Yazan Abbas - Postdoctoral Fellow
BSc (McGill, 2007), PhD (McGill, 2017)
email: yazan.abbas(at)gmail.com
Yazan joined the group in October 2017. He holds a BSc and PhD in Biochemistry, the latter earned for structural studies done in the laboratory of Prof. Bhushan Nagar.
Samir Benlekbir - Cryo-EM facility manager
BSc. (Jean Monnet University, 2003), MSc (Jean Monnet University, 2005), PhD (INSA de Lyon, 2009)
email: sb(at)sickkids.ca
Samir joined the group in June 2009. He holds a BSc in Applied Physics, an MSc in Optics, Imaging and Vision, and a PhD in Materials Science.
Sarah Bickers - Graduate Student
BSc. (Waterloo, 2018)
email: sarah.bickers(at)utoronto.ca
After an eight month undergraduate co-op placement in the laboratory of Prof. Voula Kanelis in 2017, Sarah joined the Kanelis Laboratory in the University of Toronto's Department of Chemistry with John Rubinstein as her co-supervisor. She holds a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Waterloo. Sarah splits her time between the Kanelis Laboratory at the University of Toronto Mississauga and The Rubinstein Laboratory at The Hospital for Sick Children.
Stephanie Bueler - Research Project Coordinator
BSc (McGill, 2002), MSc (McGill, 2006)
email: stephanie.bueler(at)sickkids.ca
Stephanie joined the research group in January 2006 after completing her MSc in Biochemistry. Stephanie runs the group’s biochemistry laboratory.
Gautier Courbon - Graduate Student
B.Sc. (McGill, 2019)
email: gautier.courbon(at)gmail.com
Gautier joined the group in January 2020 after a summer project and a rotation in the laboratory in 2019. He did his BSc in Biochemistry.
Justin Di Trani - Postdoctoral Fellow
B.Sc. (McGill, 2011), PhD (McGill, 2018)
email: justin.ditrani(at)gmail.com
Justin joined the research group in October 2018 after completing a BSc in Chemistry with a minor in Mathematics and his PhD in Chemistry, specializing in physical biochemistry, in the laboratory of Prof. Anthony Mittermaier.
Hui Guo - Graduate Student
BSc (Toronto, 2015)
email: maomao.guo(at)mail.utoronto.ca
Hui was a summer student in the laboratory in 2014. He did a rotation in the laboratory in the fall of 2015 and joined the laboratory as a graduate student in January 2016. He has a BSc in Biophysics.
Kristine Keon - Graduate Student
BSc (Guelph, 2019)
email: kristine.keon(at)mail.utoronto.ca
Kristine was a summer student in the laboratory in 2018 and 2019. She did a rotation in the laboratory in the fall of 2019 and joined the laboratory as a graduate student in January 2020. He has a BSc in Biophysics.
Karen O'Brien – Administrative Coordinator
Theatre Production (Sheridan College 1995)
Public Administration (Ryerson 2007)
email: karen.obrien(at)sickkids.ca
Karen joined the group in June 2019 after a career in the arts. She assists with our administrative tasks and provides administrative service to two other groups.
Yingke Liang - Graduate Student
BSc (McGill, 2020)
email: yingke.liang(at)mail.utoronto.ca
Yingke joined the laboratory in September 2020. She did an Honours Biochemistry BSc at McGill.
Lin Mei - Postdoctoral Fellow
BSc (Peking, 2016), PhD (Rockefeller, 2021)
email: lin.mei(at)sickkids.ca
Lin joined the laboratory in 2021. He completed his BSc in Chemical Biology with a minor in Mathematics at Peking University before moving to the USA to do his PhD with Prof. Gregory Alushin using cryo-EM and other biophysical tools at The Rockefeller University in New York.
John Rubinstein - Senior Scientist
BSc (Guelph, 1998), PhD (Cambridge/MRC, 2002)
Canada Research Chair in Electron Cryomicroscopy
email: john.rubinstein(at)utoronto.ca
John joined the Molecular Medicine program at SickKids in 2006. Following a BSc in Physical Sciences he did his PhD and a postdoctoral fellowship with Sir John Walker and Richard Henderson, and a second short postdoctoral fellowship at U of T. He is a Professor in the Departments of Biochemistry and Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto.
Thamiya Vasanthakumar - Graduate Student
BSc (Western, 2015)
email: thamiya.vasanthakumar(at)mail.utoronto.ca
Thamiya joined the laboratory in September of 2015. She has a BSc in Biochemistry from Western University.
Hanlin Wang - Graduate Student
BSc (UBC, 2020)
email: hanlin.wang(at)mail.utoronto.ca
Hanlin joined the laboratory in January of 2021. She completed her BSc at The University of British Columbia with a major in Biochemistry and a minor in Chemistry.
Lab Alumni (PhD and Postdoctoral)
Prof. Lindsay Baker (website)
PhD Candidate (January 2007 to April 2012). NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship, Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. Currently: Assistant Professor at Oxford University, Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery.
Dr. Jason Koo
Postdoctoral Fellow (December 2012 to December 2015, jointly with Prof. Lynne Howell). Currently: Therapure Biopharma.
Prof. Wilson Lau (website)
PhD Candidate (September 2006 to December 2011). Ontario Graduate Scholarship. Currently: Assistant Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Prof. Michael Latham (website)
Postdoctoral Fellow (July 2008 to November 2014, jointly with Prof. Lewis Kay) NSF and CIHR Fellowships. Currently: Associate Professor, Texas Tech University.
Prof. Mohammad Mazhab-Jafari (website)
Postdoctoral Fellow (September 2014 to September 2017). CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship. Currently: Scientist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Assistant Professor, University of Toronto.
Prof. Zev Ripstein (website)
PhD Candidate (January 2015 to October 2020) Postdoctoral Fellow October 2020 to July 2021). CIHR Doctoral Research Award, NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship, Ontario Graduate Scholarship. Currently: Assistant Professor, University of Manitoba.
Dr. Martin Smith
Postdoctoral Fellow (January 2013 to December 2015). CIHR Fellowship. Currently: Ontario Brain Institute.
Prof. Yong Zi Tan (website)
Postdoctoral Fellow (August 2019 to June 2021). CIHR Fellowship. Currently: Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore.
Prof. Jianhua Zhao (website)
PhD Candidate (January 2011 to January 2016). NSERC Scholarship, Medical Biophysics Excellence Award. Currently: Assistant Professor, Sandford Burnham Prebys Institute, California, USA.