Principal Investigator
Dr. Emily D. Cranston
Professor
Department of Wood Science,
and Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
University of British Columbia, Canada
Office: FSC 4036
Phone: 604-827-0627
Email: emily.cranston@ubc.ca
Lab Manager
Behzad Zakani
Lab Manager (Foster & Cranston groups)
PhD Mechanical Engineering
UBC (2022)
Office: PPC 305
Postdoctoral Research Fellows
UBC Graduate Students
Elizabeth Dobrzanski
PhD Student
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Office: PPC 311
High solid content wood-based foams for thermal insulation
Runru (Tristan) Liu
PhD Student
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Office: PPC 311
Liquid crystal properties and autofluorescence of carboxylated CNCs
Anderson Veiga
PhD Student
Wood Science
Office: FSC 4301
Labelled cellulose fibres for micro-CT analysis
Giuliana Thalina Franco
Visiting PhD Student (2023-2024)
Physical Chemistry, Federal University of São Carlos
Co-supervisor: Caio Gomide Otoni
Office: FSC 4301
Physicochemical Understanding of Multilayer Biopolymeric Films
Cameron King
MSc Student
Wood Science
Office: FSC 4301
Surface modification of cellulose nanocrystals through controlled precipitation
Alexandra Rousseau
PhD Student
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Office: PPC 311
Electrochemical applications of cellulose
Undergraduate and Co-op Students
Recent Cranston Group Alumni
Jude Abu-Namous
NSERC USRA Researcher, Chemical & Biological Engineering
UBC, Canada
Currently: Research Assistant at UBC
Effect of sulfate content on autofluorescence of nanocellulose
Currently: EA Sports
Julia Antoniw
MSc Student
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Currently: UBC Industry Liaison Office
Incorporation of carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals in latex-based pressure-sensitive adhesives
Gwendoline Delepierre
Visiting PhD Student (2019-2020)
Chemistry, Adolphe Merkle Institute
Co-supervisors: Justin Zoppe/Christophe Weder
Currently: Michelin Research and Technology
Symmetric and asymmetric cellulose nanocrystals
Urooj Gill
MSc (2015-2017)
(Dr. Moran-Mirabal and Dr. Cranston)
Chemical Biology
McMaster University, Canada
Currently: Piramal Healthcare Ltd.
Madeleine Hallman
MASc Student
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals as rheological modifiers and lubricants
Erik Joy
MASc Student
Chemical and Biological Engineering
New production routes for CNCs and their biocompatibility
Marcus Johns
Post-Doctoral Fellow
PhD Chemical Engineering
University of Bath, UK (2017)
Autofluorescence of cellulose nanomaterials & enzymatic synthesis of polysaccharides
Michael Kiriakou
MASc Student (2018-2020)
Chemical Engineering, McMaster
Co-supervisor: Todd Hoare
Improving CNC compatibility for latex synthesis through controlled radical polymerization
Currently: Anomera Inc.
Daniel Levin
Co-op Student (2017-2018)
(Dr. Moran-Mirabal and Dr. Cranston)
Chemical Biology
McMaster University, Canada
Currently: Medical School, McMaster
Lingli (Lily) Liu
Visiting PhD Student (2016-2018)
McMaster University, Canada
Currently: Transfar Zhilian Co.
Heera Marway
MASc (2014-2016)
Chemical Engineering
McMaster University, Canada
Currently: Research Engineer in MMRI, McMaster
Blair Morgan
PhD (2016-2021)
Chemical Engineering, McMaster
Co-supervisor: Michael Thompson
Thermally stable powders containing viral vectors for vaccines
Currently: Canadian Intellectual Property Office
Tyler Or
Summer and Thesis Student (2016-2018)
(Dr. Moran-Mirabal and Dr. Cranston)
Chemical Biology
McMaster University, Canada
Currently: Graduate Studies, Waterloo
Cynthia Pham
BEng BioSciences Student (Level IV)
Chemical Engineering & Bioengineering, McMaster
Co-supervisor: John Frostad
Currently: Graduate Studies, UBC
Nanocellulose emulsion processing
Jonas Schnell
Technical University of Munich
Hybrid feedstocks for high solid content wood-based foams for thermal insulation
Tiinamari Seppänen
Visiting PhD Student (2022-2023)
Chemical Engineering, Aalto University (Finland)
Co-supervisor: Monika Österberg
Adsorption, retention and detection of additives in fiber-based materials
Varsha Singh
PhD Student
Chemical Engineering, McMaster
Co-supervisor: Michael Thompson
Engineering spray-dried vaccines for enhancement in inhalation delivery
Taylor Stimpson
MASc (2018-2020)
Chemical Engineering, McMaster
Co-supervisor: Jose Moran-Mirabal
Structure-function relationships of plant cell wall components
Currently: Academy for Sustainable Innovation
Oriana Vanderfleet
PhD Student (2016-2021)
Chemical Engineering, McMaster
Understanding and improving thermal stability of CNCs
Currently: Natural Resources Canada
Steven Toniolo
MSc (2016-2018)
(Dr. Thompson and Dr. Cranston)
Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering,
McMaster University, Canada
Currently: Zimmark Inc.
