2016-2017 Mentor Biographies

Mentor ID: 1

Field of Research: Life Sciences

Faculty, Department: Medicine, Cellular and Physiological Sciences

Lab Website: http://cps.med.ubc.ca/faculty/oconnor/

Lab’s Principal Investigator: Dr. Tim O’Connor

Quick summary of your research (100 words max):

Why are developmental guidance genes expressed in the mature nervous system? Work in the past few decades has led to the discovery of numerous axon guidance genes and identified their functions during development. My project is the first study to perform a screen of axon guidance genes expressed in the mature nervous system and to determine their impact on the structure and function of adult neurons. Axon guidance genes expressed in the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) mature nervous system were identified using various bio-informatics tools, knocked-down in adult neurons specifically and their resulting behavior was studied. Knockdown of 20 out of 44 genes we screened resulted in locomotory defects and death. The next stage of this project would be identifying what neurons control these behaviors and how are their structures and morphologies affected.

Summary of what you would like to do with your mentees (400 words max):

Axon guidance cues are extracellular signals that direct the growth and steering of neuronal growth cones. Both attractive and repellent cues are required to guide developing axons to their targets. Nonetheless, after axons have reached their targets and established functional circuits, many neurons continue to express these developmental cues. In Drosophila, more than 96% of the embryonic cues continue to be expressed during adulthood. The expression of these genes in the adult indicates that there are likely additional roles for guidance cues beyond the initial phase of neuronal process outgrowth, growth cone navigation, and target innervation. I propose a research project to identify all known axon guidance cues in the adult nervous system in a few model organisms (fruit fly, mice, etc…) and humans. This could be done through literature surveys and also by using simple bio-informatics tools. This requires no lab access, and also it gives REX students a good learning experience to explore publicly available data and apply novel ideas to its analyse it. After identifying various axon guidance cues in different organisms, the students could do more research to determine how many of those are conserved in humans. The research question could then be extended to various neurological disorders that have reported axon guidance defects in patients.

Citation #1:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3098670/

Citation #2:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12471249

Citation #3: N/A

Keywords: Developmental biology, Neuroscience

Mentor ID: 2

Field of Research: Applied Science

Faculty, Department: Faculty of Applied Science, Civil Engineering

Lab Website: Hydrotechnical Engineering Group- Civil Engineering, UBC

Lab’s Principal Investigator: Abhishek Agrawal

Quick summary of your research (100 words max):

Modeling is an integral component of water resources planning and management. Due to increasing global population, changing life style and shrinking sources the demand from clean potable water is always high. This demand is often competitive in nature with different stakeholder groups claiming their right over water. In such a scenario, model studies like simulation and optimization has to be used for system planning and reliability. My research work focuses on optimizing the allocation of water resources among competitive users like irrigation, electricity generation and domestic water supply to meet the needs and generate maximum revenue.

Summary of what you would like to do with your mentees (400 words max):

Consider a dam. Glacial melt and rain water enters the reservoir and water is used for irrigation, power generation, domestic supply, fisheries and recreation work. The question now is, how would you schedule the turbine operation and release of water to meet all the needs and generate maximum profit at the same time. In reality, the inflows to the dam is uncertain, the demand of electricity and water is variable and so are the costs. These question can only be answered with the aid of optimization studies. Hydro power companies around the world use simulation and optimization to remain competitive and plan new developments. Before getting onto the nitty-gritty of such research, a modeler need to understand some questions: What are models, why do we need them, can they answer everything we ask, are they reliable enough to implement? In this program, we will start with the basics of model studies. My team will go through journal articles to understand the basics of optimization and explore how simulation and optimization are an indispensable part of water resource planning and what are their limitations. Models are nothing but a simplified representation of reality. Starting with a very simple basic model of the dam, we will explore simplification and assumptions. In the next step, we will add uncertainties like variable inflow try to see how the results change. Finally, we will add uncertainties in the demand and costs. This exercise will give an insight on how the model works, the physical meaning of the numbers and most importantly, what the model is not telling us.

