Current Graduate Students and their Research
Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology Labs
BPK Graduate Student Association 2024-25
President: Ephrem Mekonnen
Vice-President: Cady Seavey
Department Representative: Shefali Vishwakarma
Department Representative: Sean Gaiesky
GPC Representative: Rebekah Lee
GPC Representative: Sameen Kaviani
GSS Representative: Sandra Faragalla
Secretary/Treasurer: Tyson Kondo
TSSU Representative: TBA
TSSU Representative: TBA
TSSU Representative: TBA
TSSU Representative: TBA
Catherine Taylor
PhD Student
Supervisor: Dr. Andrew Blaber
E-mail: cjtaylor@sfu.ca
Lab-phone: 778-782-5694
"I have a passion for bioastronautics and assisting humanity to become a space-faring species. My ultimate goal is to assist astronaut crews in withstanding the physiological effects of space as they explore deeper into (and beyond) our solar system. My research will assess how confinement affects physiology during Terrestrial Space Analog missions."
Katie Samoil
PhD Student
Supervisor: Dr. Andrew Blaber
E-mail: katie_samoil@sfu.ca
"Exploration class space missions pose a series of new challenges for Astronaut Crew Medical Officers who delivery in situ care to their fellow crew members. My research investigates the unique practice of these health care practioners. From the intersection of medical education & aersospace medicine my work explores astronaut training."
Peter Young
PhD Student
Supervisor: Dr. Dawn Mackey
E-mail: peter_young_2@sfu.ca
"My research aims to standardize the selection of outcome measures for future clinical trials of physical activity with older adults. Within this, and in conjunction with patient-oriented research approaches, I hope to incorporate and empower the voices, knowledge, and curiosity of older adults in outcome selection."
Samantha Gray
Postdoctoral Fellow
Supervisor: Dr. Dawn Mackey
E-mail: samantha_gray@sfu.ca
"My research focuses on how to adapt Choose to Move—an older adult health promotion intervention—to reach more diverse populations of older individuals, such as those marginalized by ethnicity, sex, and gender."
Sarra Pirmohamed
MSc Student
Supervisor: Dr. Dawn Mackey
E-mail: spa153@sfu.ca
"The aim of my research is to develop a core outcome set for randomized controlled trials of physical activity for older adults. As the global ageing population grows, it is imperative that trials consistently measure outcomes that are relevant and pertinent to older adults, their health care professionals, and physical activity researchers. Doing so will increase the quantity and quality of comparative effectiveness research and decrease research waste."
Amparo Viridiana Marquez
PhD Candidate
Supervisor: Dr. Sam Doesburg & Dr. Sylvain Moreno
E-mail: amarquez@sfu.ca
"I study social communication difficulties in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and its neural correlates. To do so, I implement neuroimaging modalities such as EEG and fMRI in correlation with behavioural assessments."
Raminder Kaur
PhD Candidate
Supervisor: Dr. Sam Doesburg & Dr. Xiaowei Song
E-mail: raminder_kaur@sfu.ca
"My research focuses on multimodal neuroimaging of neurodegenerative diseases, including fMRI, DTI, MRS, and pCASL analysis. By combining these techniques, I aim to uncover comprehensive insights into the structural and functional changes within the brain, advancing our understanding of these challenging conditions."
Allison Campbell
PhD Candidate
BPK GSA Co-President
Supervisors: Dr. Victoria Claydon and Dr. Anita Cote
E-mail: allison_campbell_5@sfu.ca
"My work aims to add to the limited body of high quality research on female athletes and their performance in various hormonal milieus. I will do so by measuring the cardiovascular performance of athletes through development, in the different phases of the menstrual cycle, and with the use of hormonal contraceptives. "
Vera-Ellen Lucci
Postdoctoral Fellow
Supervisor: Dr. Victoria Claydon
E-mail: vlucci@sfu.ca
"I have a keen interest in cardiovascular autonomic control. My PhD work aim to evaluate, classify, and treat cardiovascular dysfunction after spinal cord injury. I now hold both a CIHR and a MSHRBC Postdoctoral Fellowship for my work investigating the cardiovascular mechanisms of syncope (fainting)."
