Team Members

Eric Birkenhauer

M.A.Sc Student (05/2013 ~)

Eric is working towards his M.A.Sc degree in Biological Engineering at the University of Guelph. His research project involves the examination of polymicrobial wound biofilms using microfluidic technology and nanoscale imaging tools. Eric completed his Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science at the University of Waterloo in April 2013. In his final year at Waterloo, he completed a senior honours project involving the screening of soil microbes for the production of bioplastics. Outside of his research, Eric enjoys playing the guitar, squash, camping, and working on his musical collection.

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Adam Vogt

M.Sc Student (05/2013 ~ )

Adam is working towards his MSc in Biological Engineering program at the University of Guelph. He completed his BSc in Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo in April 2013. Adam's thesis project is on designing and developing gut microbiota models using microfluidic systems to understand the chemotaxis of Helicobacter Pylori. Outside of research, Adam enjoys playing trumpet, road bicycling, skiing and windsurfing.

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Abu Muslim (Co-supervise with Dr. Mohammad)

M.Eng Student (05/2013 ~ )

Abu received his BSC in Computer Science and Engineering from Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh. In his final year, Abu completed a project involving E-Commerce. He is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Engineering Systems and Computing at the University of Guelph.  His current research focuses on path planning of bionano robots for drug delivery applications. Outside of his study Abu enjoys photography, bicycling, and playing badminton.

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Harshpreet Nanda

M.Eng Student (01/2013 ~ )

Nanda is working towards his Master's degree at the University of Guelph. His research focuses on the development of network architecture for wireless nanosensors. Nanda completed his Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communications in 2012 at the Punjab Technical University, India. He enjoys music, and watching and playing cricket.

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Mohammad Jalali

Project Scientist (02/2013 ~ )

Mohammad graduated with a PhD in food microbiology from the University of Western Sydney, Australia. His PhD research focused on the molecular epidemiology of Listeria in food and he determined the routes of transmissions of Listeria in food production environments. Then he worked as a faculty member at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran and involved in teaching microbiology, research and food industry consultation. Currently, his research is focused on the molecular epidemiology of Clostridium difficile and metagenomics.  At Dr. Suresh lab, Mohammad is developing methods for analysis of bacterial chemotaxis and food-borne pathogenic biofilms using microfluidic systems. He loves playing soccer and spending time with his two sons and wife.

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Evan Wright

B.Eng Student (05/2013 ~)

Evan is currently pursuing his Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Engineering at the University of Guelph. Evan is working in Dr. Suresh’s lab over the summer as part of the NSERC USRA program and is studying the chemotaxis of Listeria using microfluidic systems. His previous research experience includes DNA extraction and analysis in support of the Applied Bean Genomics project. Outside of the lab, Evan enjoys playing intramural volleyball, reading and listening to music.

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Matthew Dicicco

M.Sc Student  (09/2011~ )

Matthew is working toward his M.A.Sc. in Biological Engineering at the University of Guelph. His current research focuses on the study of biofilms through the use of atomic force microscopy and microfluidic devices. He completed his Bachelor's degree in Biological Engineering in April 2011 from the University of Guelph, contributing toward research projects involving repeatability testing on a biomedical research device and process efficiency development at a waste-water treatment facility through bench-scale modeling. Outside of the lab Matthew enjoys rock-climbing, slacklining, running, and playing intramural waterpolo and soccer.

Zhong Yangquanwei (07/2012 ~ 12/2012)

Zhong worked as a MITACS Globalink research intern at Dr. Suresh lab of the University of Guelph. She is a Crop Physiology and Ecology student at the Northwest Agriculture & Forestry University in China, scheduled to complete her Bachelor/Master Dual Degree of Agriculture by April, 2014. Her current research focuses on the study of improving crop’s yield and quality by crop farming and cultivation methods. At Dr. Suresh lab, Zhong’s developed cytogenetic analysis of Quinoa using Atomic Force Microscopy, and soft X-ray spectromicroscopy. Zhong is an avid reader, a singer, and a Ping Pong player.

