Current students
Abhinav Menon
Abhinav Menon is a first-year Science student and UBC Schulich Leader Scholar. Originally from Saskatchewan, he is passionate about using biotechnology to develop novel medical solutions and increasing the accessibility of healthcare technology. His past research projects include training cell-identification models for oocyte data analysis at the University of Saskatchewan and conducting independent research on piezoelectric biomaterials for artificial tissue. In his free time, he enjoys competitive debate, organizing TEDx events, and playing badminton. Abhinav is pursuing his interest in microbiology at the Tropini Lab this summer. Under Dr. Michael Hunter and Dr. Carolina Tropini, he will utilize high-throughput experimental workflows and in vitro co-evolution experiments to investigate how osmotic conditions shape bacterial and phage interactions. He aspires to understand the interdisciplinary research steps required to progress toward effective therapeutic outcomes while further developing his skills as a scientific communicator.
Albie Gong
Albie Gong is a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Honours Cellular, Anatomical, and Physiological Sciences program at UBC. He is interested in applying high-throughput technologies, particularly liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), to better understand biological processes in the central nervous system. His research interests include host-pathogen interactions as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. This summer, he will be working in Dr. Leonard Foster’s laboratory, where he will conduct a single-cell proteomics study investigating how elevated glucose conditions influence astrocytic responses to human coronavirus 229E infection. Through this work, Albie aims to strengthen both his computational and experimental skill sets. He is especially eager to gain hands-on experience across the proteomics workflow, including cell culture, sample preparation, and LC-MS analysis. Outside the lab, he enjoys staying active by playing basketball and tennis.
Anders Schwarz
Anders Schwarz is a Bioengineering student at McGill University who was born and raised in Nanaimo, BC. He is interested in developing diagnostic technologies and leveraging biological principles to advance human health. His previous work includes developing nanoscale sensing materials for breath-based disease diagnosis at Noze, as well as leading a McGill design team that developed a novel biosensor capable of continuous creatinine monitoring to detect acute kidney injury. In his free time, he enjoys playing guitar and piano, mountaineering, and playing soccer. Under the supervision of Professor Jane Hill, he will work at the Hill Lab to develop breath biomarker capture and amplification strategies for rapid tuberculosis screening. Through this experience he hopes to develop a multitude of research skills and methods of analyzing diagnostic data.
Aria Raymaakers
Aria Raymaakers is a second year Biomedical Engineering student at UBC who was born in Taiwan and grew up in Singapore. She is passionate about using technology to improve access to movement and help people maintain long-term mobility. As someone who has been involved in sport for most of her life, including swimming and volleyball, and who enjoys outdoor activities like skiing and hiking, she is especially excited to pursue research that connects directly to sport and performance. This summer, she will be working in the Human Motion Biomechanics Laboratory (HuMBL) under the supervision of Calvin Kuo. Her project focuses on measuring head and neck stability during repeated, low-level impacts using wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs), with a specific application to mogul skiing. She will develop methods to analyse sensor data and quantify how the neck stabilises the head, with the goal of identifying movement patterns linked to increased injury risk. Through this experience, Aria hopes to build skills in signal processing and data analysis, work closely with athletes and clinicians, and gain a clearer understanding of how biomechanics research can translate into practical tools for training and injury prevention.
Calla Stanley
Calla Stanley is a third year Biomedical engineering strong interests in cellular engineering, biomechanics, and applying engineering skills to help others in real world problems. She is working with Megan Leavings and Bruce Verchere at the BC Children’s Hospital Childhood Diabetes Laboratories as a research assistant. The project is working to engineer a tolerizing lipid nanoparticle (tLNP) mRNA platform that enables co-delivery of mRNA encoding multiple autoantigens with immunomodulatory molecules through NOD mouse models. Through this term, Calla hopes to gain hands on experience in nanoparticle based drug delivery, preclinical testing in animal models and bridging immunology and biomedical engineering. In her free time, Calla enjoys cooking, kayaking, watching sports, and spending time in the outdoors.
Cindy Zhang
Cindy Zhang is a fourth-year Neuroscience student at UBC. She is passionate about uncovering cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying brain function and dysfunction. Under the supervision of Dr. Mark Cembrowski, her work will focus on characterizing inhibitory interneuron gene-expression profiles in the hippocampal subiculum using single-cell spatial transcriptomics, with the goal of better understanding how cellular identity contributes to neural circuit function. Within the intersection of computation and human biology, she hopes to develop skills in computational neuroscience, including machine learning and high-performance data processing. In her free time, she enjoys going for refreshing swims, hiking the beautiful mountains of BC, and spending time playing with cats.
