Interests
Molecular Biotechnology
Biomedical Research
Gnariko Hekimian
Co-op Research Assistant, 2026
Gnariko is a co-op research assistant with the Theraphage Lab for Spring 2026, assisting with several different projects related to the iPhAGE system as well as reprogramming astrocytes into neurons as a novel therapeutic approach for neurodegenerative diseases.
Education
B.Sc. Honours Biology (Co-op), University of Waterloo (2027)
Specialization in Cell and Molecular Biotechnology
Website
Contact
Interests
Gene delivery
Gene editing
Vaccines
Infectious diseases
Drug discovery, design, and delivery.
Taha Al-Salihi
Position
Taha is an NSERC USRA student with the Theraphage Lab for Fall 2026, after previously volunteering with the lab during Winter 2026. He is assisting with research related to the iPhAGE system, with a focus on its optimization for gene delivery and biomanufacturing applications. He is currently in his 4th year of his BSc in Honours Science at the University of Waterloo
Education
B.Sc. Honour’s Science, University of Waterloo (2027)
Contact
Interests
Gene Therapy
Drug Delivery
Molecular & Cellular Biology
Therapeutic Development
Lana Alhumsi
Position
Lana is a fourth-year Biomedical Sciences student completing her BIOL 499 Honours Thesis with the Theraphage Lab under the supervision of Dr. Roderick Slavcev, in collaboration with Dr. Shawn Wettig. Her research focuses on developing and evaluating gene delivery systems for therapeutic applications.
Education
B.Sc. Honours Biomedical Sciences, University of Waterloo (2027)
Cellular and Molecular Biology Option
Contact
Katie MacDonald
Position
Stay tuned for more details!
Education
B.Sc. University of Waterloo
Contact
Yatin Gajavelli
Position
Yatin is attending Life Science at the University of Waterloo and is currently an undergraduate research assistant with Theraphage. He assists with various projects related to the iPhAGE system
Education
B.Sc. Life Sciences, University of Waterloo (2027)
Contact
Interests
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Position
Paragraph bio (include education history, projects they are working on, and any important career milestones)
Education
B.Sc. Area of Study, School Name (20**)
M.Sc. ***
Ph.D. ***
Contact
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PUBLICATIONS:
Siavashy, S., Soltani, M., Rahimi, S., Hosseinalli, M., Guilandokht, Z., & Raahemifar, K. (2024). Recent Advancements in Microfluidic-based Biosensors for Detection of Genes and Proteins: Applications and Techniques. Biosensors and Bioelectronics: X, 100489.
Jean, J.S., Slavcev, R.A., & Rao, P.P. (2023). The effects of amyloid beta aggregation on neuronal transcription. IBRO neuroscience reports, 14, 375-379 .
Huh, H., Wong, S., St Jean, J., & Slavcev, R.A. (2019). Bacteriophage interactions with mammalian tissue: Therapeutic applications. Advanced drug delivery reviews.
BOOK CONTRIBUTIONS:
Slavcev, R.A., Sum, C.H., St Jean, J., Huh, H., & Nafissi, N. (2018). Specific Systems for Evaluation. Experientia supplementum, 110, 99-123
Presentations:
The effects of amyloid-beta aggregation on neuronal transcription, 2021
Using transcriptomics to guide gene therapy in Alzheimer’s disease, 2019
Analyzing the transcriptomics of Alzheimer’s disease and the effects of treatment with bacteriophage M13, 2018
Awards:
Best Graduate Student Teaching Assistant, 2021-2022
Alumni Undergraduate Students
Interests
Neurophysiology
Human physiology
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Biomedical Research and Translational Science
Applied Life Sciences
Max Chiao
Co-op Research Assistant, 2025
Max is a co-op research assistant with the Theraphage Lab for Fall 2025. He is assisting with reprogramming astrocytes into neurons as a novel therapeutic approach for neurodegenerative diseases.
Contact
max.chiao@uwaterloo.ca
Presentations:
Chiao, M., Ffrench, A., Beazely, M., Slavcev, R. Intelligent Phagemid-Assembled Gene Expression (iPhAGE) for Astrocyte-Mediated Neuronal Reprogramming in Neurodegenerative Disease. Presented at: Symposium on Neuroscience Research (SoNR). 2025, December. Waterloo, ON, Canada
Interests
Molecular Biology
Gene Therapy
Krish Devgan
NSERC USRA, 2025
Krish was an NSERC USRA student with the Slavcev Lab for Spring 2025, and was assisting with several different projects related to the iPhAGE system as well as optimization of the anellomid vector production system. He is in his 4th year of his BSc in Honour’s Health Science at the McMaster University.
Interests
Biology
Gene therapy
Grace Mather
Summer Research Assistant
Grace was a summer research assistant with the Theraphage Lab during Spring 2025, assisting with several different projects related to the iPhAGE system. She is in her 3rd year of her BSc in Honour’s Health Science at the University of Waterloo in Fall 2025.
Interests
Life Sciences
Gene Therapy
Kate Nagge
Co-op Research Asssistant, 2025
Kate was a co-op research assistant with the Theraphage Lab during Winter 2025. She was integral to the team, assisting with daily lab tasks and becoming adept at several experimental processes. She also assisted with editing and formatting of Bacteriophage-Based Vectors in Gene Therapy. She is currently pursuing Nursing at Conestoga College
Interests
Gene therapy
Molecular biology
Shirley Cheung
NSERC USRA Student, 2024
Shirley studied Biomedical Science at the University of Waterloo, and completed her Senior Honours Project as well as an NSERC-USRA with the Theraphage lab from September 2023 - August 2024. Her project involved the construction of anellovirus vectors.
Education:
B.Sc. Honours Biomedical Science, University of Waterloo (2024)
Interests
Biology
Jayshree Patel
Summer Research Assistant, 2024
Jayshree was a summer research assistant with the Theraphage Lab. She completed her B.Sc. in Biomedical Science at the University of Waterloo in 2024.
Education
B.Sc. Biomedical Science, University of Waterloo (2024)
Interests
Molecular Biology
Pharmaceutical Science
Talia Fiaani
NSERC USRA Student, 2023
Talia completed her Senior Honours Project as well as an NSERC-USRA with Theraphage Lab from September 2022-August 2023; her project focused on the enhance purification of msDNA using a CRISPR Cas-3 system. She completed her B.Sc. in Biomedical Science at the University of Waterloo in 2024 and is currently pursuing an M.Sc. in Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Toronto.