Team
Meet the team.
Principal Investigator
Staff
Carla Zimmerman
Lab TechnicianEducation
University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada Bachelor of Science, Biochemistry and Molecular BiologBio
Carla’s roles in the lab are maintaining hPSC cultures, managing inventories, training new personnel, navigating university bureaucracy, and generally keeping the lab running smoothly. Carla activities outside the lab include choral singing, playing violin, swing dancing, kayaking, drinking coffee, and attempting to keep up with her highly energetic toddler (whether or not there is a correlation between these last two is left as an exercise for the reader).
Education
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada Doctor of Philosophy, Zoology University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada Masters, Medical Biophysics University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada Bachelors Certificate, Biology University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada Bachelors Degree, PhysicsBio
Cynthia was educated in Canada, obtaining her BSc at the University of Saskatchewan, MSc at the University of Toronto, and PhD at the University of British Columbia. She then moved to the United Kingdom for postdoctoral research at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, MRC London Institute of Medical Science, University College London, and the University of Cambridge, focusing on stem cell epigenetics and physical biology. She pursued academic-industry translational research and development with Stemcell Technologies UK Ltd in collaboration with the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute as part of the European Union’s PluriMes research consortium. At the Zandstra Lab UBC location, Cynthia is supporting research operations including lab set-up, personnel recruitment, securing new funding, communications, laboratory management and oversight, and coaching junior research personnel. Her research focuses on how genetic and epigenetic regulatory networks, as well as microenvironmental, spatial, and biomechanical inputs influence blood development from pluripotent stem cell differentiation systems. In her spare time, Cynthia enjoys the great outdoors around Vancouver, particularly skiing and snowshoeing in winter, and hiking and kayaking in the summer, and playing ultimate frisbee. She’s also been a contemporary dance enthusiast for many years, and is the proud mom to two peachfaced lovebirds.
Education
Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany & University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland Postdoctoral Fellow (w/ F. Jülicher and M. Gonzalez-Gaitan), Biological Physics Andalusian Center for Developmental Biology (CABD), Sevilla, Spain Postdoctoral Fellow (w/ F. Casares), Computational Biology University of Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain Doctor of Philosophy (w/ A. Cordoba, M.C. Lemos), Systems Biology International University of Andalusia, Sevilla, Spain Masters, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology University of Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain Masters, Complex Systems and Nonlinear Phenomena University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain Bachelors Degree, PhysicsBio
Daniel, as expected from a theoretical physicist, likes wearing ‘Green Lantern’ symbology, discussing depths of ’The Matrix’ and playing board games. Additionally, Daniel is a movie maniac and collector of vinyl records. He plays drums and guitar, and equally loves vegan food, sushi and jamón serrano (no incongruence at all). Daniel leads the theoretical and computational side of the Z-lab. He’s actively involved in projects from different subfields in the lab, from differentiation patterns in organoid structures to differentiation trajectories in hematopoietic stem cells, where he is emphasizing in the control aspects of these lines. In this direction, Daniel is opening new research lines in the control of growth in functional organoids, and in the detection, quantification, analysis and control of emergent properties, with the latter research line being translationally applied through the different areas composing the Stem Cell Bioengineering lab.
Frank Hsu
Lab Technician
Maddy Angus
Administrative AssistantEducation
Douglas College, Coquitlam, BC Administrative Assistant Certificate Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada Bachelor of Arts and Social Science, CriminologyBio
Postdoctoral Fellows
Ajinkya Ghagre
Ph.D.Education
McGill University, Montreal, QC Canada PhD, Biological and Biomedical Engineering D.Y. Patil University, India Master of Technology, BiotechnologyBio
Ajinkya completed his PhD under Prof. Allen Ehrlicher in the Department of Bioengineering at McGill University. During his doctoral studies, he developed PaCS (Pattern-based Contractility Screening) technology to measure mechanical forces applied by mammalian cells. Using PaCS, he unveiled the specific role of mechanical forces in manipulating nuclear shape and influencing cell fate decisions. In Zandstra’s lab, Ajinkya is investigating the role of mechanical forces in controlling stem cell fate, with the ultimate goal of directing cell behavior through mechanical cues. Outside the lab, you’ll often find Ajinkya playing video games, watching anime/web series, or exploring various bars and restaurants
John Edgar
Ph.D.Education
University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada Masters, Biomedical Engineering University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada Bachelor of Engineering, Biomedical EngineeringBio
I enjoy cooking food, fermenting food, and eating food. In a former life I worked in fabrication and I enjoy designing and building things that are of practical use (that’s why I’m an engineer). My dream job is to travel the pacific northwest coast in a tug boat searching for logs that fall off barges (ie. The Beachcombers).
Nancy Fang
Ph.D.Education
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada Doctor of Philosophy, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China Bachelor of Science, BiotechnologyBio
Nancy completed her PhD in Prof Thibault Mayor’s lab at the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department of UBC where she combined proteomic, genetic, and molecular biology approaches to study the relationship between ubiquitination, an essential post-translational modification on proteins in eukaryotes, and the homeostasis of misfolded proteins under stress conditions, which is crucial for prevention of protein aggregation and maintenance of cell fitness. As one of Nancy’s research interests is to advance in situ proteomic technology, she joined Dr. George Church’s lab at Harvard Medical School after graduation, where she was involved in developing an in situ sequencing technology enabling spontaneous detection of multiple protein, mRNA, miRNA targets in intact, fixed tissue samples. She also developed a synthetic biology platform for rapid generation of small affinity proteins for multiple targets during her time in the Church, so she is a huge fan for synthetic biology. Nancy joined the Zandstra lab at October 2018 and aims to bring this state of the art in situ sequencing technology to the lab and UBC.
