Ellie is a PhD. Researcher and Environmental Engineer/Scientist with over ten years experience as an environmental consultant. Ellie received her B.Sc in Environmental Engineering from Tehran Environmental University, Iran, in July 2004 and Bachelor of Environmental Science from Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran in March 2016.

Ellie is working on Microplastics Characteristics, Migration, Accumulation, Serving as Vector and Media for Contaminants and fate of MPs in landfill leachate under the supervision of Prof Abdelmalek Bouazza (principal supervisor) and Prof Mark Monroe Banaszak Holl (associate supervisor) from February 2021.

Her M.Sc. research was waste-to-energy, calculating and implementing Methane emission potential &extractable energy of solid waste landfill, LandGem modelling – producing 2MW electricity led to a 50% CO2 emission reduction (Halghe Dareh landfill).

Ellie’s area of expertise is in waste management and landfill design and auditing, and environmental consulting within a broad range of industries and applications, including due diligence, statutory compliance, EES, EMS and EMPs, contaminated land & site with private and public centres in various industries (oil& gas, petrochemical, mining, automotive, pharmaceutical, food, construction, cement, wind and solar farm).

She has valuable extensive working experiences with roles in numerous environmental development projects, waste management and landfill audit and environmental and sustainability management. She has years of experiences as an Environmental Consultant with EPAWM, RSA and KWM consultancy companies in Iran (Tehran). After moving to Australia in 2016, Ellie joined GHD (Melbourne) as an Environmental Engineer and worked with waste management and landfill audit and environmental and sustainability audit team. Also, Ellie has valuable experiences as a Senior Professional Environmental Scientist with AECOM (Melbourne) regards to working on environmental projects with both Geoscience & Remediation Services and Impact Assessment & Permitting team.

Ellie enjoys reading books, playing tennis, travelling to unknown places, camping and the outdoors, spending time with her friends, music, movies, series.”

Mahdieh received her B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the Kermanshah University of Technology in 2014. She spent her time working in Nanoalvand pharmaceutical company (Tehran, Iran) as a quality control specialist for 18 months. After moving to Australia in 2018, She started working as a research assistant and teaching assistant at the chemical engineering department, Monash University. She worked with PhD researchers on environmental projects including recycling of nanocellulose. She started her PhD in Chemical Engineering at Monash University in 2020. Her PhD is an industrial-based project with the partnership of Paintback® and BASF. She is interested in designing environmentally sustainable processes. During her graduate research degree, she will work on the valorisation of waterborne acrylic paint.

She is interested in camping in nature, she likes Australia’s nature. Also, she watches movies during her spare time.

Kevin was born in Indonesia and left home to Australia in 2015 to pursue his undergrad study at Monash University. He received his B.Eng. (Hons) in Chemical Engineering from Monash in 2019. Being very interested in the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) research project that he worked on under the supervision of Professor Mark Banaszak Holl and Jinhee Kim during his final year of undergrad, he decided to pursue Ph.D. and joined the Banaszak Holl lab to continue doing research in that field after completing his undergraduate study. His Ph.D. research, co-supervised by Mark Banaszak Holl and Professor Victoria Haritos, will focus on domain morphology of damage induced to the human ACL as well as developing detection methods to prevent athletes from rupturing their ACL.

You can see Kevin’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition entry here. He won the Department of Engineering Competition in 2021.

Outside of University, Kevin loves to go to the cinema to watch newly released movies of various genres including comedy, sci-fic and action. He is also a big sport fan of soccer and particularly interested in the English Premier League.

Ting graduated from Hubei University 2013 and earned her Master’s degree in Polymer Science from Zhejiang University in 2016. For her Master’s research, she designed a series of bio-probes for the detection of biomacromolecules such as DNA, heparin and HA. After a period of work in Huanan Industrial Technology Research Institute of Zhejiang University as an assistant engineer for cosmetic formula development, she has returned to academia as a PhD student at Monash University in September 2019, co-supervised by Professor Mark Banaszak Holl and Professor Xiwang Zhang. Her PhD research in the ARC Research Hub for Energy Efficient Separation focuses on the development of a membranes for biological applications.

Master’s Research Publications:

Effect of ionic interaction on the mechanochromic properties of pyridinium modified tetraphenylethene. Ting Hu, Bicheng Yao, Xiujuan Chen, Weizhang Li, Zhegang Song, Anjun Qin, Jing Zhi Sun and Ben Zhong Tang. Chem. Commun., 2015, 51, 8849-8852.

