Our Team

Current Members

Ish Abu Baker, PhD

Ish Abu Baker, PhD

Research Scientist

I was born in Colorado, USA and did my bachelor's in chemistry at Brown University. Before joining McGill, I worked with Li-ion battery cathode materials at Argonne National Lab. My PhD research focuses on the self-assembly of His-tagged tobacco mosaic virus disks to form extended structures, such as sheets and nanorods, that can be used to precisely organize metal nanoparticles to template plasmonic nanomaterials. I'm interested in protein design and self-assembly, especially lower symmetry protein nanostructures.

Guido Merino

Guido Merino

PhD Student

Originally from Argentina, Guido immigrated to Canada with his family at the age of 4 and was fortunate enough to graduate from McGill University with an honours degree in materials chemistry in 2021. During his last undergraduate year, he completed his honours research project in the Harrington lab because of his interest in bio-inspired materials. Obsessed with nature's exceptional material properties which surpass man-made materials, he decided to accept a joint project with Dr. Blum and Dr. Harrington to develop a new class of material based on the non-infectious Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) coat proteins. Outside of school, you can catch Guido playing soccer, cheering for his favorite soccer team at the top of his lungs, or simply spending some time with family and friends.

Hanine Zakaria

Hanine Zakaria

PhD Student

I am interested in nanomaterials, particularly metallic and polymeric nanoparticles, focusing on their synthesis, characterization, and applications. Beyond my academic and research interests, I find joy in staying active through exercise, experimenting with new and healthy recipes, and nurturing the beauty of nature through gardening🌱

Alexander Al-Feghali

Alexander Al-Feghali

PhD Student

A proud Arab American born and raised in Houmal, Lebanon, I completed my Bachelor's degree in Chemistry at Concordia University before moving up Sherbrooke street to work on my PhD under Dr. Amy Blum and Dr. Gonzalo Cosa's co-supervision researching physical chemistry at the nanoscale. I am interested in a lot of things, including nanophotonics, AI (modern statistics), chips, post-modern philosophy of science, and smooth jazz.

Graduate Students Alumni

Dr. Shoronia Cross

Dr. Shoronia Cross

Graduate Student Alumni

BS, CUNY John Jay College (Toxicology)

PhD, McGill University (Chemistry)

Now at: PDF at Waterloo University (Pavle Radovanovic)

Xingming Situ

Xingming Situ

Graduate Student Alumni

MSc, McGill University (Chemistry)

Now at: FDM Group Canada

Dr. Dan Petrescu

Dr. Dan Petrescu

Graduate Student Alumni

BA, Boston University (Chemistry/Biochemistry)

MA, Boston University (Chemistry)

PhD, Aegrotat Standing, McGill University (Chemistry)

Now at: Deceased, Oct 2021

Dr. Serene Bayram

Dr. Serene Bayram

Graduate Student Alumni

BS, Lebanese University (Chemistry)

MS, American University of Beirut (Physical Chemistry)

PhD, McGill University (Chemistry)

Now at: American Iron and Metal

Dr. Julia Del Re

Dr. Julia Del Re

Graduate Student Alumni

BS, McGill University (Chemistry)

PhD, McGill University (Chemistry)

Now at: American Iron and Metal

Dr. Katalin Korpany

Dr. Katalin Korpany

Graduate Student Alumni

BS, University of Alberta (Chemistry/Biological Science)

PhD, McGill University (Chemistry)

Now at: Research Scientist/Engineer at the University of Washington Department of Bioengineering

Dr. Omar Zahr

Dr. Omar Zahr

Graduate Student Alumni

BS, McGill University (Chemistry)

PhD, McGill University (Chemistry)

Now at: TandemLaunch

Josh Lucate

Josh Lucate

Graduate Student Alumni

BS, McGill University (Chemistry)

MSc, McGill University (Chemistry)

Now at: Bio Basic, Inc.

