People

Jean-Paul Desaulniers, Principal Investigator

Jean-Paul Desaulniers was born and raised in London Ontario. He studied Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario and received his Honors B.Sc. in 2000. He entered graduate school at Wayne State University, under the guidance of Prof. Chow, and he received his Ph.D. from Wayne State University in 2005. His thesis work focused on synthesizing and studying naturally occurring modified RNAs found within the ribosome. After his Ph.D., he went to the University of Michigan, where he worked under the guidance of Prof. Mapp. During his time, he was awarded an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship and focused his work in Chemical Biology on studying small organic molecule transcription factor mimics. Since the fall of 2008, Jean-Paul started as an assistant professor in chemistry. His work at UOIT focuses on developing unnatural scaffolds that are capable of controlling gene expression. Outside the lab, Jean-Paul enjoys the outdoors, playing music, and spending time with his family.

E-mail: Jean-Paul.Desaulniers@uoit.ca

Tim Efthymiou, M.Sc. Candidate

Tim is a 29-year old UOIT Biological Science Honours Graduate, currently doing graduate work under the supervision of Dr. Desaulniers. He was born and raised in Toronto from parents of Greek decent. He is currently working on an organic research project that involves synthesizing new modified RNAs for its potential use within siRNAs. When Tim is not making new molecules in the lab, he can usually be found watching movies (sometimes as he drives), reading sci-fi novels, playing tennis, dancing, cooking, eating, enjoying his pets, and listening to classic rock.

Patrick Edge, B.Sc. Candidate

Patrick was raised in Havelock Ontario. He is currently a 4th year chemistry student at UOIT. He is working on a project aimed at altering linker length between successive nucleotides in RNA in order to alter specificity to its target. When he is not running columns and asking people for money for his own NMR, he spends his time cooking, watching movies, listening to AC/DC, playing squash, and playing board games with friends. 

E-mail: Tim.Efthymiou@uoit.ca

E-mail: Patrick.Edge@mycampus.uoit.ca

 

Chris Koehler, B.Sc. Candidate

Chris is a third-year undergraduate student enrolled in the Biological Sciences degree with a Chemistry minor, with emphasis in Organic Chemistry. He is currently working as an undergraduate student in the Desaulniers Lab, and after completing his degree would like to proceed to grad school and earn a Ph.D. degree. Currently, he is assisting Tim in synthesizing a new class of modified nucleic acids for their potential use within siRNAs and other single-stranded applications. In his spare time after lab work, he spends his time biking and jogging to keep healthy, along with composing music.

E-mail: Christopher.Koehler@mycampus.uoit.ca

You?

We are currently seeking graduate students for Summer/Fall 2010 with interests in chemistry and/or biology in either the Applied Bioscience or Materials Science Programs. Please contact Dr. Desaulniers if you are interested in pursuing graduate studies at UOIT. Undergraduate students interested in thesis under my supervision are advised to contact me as soon as possible to inquire about potential future projects and availability.

Alumni

Andrew Peterson (2009)

Jesse Allan (summer NSERC USRA 2009)

 

 

Wei Gong, B.Sc. Candidate

Wei is a fourth-year chemistry student working on thymine-thymine dimers with unnatural functional groups bridging them together.

E-mail: Wei.Gong@mycampus.uoit.ca