Nationality: Romanian, Australian, Canadian (and lived in UK, and Japan)
Background: Chemical Engineering & Cybernetics
Project description: well….
Dan is the head of our team. He loves splendiferous orchestral music, especially when conducted or played by people with intertwisting last names. Citing him: “…Pictures at the exhibition, Mussorgsky-Ravel, but only if directed by Celibidache; still very few concerts have an actual big bell “The Great Gate of Kiev", this one does (43:00). Khatia Buniatishvili is also great“. His favorite book is Imaginary magnitude, by Stanisław Lem and his favorite animal is his cat Sid who of course has a lot to say about our projects too.
Nationality: Mexican
Background: Gala studied in Mexico and graduated with a degree in Environmental Engineering. She worked for some years in an ERA team for the hydrocarbon sector but decided to start her master's in the Biological Microfluidics team in 2021, where she later Fast-tracked to PhD in 2022.
Project description: Gala's research is focused on understanding the exploration and motility strategies of distributed systems such as filamentous fungi and through single agents such as bacteria and algae, using microfluidic devices.
Gala is totally OBSESSED with her three dogs, or any dog for that matter (especially when wearing winter boots and coats). She loves finding new coffee shops in cities and will totally judge a place by its croissants and latte art. She'll always make memes and Harry Potter references to explain a certain situation, believes humans are nefarious, planet Earth is doomed, and saying "comfortable" in English is a horrible experience.
Nationality: Iranian
Background: B.Sc, M.Sc AND PhD Chemical Engineering
Project description: Mohammad has done research in bioelectrochemical processes, microsystem engineering, and biomedical engineering. His current project is focused on mimicking the phenomenon and understanding the causes of gas embolism in microfluidic systems.
Mohammad is starting his second PhD with our team. He likes swimming, bodybuilding, and mountain climbing. His favorite music is pop and he is REALLY into American pizza (no offense Italians). Currently, he is into watching western movies and documentaries. He loves discussing different topics and is one of the few people on Earth who can easily start from scratch and go back to the beginning of a process without feeling frustrated.
Nationality: Canadian (Japanese & Chinese heritage)
Background: B. Eng. in bioengineering from McGill (part of the third ever cohort).
Project description: Matthew is interested in computational biology and molecular modeling. His research is focused on applying computational methods to better understand molecular surfaces.
Matthew is notoriously bad at the game “Operation”, which is why he prefers his computer keyboard to the pipette. He loves to watch and play sports, to cook, to try new restaurants, and to have a few beers with friends. He enjoys TV series’, although he tries to avoid starting new ones because he’ll binge them obsessively (Community and Succession are his favourites!). He loves to joke around and doesn’t take himself too seriously so feel free to say hi!
Nationality: Mauritian
Background: Studied at the University of the west of England, Bristol, UK and graduated in Biomedical Science. She worked for approximately 6 years as Medical Laboratory Technologist (for the Government of Mauritius) but decided that she
“I engineered an escape plan—off to academia for a master’s and research!”
Project description: ‘My project investigates
Narvada loves beaches and loves to dance, but [careful] she's also a black belt in Taekwondo and an ex-cheerleader for the British Basketball League. Macaron is the way to her heart, and could absolutely live off of macarons for the rest of her life. She's obsessed with cats and especially her fur baby, Coco. She trusts the cat distribution system more than any government. She truly believes that the world belongs to cats, and we are just here to serve and provide snacks.
Nationality: Mexican
Background: Arturo has a B.Sc. in Nanotechnology Engineering and a Minor in Genomics and Synthetic Biology from Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico. He worked at the IMSS Proteomics Laboratory on peptide design and nanoencapsulation. His expertise focuses on nanofabrication and advanced materials. He's also co-founder of Lafajet, a startup addressing educational challenges through software.
Project description: His current doctoral research focuses on the design and development of microfluidic devices for Point-of-Care (PoC) applications. It involves the study and comparative analysis of 2D and 3D microchannel architectures to optimize flow dynamics and recovery efficiency.
He is a curious and energetic individual who enjoys meeting new people, cycling around the city, and discovering new restaurants. A passionate Formula 1 fan, he finds inspiration both in science and everyday life.