Danyaal Abbas
Danyaal Abbas is a fourth-year Biomedical Engineering student at UBC’s School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME), originally from Toronto, Ontario. Through experiences spanning academia, design teams, and industry, he has worked on projects ranging from developing biomaterials for spinal cord injury treatment, to designing microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems for astrobiological applications, to building scalable production systems for cell therapeutics. His recent win at SBME’s 2024 Amgen Pitch Competition for presenting a novel wearable biosensor sparked his interest in continuous biosensing, which in turn shaped his 2026 Synergy research project. This summer, under the supervision of Prof. Robert Rohling, Danyaal will work on integrating polymer-based capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducers (polyCMUTs) with wearable ultrasound platforms to enable continuous, non-invasive monitoring of blood flow and tissue perfusion. His work aims to advance accessible, ambulatory diagnostics with far-reaching applications in cardiovascular health and beyond. In his free time, Danyaal enjoys cooking, snowboarding, rally racing, and rewatching The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Ethan Yip
Ethan Yip is a third-year Applied Science student at the University of British Columbia, originally from Richmond, BC. He is driven by a keen interest in immunological engineering, specifically in deciphering how the body’s innate and adaptive immune systems can be harnessed to develop next-generation therapeutics. This summer, Ethan will be working under the supervision of Dr. Kelly McNagny to characterize, tune, and optimize the innate immune response to saRNA-LNP vaccinations. While he has contributed to the lab as a volunteer for several months, Ethan is eager to transition into a more autonomous role. He looks forward to exercising greater independence throughout this project, taking lead on experimental workflows and deepening his technical expertise in vaccine development.
Evan Wong
Evan Wong is a fourth-year Biochemistry student at UBC who was born and raised in Burnaby, BC. Through his past research experiences in RNA biology and cancer therapeutics, he has developed a strong interest in applying molecular approaches to study disease mechanisms and inform therapeutic strategies, particularly in the context of drug delivery and RNA-based therapeutics. In his free time, he enjoys running Strava art, playing with his cat, and building computers. This summer, under the supervision of Dr. Pieter Cullis and Research Associate Dr. Bin Zhao, he will characterize pH-responsive fluorescent DNA probes co-encapsulated within distinct lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulations, to investigate how LNP internal structure influences probe response and intracellular RNA delivery. Through this experience, he hopes to gain a deeper understanding of nanoparticle-based RNA delivery systems while developing skills in fluorescence-based assays, physicochemical characterization, and experimental design.
Haley Dhaliwal
Haley Dhaliwal is a third year Biomedical Engineering student at UBC. She is interested in translational research in cellular engineering with a goal to find new treatments for human diseases. She is also interested in how post-secondary education can be geared to highlight tangible deliverables that both employers and post-secondary institutions seek. Under the supervision of Dr. Negar Harandi, Haley will develop a reflective tool that will be integrated into the curriculum of Biomedical Engineering design courses. The goal of this tool is to provide undergraduate students in Biomedical Engineering a framework in which to meaningfully identify and communicate the skills they have obtained through their coursework for career applications. Through this research, Haley will gain experience in qualitative analysis, survey design, and conducting educational research. In her spare time, Haley enjoys creative writing, sewing, and swimming.
Hanna Khan
Hanna Khan is a sixth-year biomedical engineering student born in Singapore who lived in KAUST, Saudi Arabia before coming to Vancouver, BC. She is passionate about mathematical modelling as a tool for understanding complex biological systems. At the Zandstra Lab at UBC, she will develop computational models to infer mechanisms governing iPSC-to-T-cell differentiation, supporting scalable production of immune cell-based therapeutics. Previously, she worked on T-cell biophysics at the UBC Mathematics Department, modelling the binding mechanisms of an oncolytic virus T-cell immunotherapy. In her free time, she enjoys art, the viola, and volleyball. This summer, she is excited to explore how integrating mechanistic models with machine learning can uncover hidden relationships driving cell fate decisions.
