John Frampton (Team Leader)
I am an Associate Professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering at Dalhousie University and Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Cellular, Biomaterial and Matrix Interaction. I trained as a PhD student in the School of Public Health at SUNY at Albany, before completing a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at University of Michigan. At Dalhousie University, my group of highly qualified trainees is working at the intersection of chemistry, physics and biology to explore the interactions of various soft materials with cells, design novel biomaterials and develop cutting-edge miniaturization technologies with applications in biotechnology and medicine.
Hessameddin Yaghoobi (Postdoc)
Hessam obtained his PhD in Mechanical Engineering, focusing on the characterization and optimization of polymer-based composites and nanocomposites. He was awarded the Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship at Dalhousie University, where he developed 3D fiber metal laminate composites reinforced with nanomaterials, as well as a novel eco-friendly thermoplastic polymer composite. As a Mitacs Postdoctoral Fellow at Dalhousie, he worked in the Kreplak and Frampton groups and startup company 3D BioFibR Inc. to produce and characterize contact-drawn collagen multifilament bundles with tendon‐like structure and mechanical performance for the first time, leading to a patent filing. He is now working on the fabrication and characterization of various polymer/protein fibers for biomedical and tissue engineering applications.
Rahimeh Rasouli (Postdoc)
Rahimeh received a MSc degree in Biotechnology from Tehran University. Her master’s research focused on vaccine development and recombinant protein production. She obtained her PhD in Nanomedicine from Tehran University of Medical Sciences. During her PhD training, she investigated the application of targeted nanoparticles as contrast agents for imaging modalities such as MRI and SPECT, as well as for drug delivery. She has expertise in numerous synthesis and characterization methods and has conducted both in-vitro and in-vivo studies using various cancer animal models. Currently, she is developing 3D scaffolds for modeling various tissues, including the cornea, tympanic membrane, and tendon. To achieve this, she utilizes techniques such as electrospinning, contact drawing, and 3D bioprinting. Another area of her research focuses on developing wound dressing materials and conductive materials for tissue engineering applications.
Melissa Reith (Postdoc)
Melissa received her MSc degree from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Chemistry with a focus on organic and polymer chemistry. She obtained her PhD degree in Chemistry from Ghent University, working on the synthesis and analysis of sequence-defined macromolecules with various topologies. As a Mitacs postdoctoral fellow at Dalhousie University co-supervised with Jan Rainey, she is working on the development and optimization of suture materials from recombinant spider silks in collaboration with 3DBioFibR Inc.
Darren Cole (Technician)
Darren received his BSc from Dalhousie University in Biology. He has over 25 years of experience with mammalian cell culture including with demanding cell types like renal tubule cells. Before joining the Frampton Lab, he was the technician for Prof. Geoff Maksym and subsequently for the School of Biomedical Engineering. Darren is currently working on a number of cell culture projects which include culture of neural progenitor cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, keratinocytes, airway smooth muscle cells, and corneal cells. Outside of the lab, Darren is an avid fisherman and wood worker.
Jonathan Tjong (PhD Student)
Jonathan completed his undergraduate degree in Human Biology at the University of California San Diego and worked at the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research and the Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology. He completed his MASc in Biomedical Engineering at Dalhousie University, where he examined the influence of dysregulation of the airway epithelium on airway smooth muscle cell function. He began his PhD research in 2019 in the development of a microtissue approach for modeling asthma in the small airways.
Mady Thompson (PhD Student)
Mady completed her BSc with Honours in Biochemistry at Queen’s University. She went on to complete her Master’s degree in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the University of Calgary where she studied the maturation of stem cell derived cardiomyocytes on extracellular matrix. Her PhD focuses on generating a more physiologically relevant Alzheimer’s Disease model from stem cells. She is a recipient of a 4-year Research Nova Scotia Scotia Scholars Award.
Janna Albarda (MASc Student)
Janna received her BSc with First-Class Honours from Dalhousie University, completing the combined program through the departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Microbiology and Immunology. In her Honours research she studied the interactions between the peptide apelin-17 and phospholipid bicelles. Now a Master’s student in the School of Biomedical Engineering, she is working on designing a collagen-based textile able to replace portions of the human cornea.
Poornimaa Nataraj (MASc Student)
Poornimaa graduated with First Class and Distinction in B.Tech Biotechnology from Rajalakshmi Engineering College, India. She was a MITACS GRI Intern in 2022 in the Frampton Lab, focusing on Aqueous Two-Phase Systems. Her subsequent undergraduate research at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad involved the decellularization of dermal and cardiac tissue for bioink preparation. Currently, as a Master's student, she is advancing her research on decellularizing cardiac tissue to develop an extracellular matrix patch for treating septal defects.
Jana Sewidan (MASc Student)
Jana received her BSc with First-Class Honours in Biology from Dalhousie University. Her Honours research focused on utilizing fibronectin as a protein additive to manufacture stable fibers using the contact drawing method. As a Master's student in the School of Biomedical Engineering at Dalhousie, she is now working on synthesizing an optimized cornea replacement to be used for implantation while promoting corneal wound healing.
Grace O’Connor (Co-Op Student)
Grace is an undergraduate co-op student completing her BEng in Chemical Engineering and certificate in Biomedical Engineering at Dalhousie University. She also received a BSc in Chemistry in 2022. In her previous co-op her research involved pharmaceutical co-crystallization using supercritical fluid solvents, and she is now looking at making extracellular matrix scaffolds using collagen peptides from cod for different commercial applications with co-supervision from Prof. Laurent Kreplak.
