Our Team

Graduate Students

Julian Chua


Contact: julian.chua@ucalgary.ca

Home Town: Calgary, AlbertaEducation: Bachelors of Science; Cellular, Molecular, Microbial Biology (Honours)Research Interests: Using single-cell transcriptomics to characterize stem cells.Hobbies: Sports and Hiking

Fynn Mitchell


Contact: fynnis.mitchell@ucalgary.ca

Home Town: Calgary, AlbertaEducation: Bachelor of Science, ZoologyResearch Interests: Stem cell biology and regulation, intestinal homeostasis, colorectal cancerHobbies: Music, Hiking, Automobiles

Anneke Korver


Contact: anneke.korver@ucalgary.ca  

Home Town: Calgary, AlbertaEducation: Bachelor of Science in Cellular Molecular and Microbial Biology (Honours)Research Interests: Investigating the role of epigenetics in therapeutics for sporadic microsatellite instability-high colorectal cancer.Hobbies: Hiking, Music, Sports, Painting

Undergraduate Students

Ashley Whitaker


Contact: ashley.whitaker@ucalgary.ca

Home Town: Calgary, AlbertaEducation: Bachelor of Science; Cellular, Molecular, and Microbial Biology (Honours)Research Interests: Stem cell biology, IBS and IBD. Specifically, recapitulation of IBD characteristic LGR5+ CBC expansion in intestinal monolayers and investigating metabolites in IBS. Hobbies: Athletics (triathlon, hiking, paddleboarding and weightlifting), piano/song writing, crocheting, reading, and photography 

Parnika Sakthivel


Contact: parnika.sakthivel@ucalgary.ca

Home Town: Calgary, AlbertaEducation: Bachelor of Health Science, Biomedical SciencesResearch Interests: Exploring the role of cancer stem cells in the initiation of cancer, and possibilities for reversing the transformation of a normal cell to a cancer stem cell.Hobbies: Travelling, Crocheting, Spending Time Outdoors.

Former Team Members

Areeba Maqsood


Contact: areeba.maqsood@ucalgary.ca

Home Town: Lahore, PakistanEducation: Bachelors of Science, Biological SciencesResearch Interests: Investigatig the effect of DNA repair genes on tumor behaviorHobbies: Baking, Video editing, Travelling, Reading, Painting

Anastasiia Stoianova


Contact: anastasiia.stoianova@ucalgary.ca 

Home Town: Luhansk, UkraineEducation: Doctor of Medicine (MD) at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany and Bogomolets National Medical University, Kyiv, UkraineResearch Interests: Investigating resistance mechanisms in colorectal cancer against T-cell immune response using a human colon cancer organoid-based model; Immunology; Tumor research; Microbiology; HematologyHobbies: I enjoy being outside, especially traveling and blogging about my experiences. Going for a nice hike or a walk is something I like too. When I'm indoors, I love reading books, playing musical instruments like the piano and ukulele, and learning new things.

Alina (Jiaru) Pan


Contact: jiaru.pan@ucalgary.ca

Home Town: Guangzhou, ChinaEducation: Bachelor of Science, Cellular Molecular Microbial BiologyResearch Interests: Development of an organoid-based pre-clinical model of therapeutic resistance and antigen presentation in colorectal cancer Hobbies: I spend my leisure time baking, crafting, or hiking in the mountains. I also love to travel and discover new places and cultures around the world!

Myles Whelen


Contact: myles.whelen@ucalgary.ca 

Home Town: Calgary, AlbertaEducation: Pursuing Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Cellular, Molecular, and Microbial BiologyResearch Interests: Using single-cell transcriptomics to study stem cell regulation; medical geneticsHobbies: Skiing, mountain biking, hiking, music, cooking

Lucas Chuk


Contact: Lucas.Chuk@ucalgary.ca

Home Town: Calgary, AlbertaEducation: Bachelors of Science BiologyResearch Interests: Development of embryos and stem cell differentiation and dedifferentiationHobbies: Cooking and playing volleyball (indoor and outdoor)