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Jacob Terry (09/2012 ~ 12/2012)

Jacob is a Nanotechnology Engineering undergraduate student at the University of Waterloo. As a co-op intern at Dr. Suresh's lab Jacob developed microfluidic wound models to test the efficacy of antimicrobial agents against MRSP biofilms using a series of microscopy, cell culture and biochemical techniques. Jacob presented his research work at the Nano Ontario 2013 conference during his tenure at the BioNano Lab. Outside of his studies and work, Jacob enjoys running, camping and hiking.

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Shreya Nijhawan (09/2012 ~ 12/2012)

Shreya is a 4th year biological engineering student at the University of Guelph. At Dr. Suresh Lab, Shreya worked on projects exploring the bacterial surface interactions using microlfuidic systems. Her research interests are in medical imaging and bioinstrumentation. She enjoys river rafting, playing baminton and camping.

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Alexander Griffith (05/2012 ~ 08/2012)

Alex has completed 7 semesters in Biological Engineering at the University of Guelph. He is scheduled to complete his degree in April of 2013.  Alex worked on a project titled 'Prevention and Control of Biofouling in Food Industries using Bionano Approaches' in which he developed smart surfaces using silver zeolite and characterized them with SEM and AFM for understanding the antifouling behaviour. Alex won the Canadian Society for Bioengineering Undergraduate Scholarship Award at Orillia during July 2012. Apart from his education and employment Alex takes part in recreational hockey, and skiing during the winter. He also enjoys running and pick up football during the summer.

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Mark Fletcher (May 2012 ~ August 2012)

Mark is a 3rd year Biomedical Engineering student at the University of Guelph. As a biomedical co-op student at Suresh lab, Mark developed an intelligent system for drug delivery using bionanorobots. Mark also won the visual challenge contest of the Resource Magazine by the American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE). His work includes development of a computer-assisted illustration of bionanorobots manoeuvring through the blood stream in search of tumors. In his spare time Mark enjoys running, and playing hockey and soccer.

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Afsaneh Najarian (05/2012 ~ 09/2012)

Afsaneh Najarian is currently a PhD student at the Department of Food Science, University of Guelph. Her PhD thesis is on the control of infection of Clostridium difficile027 by molecules secreted in Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5. As a research assistant at Dr. Suresh lab, she developed analytical methods for comparative analysis of bacterial chemotaxis using microfluidic systems. In her spare time, she enjoys reading science and philosophy books, and play volleyball and badminton. She also loves spending time with her family.

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Anup Suresh (05/2012 ~ 09/2012)

Anup is a Biomedical Engineering student at Ryerson University, scheduled to complete his degree by April, 2013. His research project at the BioNano laboratory involves evaluation of internal tissue components of cereal kernels by 3D geometric reconstruction techniques. He plans to pursue a career in research with a focus on medical imaging and rehabilitation engineering. Apart from education and work, Anup is an active dance member of the South Asian student group at Ryerson and enjoys playing soccer and reading.

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Jeremy Devine (05/2012 ~ 08/2012)

Jeremy is a Biomedical Engineering undergraduate student at the University of Guelph. As a summer student at the Bionano lab, Jeremy investigated the biomacromolecules and plant chromosomes using cytogenetic and nano-scale imaging techniques. He developed karyotypes of bacterial blight resistant bean chromosomes using atomic force microscopy, and presented his research findings at the 2012 CSBE Annual Conference at Orillia. While not hard at work, Jeremy enjoys playing tennis, guitar and reading anything and everything.

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Lesley Shea (05/2012 ~ 08/2012)

Lesley Shea is a Biological Engineering student at the University of Guelph. At the Bionano Lab, Lesley developed minimum inhibition and minimum eradication concentration profiles of antimicrobial agents for MRSP bacterial strains. In her spare time, Lesley enjoys sailing, canoeing, and hiking.

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