Our People - Therapeutics

Research Interests:

• Viral vector drug delivery

• Biological nano-particles (Virus-Like Particles or VLPs)

• Vaccines, gene therapy, gene expression, genetic diseases

• Baculovirus Bioprocessing

• Process dynamics of virus-based systems for the production of complex biologics such as viral vectors and vaccines

• Development of strategies using multiple viruses to obtain recombinant products in cell culture

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ResearchGate

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[YouTube Lecture] September 30, 2014 "Tools and strategies for complex biologics production in animal cells: applications to insect and mammalian cell culture"

[YouTube] January 26, 2011 "Research Profile: Marc Aucoin"

Research Interests:

• Imaging for Type 1 Diabetes
• Alzheimer Diagnosis
• Imaging of the Rear of the Eye
• Optical Properties of the Eye amd changes in the Eye's Optical Properties
• Two Photon Therapies
• Ophthalmic instrumentation, optical systems, quality and design

• Confocal microscopy and ophthalmoscopy, measurement of refractive error

• Retinal image quality

• Optical effects of refractive surgery, reflections from the retina

• Optical properties of the eye, monochromatic aberrations of the eye

• Refractive properties of the crystalline lens and their changes with growth and accommodation

• Eye-imaging systems for treatment and diagnosis

• Biophysics, bio-photonics, and Vision Science.

ResearchGate

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[Research2Reality] May 8, 2015 "Early Alzheimer's Diagnosis: Imaging the Living Eye"

[YouTube Lecture] October 1, 2014 "Optics of the Eye as a Window on the Brain"

[YouTube] February 12, 2013 "Melanie Campbell AAAS Profile"

[Waterloo Stories] February 12, 2013 "An early test for Alzhemer's disease"

[Waterloo Stories] January 22, 2013 "Early test for Alzheimer's may rely on the eyes"

Office of Research - Technology Transfer & Commercialization:

• Imaging Amyloid Beta in the Retina
• Ophthalmic and Microscopy Imaging Technology

Research Interests

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Boredom
• Mental Health 
• Neuroimaging 

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CBB Executive Director

Research Interests:

• Fundamental shoulder function and dysfunction
• Creation and validation of mathematical models to predict shoulder demands
• Applications of shoulder biomechanics to workplace injury prevention
• Rehabilitative and preventative strategies for ensuring shoulder health
• Digital human modeling, Computational musculoskeletal modeling
• Ergonomics
• Motion Capture
• Upper limb biomechanics

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ResearchGate

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Canada Research Chair in Shoulder Mechanics [Canada Research Chair Profile]

[Waterloo News] February 19, 2019 "How to make the push-up work for you" 

[Waterloo Stories] October 7, 2013 "Reducing shoulder injuries in the workplace"

Research Interests:

• Molecular function prediction, design (proteins, DNA)

• Computational genomics

• Evolutionary bioinformatics and computational biology

[WCMR] June 18, 2018, receives Thermo Fisher Scientific Award

[Daily Bulletin] June 1, 2018, 11 CBB Members Named Outstanding Performance Award Winners

[Waterloo Stories] January 26, 2018 "Scientists find new kind of botox"

Research Interests:

• Cancer research

• Cell cycle, DNA replication, biomarkers and checkpoints

• Genetics, yeast genetics, molecular biology

• Protein factors

• Kinases

• Chromatin

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[CBB researcher story] January 2, 2013 "How the Trout are Saving Us: Using Biomarkers to Improve Water Quality"

Research Interests:

• Pharmacokinetics of drugs and environmental contaminants
• Optimization of drug therapy
• Physiologically-based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling and simulation (prediction of the absorption, distribution and elimination of a compound within an organism)

Research Interests:

• Intelligent drug delivery system design (dermal, transdermal, transmucosal, ocular, and intranasal) for Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Cancer, Immunology (Glaucoma, neural degenerative disorders, HPV, LSIL/CIN I, cervical cancer, Scleroderma)

• Non-invasive drug delivery technologies, biomolecular devices

• Gene therapy, protein, and vaccine development

• Nanomedicine, pharmaceutical development

• Nanotoxicology (nanomaterials, bioimaging, biomarkers)