Undergraduate Students Alumni

  • Jocelyn Edleman - McGill Chemistry '24
  • Emily Shenk - McGill Chemistry '24
  • Elliot Zolfaghar - McGill Chemistry '23
  • Sam Hamroff - McGill Chemistry '23
  • S Balasurya (MITACS intern) - Bannari Amman Institute of Technology (India) - Now at: INRS, MSc student
  • Hannah Szeptycki - McGill Chemistry '21 - Now at: University of Toronto, PhD student (Physics)
  • Eloi Grignon - McGill Chemistry '21 - Now at: University of Toronto, PhD student (Chemistry)
  • Morgan Thinel - McGill Chemistry '20 - Now at: Columbia University, PhD student (Chemistry)
  • Yu Han Mao - McGill Microbiology '21 - Now at: ProCogia
  • Parker Folger (undergraduate researcher, 2018) - McGill University Chemistry '20
  • Zephren Charbonneau (CEGEP student intern, 2018) - John Abbott College
  • Romane Thiboutot-Martin (undergraduate researcher, 2017-2018) - McGill University Chemistry '19 - Now at: Biothermica Technologies/ Co-Founder of Civic Tech Montreal
  • Erwin Shie (undergraduate researcher, 2018) - McGill University Chemistry '19
  • Sinan Abi Farraj (undergraduate researcher, 2018) - McGill University Materials Science and Engineering '20 - Now at: McGill University, MEng student (McCall MacBain Scholar)
  • Nicolas Grinberg (undergraduate researcher, 2016-2017) - McGill University Chemistry '19 - Now at: University of Toronto, PhD student (Molecular Genetics)
  • Taylor Seo (undergraduate researcher, 2017) - McGill University Chemistry '17 - Now at: Ontario Power Generation
  • Janet Tang (undergraduate researcher, 2017) - McGill University Microbiology and Immunology '19
  • Alice Kahan (undergraduate researcher, 2017) - McGill University Chemistry '19 - Now at: KU Leuven (MSc student)
  • Hannah Sragovicz (undergraduate researcher, 2017) - McGill University Chemistry '19 - Now at: Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv
  • Yifan Ling (undergraduate researcher, 2017) - McGill University Pharmacology '18 - Now at: RCMP (Toxicologist)
  • Philippe Green (undergraduate researcher, 2015-2016) - McGill University (Chemistry) '16 - Now at: ETH (postdoc)
  • Cindy Tzu-Hsuan Chiu (undergraduate researcher, 2015) - McGill University (Anatomy and Cell Biology) '16
  • Aurelien Charpentier (undergraduate researcher, 2015) - McGill University (Chemistry) '17 - Now at: Carrefour
  • Patrick Brosseau (undergraduate researcher, 2015) - McGill University (Physics) '16 - Now at: McGill University, PhD student (Chemistry)
  • Jung Young Jordan Jung (undergraduate researcher, 2014-2015) - McGill University (Chemistry) '15
  • Peter Quinn (CEGEP student intern, 2015) - John Abbott College - Now at: McGill University, MEng student (Electrical Engineering)
  • Olivia Scarfone (undergraduate researcher, 2014) - McGill University (Pharmacology) '17 - Now at: Sony Pictures Imageworks
  • Jia Lun Andy Shao (undergraduate researcher, 2014) - McGill University (Chemistry) '15 - Now at: Deutsche Bank
  • Dorothy Majewski (undergraduate researcher, 2014) - McGill University (Biochemistry) '15 - Now at: University of British Columbia, Structural Biology (PhD student)
  • Liam Carroll (undergraduate researcher, 2014) - McGill University (Quantitative Biology) '15 - Now at: McGill University, PhD student (Medical Physics)
  • Lunia Joy Que (undergraduate researcher, 2014) - McGill University (Pharmacology) '15 - Now at: Omnicare Pharmacy
  • Nasser Saket (undergraduate researcher, 2014) - McGill University (Anatomy and Cell Biology) '15
  • Jill Bachelder (undergraduate researcher, 2014) - McGill University (Chemistry) '17 - Now at: ETH, PhD student
  • Dong Myeong Jimmy Kim (undergraduate researcher, 2011-2012) - McGill University '13 (Microbiology)
  • Manoj Kumar (visiting grad student, 2012) - National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India
  • Kezia Gravesande (undergraduate researcher, 2012) - McGill University '12 (Physiology) - Now at: Insmed Incorporated
  • Pinky Langat (undergraduate researcher, 2011) - McGill University '12 (Biochemistry) - Now at: Harvard Medical School
  • Sarah Wang (undergraduate researcher, 2011) - McGill University '12 (Microbiology)
  • Jessica Young (undergraduate researcher, 2011) - McGill University '11 (Chemistry) - Now at: OpenTent/Co-Founder of Soijen
  • Thomas Holden (undergraduate researcher, 2010-2011) - McGill University '11 (Chemistry) - Now at: Software and Automation Engineer at Johnson Matthey
  • Neil Edelman (undergraduate researcher, 2010) - McGill University '11 (Physics) - Now at: McGill University Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering (BSE student)
  • Ki Yin (Michael) Chan (undergraduate researcher, 2010) - McGill University '11 (Microbiology) - Now at: Restauranteur in Hong Kong