Lab Members
Khanh Huy Bui (Full CV)
Associate Professor
Canada Research Chair in Cryo-Electron Tomography
Huy Bui did his Ph.D. in the lab of Dr. Ishikawa at ETH Zurich on cilia structure. Afterward, he joined the lab of Dr. Martin Beck at EMBL Heidelberg and revealed the organizing principle of the human nuclear pore complex scaffold. He is fascinated by developing new EM methods to understand the structure and function of complex macromolecules, in particular, the structure of eukaryotic cilia.
Shintaroh Kubo
Postdoctoral Fellow
Shintaroh finished his Ph.D at Kyoto University. During his Ph.D., he worked on molecular dynamics of motor protein dynein. As a postdoc in the Bui lab, he is working on understanding the mechanism of microtubule-associated proteins on the structure of the cilia.
Thibault Legal
Postdoctoral Fellow
Thibault did his PhD in Julie Welburn's lab at the University of Edinburgh where he worked on kinetochore-microtubule attachments in mitosis.
Thibault became really interested in structural biology during his PhD and joined the Bui lab to work on the structure of cilia using cryo-ET and cryo-EM.
Outside of the lab, Thibault enjoys meeting up with friends, going hiking and dancing in nightclubs.
Melissa Valente
Reserach Assistant
Melissa completed her M.Sc. degree at Concordia University with Dr. Zerges. She studied the in-situ spatial-temporal localization of photosynthetic complexes and their associated chlorophyll pigment during the chloroplast biogenesis of Chlamydomonas.
She was born in Canada but her heritage is Italian. She is an introvert who loves to read, grow plants/garden, paint, and is very family oriented.
She obviously loves science, enjoys research and learning new techniques particularly related to microscopy. Her attraction towards microscopy and imagining stems from her appreciation of photography and her artistic nature.
Melissa was intrigued and drawn to Bui Lab due to the level of resolution Dr.Bui's work is achieving with cryo-EM.
Lastly, Melissa also has a passion for teaching, and enjoys helping students learn about biology but also about themselves and what drives their passion.
Corbin Black
PhD student
Corbin obtained his Master from University of Northern British Columbia under Prof. Stephen Rader using crystallography. He is now working his way to be a cryo-EM expert in cilia structure.
Avrin Ghanaeian
Master student
Avrin is currently a Master student in our lab. She's born and raised in Iran and received a B.Eng. and M.Eng. in Biomedical Engineering with areas of molecular dynamics (MD) of proteins. During her M.Eng. program she studied molecular dynamics of collagens in different connective tissue conditions by MD simulation. Avrin’s research in Bui Lab is to identify and solve structures of various compounds of cilia and the molecular function of cilia machinery by Cryo-EM. At the lab, she loves structural biology of proteins especially their interactions with other proteins/chemicals and to identify the molecular mechanisms of complex protein functions.
Outside of the lab, Avrin likes reading books and spending time with her pets (she has a cat named Think and a dog named Puppet, both are very sweet!).
Mohamed Elwarfalli
Master Student
I obtained my MBChB degree in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Benghazi in Libya. Following my graduation, I worked as a General surgeon for a few years, to learn more about the clinical and surgical care setting, and as a teaching assistant in Anatomy & Physiology labs. I came to Canada to join Dr. Bui's lab at McGill University to further expand my knowledge in structural biology and pursue masters degree in scientific research which will give me a better understanding of science and hopefully improve some aspects of the practice of medicine.
Outside of the lab, I like painting, and sand Sculpture, and landscape photography.
Phuong Huynh
Undergraduate Student
I am an undergraduate student majoring in Anatomy & Cell Biology. After learning about the dynamics of various cytoskeletal structures in the second-year ANAT 262 course (in which Dr. Bui was one of the professors), I became interested in the exciting research being done at the Bui Lab on ciliary structures and joined the lab in the summer of 2021. As someone who is new to research, my goals are to better understand these fascinating structures whilst learning new experimental techniques and skills that I can apply to my future journey in research.
Ryan Beauchamp
Undergraduate Student
I am an undergraduate student majoring in Anatomy & Cell Biology, currently in U3 of their studies. My passion has always been to become a medical doctor. However, these past years I have realized that research is an integral aspect of becoming a well-rounded doctor. I have always been passionate about academia and learning as a whole, anything in the realm of the health sciences intrigues me. My interest in ciliary structures stemmed from Dr. Bui’s section in ANAT 262, and I actively found myself pursuing further knowledge in the subject. Even though I am new to research, my main goal is to grasp the fundamentals of research, learn to think critically, and enjoy my time learning about these interesting structures.
Shayla Tran
Undergraduate Student
I am a U3 Anatomy & Cell Biology student and I am completing my Honours project in Dr. Bui’s lab. The dynamics of cell motility have always been something I was drawn to in the cell biology classes I’ve taken, and I hope to learn some great things throughout my project on ciliary transport. I hope to learn some valuable lab techniques and delve into the field of research! On my free time, you’ll either find me at the gym or hanging out at cafes.
Alumni
Muneyoshi Ichikawa (Postdoc). Current: Assistant Professor, Fudan University in Shanghai China
Dinan Liu (Research Assistant)
Graduate Students
Daniel Dai
Ahmad Khalifa
Katya Peri
Shun Kai Yang (SKY)
Undergraduate Students
Ivy Hsu Current: University Health Network, Toronto
Vincent Hsu Current: Japan
Reid Rebinsky Current: Medical School, McMaster
Joshua Roccamo
Padraig Harvey
Emily Wheeler
Penelope Neocleous
Nureen Jenna Ladhani
Nicolai Tremblay
Jiaxuan Li
Zhe Fan