The PI
Heinz-Bernhard Kraatz
Heinz-Bernhard Kraatz studied at the Heinrich-Heine Universität Düsseldorf and the University of Kent at Canterbury, he received his Ph.D. in 1993 from the University of Calgary and carried out postdoctoral work in organometallic chemistry at the University of Maryland, College Park, and the Weizmann Institute of Science. He worked as an assistant Research Officer at the Steacie Institute of Science, Ottawa. In 1998, he joined the Department of Chemistry at The University of Saskatchewan and was appointed full professor in 2007. He was awarded 2006 CSC Award for Pure or Applied Inorganic Chemistry, 2001 Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award and Canada Research Chair in Biomaterials. In 2007 he moved to The University of Western Ontario.In 2007 he moved to The University of Western Ontario where he received Florence Bucke Science Price, Faculty Scholar Award and was a Distinguished Research Professor. In 2011, he accepted a professorship at the University of Toronto. In 2019, he was elected as a fellow into the prestigious Royal Society of Canada.
Office: EV552 Phone: (416) 287-7197 (office) E-mail: bernie.kraatz@utoronto.ca
The Group Members
Research Associate
Dr. Meissam Noroozifar
E-mail: m.noroozifar@utoronto.ca
Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/
Meissam obtained his Ph.D. from Shahid Beheshti University. He was a chemistry professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sistan and Baluchestan. His original research was focused on flow injection analysis and electrochemistry techniques, designing fuel and biofuel cells, application of nano-porous catalysts in electrooxidation of alcohols, application on new nanocomposites/conductive polymers in the solar cells and sensors. Later, he conducted research regarding DNA/BSA binding properties and anticancer activity of parent and nano-encapsulated metal complexes. He joined Prof. Kerman’s group as a visiting professor from 2014 and later on as a senior research associate. During this time, his research was focused on the biosensor, synthesis of new nanocomposites and polymers for simultaneous determination of bio-compounds and drugs, and solar cells. Additionally, he studied the interaction of metal-protein and protein-protein and protein-drug by electrochemical techniques. Currently, he is working on developing sensors, biosensors, solar cells, capture and electroreduction of CO2.
Graduate Students
Tsuimy Shao
Ph. D. Candidate
E-mail: tsuimy.shao@mail.utoronto.ca
Tsuimy completed her undergraduate studies with a double major in biochemistry and molecular biology. She initially joined the Kraatz group as an MSc before transferring to the PhD program in Chemistry. Tsuimy is working on the synthesis of phenylalanine and histidine-based peptide conjugates and their self-assembly and compartmentalization for the investigation of prebiotic life. In her spare time, she enjoys watching animal documentaries, crocheting, and reading.
Steven Wang
2nd Year Ph. D. Student
E-mail: junyansteven.wang@mail.utoronto.ca
Steven completed his undergraduate degree with a specialization in chemistry at UTSC from 2017-2022. He initially joined the Kraatz group as a CHMD90 student working on the synthesis of peptide conjugate gels before staying in the group to volunteer for another year. He was finally accepted to the Ph.D. program in Environmental Science and is currently working on the electrochemical reduction of CO2 by designing new types of novel catalysts and modifying their catalytic abilities towards reduction.
Abida Alokozai
MSc. Student
E-mail: abida.alokozai@mail.utoronto.ca
Abida completed her undergrad studies with a specialist in biological chemistry. As a Master’s student in Chemistry, she joined the Kraatz lab and Kerman lab under co-supervision. She is currently working on the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide, the conversion to more valuable products with high product selectivity and current density. During her spare time, she enjoys baking and reading about world culture.
Zixin Yu
1st Year Ph. D. Student
E-mail: zixin.yu@mail.utoronto.ca
Zixin (Tuesday) completed her undergraduate degree specializing in medicinal and biological chemistry. She joined the Kraatz group, co-supervised by Dr. Kagan Kerman, as a PhD student in Environmental Science working on the the determination of pollutants or biomolecules using modified electrochemical sensors. When not in the lab, she loves photography and watching animation.
Zehao Fang
1st Year Ph. D. Student
E-mail: zehao.fang@mail.utoronto.ca
Zehao completed his undergraduate studies with a specialist in Environmental Chemistry. He initially joined the Kraatz group as an CHMD90 student and an undergraduate volunteer, working on electroreduction of CO2 and electrochemical determination of Bisphenol-A. As a PhD student in Environmental Science, he continues to work on electroreduction of CO2 and electrooxidation of alcohol.
