Abdelrasoul Research Group
Graduate Students
Shaghayegh Saadati
Shaghayegh Saadati, PhD, completed her Bachelor’s degree in Applied Chemistry at University of Kurdistan then, she received her M.Sc. in Analytical Chemistry at University of Kurdistan in 2011. Then she pursued her graduate studies and the PhD degree in the field of Medicinal Chemistry at “Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services” in Tehran. Her research focused on design, synthesis & molecular modeling studies of new quinazolines and the evaluation of their cytotoxic influence. She joined Dr. Abdelrasoul research team as Visiting Researcher for her interest to apply her skills and knowledge to contribute in solving current health problems in dialysis.
Arash Mollahosseini (PhD Student)
Arash Mollahosseini started his Ph.D. in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at the University of Saskatchewan in September 2018 under the supervision of Dr. Abdelrasoul. His current PhD research focuses on enhancing membrane biocompatibility for biomedical applications. Arash received his M.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from Babol (Noshirvani) University of Technology in 2011 and his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Great School of Management in 2014. His previous experience focused on nanocomposite membranes, ultrafiltration membranes, as well as antibiofouling membranes.
Majak Mapiour (PhD Student)
Majak Mapiour joined Dr. Abdelrasoul’s research group in 2021 as a Ph.D. student in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at the University of Saskatchewan. He has completed a B.Sc. (Chemistry, 3yrs, 2007), a B.Sc. (Chemical Engineering with Biochemical Option, 2007), a M.Sc. (Chemical Engineering, 2009) at the University of Saskatchewan. He was awarded the NSERC Scholarship during his M.Sc. He also holds a P.Eng. designation after working in the mining, petrochemical, and oil & gas industries. His current research focuses on in situ investigation and modeling of membrane fouling in ultrafiltration of blood Using Synchrotron advanced techniques.
Simin Nazari
Simin received a Bachelor of Science in pure chemistry from Tehran University and then moved on to Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz to pursue a Master of Science in organic chemistry. In 2012, she received her Ph. D. in Organic Chemistry from Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz. Simin went to Turkey as a visiting member at Istanbul Technical University and worked on the “synthesis of dithienothiophene and thiophene based organic materials”. Simin joined Dr. Abdelrasoul research group at the University of Saskatchewan as PhD Biomedical Engineering student for her strong interest in the biomedical field.
Heloisa Westphalen
Heloisa Westphalen completed her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering at Universidade Federal de Pernambuco in 2017. She completed a Master of Applied Science degree at Ryerson University (2018). Her research focused on the application of membrane technology to industrial wastewater treatment using ultrasound-assisted fouling control. In 2019 she joined Dr. Abdelrasoul’s Research Group as a Ph.D. student and her research goal is to contribute to the advancement of membrane technology.
Mohamed Hamed (Visiting Researcher)
Mohamed is a Chemical and Environmental Engineer with 14 years of experience and expertise in academics, scientific research. At earlier stages in his research career, I tackled the Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) issues such as exposure to harmful substances in workplaces. His PhD degree at University of Bath, England, focuses on modeling and simulation. He joined Dr. Abdelrasoul research group as a visiting research student (VRS) in 2022 to work on modeling and simulation in membrane technology.
Research Assistants
Victoria Doan
Victoria Doan is an undergraduate student in the process of completing her Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology, with a minor in Sociology. She aspires to pursue postgraduate studies in Clinical Psychology. Victoria is currently working on an honours thesis project regarding minority stress. Her research interests include mental health disparities in marginalized populations (e.g., racialized groups, sexual and gender minorities) and barriers to equitable access of support services. She has joined Dr. Abdelrasoul’s multidisciplinary research team to provide a psychological perspective. Her goal is to help raise awareness about the psychological impacts of hemodialysis on kidney disease patients and to gain a better understanding of how patients can be supported. Victoria aims to emphasize the importance of listening to patients about their lived experiences in order to identify priority concerns and improve their mental health outcomes.
Research Internship International Students
Abeba Tiru
Abeba is currently a Chemical Engineering student at Marwadi University in India. She joined Dr. Abdelrasoul’s research group in 2022 with the aim to contribute to solving real-world problems. Her project focuses on surface modifications of forward osmosis membranes.