Heta Patel
Heta Patel is a third-year Bachelor of Science student majoring in Neuroscience at UBC. She is interested in studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms that contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders. Recently, she worked as a research assistant in the Bamji Lab, where she analyzed the impact of isoform-specific knockdown and rescue on neuronal morphology through quantitative length measurements. Under the supervision of Dr. Shernaz Bamji, Heta’s summer research focuses on ZDHHC8, an enzyme implicated in autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, schizophrenia, and epilepsy. Her project investigates two recently discovered isoforms of this enzyme that show distinct enrichment in excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Her primary aims are to identify the proteins associated with each isoform and determine how these interactions influence cell-specific functions. Through this work, she hopes to uncover how the balance between excitatory and inhibitory cells reveals novel mechanisms relevant to brain development and disease. In her free time, she enjoys going for runs, reading, and dancing.
Kelly Diao
Kelly is going into her third year of Biomedical Engineering at UBC with a strong interest in cellular engineering and regenerative medicine. She is passionate about the potential of cellular therapies to deliver more accessible treatments and has developed a strong foundation through coursework in cell biology and biomedical systems. This summer, she will be working under the supervision of Dr. Fabio Rossi and will explore how the transcription factor RORα may reduce cardiac tissue scarring after myocardial infarction. She is particularly interested in understanding how cellular behaviour can be controlled to promote regenerative healing. Through this experience, Kelly hopes to gain hands-on experience in experimental techniques, strengthen her understanding of cellular regulation, and build confidence in a research environment. In her free time, Kelly enjoys drawing and spending time with her cats, dog, and geckos.
Krista Tannant
Krista Tannant is a third-year Cellular, Anatomical, and Physiological Sciences major at UBC. Through her coursework, she has developed a strong interest in neurodevelopment, particularly the molecular mechanisms that regulate neuronal differentiation, polarity, and synapse formation. She is especially interested in how disruptions in these processes can contribute to neurological disorders. This summer, she will be working in Dr. Kota Mizumoto’s lab at the Life Sciences Institute, where she will study neurodevelopment in C. elegans. Her project focuses on the protein SAD-1 and its different isoforms, and how they contribute to synapse formation and neuronal organization. She is looking forward to meeting other students and researchers and learning about the different types of work happening across labs. She is especially interested in hearing about different research paths and experiences to gain a broader understanding of the field. Outside of school, she enjoys reading and doing pottery.
Lauren Keilty
Lauren Keilty is a fifth year Computer Engineering student at UBC Vancouver. She is interested in the development of careful and intentional technology to support human health and wellness. She will be working under Dr. Stefanie Blain-Moraes this summer in the Biosignal Interaction and Personhood Technology Lab. She will be studying moments of interpersonal connection through the analysis of physiological signals generated during interactions involving minimally communicative individuals, dancers, and musicians. This summer, she hopes to learn more about the research process and the role it plays in the development of safe, effective and reliable medical technology.
Melody Wang
Melody is a third-year Mechanical Engineering student at UBC with a strong interest in biomedical systems and healthcare-focused engineering. She is passionate about how precision engineering can be applied to advance cancer research and improve patient outcomes. This summer, she joins Dr. Kaigala’s lab and the Conconi Family BioDevice Foundry under the supervision of Dr. Sofia Graham, where she will work on developing open-space microfluidic biodevices intended to model tumor-immune interactions, with the goal of creating accessible, scalable platforms that better replicate physiological conditions than traditional in vitro systems. Through this experience, Melody hopes to deepen her understanding of how engineering can support cancer research while gaining hands-on experience in microfabrication, 3D printing, cleanroom techniques, cell culture, microscopy, and data analysis. She also hopes to strengthen her scientific communication and independent research skills while contributing to the development of relevant biomedical platforms.
Monica Mihailescu
Monica Mihailescu is a third-year Biomedical Engineering student at UBC and a RISE Germany Scholar from Vancouver, BC. She is passionate about rehabilitation engineering, sports injury prevention, and the development of medical devices and wearable technologies to support recovery and improve health outcomes. Her most recent research term took place in Germany, where she analyzed motion capture data related to mechanically induced lower back pain. This summer, Monica will be working in the INSPIRE Lab at ICORD under the supervision of Dr. Mahsa Khalili, investigating wearable-based heart rate estimation error in individuals with spinal cord injury using photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors. Through this experience, she hopes to deepen her skills in signal processing, wearable sensing, and rehabilitation research. In her free time, Monica enjoys staying active through soccer, ultimate frisbee, weightlifting, hiking, and travelling, and recently started exploring calisthenics.
