Young Scientists Committee
The Young Scientists Committee (YSC) is a sub-committee of the CC-CRS focused on the early career development of scientists in the drug delivery field in Canada. Our mission is to provide leadership, mentorship, and skill developing resources to our talented and budding community across Canada. Stay connected with us to hear more about future events and award opportunities.
The YSC Team
Vivienne Tam
President
McGill University
Email: vivienne.tam@mail.mcgill.ca
Vivienne Tam
McGill University
Email: vivienne.tam@mail.mcgill.ca
A third year PhD student in the Biointerface Lab at McGill University, Vivienne is developing silica and polymer-coated upconversion nanoparticle systems for on-demand NIR drug release for glioblastoma multiforme treatment under the main supervision of Marta Cerruti. She is also co-supervised by Fiorenzo Vetrone at INRS and Bassam Abdulkarim at MUHC.
Sam Babity
Université de Montréal
Email: samuel.babity@umontreal.ca
Sam Babity completed a B.Sc. in Biochemistry at Concordia University in 2017 and a Master’s in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Université de Montréal in 2019. He is currently pursuing a PhD with Prof. Davide Brambilla at the Université de Montréal, developing fluorescent probes for biological analytes and optimizing their delivery to the skin using polymeric microneedles. His research interests include the design of bioinspired drugs and diagnostic systems.
Hassan Fakih
VP Communications
Hassan Fakih
McGill University
Email: hassan.fakeeh@mail.mcgill.ca
Hassan Fakih is a 5th year PhD Candidate in the Chemistry Department at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. He is currently working on the biomedical applications DNA nanocarriers, specifically on designing and testing DNA-based nanocarriers for nucleic acid therapeutics with characteristics that enable them to move faster into clinical trials (cost effective, biocompatible, specificity, stability etc.), as well as developing nanostructures for sensing and detection of biomarkers. Outside of research, Hassan is very interested in scientific communication and bridging science with policy and management.
Matthias Zadory
VP Events
Matthias Zadory
Université de Montréal
Email: matthias.zadory@umontreal.ca
After obtaining his Master’s in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHz), Matthias started his PhD in May 2021 at the University of Montreal working on the development of tailored nanoparticles for gene delivery. His research focuses on the design of versatile and innovative nanoparticle-based mRNA therapeutics for gene replacement therapy and gene editing. He is co-supervised by Dr. Simon-Pierre Gravel at the University of Montreal.
Shahla Shojaei
University of Manitoba
Email: shahla.shojaei@umanitoba.ca
Dr. Shahla Shojaei is currently in Dr. Ghavami’s lab at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, and her research focuses on the development of nanoparticles for targeted delivery of combination therapy to the chemoresistant glioblastoma. She is a member of the NHN Executive Committee in Nanomedicine Innovation Networks (NMIN), as well as the Scientific Advice Committee for Woman In Autophagy (WIA).
Lokesh Narsineni
University of British Columbia
Email: lokeshn@mail.ubc.ca
Lokesh Narsineni is working as a postdoctoral research fellow in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Pieter Cullis at The University of British Columbia. His project at the Cullis lab in UBC is focused on development of lipid nanoparticle (LNP) systems for ocular gene delivery to treat various neurodegenerative disorders and understanding the uptake and biodistribution of LNPs after administration into the eye.
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Kent Chen
BC Cancer Research Centre
Email: kchen@bccrc.ca
Kent Chen is a Mitacs post-doctoral research fellow at Cuprous Pharmaceuticals in Vancouver, Canada. His research focuses on the development of liposomal formulations for the treatment of various disease indications from viral infections to cancer. Outsides of research, Kent is also very passionate about science education and he is actively involved in pedagogical training and outreach programs. Through these programs, Kent hopes to raise science awareness and to sow the seeds of passion in potential future scientists. Beyond science, Kent is an avid sports fan. He loves playing golf and basketball and he tries to stay as active as he can.
Nastaran Rezaei
Université de Montréal
Email: nastaran.rezaei@umontreal.ca
Nastaran received her Master's in Nanobiotechnology at the University of Tehran and she is currently a PhD student in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Université de Montréal, under the supervision of Prof. Davide Brambilla. Her research project and interests focus on optimizing and developing targeted liposome formulations as therapeutic agents.
Bahareh Hosseinpour
Social Media Coordinator
Carleton University
Email: baharehhosseinpour@cmail.carleton.ca
Lesly Carolina Penaloza
Social Media Coordinator
Université de Montréal
Email: lesly.penaloza@umontreal.ca
Lesly Carolina Penaloza
Université de Montréal
Email: lesly.penaloza@umontreal.ca
Lesly Carolina Penaloza is a last-year student in MSc in pharmaceutical sciences at Montreal University. Currently, she is a member of the laboratory of pharmaceutical micro and nanotechnology led by Davide Brambilla, Ph.D. Her main research centers on developing liposomal formulations for drug and enzyme delivery. She is also interested in exosomes as drug delivery carriers. She has been part of the YSC since 2019.
Bahareh Hosseinpour
Carleton University
Email: baharehhosseinpour@cmail.carleton.ca
Bahareh is a first-year Ph.D. student in the chemistry department at Carleton University, Ottawa under the supervision of Dr. Maria Derosa. Her current project works on developing and characterizing a new aptamer for leukemia biomarkers and, if successful, using this new DNA for nucleic acid drug delivery. She is also being supervised by Dr. Bill Willlmore at the Biology department of Carleton University.