Anubhab Patra
Anubhab is currently a student of BS-MS dual Chemistry degree program at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal. His research interest towards Organic Polymers started increasing from there onwards. He joined Dr. Abdelrasoul research group in 2022 to gain more experience about the advanced research methodologies in Chemical Sciences. His project focused on the synthesis of novel membrane materials.
Mohamed Ben Kmicha
With a passion for solving problems and curiosity to learn, Mohamed has sought a path to an engineering degree in Industrial Chemistry. He started his university studies at the Preparatory Institute for Engineering Studies of Bizerte (Tunisia), where he has obtained his undergraduate degree in Biology and Geology. Then passed the national engineering school entrance exams among the best in his country at the national engineering school of Gafsa in Tunis. He aims to contribute to the growth and prosperity of Tunis. He joined Dr. Abdelrasoul research group to develop new advanced skills. His project focuses on the synthesis of novel mixed matrix membrane materials.
Sishi Zhu
Sishi Zhu is currently studying the third year of Chemical Biology at Northwest Forestry University in China (CGPA: 92%). She has been awarded the Professional Scholarship consecutively for four terms. She is interested in joining first-line research laboratories since October 2019, to study the chemical transformation and synthesis of different biomaterials that mimic nature, and she was awarded for her excellence. Zhu joined Dr. Abdelrasoul research group in 2021 as an intern for her interest in membrane technology. Her project focuses on an in-depth assessment of different membrane morphology using Synchrotron imaging.
Gibrán Saúl Rueda Plá
Gibrán is currently studying the second to last semester of Chemical Engineering at Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores Monterrey, in Mexico (CGPA: 92%) . Along with his studies, he has participated in a research project with Dr. Yamir Bandala Solano, to analyze chemical structures using Gaussian. He is studying instrumental chemistry, since he is interested in characterizing materials. He joined Dr. Abdelrasoul group in 2019 to apply his knowledge to achieve his research goal in discovering and creating new knowledge. Furthermore, he would like to assess the possibility of conducting the same process on a larger scale and develop a project that can be applied in Mexico.
Undergraduate Students
Dafne Ramierez
Dafne Ramirez is an undergraduate exchange student currently in her fourth year of studies in Chemical Industrial Engineering at Universidad del Valle in Guatemala (CGPA: 94.63%). Dafne is awarded with Canada’s ELAP Scholarship, she also won the 2022-2023 Global UGRAD Award for her leadership, commitment to community and academic excellence. In addition, Dafne is part of the Chemical Engineering Research Group at her home university; she joined Dr. Abdelrasoul’s research group in 2022 to learn more about membrane technology and its applications in water treatment and biomedicine. Her project focuses on the development and synthesis of a Mixed Matrix Membrane (MMM) to enhance its performance.
Joseph Munoz
Joseph Munoz joined the Chemical Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan in September 2016. His interest centers around wastewater treatment. He joined Prof. Abdelrasoul’s group to contribute the ongoing research in her Membrane Science and Nanotechnology. Joseph is so passionate to find innovative solutions that could optimize the industry and solve environmental problems.
Srija Argumeedi
Srija Argumeedi is an undergraduate student (4th year) at the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at University of Saskatchewan. She was awarded at the University of Saskatchewan in 2015 for her academic excellence. In addition, she received several awards for demonstrating leadership in the community, including Youth in Philanthropy Award (2014), Federated Limited Scholarship (2015), and Russell Memorial Award. (2018). She joined Dr. Abdelrasoul group in 2018 for her interest in nanomaterials. She aims to contribute to the ongoing research, to solve health and environmental problems.
Volunteering Students
Jumanah Bahig
Jumanah Bahig is a 2nd year kinesiology student who joined Dr. Abdelrasoul’s team as a volunteer research assistant for her passion for improving patients’ lives and gaining knowledge about medical research. She is a bilingual interviewer in the Canadian Hub for Applied and Social Research at University of Saskatchewan.
