PEOPLE
CURRENT LAB MEMBERS
Dr. Jenny Bruin (she/her)
2021 - present, Associate Professor
2016 - 2021, Assistant Professor
Carleton University, Dept. of Biology and Institute of Biochemistry
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2010 - 2016, Postdoctoral Fellow (Advisor: Dr. Timothy Kieffer)
UBC, Dept. of Cellular and Physiological Sciences,
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2005 - 2009, PhD, Medical Sciences (Advisor: Dr. Alison Holloway)
McMaster University, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology
2000 - 2005, BSc, Biomedical Toxicology, Co-operative Education
University of Guelph
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Courses Taught
BIOC4009: Biochemistry of Disease
BIOL4201: Advanced Cell Culture and Tissue Engineering
BIOL6500: Advanced Science Communication
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Awards
2023 - Faculty of Science Research Excellence Award
2022 - Early Researcher Award
2022 - Carleton University Research Achievement Award
2021 - Faculty Graduate Mentoring Award (nominated by students)
2020 - New Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award
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DR. MYRIAM HOYECK (she/her)
Research Associate (Sept. 2023 - present)
PhD Candidate (2017 - 2023)
Project title: a) Impact of dioxins on mouse pancreas during vulnerable windows and b) link between persistent pollutants and beta cell function in humans
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CIHR PGS-D Award: 2020-2023
OGS Award: 2019-2020
OGS Award: 2018-2019
NSERC CGS-M Award: 2017-2018
INELI PERERA, MSc (she/her)
PhD Candidate (Sept. 2020 - present)
Specialization in Chemical and Environmental Toxicology
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Project title: Stem cell differentiation as a toxicity testing testing tool
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KYLE VAN ALLEN (he/him)
PhD Candidate (Sept. 2020 - present)
Project title: Impact of flame retardants on islets
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CIRTN NSERC-CREATE Doctoral Award: 2024-2026
JANA PALANIYANDI (she/her)
PhD Candidate (Sept. 2020 - present)
Specialization in Chemical and Environmental Toxicology
Co-supervised by Dr. Jillian Ashley-Martin, Health Canada
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Project title: Impact of fluorinated chemicals on islets
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GROWW Scholarship (https://www.growwprogram.com/program): 2023-2025
Government of Canada Research Affiliate Program (RAP) Student: 2023-2024
OGS Award: 2024
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ANGELA CHING (she/her)
PhD Candidate (Sept. 2021 - present)
Project title: Role of cytochrome P450 enzymes in islets
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NSERC CGS-D Award: 2023-2026
NSERC CGS-M Award: 2022-2023
LAHARI BASU (she/her)
PhD Candidate (Sept. 2021 - present)
Project title: Impact of chemotherapeutic drugs on islets
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CIRTN NSERC-CREATE Doctoral Award: 2023-2024
CIHR CGS-D Award: 2023-2026
DR. ERIN VAN ZYL (she/her)
Postdoctoral Fellow (June 2023 - present)
Project title: Impact of PFAS on human islet function and transcriptomics
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CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship: 2024-2027
CIRTN NSERC-CREATE PDF Award: 2024-2026
LILI GRIECO-ST-PIERRE (elle/she/her)
PhD Student (Sept. 2023 - present)
Specialization in Biochemistry
Project title: Impact of chemotherapeutic drugs on pancreatic islets
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Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS) Doctoral Scholarship: 2023-2027
BAILEY LAFOREST
PhD Student (Sept. 2024 - present)
Project Title: Fundamental roles of AhR in islet biology​
LAI WEI
MSc Student (Sept. 2024 - present)
Co-supervised by Dr. Jan Mennigen, University of Ottawa
Project Title: Impact of PFAS on zebrafish metabolism
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Ontario Graduate Scholarship: 2024-2025
RENEE TEJANI
Undergraduate Honour's Thesis Student (Sept 2024 - present)
Project Title: Role of AhR in beta cell proliferation
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FORMER LAB MEMBERS
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GRADUATE STUDENTS
Noa Gang (2018 - 2024) PhD Student
Erin MacFarlane (2017 - 2019) MSc Student
Geronimo Matteo Parodi (2017 - 2019) MSc Student
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RESEARCH STAFF
Antonio Hanson (2022 - 2023) Lab Technician
Rayanna Merhi (2021) Research Assistant
Erin MacFarlane (2021) Research Assistant
Kayleigh Rick (2017 - 2021) Lab Technician
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UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Nia Tubana-Dean (2024) Summer Student
CIHR USRA Award: 2024
Black and Indigenous Summer Research Internship (BISRI) Award: 2024
Anastasiia Kostianets (2023 - 2024) Summer Student, Work Study Student
Dean's Summer Research Internship (DSRI): Summer 2023
I-CUREUS: Summer 2024
Alexandra Weber (2023) Summer Student
Emilia Poleo-Giordani (2022 - 2024) Work Study Student
Shahen Shahen (2022 - 2023) Honour's Thesis Student
Jason Au (2022) Summer Student, Work Study Student
Dean's Summer Research Internship Recipient - Summer 2022
Cameron Sinclair (2022) Summer Student
NSERC USRA Award Recipient - Summer 2022
Dana Graves (2022) Summer Student
Dean's Summer Research Internship Recipient - Summer 2022
Kaitlyn McCormick (2021) Honour's Thesis Student
Sarita Cuadros Sanchez (2019 - 2021) Honour's Thesis Student, Directed Studies Student
Salar Farokhi Boroujeni (2018 - 2021) Summer Student, Honour's Thesis Student
NSERC USRA Award Recipient - Summer 2021
NSERC USRA Award Recipient - Summer 2019
Dean's Summer Research Internship Recipient - Summer 2018
Cameron Tulloch (2020 - 2021) Honour's Thesis Student
Abbie Smith (2019 - 2020) Honour's Thesis Student, Work Study Student
Julia Zebarth (2019 - 2020) Honour's Thesis Student
Shivani Solanki (Summer 2019, Winter 2020) Research Assistant, Volunteer Placement Student
Rayanna Merhi (2018 - 2019, 2021) Honour's Thesis Student
Kelsea McKay (2018 - 2019) Honour's Thesis Student
Laura Harkness (2018 - 2019) Honour's Thesis Student
Hannah Blair (2017 - 2019) Summer Student, Work Study Student
Walker Summer Research Award Recipient - Summer 2018
NSERC USRA Award Recipient - Summer 2017
Melody Zhang (Summer 2018) Honour's Thesis Student
Andrea Smith (2017 - 2018) Honour's Thesis Student
Arina Prakash (2017 - 2018) Honour's Thesis Student
Jocelyn Bonti-Ankomah (2017 - 2018) Honour's Thesis Student
Catherine Copley (2017) Summer Student
Dean's Summer Research Internship Recipient - Summer 2017
Mariam Elsawy (2017) Summer Student
Dean's Summer Research Internship Recipient - Summer 2017
GROUP LAB PICTURES
Good-bye picnic for Kayleigh and Salar
A swarm of Bruin Lab ladies graduated this year!