Team
Our team champions equity, diversity, and inclusion, mental and physical health, as well as respect, collaboration, and determination.
Dr. Adetola Adesida
Dr Adetola Adesida is a Professor and Divisional Director of Orthopaedic Basic Science Research in the Department of Surgery at the University of Alberta, Canada. He leads biologists, clinicians, and engineers interested in musculoskeletal and maxillofacial cartilage tissue engineering and regenerative medicine research. His research is supported by major competitive awards from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Foundation of Innovation, University of Alberta Hospital Foundation, and the Alberta Cancer Foundation. He completed his doctoral studies at the School of Pharmacy, University of Manchester (UK), and post-doctoral training at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research in the University of Manchester and Harvard Medical School. He is a recipient of fellowship awards from Harvard Medical School and the Marie Curie fellowship program of the European Commission, which he exercised at the University Hospital of Basel, Switzerland. He is a recipient of the Collaborative Exchange Prize of the Orthopaedic Research Society. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and a member of the College of Reviewers of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. He serves on the editorial board of Nature Scientific Reports and holds associate editor positions with both the Journal of Orthopaedic Research and Frontiers in Biomaterials Science. In addition, he holds several patents and has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications in the fields of cartilage tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Aillette Mulet Sierra
Aillette is a Research Technician in Dr. Adetola Adesida Laboratory, Surgery Department, University of Alberta. She has a MSc degree in Biochemistry and twenty years of experience in Translational Research. Her background knowledge areas include Molecular Immunology, Biochemistry, Cell Biology and Molecular Biology. Since 2010, She has been working in developing cell-based tissue engineering strategies to facilitate repair or regeneration of musculoskeletal tissues in collaboration with orthopedic surgeons at Dr. Adesida Laboratory. She is involved in different research projects and in the training of graduate and undergraduate students. Also, she has been responsible for all the administrative work related with the laboratory day to day operation.
Melanie Kunze
Melanie completed her Biology Laboratory Technician diploma in Frankfurt and worked as a Laboratory Technician in research and development at Æterna Zentaris GmbH and c-LEcta GmbH as well as in molecular diagnostics at αΩ Labor Medizinische Kooperationsgemeinschaft GbR. Since 2016 she has been working in Dr. Adetola Adesida’s lab under the nasal reconstruction project. Additionally, one of her main responsibilities within the lab is to take care of molecular biology related tasks, including qRT-PCR, for the entire research group as well as student training and administrative work.
Dr. Shikha Chawla
Dr Shikha Chawla completed her PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in Biomedical Engineering in 2018. She received distinction and several innovation awards for her doctoral thesis research. She is a recipient of the prestigious Swiss Government Excellence fellowship which she exercised at the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland, as a postdoctoral fellow to develop a human osteoarthritis (OA) model. She worked as a postdoctoral fellow at McGill University where she worked on determining peptide bioactivity of anti-fibrotic peptides using cell-based assays and development of in vitro and in vivo fibrotic models. Her research interest includes osteoarthritis, 3D bioprinting, cartilage repair. She is deeply interested to continue and pursue biomedical research owing to her passion for joint tissue regeneration.
Dr. Zhiyao (Hilda) Ma
Hilda underwent training as a biomedical engineer in Hong Kong and earned her master's degree in the same field at RWTH Aachen University in Germany. She has now completed her PhD in the surgery department, working under the guidance of Dr. Adesida, and is continuing her research as a postdoctoral fellow. Her PhD research focused on utilizing tissue-engineered meniscus constructs as model to investigate the sex-dependent molecular mechanisms of knee osteoarthritis in simulated microgravity condition.
Stephen Adebayo
Stephen is a PhD student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Alberta. He obtained his Bachelor’s in Biomedical Technology from the Federal University Of Technology Akure, Nigeria, with a research focus in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering.
Under the supervision of Dr. Adetola Adesida, his research would investigate the role of heterogeneity of fibrochondrocytes in meniscus mechanobiology, consequentially developing meniscal microtissue models. Passionate about cartilage tissue engineering, Stephen intends to utilize his expertise in redefining Biomedical Engineering in Africa.
Stephen enjoys playing football, spending quality time with friends, and admiring the beauty of nature.
Dr. Alexander Perry
Alex is a Plastic Surgery resident at the University of Alberta and is enrolled in the Clinical Investigator Program. He is currently pursuing an MSc under the supervision of Dr. Adesida. He obtained his bachelor's in Biology with a major in Zoology from the University of Calgary, where he also completed an MSc in Cellular Physiology. Afterwards, he completed his MD from the University of Alberta. His research focuses on tissue engineering nasal cartilages for nasal reconstructive surgery.
Madeline Barker
Madeline is a Master of Science student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta where she also obtained her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering. Under the supervision of both Dr. Adetola Adesida (Surgery) and Dr. Lindsey Westover (Engineering), her research involves analyzing the mechanobiological effects of simulated microgravity on engineered human cartilage and exploring how mechano-hypoxia conditioning influences this. Madeline hopes to use her Civil Engineering background to lend a unique perspective to the world of tissue engineering.