Citation #1:  http://ascelibrary.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/pdf/10.1061/%28ASCE%290733-9496%281992%29118%3A3%28214%29

Citation #2:  https://zenodo.org/record/18254/files/Introduction_to_Linear_Programming_as_a_Popular.pdf

Citation #3: N/A

Keywords: Water Resources Planning, Optimization, Model Studies

Mentor ID: 3

Field of Research: Life Sciences

Faculty, Department: Medicine, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Lab Website: http://www.bccrc.ca/dept/et/personnel%20-%20content/graduate-students/ada-leung

Lab’s Principal Investigator: Dr. Marcel Bally

Quick summary of your research (100 words max):

Chemotherapy is one of the standard treatments for cancer. While the goal is to kill off cancer cells, chemotherapy often comes with many side effects, some of which are life-threatening. One strategy to target cancer cells without harming healthy cells is to use multiple drugs simultaneously. The concept is to achieve the same therapeutic effect while reducing toxicity by using lower doses of drugs that cause non-overlapping side effects. To find new drug combinations, my research focuses on developing drugs that are minimally toxic on their own, but enhances the potency of platinum-based drugs (the “gold-standard”) while sparing healthy cells.

Summary of what you would like to do with your mentees (400 words max):

Having worked with many different types of cancers (lung, ovarian, and leukemia just to name a few), we can put together a project that will allows us to better understand a specific type of cancer of the mentees’ choice: the cancer biology, current treatments, and the unmet medical need. Based on this information, we can work together to generate research questions focusing on the general theme of “how can we improve treatment outcomes for patients suffering from this condition?” We can then design experiments/methods to address those questions. Based on existing knowledge and my own research experience, we can put together real/anticipated results and identify any challenges that we may encounter. This process will actually give the mentees a taste of what it is like to be a Principal Investigator (a real scientist!) in terms of grant writing. By the end of this project, I hope that the mentees will be able to achieve three goals: 1) Gain a better understanding in cancer biology and the current challenges in finding “the cure”; 2) Learn and understand how a researcher thinks and solves scientific questions; 3) Self-discovery: to better understand oneself and to determine whether research could be a true passion for one’s career.

Citation #1:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26220590

Citation #2:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26938915

Citation #3: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24746193

Keywords: Cancer, Chemotherapy

Mentor ID: 4

Field of Research: Life Sciences

Faculty, Department: Medicine, Experimental Medicine

Lab Website: http://www.hiphealth.ca/research/research-projects/tendon-research-group/

Lab’s Principal Investigator: Dr. Alex Scott

Quick summary of your research (100 words max):

Hello! My name is Agnetha and I am an MSc candidate in the Experimental Medicine program here at UBC. My research interests range from genetics and pharmacokinetics to artificial joints. Currently, my research is centred on determining if a group of cholesterol-lowering medications (referred to as Statins) have any (detrimental) effects on the Achilles tendon. Statins are the most prescribed drugs used to lower cholesterol levels in the blood in the hopes of preventing heart disease. As with other drugs, statins carry the risk of side effects which include an increased risk of diabetes as well as kidney, liver and muscle problems. Recently, research has begun looking at other parts of the human body that might be affected by statins including the brain and tendons since there have been reports of patients experiencing memory loss and tendon problems. Tendons, an overlooked tissue in research, are responsible for either providing stability or movement of bones. Going back to what my current research focus is on, you might be wondering just how I will be determining what is happening to the Achilles tendon in those people who have been taking statins. Since I am working with patients and cannot study the Achilles tendons directly, I have to use indirect methods of imaging that will not cause any harm to patients. This is where ultrasound comes in – through the use of sound waves, tissues can be viewed, healed (bone fractures) and broken down (kidney stone removal). The type of ultrasound that I use in my research is Ultrasound Tissue Characterization (UTC); a new type of 3D ultrasound, specific for the Achilles and patellar tendons, first developed in horses. UTC is unique because it can colour-code ultrasound images depending on how healthy the tendon is and it allows the user to view the tendon in three planes of view. These features allow researchers to determine the health of tendons; both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Summary of what you would like to do with your mentees (400 words max):

As I am interested in many areas of research, I am very open to mentor students who already have a research question in mind or have an interest in an area of research. That being said, my research interests range from genetics and pharmacokinetics to artificial joints. In terms of the timeline I always want to avoid having meetings and working on REx (for mentees) during exam periods. Subsequently, most of the work will be done during the first tem (research and determining research question by mid-October, developing the abstract by early November). During second term, things for the mentee will be easier as we can work on expanding the abstract into a research proposal by mid-February. This time frame will allow the mentee to have plenty of time to get ready for MURC (typically happens at the end of March).