Undergraduate Students
Sukriti Kothari
Post-CHMD90 Undergraduate Volunteer
E-mail: sukriti.kothari@mail.utoronto.ca
Sukriti is a third-year undergraduate student doing a double major in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Immunology and Disease. She will be working on the synthesis of peptide conjugates and hydrogels.
Kimia Kia
Volunteer
E-mail: k.kia@mail.utoronto.ca
Kimia has completed her undergraduate studies, double majoring in biochemistry and psychology with a minor in biology. She is interested in the environmental application of nanomaterials, most specifically their use in the reduction of greenhouse gases.
Papina Gnaneswaran
Post-CHMD90 Undergraduate Student
E-mail: papina.gnaneswaran@mail.utoronto.ca
Papina is a fourth-year undergraduate student completing a double major in Human Biology and Biochemistry. For her CHMD90 project, she is interested in investigating the synthesis of conductive peptide hydrogels for applications in cardiovascular regenerative medicine. In her free time, she enjoys biking, trying out new restaurants, and watching movies!
Zeyu Wang
Undergraduate Volunteer
E-mail: deck.wang@mail.utoronto.ca
Zeyu is a fourth-year undergraduate student taking a specialist program in Medical and Biological Chemistry. He is interested in modifying biosensors by electrochemistry and analytical chemistry. When not in the lab, Zeyu prefers drinking tea and playing tennis.
Jennifer Park
Undergraduate Volunteer
E-mail: jenjen.park@mail.utoronto.ca
Jennifer is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a double major in human biology and biochemistry. She is interested in applications of electrochemistry and analytical chemistry for environmental improvements. She will be working on electrochemical reduction of CO2.
Post-dog fellows
Eason Wang
Eason obtained his dogtorate degree from The University of Toronto in 2023 and, at the age of 5, he accepted a PostDog position at UofT, becoming the youngest member of Kraatz lab. His research specialization revolves around the exploration and examination of sticks. Through his efforts, he has amassed and analyzed a diverse collection of at least 10 sticks, varying in shapes and sizes, resulting in the publication of several works. Within Kraatz’s lab, his contributions are marked by their supportive nature. His door is always open to anyone who wants to play, but he insists they must also bring snacks.
Subgroup: Pawptics and spectroscopuppy
Current Research: Stick inspection for next-generation technology
Alumni
Graduate Students:
Natisha Ho 2022 M. Sc., (natisha.ho@mail.utoronto.ca) Research & Development Scientist at Molarray Research
Roomina Rashid 2022 M. Sc., (roomina.rashid@mail.utoronto.ca)
Natashya Falcone 2021 Ph.D, (natashya.falcone@mail.utoronto.ca) Post Doctoral Researcher in Prof. Ali Khademhosseini’s group at the Terasaki Institute affiliated with UCLA (https://terasaki.org/institute/)
Syed Ahmad 2021 Ph.D, (ghazali.ahmad@mail.utoronto.ca) Medical Science Liaison for Hologic Canada
Daniela Escher 2020 PhD, (daniela.escher@uni-muenster.de) http://www.plixxent.com/