Erin Williams
PhD candidate
Supervisor: Dr. Victoria Claydon
E-mail: erin_williams_2@sfu.ca
"My research is focused on establishing practical ways for both adults and children to manage syncope (fainting) in daily living. I’m interested in how skeletal muscle movements can improve cardiovascular stability and could be used to terminate or prevent a syncopal episode. "
Rebeckah Lee
PhD Candidate
Supervisor: Dr. Victoria Claydon
E-mail: rebekah_lee@sfu.ca
"My research investigates how spinal cord injury interferes with the relationships between cardiovascular and respiratory function. I aim to characterise the cardiovascular responses to obstructive sleep apnea (breath-holding during sleep), and other models of altered breathing patterns."
Normand Richard
PhD Candidate
Supervisors: Dr. Victoria Claydon and Dr. Anita Cote
E-mail: Nar11@sfu.ca
"I am examining how the female cardiovascular system adapts to various exercise scenarios (cycling in heat, postpartum, overreaching).My main variable of interest is cardiac output."
Stefan Vukovic
MSc Student
Supervisor: Dr. Victoria Claydon
E-mail: stefan_vukovic@sfu.ca
"My work investigates the impact of spinal cord injury on the autonomic nervous system. I am currently evaluating the safety and efficacy of passive heat therapy as an exercise adjunct for individuals with spinal cord injuries, as well as designing an automated skin wrinkling analysis tool for clinical assessment of sympathetic function."
Omid Vakili
PhD Candidate
Supervisor: Dr. Stephen Rovinovitch
"I am pursuing research in the area of injury biomechanics in ice hockey. My research seeks to improve our understanding of the dynamics of head-to-shielding (or glass around the rink) impacts, and how head impact severity is affected by modifications to the effective stiffness and mass of the shielding. Ultimately, my findings can promote safer environments to protect the brain health of ice hockey players."
Clara Etter
PhD Student
Supervisor: Dr. Mathew White
E-mail: cetter@sfu.ca
"My research focuses on the aetiology of cold injuries, primarily frostbite, and vulnerabilities to cold-related symptoms during arctic conditions in humans. The goal of the research is to investigate the role of biophysical factors, principally sex and morphology, situational factors, mainly clothing insulation, as well as qualitative factors, such as thermal perception on cooling physiology during arctic environmental conditions. The outcomes of the research largely apply to outdoor workers, including military and search and rescue groups operating in arctic and subarctic regions."
Molly Henneberry
PhD Student
Supervisor: Dr. Mathew White
E-mail: molly_henneberry@sfu.ca
"My research focuses on the design and testing of technical apparel for winter climate sports and occupations, like backcountry skiing and search and rescue. I am investigating human thermophysiology during exercise in cold conditions, and how it relates to gear design considerations.My research focuses on the design and testing of technical apparel for winter climate sports and occupations, like backcountry skiing and search and rescue. I am investigating human thermophysiology during exercise in cold conditions, and how it relates to gear design considerations."
Alia Arslanova
MSc Student
Supervisor: Dr. Glen Tibbits
E-mail: arslanov@sfu.ca
"My research focuses on investigating the mechanisms of the cardiac arrhythmia condition known as catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). This study utilizes a variety of techniques including CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, multielectrode arrays assay, optical mapping and patch clamping, and has a potential to contribute to disease modelling and personalized medicine in vitro using a hiPSC-CM model."
Josh Ham
MSc Student
Supervisors: Dr. Damon Poburko
E-mail: josh_ham@sfu.ca
"My research largely focusses on purinergic transmission – the role of ATP as a neurotransmitter, including its storage, transport, and mechanisms of release. Although a ubiquitous form of energy in organisms, ATP has been found to be involved in complex signal transduction and signalling cascades. My findings have relevance to understanding pathologies associated with the cellular handling of ATP, such as chronic neuropathic pain and chronic inflammation."
Stephanie Rayner
MSc Student
Supervisors: Dr. Damon Poburko
E-mail: smr22@sfu.ca
"My research focuses on the release mechanics of adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) as a neurotransmitter. The techniques I use combine bioinformatics, molecular cloning and immunofluorescence labelling in cultured mammalian cell lines."
Harshini Nadig Seetharam
PhD Student
Supervisor: Dr. Thomas Claydon
E-mail: hns@sfu.ca
"I have always been keen on the biophysical aspects of life. With a strong background in Biochemistry and structural biology, at Dr. Claydon lab I am trying to understand electrophysiology of cardiomyocytes at molecular levels."