Citation #1:  Chazerain, Pascal, et al. “Four cases of tendinopathy in patients on statin therapy.” Joint Bone Spine 68.5 (2001): 430-433.

Citation #2:  Esenkaya, Irfan, and Koray Unay. “Tendon, tendon healing, hyperlipidemia and statins.” Muscles, Ligaments and Tendons Journal 1.4 (2011): 169.

Citation #3: Pullatt, Raja C., et al. “Tendon rupture associated with simvastatin/ezetimibe therapy.” The American journal of cardiology 100.1 (2007): 152-153.

Keywords: Physical Therapy, Public Health

Mentor ID: 5

Field of Research: Applied Science

Faculty, Department: Medicine, Medicine

Lab Website: 

Lab’s Principal Investigator: Dr. Denise Daley

Quick summary of your research (100 words max):

Hello! I am a postdoctoral research fellow in statistical genetics at the UBC Medicine. My research focuses on identifying candidate imprinting regions in asthma and related phenotypes.

Summary of what you would like to do with your mentees (400 words max):

I believe that REX is a great opportunely for students to explore and learn new concepts. This project will enrich the students in a variety of interesting statistical concepts of linear model and logistic regression analysis. Students can choose the area of work that they are most interested in and also the data they are most fascinated with. I will guide them on how to use R, a free and user-friendly statistical analysis software.

Citation #1:  https://lagunita.stanford.edu/c4x/HumanitiesScience/StatLearning/asset/linear_regression.pdf

Citation #2:  http://nlp.stanford.edu/manning/courses/ling289/logistic.pdf

Citation #3: N/A

Keywords: linear and logistic regressions, R statistical analysis software

Mentor ID: 6

Field of Research: Theoretical Physics

Faculty, Department: Physics, Science

Lab Website: N/A

Lab’s Principal Investigator: Alex May

Quick summary of your research (100 words max):

I work in the string theory department at UBC, where we focus on a theory of quantum gravity known as AdS/CFT. My undergraduate background was in quantum information theory however, which turns out to have deep and surprising connections to quantum gravity. This project concerns quantum information in the context of special relativity. For instance, a question addressed by this field is: how can (quantum) information move through space and time? Interestingly, the answer turns out to have applications in cryptography.

Summary of what you would like to do with your mentees (400 words max):

I have some work finished and other work in need of finishing which may be of interest to the relativistic quantum information community, but I need to understand the current state of the art in the field before moving forward with this work. I am looking for up to two mentees to conduct a literature review and write up a report reviewing the field. Depending on outcomes, a next step would then be to finish and publish my existing work in the area. It may also be possible to find an original project for the mentees. This is a deviation from my current focus (string theory), although I do have a previous publication in this area. The mentees should have either: a course in quantum mechanics and a familiarity with special relativity, or, a computer science background. We would plan to spend the first semester of the academic year learning about whichever of the two above areas you don’t know about, the second semester writing a review of the relativistic quantum information field, and (possibly) the summer on a research level project.

Citation #1:  http://arxiv.org/pdf/1204.4022.pdf

Citation #2:  http://arxiv.org/pdf/1210.0913v6.pdf

Citation #3: http://arxiv.org/pdf/1101.4620.pdf

Keywords: quantum, cryptography

Mentor ID: 7

Field of Research: Applied Science

Faculty, Department: Applied Science, Mechanical Engineering

Lab Website: Complex Fluids Lab

Lab’s Principal Investigator: N/A

Quick summary of your research (100 words max):

My PhD research concerns leakage of oil and gas wells, especially those in BC and Alberta. This problem has various reasons including an unsuccessful cement job when the well is constructed. A successful cement job provides mechanical strength and hydraulic seal. It does not allow hydrocarbons to scape and contaminate water resources. We aim to model the cementing of a well mathematically and build a software that can predict quality of a cement job.