Multi-Functional Hyperbranched Poly(vinylene sulfide)s Constructed via Spontaneous Thiol−Yne Click Polymerization. Bicheng Yao, Ting Hu, Haoke Zhang, Jie Li, Jing Zhi Sun, Anjun Qin, and Ben Zhong Tang. Macromolecules, 2015, 48, 7782-7791.

Investigation of the binding modes between AIE-active molecules and dsDNA by single molecule force spectroscopy. Ying Chen, Ke Ma, Ting Hu, Bo Jiang, Bin Xu, Wenjing Tian, Jing Zhi Sun and Wenke Zhang. Nanoscale, 2015, 7, 8939-8945.

Deciphering the binding behaviours of BSA using ionic AIE-active fluorescent probes. Jiaqi Tong, Ting Hu and Ben Zhong Tang. Faraday Discussions, 2017 Feb 1, 196: 285 – 303.

You can learn more about Hajar’s amazing contributions to COVID-19 diagnostic development. Her article was a 2020 Most-Read article in ACS Sensors and a 2020 Australian Research Council research highlight. It was also included in the ACS 2021 Virtual Issue on Advances in COVID-19 Testing.

She describes here thesis project in her Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition entry.

Mostafa received his B.Sc in Chemical Engineering (gas treatment) from Kermanshah University of Technology (KUT), Iran, in July 2014. For his M.Sc. research at the University of Kashan, he developed new polymeric membranes, mainly using the PEBAX polymers and nano-oxide materials as filler. He also prepared different functionalized materials for gas separation and used molecular simulation approach to simulated both diffusivity and solubility through polymeric mixed matrix membranes. He has also used molecular simulation to investigate adsorption processes for zeolite and oxide materials.

He began his Ph.D under supervision of Prof. Warren Batchelor and Prof. Mark Banaszak Holl at Monash University, Australia, in Sep. 2018. He will study Cellulose nanofiber composites for wastewater treatment by modification of these materials using the mesoporous oxide materials.

Outside of the lab, he is keen about research, sport and camping outside the city. He also is a fierce fan of movie and cinema.

A general overview of his thesis project is provided by his Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition entry.

Mostafa led a team competing in the James Dyson Design Competition.

He is currently a post-doctoral fellow with Prof. Gil Garnier at BioPRIA.

Publications from B.Sc. and M.Sc work:

1. Morteza Asghari*, Amir Hossein Harandizadeh, Mostafa Dehghani, Hossein Riasat Harami, Persian Gulf desalination using air gap membrane distillation: Numerical simulation and theoretical study, Desalination, 374:92-100 · October 2015, DOI: 10.1016/j.desal.2015.07.019
2. Mostafa Dehghani, Morteza Asghari*, Ahmad Fauzi Ismail, Amir H. Mohammadi, Molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulation of the structural properties, diffusion and adsorption of poly (amide-6-b-ethylene oxide)/Faujasite mixed matrix membranes, Journal of Molecular Liquids, 242:404–415 · September 2017, DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2017.07.034
3. Mahdieh Pazirofteh, Mostafa Dehghani*, Saber Niazi, Amir H. Mohammadi, Morteza Asghari, Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Monte Carlo Study of Transport and Structural Properties of PEBA 1657 and 2533 Membranes Modified by Functionalized POSS-PEG Material, Journal of Molecular Liquids, 241:646-653 · September 2017, DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2017.06.073
4. Mostafa Dehghani, Morteza Asghari*, Amir H. Mohammadi, Meisam Mokhtari, Molecular Simulation and Monte Carlo Study of Structural-Transport-Properties of PEBA-MFI Zeolite Mixed Matrix Membranes for CO2, CH4 and N2 Separation, Computers & Chemical Engineering, 103:12-22 · August 2017, DOI: 10.1016/j.compchemeng.2017.03.002
5. Morteza Asghari*, Mahdi Sheikh, Morteza Afsari, Mostafa Dehghani, Molecular Simulation and Experimental Investigation of Temperature Effect on Chitosan-Nanosilica Supported Mixed Matrix Membranes for Dehydration of Ethanol via Pervaporation, Journal of Molecular Liquids, 246:7-16, November 2017, DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2017.09.045
6. Abdollah Khosravanian, Mostafa Dehghani*, Mahdieh Pazirofteh, Morteza Asghari, Amir H. Mohammadi, Davood Shahsavari, Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Structural Properties, Diffusion and Adsorption of Hydrogen Molecules through Poly(Benzimidazoles)/Nanoparticle Oxides Composites, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, In Press, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.12.122
7. Morteza Asghari*, Mostafa Dehghani, Hossein Riasat Harami, Effects of operating parameters in sweeping gas membrane distillation process: Numerical simulation of Persian Gulf seawater desalination, Journal of Water and Environmental Nanotechnology (JWENT).
8. Morteza Asghari*, Mahdi Sheikh, Mostafa Dehghani, Comparison of ZnO nanofillers of different shapes on physical, thermal and gas transport properties of PEBA membrane: experimental testing and molecular simulation, Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology DOI: 10.1002/jctb.5614.

