Biorefining and Remediation Laboratory Members
Principal Investigator
Azadeh Kermanshahi pour, Associate Professor, Department of Process Engineering and Applied, Dalhousie University, Member of Editorial Advisory Board of Algal Research Journal
e-mail: azadeh.kermanshahipour@Dal.Ca
Tel: 902-494-6076
Department of Process Engineering and Applied Science, Dalhousie University, F2224, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4R2
Prior to joining Dalhousie University in 2013, I was an NSERC postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering at Yale University. I did my graduate studies at McGill and Western and BSc at Ferdowsi University in Chemical Engineering. Throughout my academic and industrial career, I was involved in a variety of diverse projects including microalgae biorefining, identification of biodegradation pathways of chemicals, development of biodegradable plasticizers and bioremediation of contaminated groundwater. I also served as a research associate at Western University and as process engineer in a wastewater treatment company in Tehran. My research interests lie in the development of sustainable processes for production of specialty and commodity chemicals from renewable resources and remediation process development to control the environmental impact of organic contaminants.
Current members
Bienvenu Gael Fouda Mbanga, Postdoctoral fellow
Dr. Bienvenu Gael Fouda Mbanga is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Process Engineering and Applied Sciences at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. His research focuses on environmental analytical chemistry, particularly the synthesis and application of carbon-based nanomaterials and metal oxide composites for the removal of heavy metals and PFAS from contaminated water systems. His work also addresses the reuse of spent adsorbents to minimize secondary pollution, contributing to sustainable water treatment strategies. Dr. Fouda Mbanga holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry, and he previously completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. There, he collaborated on advanced materials for environmental remediation and toxic metal sensing. His interdisciplinary work integrates nanotechnology, analytical techniques, and green chemistry to develop efficient and affordable solutions for water purification. He has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented his work at international conferences. He aspires to become a recognized leader in sustainable environmental technologies and global water quality research, while building cross-continental collaborations to solve critical pollution challenges.
Jianan Lin, PhD student
Jianan Lin received her B.Sc. (Honours) Degree in Integrated Environmental Management at Dalhousie University in 2020. Her undergraduate honours thesis mainly focused on the production of biocrude from biomass in hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) processes and the yield prediction through models. Also, she took part in some other studies in the field of biomass valorization, biomass management and treatment, and vegetation management when she worked as a research assistant in the Bioenergy and Bioproducts Lab and the Vegetation Management Research Lab at Dalhousie University. She joined the Biorefining and Remediation Lab to conducts research on green technology development for the derivation of pharmaceutically important compounds from marine invertebrates and subsequent development of the platform for controlled drug delivery. Awards and scholaeship: Mitacs and NSGS scholarships.
Amirhossien Mottie, PhD student
Amirhossien received his B.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran, and his M.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. His master's thesis involves microalgae harvesting by polymeric blend membranes. Also, he took part in some research projects in the fields of membrane technology, wastewater treatment, biomass cultivation and harvesting, and biodegradable polymeric film fabrication when he was a research assistant in the adsorbents and industrial catalysts and environment research lab and the research lab for innovative separation technologies at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Amirhossien's PhD research involves microalgae cultivation on electrochemically recovered nutrients from food waste digestate.
Hamidatu Alhassan, PhD student
Hamidatu Alhassan earned her B.Ed in Science (Physics Major) from the University for Development Studies, Ghana, in 2019. She later completed an MSc in Applied Physics from Universiti Brunei Darussalam in 2023. Her master’s thesis focused on fabricating graphene-based adsorbents for oily wastewater treatment. During her MSc studies, she participated in research projects at the Wind Energy and Energy Storage System Centre (WEESYC) at Prince of Songkhla University, Thailand, on the supercapacitive study of graphene oxide synthesized from sawdust biochar. She gained professional experience as a water quality control analyst at Southern Border Food Processing Company in Thailand. At the Biorefining and Remediation Lab, Hamidatu’s PhD research focuses on the electro-assisted bioremediation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water.
Tharindu Suraweera Arachchilage, PhD student
Tharindu earned his B.Sc. (Hons) in Agricultural Technology and Management, with a focus on Food Science & Technology, from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He then completed an M.Sc. in Agriculture (Thesis-based) at Dalhousie University in Canada. His undergraduate thesis centered on developing a functional beverage with antioxidant properties using underutilized blue pea flowers. For his master’s thesis, he investigated the protective effects of dietary flavonoids against carcinogen-induced DNA damage in cultured human bronchial epithelial cells. Throughout his academic and professional journey, Tharindu has gained valuable experience in food product development, mammalian cell culture, and fermentation-based process development. His professional roles include working as a fermentation scientist at the Verschuren Centre in Sydney, NS, focusing on upstream process development using waste materials and alternative feedstocks, as well as serving as a food product development research assistant and a teaching assistant in Food Science & Technology at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. For his PhD, he is researching dark fermentation using waste materials contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and exploring PFAS biotransformation.
Past members
Lauren MacEachern, PhD student, 2024, (Currently:Technical Associate Director at Solid State Pharma)
Adam LeBlanc, MASc student, 2024, (Currently:Grant Manager at Net Zero Atlantic)
Pawan Kumar, PhD student, 2023, (Currently:Chemical Engineering Scientist at CoteX Technologies Inc.)
Aryan Samadi, PhD student, 2023, (Currently:Water Treatment Scientist at Integrated Sustainability)
Kash Delsoz Bahri, MASc student, 2022, (Currently: Client Manager/Data Analyst at SENTRY)
Jianan Lin, MASc student, 2021, (Currently: PhD student at Dalhousie University)
Samreen Momin , MEng student, 2022, (Currently: Assistant Process Engineer at Burns & McDonnell)