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ResearchGate

[Global Impact] [CBC] April 30, 2018 "Working with gene therapy to treat glaucoma"

[Waterloo Stories] July 5, 2012 "Revolutionary drug delivery"

Research interests:

[Science Direct] August 10, 2018 "Revealing the atomistic details behind the binding of B7–1 to CD28 and CTLA-4: A comprehensive protein-protein modelling study"

[Nature] August 27, 2019 "Comprehensive in vitro characterization of PD-L1 small molecule inhibitors"

Research interests:

LinkedIn

Media:

[Waterloo Stories] August 31, 2020 "Pandemic isolation increases acceptance of robot companions"
   
[Waterloo Chronicle] August 31, 2020 "People are now willing to accept social robots as companions due to COVID-19 isolation: University of Waterloo study"
   
[Cheriton School of Computer Science News] August 29, 2019 "Moojan Ghafurian, Kerstin Dautenhahn and Jesse Hoey awarded funding to develop emotionally intelligent robots to help people with dementia"
   
[ACM Technews] May 21, 2019 "Making AI More Human"
   
[Semiconductor Engineering] May 28, 2019 "Crocheted robots; humanizing AI agents; training autonomous control systems"
   
[Cheriton School of Computer Science News] May 21, 2019 "Moojan Ghafurian, Neil Budnarain and Jesse Hoey make AI more human"
   
[Therapy Toronto News] October 22, 2018 "Study suggests faster countdowns may make people more patient"
   
[Education News Canada] May 22, 2019 "Making AI more human is key to widespread acceptance"

Research Interests:

• Methionine chemistry and biochemestry (amino acid methionine and its roles in proteins, cellular pathways and its functions)

• Bionanomaterials, bionanotechnology (for novel drug carriers, molecular foundations for nanodevices)

• Medicinal chemistry

• Enzymology
• Bioorganic chemistry
• Protein structure and function

ResearchGate

[Daily Bulletin] June 1, 2018, 11 CBB Members Named Outstanding Performance Award Winners

Research interests:

Research Interests:

• Clinical trial design
• Contact lens performance
• Drug delivery
• Ocular biomaterials
• Proteins at interfaces

LinkedIn

ResearchGate

​Google Scholar

University Research Chair

Office of Research - Technology Transfer & Commercialization:

• Long-lasting Eye Drop Delivery Platform for Targeted Ocular Delivery Applications

Research Interests:

• Design/discovery of potential therapeutics to target various diseases
• Understanding the structure and pharmacology of membrane proteins
• Development of in silico methods/tools for sequence, structure and functional analysis
• Inferring the structure-function evolution of proteins
• Protein engineering for biotechnology and pharmaceutical applications

[American Chemical Society] January 23, 2012 "Exploring Inhibitor Release Pathways in Histone Deacetylases Using Random Acceleration Molecular Dynamics Simulations"

[Wiley Online Library] July 27, 2013 "Ligand release mechanisms and channels in histone deacetylases"

[Royal Society of Chemistry] December 19, 2013 "A steered molecular dynamics mediated hit discovery for histone deacetylases"

[Nature Methods] May 8, 2017 "ModelFinder: fast model selection for accurate phylogenetic estimates"

[Royal Society of Chemistry] October 24, 2017 "Reverse engineering: transaminase biocatalyst development using ancestral sequence reconstruction"

Research Interests:

• Innate immunity of amphibians
• Regulation of innate immune cell development (macrophages, neutrophils) from progenitor cell populations
• Host-pathogen-environment interactions

Google Scholar

Research Interests:

• Musculoskeletal biomechanics related to human health and injury prevention, and the role that advanced age has on these relationships.
• Fall-related tissue trauma including hip fractures, spinal cord injuries, and traumatic brain injuries
• Workplace musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD)
• Orthopedic biomechanics

ResearchGate

​Google Scholar

[YouTube] Andrew Laing, Department of Kinesiology, UW

Research Interests:

• Biophysics of lipids and lipid-protein interactions

• The role of structural changes and physical properties of lipid template in controlling biological processes and diseases