Almut graduated with a Diplom degree in physics from the University Tuebingen in Germany in 1997. Although she initially intended to obtain a Ph.D. in theoretical high energy physics from the University of Michigan, she switched fields in the summer of 2000 and joined the Banaszak Holl / Orr research group. During her Ph.D. research she studied the properties of branched polymers, called dendrimers, using both experimental and computational methods. She investigated how dendrimers interact with surfaces, in particular lipid membranes which serve as a model for cell membranes. Using an atomic force microscope she was able to observe the interaction of dendrimers with such membranes. The results showed how various properties of dendrimer molecules influence their ability to enter cells through the cell membrane. This information can help to design “smart” molecules that can be used to fight disease, for example by transporting drugs into specific cells. Almut graduated in 2004, and in April of 2005 was awarded the annual Terwilliger Prize for the best Ph.D. thesis in the University of Michigan Department of Physics. After graduation Almut continued her work with the Banaszak Holl / Orr group as a postdoc for six months and then as a postdoc at the University of Basel in Switzerland.   She currently works for Roche Pharmaceuticals.

http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/medicine_health/report-27373.html
http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2004/03/17/12

Song Ge obtained his B.S. from Shandong University in China. His research work employs SQUID imaging of magnetic nanoparticles as part of a larger project developing nanotherapeutics for cancer therapy.

Leah obtained her Bachelor’s degree from Kalamazoo College.  She worked on the characterization of thin silicon oxide films.

Randon graduated from Brigham Young University in 2002. His research at UM focused on CH-activation of hydrocarbons in which Si-C bonds are formed and the applications of these reactions to organic synthesis. In addition, he studied the mechanism of the CH-activation chemistry.

After graduation, Randon taught in the chemistry department at Dixie State College of Utah.  He is currently a lecturer at the California Polytechnic State University.

Karla graduated from the St. Olaf in the spring of 1997 with a B.A in chemistry and math.  During her time as a graduate student at Michigan she discovered novel intermolecular CH-insertion reactions and CH-activation reactions using germanium.  Karla completed a post-doc with Bill Trogler at UCSD.  She currently lives in San Diego.

Kevin graduated from Michigan Technological University in May 2000 with a Bachelor’s degree in physics. He then spent the next two years working in the automotive industry for Visteon Corporation as a Test Engineer before deciding to pursue a Ph.D. Kevin’s PhD research involved  synthesizing and characterizing magnetic nanoparticles and studying their targeted uptaked into cancer cells.

Kevin’s 2008 ACS Nano paper was featured in the February 2011 ACS Nano  Virtual Special Issue on Drug Delivery.

Kevin is current working at Northern Technologies International Corporation.

Damian Khan received a B.S. in physics from Morehouse College and an M.S. in physics from Clark Atlanta University. He is currently an applied physics graduate student working with the Orr group and Banaszak Holl groups where he does STM imaging of coated gold surfaces.

Chris graduated from Oberlin College in 2003 and spent the following year performing research at the NASA-Glenn research labs. Chris’ research at Michigan made contributions towards exploring the physical and chemical principles underlying the interactions of poly(amidoamine) dendrimers with biological membranes.  While at Michigan, Chris was a  Fellow of the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute.

Chris was a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratories of Barbara Baird and Harold Craighead at Cornell University.  He is currently an assistant professor of physics at Wayne State University.