Muhammad Al Muhtadin
Muhammad Al Muhtadin is a fourth year undergraduate student studying Biomedical Engineering at UBC who was born and raised in Indonesia. Ever since middle school he has always been passionate in learning about health and biology, hoping to one day be able to create an innovation that could help many. He recently became a research assistant at the Innovation in Dementia and Aging Lab (IDEA Lab) at UBC. Previously he had worked on developing a machine learning algorithm that helps detect sleep bruxism using EMG. In his free time, he enjoys playing the guitar, listening to J-Rock and watching vtubers. Under the supervision of Dr. Lillian Hung, he will be developing software and applying a social humanoid robot known as the Pepper robot in increasing the quality of Person-Centered Care for older adults.
Mutsumi Ito
Mutsumi Ito is a second year biochemistry student at UBC with an interest in synthetic biology. She is particularly interested in designing controllable biological systems that enable precise regulation of cellular processes, with potential applications such as gene delivery and lineage tracing. This summer, she will be conducting research in the Yachie lab under the supervision of Dr. Nozomu Yachie and Ph.D. student Ren Takimoto. Her project focuses on developing a TEVp-inucible lentiviral particle assembly system that utilizes a cleavable retention signal in order to achieve synchronized protein release. Through this work, she aims to deepen her understanding of post-translational control mechanisms while gaining hands-on experience in molecular cloning, system design, and experimental optimization.
Nicola Smith
Nicola Smith is a fifth-year student at the School of Biomedical Engineering at UBC. She has a strong interest in stem cell and tissue engineering and their applications in studying human development. Her time as a research assistant in the Penninger Lab enhanced these interests, where she spent two years developing stem cell-derived organoid models for rare disease modelling and drug testing. In her free time, Nicola enjoys playing soccer, watching movies, and creating art. This summer, under the supervision of Dr. Anjinkya Ghagre in the Zandstra Lab, she will be analyzing the dynamics of in vitro T cell maturation and looks forward to expanding her experience in bioengineering.
Nina Gliosca
Nina Gliosca is a fourth-year Biomedical Engineering student at UBC who is passionate about ethics across the biomedical sciences and beyond. Her degree is specialized in cellular and molecular bioengineering, and she especially enjoys lab-based courses. Nina is particularly interested in the practices and policies that uphold the ethical use of existing, and future biomedical technologies. In her free time, she enjoys reading books on the subject, sewing, print making, rock climbing and hiking. Her drive to support diverse perspectives in STEM sparked her involvement with the Cultivating Inclusion in Engineering Laboratory, working under Dr. Jenna Usprech and her team to longitudinally trace the relationship between STEM identity and STEM trajectory persistence for girls and gender-expansive youth across the socioeconomic spectrum. Nina is excited to expand her research skills in mixed-methods data analysis and project management by contributing to ethics applications, coordinating data collection, and completing data processing and analysis.
Raisa Allarakhia
Raisa Allarakhia is a 2nd year Neuroscience student at UBC and research assistant working under Dr. Jordan Hamden at the Ciernia Lab to characterize the role of gut-derived metabolites with neuroactive, epigenetic regulatory properties and brain immune cells that display receptor-mediated interactions with misfolded proteins as causal links between inflammatory bowel disease and neurodegenerative proteinopathy, using a mouse model of comorbid IBD and Alzheimer’s Disease. She is the lead image analyst using immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy to quantify cell morphology, protein organization, and cell-protein interactions in ex-vivo mouse brain tissues. Post-grad, Raisa is interested in pursuing graduate research using confocal and in vivo two-photon microscopy to study neurovascular and neuroimmune disorders in rodent disease models. Through her research at the Ciernia Lab and participation in SBME Synergy this summer, she hopes to develop new skillsets in AI-powered 3D surface rendering and filament tracing of confocal Z-stacks, for visualization of high specificity microglia-plaque interactions.
Reid Chase
Reid Chase is a third-year student at UBC pursuing a Combined Honours in Microbiology and Immunology & Computer Science. His research interests lie at the intersection of immunology and computational analysis, with a focus on using data-driven approaches to develop more effective therapeutic treatments. His previous research experience was at the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, where he created a bioinformatic workflow to identify candidate genes contributing to paediatric vasculitis. Outside of academics and research, Reid competes in rock climbing at the national level, and he also enjoys playing racquet sports and chess. This summer, he will be working under the supervision of Dr. Peter Zandstra and PhD candidates Divy Raval and Jiyoung Yun. He will investigate how chimeric antigen receptor costimulatory domains regulate T cell differentiation by combining stem cell engineering, flow cytometry–based phenotyping, and transcriptomic analysis. Through this project, he hopes to gain experience with these experimental techniques and developing engineered immune cell therapies.