Maryam Abdinejad 2020 Ph.D, (maryam.abdinejad@mail.utoronto.ca), Post doc in Dr. Tom Burdyny’s group (https://www.burdynyenergylab.com/)
Soha Ahmadi 2019 Ph.D, (soha.ahmadi@mail.utoronto.ca)
Annaleizle Ferranco 2018 Ph.D, Eurofins-Alphora, annaleizle.ferranco@gmail.com
Kaveh Amini 2016 Ph.D. (kaveh.amini@mail.utoronto.ca)
Chandrika Vijayaratnam 2014 M.Sc-Chemist, Apotex (chandrika.vijayaratnam@mail.utoronto.ca)
Rachel Keunen 2014 M.Sc.,Ph.D. canadiate Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto (rachel.keunen@mail.utoronto.ca)
Olga Kvak -olga.kvak@mail.utoronto.ca
Angela Lin 2014 M.Sc.,QA chemist, Digital Specialty Chemicals (chenyun.lin@utoronto.ca)
Rouzbeh Afrasiabi
Farkondeh Fathi 2013 PhD, Assistant professor at Mount Allison University
Mohtashim H. Shamsi -2012 PhD, Assistant Professor, Southern Illinois University Carbondale-mshamsi@chem.siu.edu
Craig Colquhoun– 2012 M.Sc. ccolquh2@uwo.ca
Nazmul Alam -2011 M.Sc. (malam47@uwo.ca)
Mervt Almostafa-2011 M.Sc. (malmosta@uwo.ca)
Yunying Shen– 2011 M.Sc. (shen96@uwo.ca)
Sowole Modupeola– 2011 M.Sc. – Ph. D. candidate at UWO ( msowole@uwo.ca)
Anas Lataifeh 2011 PhD – Lecturer, Tafila Technical University, Jordan ( lataifeh@ttu.edu.jo)
Makoto Ogawa 2010 PhD – Research Scientist. Japan (spuh7qq9@fork.ocn.ne.jp)
Guocheng Han 2010 Visting Student from Chine – PhD student (ghan6@uwo.ca)
Haifeng Song 2010 PhD – Director at A&L Canada Laboratories Inc. in Yunnan, China ( hsong42@uwo.ca)
Lanya Cheng2009 Visiting Student from China – PhD Student (clanya@uwo.ca)
Armando Marenco 2009 M.Sc. – Defense Research Scientist DRD Canada/PhD student UofC(armando.marenco@ucalgary.ca) – M.Sc. Thesis
Yizhi Xiao 2009 M.Sc. – Technical Stuff UWO Engineering (yxiao29@uwo.ca)
Mark Milne 2008 M.Sc. – PhD Student UWO ( mam171@mail.usask.ca)
Nina Hüsken 2008 Visiting Student, Ph.D. student at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (nina.huesken@rub.de)
Amir Kavianpour 2007 M.Sc. (ahk155@gmail.com)
Grzegorz Orlowski 2007 Ph.D. -Senior Scientist, TwistDx Ltd, Cambridge UK (grzeg123@gmail.com)
Francis Appoch 2006 PhD, Dip Ed. Director, Analytical Testing Services (LUCAS, LUIL, P-DNA) Lakehead University, Thunder Bay (fappoh@lakeheadu.ca)
Himadri Mandal 2007 Ph.D. – Research Scientist at Blackrock Microsystems (himadri@pitt.edu)
Khaled Mahmoud 2007 Ph.D. – Senior Scientist, Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute
Abdul Kader Khan M.Sc. 2007, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Montreal (akkshahin@gmail.com)
Somenath Chowdhury 2007, Ph. D. – Principal Scientist at Melinta Therapeutcis
Yingshen Lu 2004 M. Sc. – Phenomenome Discoveries Inc.
Iyengar Vineeth 9/2000 – 8/2003l
Dushmanthi Jayasinghe 2003 M. Sc. – Phenomenome Discoveries Inc. (d.jayasinghe@phenomenome.com)
Irene Bediako-Amoa 2003 M. Sc. – Technician, University of Saskatchewan
Kade Yao 2003 M. Sc. 2003 Ph.D. – Washington State University (yao2002@u.washington.edu)
Xia Wang 11/2000-10/2002
Pat Galka 2002 M. Sc. – Technical Officer NRC-PBI (Patrycja.Galka@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca)
Marek Galka 2002 M. Sc. – Postdoctoral Fellow, UWO
Pete Saweczko 2001 M. Sc.