Education
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA Doctor of Philosophy, Biological Engineering University of Washington, Seattle, ON Bachelor of Science, BioengineeringBio
Ross completed his PhD under Ron Weiss and Domitilla Del Vecchio at MIT, where he developed genetic control systems to make synthetic gene circuits operate robustly regardless of the messy cellular context inside mammalian cells. As a control freak, Ross is working in the Zandstra Lab to build genetic controllers to control cell fate decisions and ultimately control the behavior of cell therapies. Outside of the lab, you can probably find Ross playing sports, reading/watching sci-fi, or trying out a new board game.
Education
Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran Masters, Biophysics Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran Bachelor of Science, Theoretical PhysicsBio
Tiam Heydari is a Ph.D. student in the school of biomedical engineering. Tiam obtained his undergraduate and masters degree from Sharif University of Technology (SUT) in theoretical physics where he worked on developing the Virtual Cell Model as his thesis. In Zandstra lab he is focusing on studying collective behavior and emergence in multicellular systems by employing tools from non-equilibrium statistical physics, systems biology, and bioinformatics.Students
Education
Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada Master of Science, Microbiology and Immunology Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada Bachelor of Science, Microbiology and ImmunologyBio
Once upon a time, Beth lived in a distant eastern land, Halifornia. There her first love was viruses, an evasive love, but infectious nonetheless. Alas, as life goes, she continued her journey west and a new love stemmed. While this new romance felt cell-fish, Beth dove right in to exploring the early stages of development of blood and immune cells. Now, she is trying to understand how the spatial context of developing cells can tune what type of cell they become. It’s bloody exciting. In her new life in BC, Beth likes to run, cook, go up and then back down mountains (through a variety of methods) and make lots of bad puns.
Education
University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada Masters, Immunology University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada Bachelors of Science, ImmunologyBio
Cellular engineering is a crucial area in developing personalized medicine. Synthetic biology takes advantage of advancements in DNA synthesis, molecular and computational biology to design and engineer customized synthetic signaling pathways that allows for “smart” forward programming of the cell based on their transcriptomic state. Charles focuses on using synthetic biology to influence cell development and cell fate of pluripotent stem cells with the goal of generating specific cell types for regenerative immunotherapy. Always down for a drink. If you want to get me drunk, one drink is all it takes. Interesting include archery, guitar, video games and distracting people from their work.
Education
University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Bachelor of Applied Science, Engineering Science (Biomedical Engineering Major, Robotics Minor)Bio
Differentiating cells face numerous lineage-fate decisions throughout their development. Divy is utilizing computational approaches to investigate the regulatory state that controls the bifurcation of iPSC-derived T cells towards the naive cytotoxic and helper T cell fates. Variations between the regulatory states of iPSC-derived T cells and naturally developing T cells may elucidate perturbable variables for robustly controlling cell fate in vitro. Outside the grind, Divy enjoys playing chess (he sucks), eating food (a lot), and watching movies (he excels).
Education
University of California, San Diego, CA, USA Masters, Biomedical Sciences University of California, San Diego, CA, USA Bachelor of Science, Molecular BiologyBio
Jiyoung did her Master’s at the University of California, San Diego where she studied induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) differentiation into Natural Killer cells in Dan Kaufman’s lab. She loved engineering immune cells to combat different types of cancer and decided to continue her study in immune cell engineering in the Zandstra lab. Jiyoung played for UCSD Women’s lacrosse team as well as the Korea National Lacrosse Team. She loves the west coast vibe and the fantastic ocean view ( from both San Diego and Vancouver).
Education
University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada Bachelor of science, Molecular Genetics and PhysiologyBio
CAR-T cell therapy has revolutionized cancer treatment. While this approach has achieved remarkable success in blood cancers, the efficacy is relatively limited in solid tumors. Lauren is developing a T-cell compatible tumor-on-a-chip model to understand the reasons for CAR-T cell dysfunction in the solid tumor microenvironment. These insights will be used to inform design strategies for CAR-T cells with improved function in solid tumors. When she’s not in the lab, Lauren loves to run, ski, and explore new places around Vancouver.
Education
Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada Bachelors of Applied Science, Chemical EngineeringBio
The cells of our immune system, such as T cells, play a crucial role in detecting both pathogens and cancerous tissue, and then mounting a powerful, highly specific immune response to maintain the balance of our health. These cellular properties underline the potential for T cells to be employed as therapeutics for immunodeficiency, cancer treatment, and targeted immunotherapies. In my research I use high-dimensional spatial imaging to study the development of T cells in the human thymus, the organ where T cells are trained. I believe that by improving our understanding of the native spatiotemporal signals directing T cell development, we can identify unique developmental niches within the thymus, and translate this knowledge to drive the advancement of culture systems to produce mature T cells for use in emerging cell therapies. In my spare time you can find me seeking sunlight and adventure. I love to play soccer, hike, row, and catch as many sunrises and sunsets as possible (preferably on top of a mountain or on the ocean)!