Former Students
Dr. Ubong Eduok (Postdoctoral Fellow: 2019-2021)
Ubong Eduok, PhD, joined Dr. Abdelrasoul’s group at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (Membrane Science and Technology Research Lab.), University of Saskatchewan in 2019 as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. His current research interests revolve around the development of novel biomaterial designs and reaction routes for synthesizing new biocompatible coating nanocomposites that will have potential applications in biomedical hemodialysis, membrane filtration, wastewater remediation, etc. He is an experienced research associate who has previously been a Visiting Researcher at the Biomedical Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, UK. There, he was a part of a funded research project that designed biofunctionalized antifouling silicone coatings immobilized with thermophilic bacterial (e.g. Bacillus licheniformis) endospores. He is experienced in organic and inorganic synthesis, including those of small and macromolecules, as well as ceramic, metallic and polymeric nanoparticles.
Mahboobeh Maghami (MSc Student: Sep 2017- Aug 2019)
In September 2017, Mahboobeh joined Prof. Abdelrasoul’s group at U of S in Canada. Her project focused on the investigation of enhanced water transport across hydrophilic and hydrophobic membranes using molecular dynamics simulations, in addition to synthesis zwitterionic materials. Mahboobeh completed her undergraduate degree in Applied Chemistry at Kashan University (2005). Then, she completed her Master in Inorganic Chemistry at Isfahan University of Technology (2010) under the supervision of Prof. Hadadzadeh.
Vu Bui (MSc Student: Sep 2019- Dec 2021)
Vu completed his bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Hochiminh City University of Technology, Vietnam, in 2013. In 2014, he received the DAAD scholarship from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to pursue his M.Sc. degree in Water Resources Engineering and Management at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. Vu joined Prof. Abdelrasoul Group with the aim of applying his skills and knowledge in synthesizing novel membranes for addressing some of the most pressing global challenges such as water quality. He is currently working as a Researcher at the Institute of Energy and Environmental Technology (IUTA), Germany.
Sana Daneshamoz (MSc Student: Sep 2019- Aug 2021)
In September 2019, Sana joined Prof. Abdelrasoul’s research group at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. Sana was awarded the Saskatchewan Innovation Scholarship and her project will focus on the innovative nanomaterials in biomedical applications.
Hadia Butt (MEng Student: Sep 2019- Dec 2021)
Hadia is a recent graduate and obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan in 2017. For her academic excellence she has received several awards, including the Governor General Academic Medal, Government of Saskatchewan General Proficiency Award, and the Dean’s Honor Roll Award. She decided to continue her graduate studies and join Dr. Abdelrasoul research group, in September 2018, to work on cutting edge research in wastewater treatment using advanced membrane technology. Her goals are to find innovative research solutions that will immediately impact the industrial sector, and to act as a successful role model for women in Engineering (WIE) who can balance between her current job and graduate studies. She is currently working as an Emission Engineer at SaskEnergy, SK.
Raam Sirigiri (MEng Student: Jan 2019-Jan 2021)
Raam received his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from R. V. R. & J. C. Engineering, India, in 2016 with Academic Excellence Award. In addition to Chemical Engineering he has experience in the Pharmaceutical industry. Raam joined Dr. Abdelrasoul research group as a Master of Engineering student in January 2019 in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at the University of Saskatchewan. His current interests focus on nanotechnology in biomedical applications.
Monica Kwong (Research Assistant)
Monica Kwong recently completed the undergraduate Chemical Engineering Co-op program at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. She chosed to study Chemical Engineering because of the numerous career paths it offers. Since at a young age, she has always had a passion for community involvement, as she feels the most accomplished when she feels that her contributions have made a difference. She has been recognized for her work through several awards such as the Ontario Professional Engineers Foundation for Education Award, Rona Hatt Engineering Ambassador Award in Chemical Engineering, and the Dennis Mock Student Leadership Award. She is currently working at Sofina Inc.
Maha Akram (Research Assistant)
Maha Akram is a recent Chemical Engineering graduate from Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada. She has intensive exposure to the industrial experiences through her coop program. Her interest to membrane science and its fascinated technology, started by working with Dr. Abdelrasoul on advanced computational modeling in Toronto. In 2018, Maha joined Dr. Abdelrasoul research to gain research skills in membrane science and nanotechnology, for her interest to apply the gained knowledge in the industry in her future career.