Diana Hunter
Postdoctoral Fellow
Supervisor: Dr. Thomas Claydon
E-mail: dhunter@sfu.ca
"As a Michael Smith Health Research BC funded Postdoctoral Fellow in the Claydon Lab, I am using the powerful technique of CRISPR gene editing in induced pluripotent stem cells to create models to study the (dys)function of potassium channels in both cardiomyocytes (heart) and neuronal (brain) cells."
Eli Mizelman
PhD Candidate
Supervisor: Dr. Dave Clarke
E-mail: eli_mizelman@sfu.ca
"My PhD research is in the area of sports analytics, and the development of mathematical and statistical models to quantify performance and physiological processes in professional athletes."
Taylor McColl
PhD Student
Supervisor: Dr. Dave Clarke
E-mail: tmccoll@sfu.ca
"My research is focused on developing models of the cellular signalling dynamics in skeletal muscle following nutrition and exercise intervention."
Aidan Kits
MSc Student
Supervisor: Dr. Dave Clarke
E-mail: akits@sfu.ca
"Through the use of wearable technology and statistical modelling, my research aims to assist athletes in managing their day-to-day training loads to achieve their goals and individual potential."
Luke Everard
MSc Student
Supervisor: Dr. Dave Clarke
E-mail: leverard@sfu.ca
"My research focuses on modelling muscle cell signalling in response to resistance exercise to understand causative relationships between training variables and muscular adaptations. My goals are to use quantitative methods to efficiently optimize resistance training variables and fitness adaptations."
Milad Hafezi
PhD Student
BPK GSA TSSU Representative
Supervisor: Dr. Dylan Cooke
E-mail: mhafezi@sfu.ca
"I study the motor cortex using high resolution electrophysiological procedures and aim to determine the role of individual differences in brains in their resilience to injury or stroke. This can shed light on new rehabilitation and prevention methods that could be employed to improve recovery from stroke. "
Amin Nikmanesh
PhD Student
Supervisor: Dr. Daniel Marigold
E-mail: mohammadamin_nikmanesh@sfu.ca
Amin earned his BSc. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Isfahan in 2015. During this time, he worked on a human hand exoskeleton. Here, he realized how he enjoyed learning about how the human body works. Subsequently, he moved to the Iran University of Science and Technology in the fall of 2015, where he conducted his graduate research in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Biomechatronic Laboratory. Amin's graduate work focused on signal processing to predict hand movement. Amin's interests are focused on the use of programming to solve biomedical and neuroscience problems. He is currently working with mobile eye-tracking in the Sensorimotor Neuroscience Lab for his doctoral thesis. His current research concerns how humans navigate in crowded places. In his free time, Amin enjoys programming and web design.
Meihui (Alice) Li
PhD Student
Supervisor: Dr. Chris Napier
E-mail: meihui_li@sfu.ca
"With 10 years of professional sports training experience, I know how sports injuries can negatively affect athletes. Even a trivial injury during exercise could stop a professional career. As a biomechanist, I hope to help people prevent knee injuries through movement optimization. My study uses wearable technology to focus on lower body movement optimization and female ACL injury prevention. My research aims to: 1) investigate the relationship between the menstrual cycle and athletic performance; 2) investigate how movement optimization may help reduce non-contact knee injury incidence in female athletes."
Minju Kim
PhD Student
Supervisor: Dr. Chris Napier
E-mail: mka230@sfu.ca
"I study the running biomechanics and injury prevention. My research aims to set guidelines to help runners develop efficient ways of running, the smart use of wearable technology, and reasonable choices of footwear to prevent a running related injury, especially ankle and foot injuries."
Ephrem Mekonnen
MSc Student
Supervisor: Dr. Chris Napier
E-mail: emekonne@sfu.ca
"My research explores the fascinating interplay between the menstrual cycle, running biomechanics, and running economy, with the goal of preventing injuries, informing training methods, and improving the performance of female distance athletes."
Jack Williams
MSc Student
Supervisor: Dr. Chris Napier
E-mail: jack_williams_2@sfu.ca
"My background is in high performance running and footwear. I am interested in understanding how different technologies can influence a persons running biomechanics and provide benefits to performance."