• Biomedical nanotechnology (lipid films, molecular mechanism of Alzheimer's disease)

• Drug development and delivery systems, antimicrobial peptides in lung disorders

• Fluorescence and atomic force microscopy

• Kelvin probe force microscopy and single molecule force spectroscopy

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ResearchGate

Google Scholar

[Global Impact] May 2018, studying Alzheimer's at a molecular level to find a cure

[YouTube Lecture] October 1, 2014 "Scanning probe microscopy in biomedical research"

Research interests:

• Aging and neurodegeneration
• Movement disorders
• Gait kinematics
• Neuropsychology and neurocognitive assessment
• Mood, emotion and cognition
• Fear, threat, anxiety and depression
• Virtual reality

Google Scholar

Research interests:

• Neurodegeneration
• Huntington Disease
• Autophagy
• Apoptosis
• Fatty acylation

Google Scholar

Research Interests:

• Proteins: energetics, kinetics, mechanisms, structure, dynamics, folding, function, evolution, engineering and design, thermodynamics, kinetics (ALS, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, prions, cancer)

• High resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fluorescence, CD, NMR, FTIR, DLS)

• Optical spectroscopies

• Bioinformatics and computational modelling

• Biocomputing and protein engineering

• Biophysical chemistry and biochemistry
• Bionanotechnology and biomaterials

​[Waterloo News] November 24, 2015 "New insights into protein structure could change the future of biomedicine"

[​Chemistry News] August 20, 2014 "Chemist Elizabeth Meiering takes on the ALS ice bucket challenge"

Research Interests:

• Drug discovery
• Rational drug design and medicinal chemistry
• Cancer therapy
• Treatment of neurological disorders (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's)
• Drug discovery/rational design
• Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel organic molecules and peptides/peptidomimics as therapeutic agents

ResearchGate

​Google Scholar

[Science News] October 22, 2018 "Nekkar lab determines that depression medications can help treat Alzheimer’s disease"

​[Pharmacy News] July 29, 2015 "Waterloo pharmacist examines drug therapies for Alzheimer’s disease"

Research interests:

• Bacterial pathogenesis
• Response to reactive species
• Antibiotic resistance
• Host-pathogen interaction
• Genomics

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Research interests:

Research interests:

Google Scholar

Research Interests

• Early Cancer Detection
• Eliminating Positive Surgical Margins
• Non-contact Biopsies for Endoscopy 
• Functional Brain Imaging 
• Early Detection and Understanding the Age-related Vision Loss Problems
• Wound Care
• Cardiovascular
• Machine learning/AI

[Linkedin]

[Google Scholar]

Research Interests

• Virtual Reality
• Wearables Devices
• Computer Human Interaction, haptics, design
• Data Science
• Mental Health
• Nutritional Science

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LinkedIn

Research Gate

[YouTube] October 11, 2018 "DualPanto: A Haptic Device that Enables Blind Users to Continuously Interact with Virtual Worlds"

Research Interests:

• Biomechanics
• Mathematical modeling of hydrocephalus
• Mathematical oncology

ResearchGate

[Applied Mathematics Biomedical Research Group]

[Waterloo Stories] January 16, 2018 "Math can predict how cancer cells evolve"

Research Interests:

• Drug discovery, delivery systems and nanomedicine

• Gene therapy, microbial genetics

• Oncology, Antiviral therapeutics design

• Anti-bacterials

• Acne cosmeceutical design

• Phage-based biotechnology

• Viral exclusion systems

• Cosmeceuticals

• Vaccine design (dementia), bacteriophage-based biotechnology, use of coliphages to design and construct vectors for the development of novel vaccines, pharmaceuticals and gene delivery systems, and the identification and application of novel phage genomic anti-bacterial genes with potential phage therapy applications.

