Biographies
Régis Pomès
PhD, University of Houston, 1993
Postdoc, Université de Montréal, 1996
Postdoc, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1999
Hospital for Sick Children Senior Scientist, Molecular Medicine
University of Toronto Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry
Canada Research Chair, 2001-2011 Proteomics, Bioinformatics & Functional Genomics
Zhi Zeng
E-mail: wilson.zeng@mail.utoronto.ca
Having had my undergraduate training in chemistry and research experience in protein biochemistry, I now find myself writing codes and watching the proteins dance. My current growing research interest lies in the functional dynamics of biomolecules. Apart from making delicious dishes such as Western Blots, I like to read non-fiction articles from the Economist and FiveThirtyEight.
Richard Banh
E-mail: richard.banh@mail.utoronto.ca
Bonjour! I completed my BSc at the University of Toronto specializing in Biochemistry. Despite my academic background, I am computer enthusiast who is interested contributing to serveral research fields by applying computational tools. In my spare time, you can find me starting new computer-related projects, playing video games, upgrading my personal computer rig, or running by the lake as the sun rises.
Alumni
Aditi Ramesh
Ananya Srivastava
Hello! My name is Ananya and I am an avid traveller, glitter aficionado, and aspiring UofT graduate student from Mississauga, Ontario. I received my BSc from Bishop’s University where I studied honours chemistry with a minor in classical music. I am a recovering technophobe fascinated by the endless possibilities of computational chemistry, and I hope to complete my graduate studies in this field. I love meeting new people, making bad chemistry jokes (because all the good ones argon), and taking long walks on the beach.
Andrea Guljas
E-mail: andrea.guljas@mail.utoronto.ca
Hello! My name is Andrea, and I’m working on my MSc in the Pomès lab. I completed my undergraduate here at UofT where I specialized in Pharmacology and Biomedical Toxicology, with a major in Neuroscience and a minor in French. My current project involved using quantum mechanics calculations and information from protein crystal structures in order to better understand π-π interactions between amino acids. I’ll be able to use these results to create a more effective molecular dynamics model for the phase separation of intrinsically disordered proteins. When I’m not working on my research, I love to explore new places in Toronto, read sci-fi and fantasy books, and travel.
Anna Liang
E-mail: awsliang@gmail.com
Hey! I'm currently pursuing a MSc in the Biochemistry department at the University of Toronto, and joined the Pomès lab to learn how to use computational techniques and simulations to study biological systems. I'm originally from Scarborough and got my BSc from McMaster University. I graduated from their Biochemistry Co-op program, working at the IRCM in Montréal and science writing positions here and in Ottawa before rediscovering that I still love living in Toronto the most. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking to tall places, reading about psychology, owning too many plants, and falling off my bike.
Anna Nikolic
Ching-Hsing Yu
Ching-Hsing Yu is an HPC Administrator at SciNet.
Christopher Ing
I aim to understand the biophysical mechanisms of wild-type and mutant cytochrome c oxidase using all-atom molecular dynamics. I am particularly interested in ion movement and solvation in these proteins.
Under the guidance of Dr. Pierre Nicholas Roy, I calculated properties of small quantum clusters systems at ultra low temperatures. To achieve this I utilized a path integral molecular dynamics sampling method which I assisted in implementing in the Molecular Modelling Toolkit. The simulation of path integral helium about a fixed CO2 impurity is shown here for a 64 time-slice helium atom.
I am also actively involved in studying the molecular structure and function of other membrane proteins like the voltage-gated sodium channel. I am currently working on Python software to assist in the analysis of timeseries data from multiple simulation repeats.
Chris Madill
Chris Neale
David Caplan
Elisa Fadda
B.Sc. and M.Sc.(Laurea), Physical Chemistry; Universitá degli Studi di Cagliari, Cagliari (Italy)
Ph.D., Theoretical and Computational Chemistry; Université de Montréal, Montréal (Canada)
Post-Doc, Comp. Chemistry, Molecular Structure and Function, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto (Canada)
Elisa is a senior research fellow in Robert J. Woods lab in the Department of Chemistry at the National University of Ireland in Galway, where she manages the computational lab. One of the main focuses of her research is gaining insight into the structure, dynamics, and energetics of carbohydrate-protein interactions through computational methods.