Summary of what you would like to do with your mentees (400 words max):

One aspect of applied mathematics is to use computers to solve complicated mathematical equations that are not solvable otherwise. I intend to familiarize my student with one specific branch of mathematical computing which is very useful in various engineering fields such as fluid mechanics. This branch is called Finite Element Method (FEM). In my research I am interested in a category of fluids called viscoplastic fluids. These fluids do not flow unless they are sufficiently forced. Toothpaste is a viscoplastic fluid. It does not flow under its weight (not sufficiently forced by its weight), however if squeezed hard, it starts to flow. The threshold of stress (stress is forced divided by area) under which these fluids do not move is called yield stress. Interchangeably, viscoplastic fluids are also called yield stress fluid. Applications of yield stress fluids are in oil and gas, mining and food industries (see Ref 1). My goal is to study some fundamental problems with viscoplastic fluid. The equations that govern behavior of a viscoplastic fluid are mathematically complicated. We need to use FEM to solve these equations. As an example, mixing in viscoplastic fluids is still an open problem. As an application, municipal sludge is a viscoplastic fluid. In their treatment, it is crucially important to have them well-mixed at all times. In this scenario the yield stress fights against mixing. With the aid of FEM, we would be able to understand how yield stress together with other properties of the fluid (such as its density, viscosity, etc) plays roles during mixing. FEM is mathematically intense. It requires strong mathematical knowledge (differential calculus, integral calculus, ordinary and partial differential equations). The good news is that most of FEM algorithms are already developed as C++ libraries. For example a couple of well-cited libraries are Rheolef and FreeFem++ (See Ref2, Ref3). This means that we do not need to start from scratch. However, reading a C++ code is often very difficult. Therefore, my ideal student should have previous experience of writing codes in C++ and Matlab. Also some previous exposure to Unix-based operation system (such as Linux) is strongly helpful.

Citation #1:  http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-fluid-010313-141424

Citation #2:  http://www-ljk.imag.fr/membres/Pierre.Saramito/rheolef/

Citation #3: http://www.freefem.org/

Keywords: Mathematics, Fluid Mechanics

Mentor ID: 8

Field of Research: Life Sciences

Faculty, Department: Medicine, Pathology and Lab Medicine

Lab Website: http://pathology.ubc.ca/faculty/jayachandran-kizhakkedathu/

Lab’s Principal Investigator: Jay Kizhakkedathu

Quick summary of your research (100 words max):

I am a Nano-bio-technologist with vast experiences in designing and development of bio-materials for applications in therapeutics and diagnostics. My research interests are: Drug delivery systems, bio-conjugation, bio-imaging agents, and blood compatible materials. For my full details please have a look at my profile at LinkedIn

Summary of what you would like to do with your mentees (400 words max):

Development of nanotechnology tools for tumor imaging and treatment.

Citation #1:  http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2015/CC/C5CC05333A#!divAbstract

Citation #2:  http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adfm.201400840/abstract5252

Citation #3: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smll.201202000/abstract

Keywords: tumor targeting, bio-imaging, drug delivery, polymer therapeutics, nanomedicine

Mentor ID: 9

Field of Research: Social Sciences

Faculty, Department: Arts, Linguistics

Lab Website: http://syntaxofspeechacts.linguistics.ubc.ca/

Lab’s Principal Investigator: Martina Wiltschko

Quick summary of your research (100 words max):

How does grammar encode a speaker’s communicative intentions, and how can we formalize the relation between discourse and the syntax and semantics of linguistic expressions? Do all languages use the same strategies or is every language different? This is the very broad question I have been working on since the beginning of my master’s, during which I investigated the formal properties of exclamative constructions in Québec French. I currently focus on verbal agreement and clause typing in Ktunaxa, a language isolate spoken in interior BC, Montana and Idaho. I work with the Eh-lab and the Ktunaxa lab (sup. Martina Wiltschko).