Kayla Cornett (Undergraduate Research Assistant)
Kayla completed her BSc in both Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Microbiology & Immunology at Dalhousie University. During their first co-op placement in 2022, Kayla explored the agriculture industry in the Annapolis Valley, sampling soil for nutritional studies for local Nova Scotia farmers. Her following co-op term with 3D BioFibR Inc. introduced Kayla to the study of cell attachment and adhesion to collagen fibers. As an undergraduate research assistant in Frampton Lab, Kayla continues her research on collagen fibers by investigating the influence of various polymers on the molecular structure of collagen.
Kaitlyn Jota (Honours Student)
Kaitlyn is an undergraduate student completing a BSc in Medical Sciences at Dalhousie University. She recently completed a SCIE 3100 research project to develop a strategy for fabricating conductive collagen-based fiber. Her honours research is investigating how carbon nanotube incorporation impacts the properties of type 1 collagen multifilament fibers.
Chiraz Hicheri (Mitacs GRI)
Chiraz is an Undergraduate Student in Industrial Biology Engineering at the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées et de Technologies in Tunis, Tunisia. During her studies, she participated in several research projects including studying the antimicrobial effects of essential oils obtained from local plants. As a Thomas Jefferson Scholarship recipient, she completed an exchange year at Florida State University studying Biomedical Engineering and completed a research course studying the 3D bioprinting of cell-laden hydrogels in the NMR lab within the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, FL. She is now completing her end-of-studies internship at the Frampton Lab studying cell migration on collagen fibers. She will graduate with an Engineering Degree in September 2024, and hopes to continue her studies in a Masters program.
Dafne Portillo (Mitacs GRI)
Dafne is a graduate of Pharmaceutical Chemistry & Biology from La Salle Mexico University. She is currently a junior researcher in the Faculty of Chemistry at La Salle Mexico University working in the area of compound synthesis for metabolic syndrome. She also works as a regulatory affairs intern at Olympus LATAM. As a Mitacs intern in the Frampton Lab, she is developing conductive fiber containing nanoparticles. She plans to continue her work on this project as a future MASc student.
Robert Laureijs (Research in Medicine Student)
Robert completed his BSc with Honours in Medical Sciences at Dalhousie University in 2019. His honours focused on characterizing the mechanical changes of bovine heart tissues in response to pregnancy. He went on to obtain an MBA from Dalhousie in 2021 and worked in the Halifax start-up ecosystem as a consultant. Robert is currently part of the Dalhousie Medicine class of 2026. As a Research in Medicine (RIM) student, Robert is focused on the development of a novel combination hyaluronic-acid and collagen tissue scaffold for tympanic membrane repair.
Kevin Telfer (Research in Medicine Student)
Kevin completed his undergraduate BSc in nursing at Dalhousie University in 2018. He worked as a registered nurse for two years before returning to Dal for medical school (class of 2024). As a Research in Medicine (RIM) student, Kevin is working with the Frampton Lab on proteomics research into biomarkers of Lyme disease. The goal of this research is the development of improved diagnostic tests.
Nick Robichaud (Research in Medicine Student)
Nick completed a BSc with Joint Honours in Physics and Biochemistry at Memorial University in 2019. His honours work looked at developing computer simulations to study protein behaviour. He is now a member of the class of 2023 at Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick. As part of a Research in Medicine project, Nick is studying the development of drug-loadable, core-sheath polymer fibers for applications in wound healing and regenerative medicine.
Lab Alumni
Postdoctoral Fellows:
Swomitra Palit
Staff:
PhD Students:
MASc/Msc Students:
Stefan Pendlmayr (Visiting from Aarhus University)
Zachary Visser
Mireya Yareth Cervantes González
Undergraduate Capstone Teams and DISP Teams:
Hady Sarhan, Jordan Worona and Ilias Lekkas (Electrical Engineering, 2016)
Elizabeth Outhit, Jinwon Jang, Maia Kvas, Emily Gerhardt and Beatrice Chiang (DISP, 2017)
Diane Farah, Tyler Jenkins, Artem Soroka and Sara Jaber (Chemical Engineering, 2019)
Aline Maybank and Annabel Gravely (DISP, 2020)
Joscillyn Poirier, Tilda Hadley, Kathleen Walker and Neha Nauman (Chemical Engineering, 2020)
Alex Whidden and Maxxim Vigneau (Electrical Engineering, 2021)
Tay Barnabe, Courtney Chiasson and Kamar Clarke (Chemical Engineering, 2023)
Undergraduate Students:
Cathleen Dai
Ammu Puliyankotan
Chloe Ma (Co-Supervised w/ Jan Rainey)
Friederike Floegel (Mitacs GRI, 2019)
Kiha Kim
Lauren Pugsley-DeBruyn (Co-Supervised w/ Jan Rainey)
Madelaine Robertson (Co-Supervised w/ Jan Rainey)
Daniel Ng Kah Hee (Mitacs GRI, 2022)
Emmanuel Borja Ramos (Mitacs GRI, 2022)
Tania Sofía Hernández Hernández (Mitacs GRI, 2023)
Marifer Vargas Camacho (Mitacs GRI, 2023)
Kaia Pauli (Visiting Intern from HAN University)