Ellen Li
Fei Wang
Hi! I am a statistics student at the University of Toronto. I enjoy various stuff like playing the piano, ice-skating, poems and rock music. I also like talking to parrots and wish to keep a parrot and a large dog at the same time!
Grace Li
Ph.D, Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto
Bachelors of Mathematics, Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo
Howard Wu
Hi I'm Howard, a fourth year undergraduate Biochemistry Specialist also majoring in Economics and minoring in Computer Science. I will be joining the Pomes lab this fall for my fourth year research project. In my spare time I like to play some casual games, watch documentaries and anime, and play the piano. If you see me around, please say hi!
Jingjing Huang
E-mail: jjhuang0520@outlook.com
Hello~~~ I’m a PhD student in the Biochemistry Department. I’m from China. I have been studying the structure and function of membrane proteins. I like reading, watching anime, Netflix, sleeping, and swimming. More importantly, I like eating cheap but decent food; lying in bed while emptying my mind; staring at the lake and skyscraper from the lab; killing time by counting the number of cars on the street from PGCRL (21st). More and more importantly, I often spend lots of time dreaming about my future.
Lamia Hossain
E-mail: lam.hossain@mail.utoronto.ca
Hello and welcome to our lab! I did my undergrad at McMaster in biochemistry and having been unsure of my career, I wanted to try something different; which is why I joined a computer simulation lab. Currently, I am hoping to join a biotech/pharmaceutical company in California after my graduate studies. I love tiramisu, crème brûlée, hiking, badminton, mystery books and I may or may not be a little obsessed with Paris (spot the 7 Eiffel Tower stuff if you ever come by my desk).
Loan Huynh
Marty Kurylowicz
Marty Kurylowicz holds a BSc(Hon), minor in philosophy and MSc in experimental physics from UBC, and is pursuing his PhD in Biochemistry at U of T. His past scientific endeavors include optoelectronics at Nortel, low temperature physics at UBC, biophysics at the Free University of Berlin, and chasing dark matter at Stanford and Berkeley. He also runs Yogalab with his wife, and creates sculpture of biomolecular form in wood.
Nick Wang
Nilu Chakrabarti
Quang Huynh
E-mail: paul.huynh@sickkids.ca
Xin chào! My name is Quang or Paul. I am from Vietnam. I received my B.Sc. degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Toronto. I went on to complete my M.Sc. in Biochemistry under the direction of Dr. Régis Pomès. I am currently a research project coordinator. My research work has been focusing on elucidating the molecular structure and self-assembly of the disordered protein elastin using computer simulation and spectroscopic methods. In my spare time, I enjoy swimming and playing/watching soccer.
Rachel Ko
I have just finished my first year of engineering at Queen's University. I will be entering the chemical engineering stream (biochemical option) for the upcoming academic year, and will be graduating (hopefully!) in 2017. When I graduate, I want to do something related to pharmaceuticals or processing, or maybe even the biomedical field! I like to read, I'm a coin collector, and one day I would love to go backpacking in Europe with a couple of friends :)
Rowan Henry
B.Sc., Computational Science, Biochemistry Option; University of Waterloo
Research Assistant, Radiation Laboratory, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN (2003) Stochastic modelling of the chemistry induced by high energy particles travelling through various liquid mediums.
Research Intern, J. J. Slaon Group, University of Waterloo Chemistry Department, Waterloo, ON (2003) Aerosol spectra extraction from satellite spectroscopic data.
Sarah Rauscher
PhD, Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto BSc, Physics Major and Chemistry Minor, McMaster University
Stéphanie Baud
Previously a postdoc in the Pomés lab, Stéphanie is now a Maitre de Conference working at the Universite de Reims-Chanpagne-Ardenne in France where she continues to work on elastin peptides, their interaction with the extracellular matrix and also the aging process of elastin.
Zhuyi Xue
MSc, Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 2013
BSc, Life Science, Honors Program, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China, 2010
When I am not working, I enjoy playing soccer (Huh.. I mean I really love it!). I am not a die-hard fan of any national team, but I do prefer the Spainish style. España! I also like cycling, running and swimming. I love sports.
I also do some arts viewing. I have practiced Chinese calligraphy for 6 six years when I was in the primary school. Now, I do more viewing than practicing. I really appreciate the kind of power, creativity and robustness in good art.