This summer the Santerre lab is thrilled to welcome four research students joining us from a diverse set of programs.
Gisele Beier is a new summer research student here at the Santerre Lab. This fall she will be entering her fourth and final year of Biochemical Engineering at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Gisele’s project focuses on engineering arterial grafts from patient-derived cells with the objective of generating a cell-seeded scaffold system. Some of her work will involve mechanically testing the scaffolds, analyzing the constructs using polarized light microscopy, as well as performing biochemical assays. Gisele’s work is supported by funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Translational Biology and Engineering Program (TBEP). In her free time, Gisele enjoys biking to the Harbourfront, playing tennis, painting, and spending time with her friends and family.
Junho Lee is a second-year dental student at the University of Toronto. He is a recipient of the Faculty of Dentistry Summer Research Award and the Translational Biology and Engineering Program Undergraduate Summer Research Program Award. His summer project aims to determine the subcellular localization and uptake mechanism of self-assembled oligourethane nanoparticles containing RNP complexes in HEK293T cells. The goal of this project is to help us understand the necessary mechanisms in order to develop safe and effective ways to deliver biomolecules/drugs into cells. Junho was drawn to the Santerre Lab because of his interest in biomaterials, translational research, and his summer project, as they are all relevant to the field of dentistry. In his spare time, he likes to exercise and watch Sci-Fi shows.
Justin Trac is in his second year of the Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) program at the University of Toronto. His summer research project is to assess the differentiation characteristics of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CM) cultured on an in-house laminin-coated electrospun Gel/D-PHI/PCNU scaffold. Additionally, he will be investigating fibrosis-related gene expression of human cardiac fibroblasts following exposure to monocyte/monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) secretions. Justin is interested in learning about biomaterials, specifically how scaffolds can influence the modulation of progenitor and immune cells. He is supported by funding from the Translational Biology and Engineering Program (TBEP) Undergraduate Summer Research Scholarship. Justin also enjoys playing badminton, cooking, and playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends.
Lingyun Zhu is going into her third year of material science engineering (MSE) at the University of Toronto. Her project for the summer is to develop novel adhesives using ester-free monomers. Most of her duties will be working with Zach Gouveia on synthesizing monomers and testing their mechanical properties, bonding strength, and stability in wet and enzymatic conditions compared to commercial ones. Lingyun has a great interest in sketching, and she had a notebook for collecting her sketches (which she is proud of!). She is also considering applying for a PhD in BME after graduating from MSE.