Summary of what you would like to do with your mentees (400 words max):

Mentees will be invited to join either one of the labs I work with, depending on the research topic we choose together and their general interests. Below are some suggestions related to each lab. In the Eh-lab, we are developing a theoretical model and a methodology to investigate how different languages use particles and intonation to request confirmation from the addressee about the content of an utterance. For instance, Canadian English is famous for using “eh” at the end of a sentence to mean something like “confirm that what I think is true”. A very interesting research project would be to use the material and methodology we have developed so far in the Eh-lab and test it on a new language (so far, we have investigated requests for confirmation in English, Medumba, Mandarin, German and Ktunaxa). This kind of work is very hands on, as it entails conducting small experiments with speakers. It would provide a complete overview of how to conduct research in theoretical linguistics. Most importantly, this project is feasible in 6 months, it will yield usable data, and it could have important theoretical and methodological implications. *** Ktunaxa is a highly endangered language with only 24 speakers left, so in the Ktunaxa lab, we work with a speaker based in Vancouver to understand the grammar of the language, while developing teaching material for the Ktunaxa community. Our main group project focuses on the obviation system, a grammatical strategy used to mark salient participants in a sentence. A possible research project could be to test predictions made in the literature about the syntactic distribution of obviative markings in Ktunaxa. This work is highly theoretical, but it entails hands on work with our consultant. Other research questions for Ktunaxa can focus on the properties of object and subject pronouns, information structure and clause typing. Any research in the Ktunaxa lab should result in a solid description of a specific aspect of the Ktunaxa grammar and should produce knowledge that can be used by the community to teach Ktunaxa. Working on an underdocumented and endangered language can be very challenging, but also extremely rewarding. Expectations and timelines must be flexible (to a certain extent).

Citation #1:  http://syntaxofspeechacts.linguistics.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/WiltschkoHeim_the-syntax-of-confirmationals_resubmitted.pdf

Citation #2:  http://syntaxofspeechacts.linguistics.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Yang-wiltschko-mandarin-ha.pdf

Citation #3: N/A

Keywords: Linguistics, syntax, semantics, speech acts, clause typing, Linguistics, field work, Ktunaxa, confirmationals

Mentor ID: 10

Field of Research: Social Sciences

Faculty, Department: Sauder School of Business, Management Information Systems

Lab Website: http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Faculty/Divisions/Management_Information_Systems_Division/Research

Lab’s Principal Investigator: Dr. Carson Woo

Quick summary of your research (100 words max):

Hello! I am a PhD student at Sauder School of Business in management information systems (MIS). MIS is a multidisciplinary filed, as it bridges technology (such as softwares) and business. More particularly, our field explores different aspects of using technology in organizations. My research interest focuses on the design side of the information systems. Specifically, I study what social and psychological factors of users (e.g. employees of an organization) system designers should consider when they develop information systems for organizations.

Summary of what you would like to do with your mentees (400 words max):

I think if you are interested to conduct a multidisciplinary research in both technology and social science, MIS is a great filed! I can involve you in my own research, or if you prefer I am totally open to any research questions you might have. Information system analysis and design is my main area of expertise, but we can define other projects in various aspects of MIS if you would like. I have experienced a wonderful journey of research from the beginning of my MSc program, and I would be more than happy to share whatever I have learned with you.

Citation #1:  http://misq.org/mis-problems-and-failiures-a-socio-technical-perspective-part-i-the-causes.html?SID=17nplqqi2d45lbklbe4fr43e94

Citation #2:  http://repository.usfca.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1034&context=at&sei-redir=1&referer=https%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.ca%2Fscholar%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dsteven%2Balter%252C%2Bwork%2Bsystem%2Btheory%2B2013%26btnG%3D%26as_sdt%3D1%252C5%26as_sdtp%3D#search=%22steven%20alter%2C%20work%20system%20theory%202013%22

Citation #3: N/A

Keywords: Social Science, Business, Management Information Systems, Technology, System Analysis