Ajdin Kavara is originally from Capljina, Bosnia and Hercegovinia.  He moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1997 and obtained his B.S. in chemistry from Grand Valley State University in 2004.  He did undergraduate research with Prof. Kovacs on the heterogeneously catalyzed breakdown of sugars.  His PhD work is focused on CH-activation chemistry using Sn, applications of the products to cross-coupling chemistry, and novel approaches to natural products.

In 2009, Ajdin received the Peter A. S. Smith fellowship for research in synthetic organic or inorganic chemistry.

Ajdin was a post-doctoral associate in Pat Holland’s group at the University of Rochester and then an adjunct faculty member at Grand Valley State University.  Ajdin then moved to industry working at Pfizer and Jordi Labs.  He is currently working at Avitide, Inc.

Jiumei was a double major at Tianjin University obtaining a Bachelors of Engineering in Polymer Materials and Engineering and a Bachelors of Arts in English.  She then obtained an MS in Materials Science and Engineering from Wayne State University.  She is now using patch clamp techniques to study the interactions between nanoparticles and biological membranes.  This work will help to provide an understanding of nanoparticle toxicity and the mechanism of DNA transfection.

In October 2006, Jiumei won the prestigious Mayaterials Incorporated Award in recognition of her academic excellence in the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Center.  The award was presented at the banquet of the annual  symposium.  In the 2009, Jiumei won the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Program.

Douglas Mullen received a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering from Duke University in 2005. At Duke he was a Pratt Undergraduate Research Fellow and a member of the Center for Biologically Inspired Materials and Material Systems. He began his graduate career in the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Program at the University of Michigan in 2005 and became a member of the Banaszak Holl research group and the Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and Biological Sciences. In 2007 Doug received a Master’s of Science in Engineering from the University of Michigan’s Program in Macromolecular Science and Engineering and in 2009 he completed the MBA Essentials and Entrepreneurship Program at Michigan’s Ross School of Business. He completed the Doctoral Program in the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Program in 2010.   His thesis work involved the development of targeted chemotherapeutic agents. He received several awards including the Raymond C. Gaugler Award in Materials Science and Engineering at Duke, the Rackham Regents Fellowship at the University of Michigan, an award for Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research from the American Chemical Society, and the National Starch and Chemical Award from the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Program at the University of Michigan.  A review article describing much of Doug’s graduate research was published as the cover article in Account of Chemical Research.

Doug spent a year as a Medical Innovation fellow at the University of Michigan’s medical school and then worked at MNIMBS as our technology translation specialist.

Doug is a Director at Health Advances – a global strategy consulting firm focusing on the healthcare industry including pharma, biotech, device, biomaterial, diagnostic, health IT, and healthcare service companies in the US and around the world.

Dan is currently a post-doctoral fellow in the Mechanical Engineering department.  He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2005 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering and holds a M.S. in Chemical Engineering from UM.

Blake graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2006.  He spent two years in Paul Hansma’s lab studying the fracture mechanics of trabecular bone.  His research at Michigan focused on dendrimer interactions with supported lipid bilayers and on AFM methods of measuring and analyzing Type I collagen.  Outside of the lab Blake spends most of his free time ballroom dancing.

He is currently Senior Systems Engineern at Prysm, Inc.

Rahul graduated from Panjab University, India in 2006 with a BE in Biotechnology. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. He is characterizing the impact of dendrimer based drug delivery on mammalian cells, specifically the way these polymers and the polymer/DNA polyplexes interact with cell membranes and enter cells.

Rahul also has a substantial interest in translating ideas to the clinic and has also focused on invention. He was an active participant in the Ross Business School’s Dare to Dream program, the 2009 ASME Innovation Showcase (IShow) competition, and was recently a featured inventor at the University of Michigan’s annual Celebrate Inventation event. This event showcases inventors from all over campus and most typically highlights faculty led groups. Rahul’s invention, the Endocutter, was developed with a group of students originating from a project in a BME course. The Endocutter converts a traditional endoscope into a device that can cut up and remove blood clots, without damaging the stomach, making the identifical of bleeding areas in the stomach much more feasible and efficient. The invention can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxnB_kuzOsQ. This is wondeful example of biomedical innovation and points to Rahul’s powerful combination of strong science and engineering coupled with entrepreneurship.

Rahul is currently working at Celsee, Inc. a Bio-Rad company.

Awards

2008 Dare to Dream recipient (through University of Michigan Business School).

2008 BME Idea stipend award recipient (through NCIIA)