The lab group welcomes two new thesis students, Melody Li and Nicole Machado.

Melody is pursuing her senior year in Engineering Science, majoring in Biomedical Systems Engineering, at the University of Toronto. Previously, she worked as a research assistant at the MIT Langer Lab, focusing on designing mucoadhesive platforms for oral biologics delivery. Currently, her thesis project aims to investigate the subcellular localization and uptake mechanism of RNP loaded nanoparticles. Melody was drawn to the Santerre Lab’s research as she is so interested in innovative biomaterials applications for tissue regeneration. Outside the lab, she enjoys kickboxing, exploring new recipes and learning different languages.

Nicole is a fourth year Pharmacology Specialist student completing her research project under the supervision of PhD candidate Katya D’Costa. Her project will focus on determining the tensile, biocompatible, and biodegradation properties of electrospun scaffolds in developing a vascular prosthesis. She will investigate these properties on different blends of fibers made of gelatin, PNCU and D-PHI, in co-cultured systems of ASC derived VSMCs and monocytes. She is interested in the industrial and clinical translation of research in regenerative medicine and hopes to further her studies in this field. In a pre-COVID world you would have found her enjoying live theatre, musicals and art shows.