Gili Bar
MASc student
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Biomimetic crosslinked cellulose nanocrystal microbeads for personal care products
Kevin De France
PhD (2014-2019)
(Dr. Hoare and Dr. Cranston)
Chemical Engineering
McMaster University, Canada
Currently: Assistant Professor, Queen’s University
Elisa Ferreira
Post-Doctoral Fellow
PhD Physical Chemistry
UNICAMP, Brazil (2020)
Currently: LNNano/CNPEM Brazil
Lightweight bulky fibre-based materials
Zhen (Justin) Hu
PhD (2011-2015)
(Dr. Pelton and Dr. Cranston)
Chemical Engineering
McMaster University, Canada
Currently: Sanofi
Stephanie Kedzior
PhD (2013-2017)
Chemical Engineering
McMaster University, Canada
Currently: Postdoctoral researcher, University of Calgary, Canada
Dan LeClair
MASc (2013-2016)
(Dr. Thompson and Dr. Cranston)
Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering
McMaster University, Canada
Currently: Pfizer
Xiran Li
BSc Researcher (2019-2020)
Food Science, UBC
Co-supervisor: John Frostad
Characterization of interfacial activity and stability of CNC stabilized emulsions
Currently: Graduate Student, UC Davis
Myla Manser
MASc Student
Chemical Engineering & Bioengineering, McMaster
Co-supervisor: Michael Thompson
Thermally stable powders containing viral vectors for vaccines
Marc Massicotte
MASc
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Spray drying and fibre spinning multiphase nanocellulose formulations
Currently: BC Ministry of Forests
Ivan Quevedo
Visiting Professor
IBERO University, Mexico
Production and physicochemical characterization of colloidal encapsulated agrochemicals (CEAs) with biopolymeric materials.
Elina Niinivaara
DSc (Tech.) Bioproduct Technology
Aalto University, Finland (2016)
Tuning cellulose-water interactions using designer oligosaccharides
Currently: BC Research Inc
Colton Routtenberg
Materials Engineering
Kelp-based bio-composite for structural applications
Daniel Osorio
PhD (2018-2021)
Chemical and Biological Engineering, UBC
Co-supervisor: Charles De Lannoy
Multiscale mechanical testing of CNC nanocomposites
Michael Reid
PhD (2013-2017)
Chemical Engineering
McMaster University, Canada
Currently: RISE, Sweden
Jason Sugiharto
Material Engineering
Co-supervisor: Mark Martinez
Creating bulky fibres with surface modification
Jaclyn Winitsky
B.BME.Eng Researcher (2019-2020)
Engineering Physics & Biomedical Engineering, McMaster
Co-supervisor: Kathryn Grandfield
Currently: AlayaLabs Associate
Nanocellulose bone implants
Keanna Yu
Integrated Science
Dried and re-dispersible oat oil emulsion powders stabilized by methylcellulose and nanocellulose
Current Collaborators outside UBC
Tiffany Abitbol
Assistant Professor
Nanocellulose Fundamentals and Applications
EPFL, Switzerland
Marc A. Dubé
Professor
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Polymer Reaction Engineering
University of Ottawa, Canada
Todd Hoare
Associate Professor
Chemical Engineering
Engineered Smart Materials
McMaster University, Canada
Jose M. Moran-Mirabal
Associate Professor
Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Micro and Nanostructured Environments
McMaster University, Canada
Michael R. Thompson
Professor
Chemical Engineering
Polymer, Particle & Pharmaceutial Processing
McMaster University, Canada
Charles De Lannoy
Assistant Professor
Chemical Engineering
Environmental Applications of Nanomaterials
McMaster University, Canada
John Frostad
Assistant Professor
Chemical & Biological Engineering and Food Science
Interfacial Phenomena & Functional Foods
UBC, Canada
Eero Kontturi
Associate Professor
Bioproducts and Biosystems
Nanocellulose
Aalto University, Finland
Camila Rezende
Associate Professor
Chemistry
Fibre Technology and Biomass Fractionation
Unicamp, Brazil
iqm.unicamp.br/institucional-departamentos/camila-alves-de-rezende
Jaana Vapaavuori
Assistant Professor
Chemistry and Materials Science
Functional Nanomaterials
Aalto University, Finland
www.aalto.fi/en/department-of-chemistry-and-materials-science