.

Grayson Tilstra

Ph.D. Candidate

Grayson hails from the sunny Okanagan Valley and completed his B.Sc. (Honours) in Chemistry at the University of Victoria before moving to Toronto. Grayson’s research interests include biomaterial development, formulations, and synthetic chemistry. Outside of the lab, he enjoys cooking, hiking, and spending far too much time thinking about baseball.

Brianna Walz

Ph.D. Candidate

Brianna completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto focusing on immunology and physiology. Her current research focus is to build and deploy nucleic acid nanotechnology for applied immunology applications. Brianna comes from a small town in Northern Ontario where she spent most her life. In her spare time she enjoys exploring the city, cooking and watching sports.

Titobioluwa Wuraola

Alumni

Titobi finished a double major in Pharmacology and Cellular Biology in addition to a Computer Science minor. His work interests lie at the intersection of technology and biology; specifically, how bioengineering can advance the world of medicine. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball and chess as well as watching anime. Titobi was the recipient of a 2022 Medicine by Design Summer Student Scholarship.