Our People - Cell Biology

Research Interests:

• Dynamics and control of MEMS
• Design of MEMS devices
• Micro-power generation
• Multi-body dynamics and control
• Biomechanics

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Research Interests:

• Treatment of neurological disorders (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and mental health conditions including schizophrenia and depression)

• Molecular pharmacology and pharmaceutical delivery

• Intracellular signaling pathways in neurons, and the role of cytoskeletal dynamics in the trafficking of receptors in neurons

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Research Interests

• Breast cancer, glioblastoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
• Vaccine development
• Immunotherapy
• Phage based nanomedicine

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Research Interests:

• cancer therapy
• colorectal, breast, prostate and lung carcinomas
• cancer tissue microenvironment
• chemokine pathways
• tumor-initiating cells
• proteins

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Research Gate

Research Interests:

• Research, in vitro toxicology, and biotechnology of animal cell cultures
• Roles of nutrition, hormones and polypeptide growth factors on the growth and differentiation of fish tissues and organs.

Research Interests:

• Genomics, proteins, antibodies
• Molecular immunology and immunotoxicology in fish populations and the design for better vaccines for aquaculture

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Canada Research Chair in Fish and Environmental Immunology [Canada Research Chair Profile]

[UW Science News] June 15, 2018, Waterloo Biologist mentors local teen, the 2018 International BioGENEius Challenge winner

[Waterloo Stories] January 22, 2018 "Vaccines not protecting farmed fish from disease"

[Waterloo Stories] February 13, 2014 "True love makes pacific salmon healthier"

[YouTube] October 9, 2013 "Science Scoop - For the love of fish!"

[Waterloo Stories] September 9, 2013 "Video conferencing connects Waterloo biologist to young students"

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:

• Biocompatibility with biomaterials and biomedical devices
• Mechanisms of material-induced thrombosis (blood clot formation) with mechanical heart valves and coronary stents
• Ophthalmic biomaterials (such as soft contact lenses and keratoprosthesis)

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[CBB researcher story]

[YouTube] December 23, 2013 "Waterloo Engineering Research: Targeted Drug Delivery"

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

Research interests:

• Imaging, treatment, and prevention of diseases
• Fabrication and characterization of innovative biomaterials for drug delivery systems (nanoparticles, medical devices, biodegradable films, hydrogels, etc.)
• Vaccine development for protection against HIV and other diseases

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[Waterloo News] February 6, 2019 "Researchers find new treatment for Chlamydia"

[Waterloo News] April 16, 2018 "Developing new way to fight transmission of HIV"

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:

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

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University Research Chair

Office of Research - Technology Transfer & Commercialization:

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

Research Interests:

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

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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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[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:

• Protein structure, functions, evolution (yeast, mammalian cell lines, plant-bacterial)

• Bioinformatics, systematics and protein evolution

• Protein structure and interaction modeling
• Protein expression pattern analysis
• Molecular genetics

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Research interests: 

• Neurobiological embedding of adversity
• Biological characteristics that influence outcome from brain injury
• Drug development, biomarkers
• Stroke; biological characteristics that influence outcomes from brain injury

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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

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[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:

• Molecular genetics

• Cell and Developmental Biology

• Stem Cell Biology & Cellular Differentiation
• Programmed Cell Death
• Live-Imaging Microscopy

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Research Interests:

• Protein and DNA separation analysis towards disease diagnosis and drug discovery

• Biosensing and Devices (bacterial, proteins, fluorescence)

• Living cell analysis and water toxicity testing

• Lab-on-a-Chip technology (point-of-care biomedical diagnosis , chemical detection, protein separation and identification, environmental testing)

• Micro-scale fluid mechanics, droplet microfluidics and nanofluidics

• High Throughput Screening For Drug Screening
• Manufacturing Nanomaterials and Carbon Management

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Canada Research Chair in Lab-on-a-Chip Technology [Canada Research Chair Profile]

[Waterloo Stories] June 14, 2012 "Creating the tiny future of science"

Research Interests:

• Experimental biological physics
• Stochastic processes in physics and biology
• Pysiological constraints on bioproduct synthesis

Lab Equipment: Imagestream MkII with 488nm, 642nm and 785nm lasers; 60x magnification

[YouTube Lectures] Winter School on Quantitative Systems Biology 2015

Research Interests:

• Calcium channel analysis for target drug delivery for treatment of pain, arrhythmias, angina, and potential benefits in treatment of epilepsy and cancer.

• Structure, function and pharmacology of calcium channels and sodium channels

• Structure and function and analysis of NALCN cation channel  and anti-calcium channel toxins

• The Spafford Neurobiology Research Laboratory studies voltage-gated calcium channels, molecular physiology, biophysics, cell biology, protein biochemistry, fluorescence microscopy and tissue cultures.

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[Science News] April 25, 2014 "Waterloo discovers a key regulator in the pacemakers of our brain and heart"

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

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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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