• Strategic management in Pharmacy; healthcare reform

LinkedIn

ResearchGate

Research Interests:

• Enhanced drug delivery systems, gene therapy

• Associative polymers for environmentally friendly coatings

• Sustainable nanomaterials (cellulose nanocrystals)

• Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP) and stimuli responsive polymeric systems

• Polymer-surfactant interactions

• Magnetic nanoparticles for novel separation processes

University Research Chair

Google Scholar

Research Interests:

• Nanomaterials, nanodevices, biosensors for applications in food processing, bioreactors and biotechnology, natural gas purification, fuel cell, and water purification

• Nano-Bio Hybrids for Tissue Engineering and Medicine for drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

• Bio-molecule assisted nanomaterial self-assembly

• Health and environmental effects of engineered nanomaterials

Research Interests:

• Medicinal chemistry/enzymology (treatment of prostate and breast cancer, diabetes)

• Nanomedicine; development of novel antibiotics

• Bionanomaterials; synthetic polymers and methodologies

• Peptide, charbohydrate, nucleoside and nucleotide chemistry

[Daily Bulletin] June 1, 2018, 11 CBB Members Named Outstanding Performance Award Winners

[Science News] February 4, 2015 "Chemists develop new method to improve the discovery of antibiotics"

Research Interests:

• Biochemistry and molecular biology of programmed cell death

• Functional genomics of senescence (biological aging) and apoptosis

• Comparative aspects of senescence and stress including the role of hormones and the involvement of free radicals

• Applicable therapies for cancers, inflammatory diseases (arthritis and sepsis), and in the agricultural sector (enhance yield, develop tolerance to environmental stress and plant diseases, and increase the shelf-life of perishable produce)

The Royal Society of Canada Fellow

Research interests:

• Environmental biology, industrial biotechnology, and therapeutics
• Production of sustainable chemicals
• Novel bioprocesses for applications in bioresource engineering and biorefining
• Microalgae, metabolic engineering, and ionic liquid based separations in biological systems

Google Scholar

Research Interests:

• Gene therapy and drug delivery systems (prostate and ovarian cancer treatment)

• Polymeric nanomaterials, biopolymers

• Novel surface active compounds (gemini surfactants)

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ResearchGate

Google Scholar

[Daily Bulletin] June 1, 2018, 11 CBB Members Named Outstanding Performance Award Winners

[CBB researcher story] July 21, 2015 "Vectors for gene therapy and improving drug solubility"

Research interests:

• Vision rehabilitation
• Systems for optimizing patient care outcomes
• Retinal disease
• Pharmacology.

Research Interests:

• MEMS/NEMS

• Nanodevices and carbon nanotube-based sensors for biomedical applications (early disease detection)

• Microassembly and micromirror devices for genetic microarray reading and tissue imaging

• Lab-on-a-chip designs

Canada Research Chair in Micro and NanoDevices [Canada Research Chair Profile]

Research Interests:

• Stem cells, nanofabrication and advancement of biomaterials in healthcare technologies to repair, replace or regenerate damaged tissue and organ structures

• Fabrication and application of nano-structure for biomedical applications in neural, vascular, and cornea tissue engineering

• ​Biomaterial approach to study ex-vivo pluripotent stem cell expansion

• Modulation of cell behavior with nanotopography

• Topography-regulation of stem cells lineage commitment and differentiation

• Differentiation of adult and pluripotent stem cells with nanotopography

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LinkedIn

Research Interests:

• Biopharmaceuticals (therapeutics, treatment of autoimmune diseases, prevent rejection of organ transplants)

• Industrial biomanufacturing and biotechnology (fermentation, food ingredients, enzymes, biofuels)

• Environmental management (bioremediation of carcinogenic environmental pollutants, filtration, chromatography)

The Royal Society of Canada Fellow

[YouTube Lecture] September 29, 2014 "Biofuels and Waste Treatment"

[YouTube Lecture] September 19, 2013 "Industrial Biotechnology: Current developments and trends"

[UW Eng-e-news] August 14, 2013 "Engineering Life-enhancing research"

[Waterloo Stories] May 3, 2013 "Can bacteria help create a cheaper fuel for our cars?"

[CBB researcher story] December 6, 2012 "Bringing Bioengineering and Biotechnology to its Fullest Potential"

Research Interests:

• Ultrasound imaging innovations: Complex flow imaging, High-performance beamforming platforms, Flow phantom design

• Therapeutic ultrasound discoveries: Sonoporation, Micro/nanobubble cavitation, Wave-matter interactions, Cellular dynamics studies

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