Robben Liu
Robben Liu is a fourth year Biomedical Engineering student at the University of British Columbia, with a strong interest in understanding and controlling tissue growth. He is currently a research assistant in the Shakiba Lab at the School of Biomedical Engineering, where he is developing a microfluidic platform to generate human embryo-like models for regenerative medicine applications. Under the supervision of Dr. Nika Shakiba, he will focus on designing integrated circulating pump systems and studying embryo-like model formation under dynamic flow conditions. Through this project, he aims to emerge as a convergent researcher with experience in experimental biology and stem cell bioengineering, while growing as an interdisciplinary collaborator. Outside the lab, he enjoys playing soccer and badminton, reading, and listening to music.
Saige Mann
Saige Mann is in her third year studying Biomedical Engineering at UBC. Born and raised in Stratford, Ontario, Saige chose UBC to pursue cellular engineering. Outside of class, she is a member of UBC iGEM, where she’s worked on both the biomaterials and hardware teams and recently became the hardware lead. She has also just finished her term as the Engineering Undergraduate Society’s Vice President of Administration. In her free time, she enjoys baking, TV, running, and watching Hank Green on YouTube. As a Synergy student this summer, Saige will be developing a technique for reproducible sampling of spheroids for use in RNA transcriptomics.
Shahzad Shams
Shahzad Shams is a third-year Biomedical Engineering student at the University of British Columbia and a Masason Foundation Scholar. He is interested in prosthetics, assistive technology, soft sensing, and rehabilitation engineering, with a particular focus on designing devices that improve function, sensory feedback, and quality of life for users. This summer, he will be working under the supervision of Dr. John D.W. Madden in the Molecular Mechatronics Lab. His project focuses on developing a soft e-skin bypass-limb integration platform for myoelectric prosthesis research by connecting lab-developed soft sensors, a robotic prosthetic hand, and a wearable forearm feedback interface. Through this experience, he hopes to strengthen his skills in sensor integration, control systems, haptic feedback, and experimental validation, while gaining a deeper understanding of interdisciplinary biomedical engineering research and contributing to technologies that could improve upper-limb prosthetic function.
Sophia Dumont
Sophia Dumont is a first year Bachelor of Science student at UBC and alumnus of the seed2STEM Summer Research Program. She is passionate about neuroscience and is currently exploring her interests in how engineering and technology can be used to study the brain. Her Métis heritage is an important part of her identity and she is committed to her community where she enjoys volunteering. In her free time, Sophia enjoys yoga, playing the guitar and sewing/upcycling clothing. Sophia is a research assistant in the Orthopaedic & Injury Biomechanics Group (OIBG) at ICORD working under the supervision of Dr. Peter Cripton and Alex Burden. Her current project focuses on upgrading the microcontroller for the CHIMERA system to improve data precision in brain injury research. Through this experience Sophia will gain technical expertise in embedded systems and will learn how engineering can be used to solve clinical problems.
Sophie Perry
Sophie Perry is a biomedical engineering student at the University of British Columbia who grew up in Calgary, Alberta. When not working on school or research, Sophie enjoys racing her bike competitively, reading, travelling, and spending time with family and friends. She has a deep interest in the development and application of technology to further our understanding of cancer and other diseases, especially as it relates to advancing effective therapeutic solutions. As a co-op student in the Laboratory of Microtechnologies for Quantitative Biomedicine, she applied their microfluidic probe (MFP) technology to characterize differential cellular responses to global drug treatment within heterogeneous cancer cell populations. She will continue her work under the supervision of Dr. Govind Kaigala to develop a new MFP design for highly localized sub-population treatment delivery to reveal spatially restricted cellular responses within the broader context of cancer migration. Sophie hopes that this project will help to strengthen our understanding of cellular response in collective cancer migration and the role of heterogeneity in resistance mechanisms.
Zubina Zafar
Zubina Zafar is entering her third year in the Neuroscience program at UBC who was born and raised in Vancouver, BC. She is passionate about using brain imaging techniques such as MRI to guide injury treatment and rehabilitation. Currently, her summer project in Dr. Kramer’s lab at ICORD (International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries) focuses particularly on understanding how supraspinal brain regions reorganize following spinal cord injury. Her work focuses on structural neuroimaging and morphometric analysis, using techniques such as atlas-based segmentation and MRI to investigate how regions like the lateral hypothalamus may contribute to locomotor recovery. She is especially interested in linking brain structure to functional outcomes in rehabilitation. Outside of research, Zubina enjoys exploring new music, working out, watching movies with friends, and learning how to crochet!