Undergraduate Students:
Kelly Lieu 2023
Grace Huang 2023
Nhien Dinh 2023
Hayley Wong 2023
Chong Ji 2022
Puspita Hassan 2021
Edvin Pepeljak 2021
Zainab Mirza 2019
Mitali Uppal 2019
Jebril Syed 2018
Xuedan Yuan 2017 (xuedan.yuan@mail.utoronto.ca)
Sizhi Wang 2017 (sizhi.wang@mail.utoronto.ca)
Kejia Sun 2017 (kejia.sun@mail.utoronto.ca)
Maegan Sweeney 2017 (maegan.sweeney@mail.utoronto.ca)
Khaleel Rasheed 2017 (khaleel.rasheed@mail.utoronto.ca)
Tianxiao Ma 2017, Master student at UBC (matianxi@chem.ubc.ca)
Boyuan Deng 2017, Master student at UTSC (boyuan.deng@mail.utoronto.ca)
Susannah M. Tran
Evangeline Tsagarakis
Wenxia Zhou 2016 Undergradate student Chemistry Master student at Queens University(wenxia.zhou@mail.utoronto.ca)
Ishwar Singh 2016 Undergradate student (ishwar.singh@mail.utoronto.ca)
Theodore Udaipaul 2016 Undergradate student (theodore.udaipaul@mail.utoronto.ca)
Faizan Syed 2016 Undergradate student at Apotex (faizan.syed@mail.utoronto.ca)
Faraz Hussain 2016 Undergradate student (faraz.hussain@mail.utoronto.ca)
Charanpreet Singh 2015 Undergradate student (preet.singh@utoronto.ca)
Ralph Villar 2015 Undergradate student (ralph.villar@mail.utoronto.ca)
Ran Li 2014 Undergradate student (lab.rr.li@mail.utoronto.ca)
Zakiyya Ingar 2012 Undergradate student (zakiyyaingar@gmail.com)
Jared Pautler 2010 Undergraduate Student, UWO (jpautler@uwo.ca)
Meghan Schlitt 2010 Undergraduate Student, UWO (mschlitt@uwo.ca)
Matthew Lafreniere 2010 Undergraduate Student, UWO ( mlafren3@uwo.ca)
Chantal Druzina 2010 (cdruzina@uwo.ca)
Kevin Venus 2010 (kvenus@uwo.ca)
Andrew Priegert 2010 (aprieger@uwo.ca)
Sasha Campbell 2009 Summer Student
Kirsten Tomlin 2008 Undergraduate Student, UWO (ktomlin4@uwo.ca)
Erin Morgan(Honorus) 2008 B.Sc.
Demyan Prokopchuk 2007 Undergraduate Student, U of S
Marek Majewski Jr. 2006 Undergraduate Student – U of S (majewski.jr@usask.ca)
Ainge Y. C. Chang 2007 ICE Exchange STudent, UBC
Amy Walsh 2006 ICE exchange Student – U.B.C. (walsh.amelia@gmail.com)
Nancy Bawa 2005 U of S Student (nab052@mail.usask.ca)
Edyta Sieminska 2004 B. Sc. – M.Sc. at University of Alberta(edytas@ualberta.ca)
Cory Heinricks (Honours) 2003 B. Sc. – Pilot Plant, University of Saskatchewan
Jonathan Sherman (Honours) 2002 B. Sc.
Kevin Plumb 2001 B. Sc. – CREO
James Inkster (Honours) 1999 B. Sc.
Andreas Pletsch (exchange student) 9/1999 – 5/2000 – BASF Ludwigshafen (andreas.pletsch@basf.com)
Deirdre Gormley (summer student) 5/1999 – 8/1999 The Dial Corporation (Gormley.Deirdre@DIALCORP.com)
Postdoctoral research fellow & Research associate:
Thirupathi Nuligonda 06/2021-04/2023
Mozhgan Khorasani Motlagh 07/2021-10/2022
M. Nur Hussain 01/2019-06/2021 – Postdoctoral Fellow, National Research Council of Canada (NRC)
Zhe She – Assistant Professor, Queens University https://www.chem.queensu.ca/she-zhe
Ajar Kamal 2018 Postdoctoral Fellow
Renu Sharma 2018 Postdoctoral Fellow
Shibaji Basak 01/2016-09/2017 – Assistant Professor, Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management, India (shibajibasak@gmail.com)
Iraklii Ebralidze 07/2014-03/2016 – Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada (iraklii.ebralidze@gmail.com)
Ryan Love 09/2012-09/2014 – Defence Scientist, DRDC, Toronto (ryan.love@drdc-rddc.gc.ca)
Bimalendu Adhikari 09/2012-05/2015 – Professor, NIT Rourkela, India (adhikarib@nitrkl.ac.in)
Sanela Martic 2009-2012- Assistant Professor, Oakland University, US
Nan Wang 03/2013-08/2014 –Assistant Professor, Beijing Institute of Technology, China (nanwang@bit.edu.cn)
Mahmoud Labib 01/2010-04/2011 – Research Associate, University of Toronto, Canada
Piotr Diakowski 01/2008-12/2010 – Postdoctoral researcher, CSIRO Process Science and Engineering
Patrick O. Shipman 12/2010 – Postdoctoral Fellow, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Raheleh Partovi Nia 12/2010 – The University of Western Ontario
