PEOPLE

Meet the Matsuura Lab

Principal Investigator

Naomi Matsuura

Principal Investigator

Associate Professor, Department of Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) | Institute of Biomedical Engineering (BME)
Cross-appointment in Medical Imaging | Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) | Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering (MIE)
Associate Chair, Research, Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) 
Director, Biomaterials Manufacturing Cluster (BioMC)

Dr. Naomi Matsuura is an Associate Professor in Materials Science and Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, with a cross-appointment in the Department of Medical Imaging in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is also the founding Director of the Biomaterials Manufacturing Cluster (BioMC), created to support cross-disciplinary partnerships and international collaborations for large-scale, transformative, clinically focused, biomaterials engineering projects. Dr. Matsuura’s laboratory designs and applies new biomaterials to guide the personalized treatment of human disease, through research in size-controlled, modular nanoscale and micron-scale colloids; image-guided, non-invasive, treatment of disease; externally activated theranostic agents; point-of-care diagnostics; and medical imaging phantom development. Awards received include the John C. Polanyi Prize in Physiology/Medicine and Physics, an Early Researcher Award (Government of Ontario), a 2020 Suffrage Science Award (MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, UK) and the 2022 WIMIN Mid-Career Award (World Molecular Imaging Society). Dr. Matsuura serves on the Board of Trustees of the World Molecular Imaging Society (WMIS) and is a co-founder of a national network of Canadian medical imaging scientists (WMIScan). She serves as a Senior Editor of the Nanomaterials and Delivery Platform Section for the journal Molecular Imaging and Biology (MIB), the official medical journal for the Academy of Molecular Imaging. She also sits on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Nanobiotechnology. She serves on the NanoMedicine Innovation Network (NMIN) HQP Program Advisory Committee and is a member of the Advisory Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the WMIS.

Lab Members

Rana Ali

Postdoctoral Researcher, 2024 – Present

Rana Ali completed a PhD in materials science/chemistry from Simon Fraser University and entrepreneurship/business management from the Wharton School of Business in 2021 and 2022, respectively. He is also a tech entrepreneur who aims to translate research from the lab to the market to commercialize technologies for the benefit of Canada and humanity. In his free time, he enjoys reading sci-fi, writing blogs, and skiing/snowboarding.

Contact: ranafaryad.ali(at)utoronto.ca

Mohammad Moeini

Research Associate, 2023 – Present

Mohammad obtained his PhD in Chemical Engineering from McGill University at 2013. After 10 years of research experience in multiple fields of Biomedical Engineering at Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal Heart Institute, and Amirkabir University of Technology (Iran), he joined Prof Matsuura’s lab at the University of Toronto in 2023. Mohammad is interested in designing and fabricating nano/micro-biomaterials for tissue engineering, controlled/targeted drug delivery, biomedical imaging, and vascular embolization. He is now studying the temporary particulate embolic agents and in vitro models for their evaluation.

Contact: m.moeini(at)utoronto.ca

Matthew Chen

Ph.D. Candidate, 2020 – Present

Matt received his Bachelor’s of Applied Science in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Toronto in 2017. He subsequently completed a Master’s of Applied Science at the University of Toronto with a focus on ultrasound contrast agents development. Currently his PhD work is focused on a continuation of this work with focuses in research ultrasound-enhanced liquid biopsies and additional work into computational modelling of ultrasound contrast agents. Outside of research Matt is an avid cyclist, competentive rower, and currently is also an Assistant Coach with the Varsity Blues Rowing Program. 

Contact: mattalex.chen(at)mail.utoronto.ca

Osama Khan

Ph.D. Candidate, 2024 – Present

Osama completed his undergraduate in Biotechnology at McMaster University, fulfilling his degree with 10 held teaching assistant positions, 1000s of hours spent in the laboratory, and 12 months of co-op experience in a medical devices start-up company. For his Ph.D., his interests lie in the utilization of drug-loaded microbubbles for the treatment of cancer. For his life, his passions lie in the enjoyment of nature (hiking & swimming) and the luxury of literacy (reading, journaling, writing poetry).
 
Contact: osamaqi.khan(at)mail.utoronto.ca

Patrick Dong Min Chang

Ph.D. Candidate, 2020 – Present

Patrick is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering. His current research project focuses on the synthesis and characterization of drug-loaded phospholipid-stabilized nanobubbles for ultrasound-triggered anticancer applications. He completed his undergraduate studies in Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto in 2020 with previous work experience in the Government of Canada in 2019.

Contact: patrickdongmin.chang(at)mail.utoronto.ca

Samuel Penner

Ph.D. Candidate, 2019 – Present

Sam is a PhD candidate within the department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto. He completed undergraduate studies at both the University of Winnipeg (Double major: Chemistry and Biochemistry), and the University of Toronto (Materials Science and Engineering). His interests include hiking and cooking where he enjoys applying what he knows about materials and chemistry in the kitchen.

