People

PROF. VIRGINIJUS BARZDA | PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Prof. Barzda is a Full Professor in the Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences at the University of Toronto, Mississauga campus, and in the Department of Physics, University of Toronto. His research includes the development of novel imaging modalities for nonlinear optical microscopy. He developed a wide range of microscopy techniques that employ second-harmonic generation (SHG), third-harmonic generation (THG) and multiphoton excitation fluorescence image contrast for non-invasive label-free imaging of biological structures, live cells, and subcellular organelles. He focuses on the ultrastructural characterization of biological tissues with nonlinear polarimetric microscopy methods. The ultrastructural imaging is applied to study the organization of collagen in cancer tissue and to investigate contractility mechanisms in cardiac and skeletal muscles. 

DR. SERGUEI KROULGLOV | RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Serguei obtained his Ph.D. from the Institute of Physics Academy of Sciences of Belarus (Minsk), where he worked as a Research Associate for ten years. He was a visiting Professor for Quantum Field Theory at Nankai University (China) and Professor at Belarus University (Minsk) before moving to Toronto as a researcher and teacher at International Educational Centre Toronto. He joined University of Toronto as a sessional lecturer and since 2014 he has been a Research Associate working with Prof. Barzda.

JIAYE DING | PHD STUDENT

Jiaye obtained his BSc at University College London (England) majoring in Physics and later completed his MSc at Imperial College London (England) in Physics with Quantum Dynamics. He joined the Barzda Lab in Fall 2023 as a PhD student where he will be using Reduced Double Stokes Mueller Polarimetry to quantify detailed structures inside crystals of complicated symmetries. Additionally, he will be constructing a microscope to see how quantum mechanical excitation/measurements will reveal more information about the sample's ultrastructure.

Amber Boodhram | MSc Student

Amber obtained her HBSc specializing in Biophysics with a minor in Biology from UTM in 2024. She joined the Barzda Lab in Summer 2023 as a Research Opportunity Program student, where she studied P-SHG measurements in cancer histology samples. Afterwards, she completed her Honour’s Thesis, evaluating the wavelength dependency of P-SHG measurements, and undertook a Summer Project investigating the ultrastructural properties of Duchenne muscular dystrophy fibres. Currently, Amber is doing a Summer Research Fellowship to before starting the UofT Physics MSc program at in Fall 2025.

 

Samuel Squires  | MSC STUDENT

Samuel will be graduating from UTM in 2025 with a HBSc specializing in Biophysics. He joined the Barzda lab for his Honour’s Thesis (Fall 2024), studying P-SHG and MPEF measurements in various histological stains in blood vessel samples. Currently, Samuel is continuing his project before entering the UofT Physics MSc program at in Fall 2025.

 

Anne ikhile | nserc uSRA student

Anne will be graduating from UTM in 2025 with a HBSc specializing in Chemistry with a minor in Physics. She first joined the Barzda Lab in Summer 2024 as a NSERC USRA student, where she characterized carotenoids and porphyrin aggregates in organic samples using P-SHG and will be continuing the project as a NSERC USRA student in Summer 2025. 

 

Eren Aday | Nserc uSRA student

Eren is entering his fourth year of studies at UTM specializing in Biophysics with a major in Chemistry. He joined the Barzda Lab in Summer 2025 as an NSERC USRA student and is working on building the SRS (Stimulated Raman Scattering) microscope, which has many applications ranging from material science to disease diagnosis. 

Previous GROUP Members

Postdoctoral Fellows:

  • 2023-2024       Mehdi Alizadeh - Currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Ottawa (Ottawa, Ontario)
  • 2022-2023       Kamdin Mirsanaye - Currently a Research Fellow at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital (USA)
  • 2015-2018       Masood Samim - Currently a Research Analyst at Marret Asset Management Inc.
  • 2015-2017       Haitao Zhao - Currently an Optics Scientist at Wise Device Inc. 
  • 2012-2017       Richard Cisek - Currently a Research Associate at the Department of Chemistry at Saint Mary's University  (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
  • 2014-2014       Danielle Tokarz - Currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry at Saint Mary's University (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
  • 2013-2014       Daaf Sandkuijl - Currently a Director of Product Development at Standard BioTools
  • 2004-2006       Arkady Major - Currently a Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
  • 2003               Donatas Zigmantas - Currently a Professor at the Department of Chemistry at Lund University (Sweden)

Doctoral Students:

Master Students:

  • 2016-2017       Kamdin Mirsanaye; "Characterization of Human Cardiac Tissue Structure with Polarization-Dependent Second-Harmonic Generation Microscopy"
  • 2014-2015       Abiramy Karunendiran; "Development of fruit fly eye studied with nonlinear optical microscopy"
  • 2014-2015       Ian Tretyakov; "Spectrally-resolved time-correlated single-photon-counting microscopy"
  • 2013-2014       Maria Correa; "Analysis of peroxisomes movement: Active and passive transport through the actin filament"
  • 2011-2012       Lukas Kontenis; "Design and evaluation of a second-harmonic microscope with forward and sideways detection channels"
  • 2008-2009       Danielle Tokarz; "Development of harmonophores for nonlinear microscopy"
  • 2006-2007       Shuo Li; "Fluid inclusion analysis in quartz using second and third harmonic generation microscopy"
  • 2006-2007       Gurinderpal Grang; "Investigation of peroxisomes with nonlinear microscopy"
  • 2004-2005       Nicole Prent; "Imaging biological structures and visualizing changing transmembrane potential gradients with harmonic generation and multiphoton excitation                                                  fluorescence microscopy"

Undergraduate Students:

  • Damien Kemka Douanla
  • Fayez Habach
  • Faiyza Alam
  • Vaishnavi Raja
  • Yeji Ro
  • Ahmed Ellithy
  • Wayne Bonnet
  • Sang Park
  • Russ Algar
  • Oscar Cisek
  • Michal Hodal
  • Maike-Svenja Milkereit
  • James Mccrae
  • Gerardo Quiroz
  • Gautham Radhakrishnan
  • Chantal Greenhalgh
  • Anshudeep Mathur
  • Andy Chow
  • Alexey Borshch

Last Updated: May 1, 2025

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