Briza Pérez López 2009 M.Sc. – Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow from Spain (bperez@cin2.es)
Chentelle Davidson 09/2009
Xiaomin Bin 06/2009 – Research Associate at University of Toronto (xiaomin.bin@utoronto.ca)
Kagan Kerman 08/2008 – Assistant Professor at University of Toronto (kkerman@utsc.utoronto.ca)
Thara Vasanth 2007 – Research Associate, Universitat Bochum
Xiaohong Li 09/2006 – Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Beijing Normal University (lxhxiao@bnu.edu.cn)
Yitao Long 03/2006 – Professor at East China University of Science and Technology (Ytlong@berkeley.edu)
Donald Thomas 04/2005 – 04/2006 – Scientific Officer, NMR Facility, UNSW Sydney, Australia (donald.thomas@unsw.edu.au)
Erfan Abu Irhayem 09/2005 – Saudi Aramco Oil Company (arfoon@yahoo.com)
Yinglin Zhou 09/2004 – 10/2005 – Professor at Peking University Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), MOE Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, College of Chemistry, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China (zhouyl@pku.edu.cn)
Subrata K. Dey 2004 – Lecturer, Bankura Sammilani College, University of Burdwan (skdjuchem@yahoo.com)
Todd Sutherland 09/2004 – Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary (sutherlt@ucalgary.ca)
Younian Liu 04/2004 – Professor of Chemistry, College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Central South University (liuyoun@mail.csu.edu.cn)
Samuel Gyepi-Garbrah 04/2003 – 07/2003 – Reactor Safety Assessment Specialist, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (samuel.gyepi-garbgrah@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca)
Chenzhong Li 09/2001 – 12/2003 – Professor, Florida International University (licz@fiu.edu)
Yiming Xu 09/2000 – 06/2001 – PdF Protein-specific Biosensors at Queens University
M’hamed Chahma 08/2000 – 03/2002 – Associate Professor, Laurentian University (mchahma@laurentian.ca)
Sanjukta Aich 5/1998 – 10/1998 – Research Associate, Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Saskatchewan (sanjukta.aich@usask.ca)
Visiting Scholars:
Victoria Seiffert 03/2023-05/2023 – Phd student, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster, Germany (v_seif01@uni-muenster.de)
Nils Lefringhausen 08/2021-1/2022 – PhD, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster, Germany (n_lefr01@uni-muenster.de)
Nils Flothkötter 08/2021-12/2021 – PhD, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster, Germany (nils.flothkoetter@uni.muenster.de)
Shuo Yin 09/2019-03/2021 – PhD candiate, Sichuan University ( shuo.yin@mail.utoronto.ca )
Iranaldo Santos Da Silva Assistant Professor at the Federal University of Maranhão ( iranaldo.silva@utoronto.ca )
Xiaoyan Li 2019-09/2020 – PhD candidate, Nanjing Tech University ( xiaoyan.li@mail.utoronto.ca )
Zuoan Xiao 08/2018-03/2019 – Lecturer at Hubei University of Arts and Science
Dan Zhan 08/2018-03/2019 – Professor at Hubei University of Arts and Science
Yongjin Zou 08/2017-08/2018 – Associate Professor, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, China
Xuefang Gu 09/2016-09/2017 – Associate Professor, Nantong University, China (xuefang818@ntu.edu.cn)
Jens Christian Léon 09/2016-06/2017 – PhD candidate, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster, Germany (christianleon@uni-muenster.de)
Stephan Schiefelbein 06/2016-08/2017 – PhD candidate, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster, Germany (schiefelbein@uni-muenster.de)
Bin Dong 09/1014-09/2015-Associate Professor, University of Science and Technology Beijing (dongbin@ustb.edu.cn)
Cuili Xiang 05/2013-04/2014 –Associate Professor, Guilin University of Electronic Technology China (xiangcuili520@126.com)
Yonxin Li 09/2012-08/2013 – Assistant Professor, Sichuan University, China (lyxlee2008@hotmail.com)
Hua Zhang 09/2013-08/2015 – PhD candidate, Jilin University, China (huadiccy.zhang@mail.utoronto.ca)