Contact: samuel.penner(at)mail.utoronto.ca

Sean McGrath

Ph.D. Candidate, 2019 – Present

Sean completed his Bachelor’s of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering at the University of British Columbia in 2019. Currently a PhD candidate, his research interests include ultrasound triggered bioeffects and drug delivery, preclinical/clinical translation, and therapeutic use of endobronchial ultrasound. Outside the lab, Sean enjoys learning history, singing karaoke with friends, and trying to keep healthy (emphasis on trying).

Contact: seanfrancis.mcgrath(at)mail.utoronto.ca

Guanqi Huang

Co-supervised Ph.D. Student, 2024 – Present

Guanqi (Jack) earned his Honours Bachelor of Science under the Chemistry Specialist program from the University of Toronto. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto, under the supervision of Prof. Naomi Matsuura and Prof. Kai Huang.  Guanqi’s research interests involve exploring the applications of mechanoluminescent nanoparticles in theranostics. Outside of work, Guanqi is enthusiastic about board games and enjoys applying his chemistry background in the kitchen.

Contact: guanq.huang(at)mail.utoronto.ca

Matteo Bomben

Co-supervised Ph.D. Candidate, 2020 – Present

Matteo received his bachelor’s degree in engineering science from the University of Toronto, majoring in biomedical systems engineering. Currently, he is conducting his PhD research under the co-supervision of Prof. Matsuura and Dr. James Drake, a paediatric neurosurgeon at SickKids Hospital. His project focuses on the development of robotic surgical devices for use in endoscopic brain tumour resection. Outside of the lab, Matteo enjoys playing softball, tennis, and staying active.
 
Contact: matteo.bomben(at)mail.utoronto.ca

David Gurov

Co-supervised M.A.Sc Candidate, 2023 – Present

David got his B.Sc. from the University of Groningen. There, he studied Life Sciences & Technology with a major in Biomedical Engineering. During his 2nd year of his undergraduate degree, David volunteered his time to assist with research on immune checkpoint inhibitors at the University Medical Center Groningen where he worked with patient PET/CT images under Prof. Elisabeth de Vries. Subsequently, David wrote his thesis on immunotherapies for brain cancer (glioblastoma multiforme) and, additionally to that, conducted his research project on gene therapy via functionalized nanogels.

Contact: david.gurov(at)mail.utoronto.ca

Sarah White

B.A.Sc. Student, 2020 – Present

Sarah is an undergraduate student pursuing a BASc in Engineering Science with a specialization in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on the application of laser-induced cavitation of microbubbles for drug delivery to tumors, aiming to enhance targeted cancer therapies. Outside of academics, Sarah is a member of the Varsity Blues Cross Country team and enjoys running in her spare time.

Contact: saraheb.white(at)mail.utoronto.ca

Alumni

Tesnime Hidjir

Yara Ensminger

Graduate student
Germany

Khadija Rana

Graduate student
University of Toronto

Yaxin Zhang

Graduate student

Zinedine Samuel Cobourne

Research Assistant
Sunnybrook Research Institute

Robert Koucheki

Medical student
University of Toronto

Katelyn Dixon

Scientist
Quantum Valley Ideas Laboratories

Ignace Moya

Scientist
NoNO Inc.

Siqi Zhu

Business Intelligence Lead
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

Haochen Zhang

Engineering Intern
Kinectrics

Joseph Choy

Graduate student
Harvard University

Matthew Di Carlo

Dentistry student
University of Toronto

Yali Gao

Research Scientist
Thinkari Research, Inc.

Christophe Blaszykowski

Head of Chemistry
SQY Therapeutics

Hans Fischer

Research Engineer
Ripple Therapeutics

Wenjing Wang

MD
China

Matthew Van Oirschot

Medical student
Western University

Trevor Ung

Graduate student
University of Chicago

Amy Chiu

Administrator
Volaris Group

Jessica Miller

Special Projects Manager
ventureLAB

Anthony Gorelikov

Research Assistant
The Hospital for Sick Children

Vahid Raeesi

Director, Nanoparticle Formation
Rampart Bio

Tracy Jiang

Graduate student
Penn State University

Ruizhe Tang

Undergraduate student
University of Toronto

Kierdra Dowling

Industry

Anna Zavodni

Cardiology resident
University of Toronto

Yun Xiang

Research Scientist
Stanford University

Yu-Jack Shen

Undergraduate student
Toronto Metropolitan University

Samantha Chow

Senior Consultant
IQVIA

Amanda Ricketts

Director of Operations
PragmaClin Research Inc.

Yiran Zou

Assistant Manager/Director of Sales
Junhopower Co. Ltd., China

Catherine Campbell

Graduate student
University of Toronto

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