Liam McEachern
Liam is a Master of Science student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Alberta. He obtained a Bachelors of Science in cell, molecular and developmental biology at the University of Manitoba. His project includes engineering high quality cartilage grafts from nasal chondrocytes that can be used in 3D printing protocols. Liam enjoys spending his free time golfing, playing video games or hanging out with friends.
Alumni
Dr. Xiaoyi Lan
Xiaoyi Lan is a PhD student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cross-disciplinary Program, University of Alberta. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, University of Alberta. She is currently co-supervised by Dr. Yaman Boluk (Engineering), and Dr. Adesida (Surgery). Her research is focused on advancing the capabilities of human nasal fabrication. Specifically, she is working on 3D bioprinting of mechanical robust cartilage for nasal reconstructive surgery and in bioink rheological analysis.
Dr. Alex Szojka
Alex Szojka is a graduate of biology and mechanical engineering programs at the University of Calgary. He joined Dr Adesida’s research group in 2015 to create biomimetic 3D printed meniscus scaffolds for meniscus tissue engineering. Alex returned from 2016-2021 to complete his PhD in Experimental Surgery. In close collaboration with colleagues, he developed a strategy called, “mechano-hypoxia conditioning” to enhance formation of engineered human meniscus fibrocartilage.
Alex can be reached at aszojka@ualberta.ca or via Linkedin (linkedin.com/in/szojka).
Dr. Michael Turner
Dr. Michael Turner is a Master of Science (Surgery) Student in the University of Alberta Department of Surgery working in the lab of Dr. Adetola Adesida. He is currently a Graduate Research Assistantship Fellow of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. His research focuses on the repair of the avascular portion of the meniscus. Current efforts are focused on the enhancement of collagen scaffolds using chondrogenically primed mesenchymal stem cells to generate scaffold characteristics which are favorable for meniscus repair. His other focus is on delivery systems for these repair substrates with a particular interest in injectable hydrogels and reconstituted lyophilized tissue. Dr. Turner is looking to enter into an orthopedic residency at the conclusion of his MSc, with a focus on sports medicine.
Dr. Yan Liang
Yan Liang graduated from a 7-year joint MD and MSc program at Shantou University Medical School (SUMC) in 2014. He was trained in the 2nd Affiliated Hospital of SUMC as a plastic surgeon in the last two years. After graduation, he was awarded funding from the Li Ka Shing Foundation for a 4-year PhD program. He joined Dr. Adesida’s lab in 2014 working in meniscus tissue engineering using autologous stem cells, supported by research grants from CIHR, ECECAF, UHF, and the Alberta Cancer Foundation. His latest work was for projects working in engineering high-quality autologous cartilage grafts for nasal reconstruction. He successfully defended his PhD thesis in late 2019.
Margaret Vyhlidal
Margaret Vyhlidal is a Master of Science (MSc) student in the Department of Surgery in Dr. Adetola Adesida’s laboratory at the University of Alberta. She obtained her Bachelor of Science (BSc) Honours degree in Physiology at the University of Alberta with a primary focus in cell physiology. Her research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie how meniscus cells sense, interpret, and respond to mechanical stimuli through a process known as mechanotransduction. Margaret has received a number of studentships including the national 2021/2022 Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship- Master’s (NSERC). She is grateful to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, and the University of Alberta Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research for their support in her work. Upon finishing her MSc degree, Margaret is looking to enter medical school at a Canadian institution. Margaret enjoys spending her free time outdoors and engaging in many different physical activities including hiking, scrambling, rock climbing, skiing, and kickboxing.
David Li
David Li is an undergraduate student in Civil Engineering at the University of Alberta. He joined the lab in May 2020, where his project focused on developing mechano-hypoxia conditioning as a strategy to enhance formation of engineered human meniscus fibrocartilage. He is further developing this strategy using mesenchymal stem cells and hyaluronan hydrogels to engineer articular cartilage. David optimistically hopes to apply his civil engineering knowledge in a biology-related field.
Malou Sopcak
Malou Sopcak is an undergraduate student completing a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in biology with a minor in philosophy at the University of Alberta. Since joining the lab in May 2020, her research has focused on determining whether soluble factors released from engineered nasal cartilage are able to induce chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. She is interested in further identifying the signalling molecules responsible for promoting chondrogenesis. Notable achievements include placing second in a watermelon-eating contest in a 2017 rugby tournament.
Jaden Majumdar
Jaden Majumdar is a 1st year student at U of T in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, in the Engineering Science program. He works in the lab as a summer student at the U of A in the Department of Experimental Surgery, supervised by Dr. Adetola Adesida. His research focuses on biomechanics and how they affect the growth of cartilage, mainly in meniscus. The project he most recently worked on was centered on the effects of dynamic and cyclic-hydrostatic-pressure forms of mechanical loading on chondrogenesis, as well as the effects of the cells’ environment, such as the presence of growth factors, on their growth and development. Jaden aspires to gain a greater knowledge in the field of biomechanics, and conduct research in the future.