Dr. Robert Delatolla (principal investigator)
Current
Élisabeth Mercier, PhD candidate
Nada Hegazy, PhD candidate
Juliet Ikem, PhD candidate
Juliet, originally from Nigeria, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Microbiology and a Master’s in Environmental Science, specializing in Environmental Engineering, from Coventry University, UK. She served as an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Environmental Management at Ebonyi State University, Nigeria, where she contributed to biological wastewater treatment projects. Currently, she’s a PhD candidate in Environmental Engineering at the University of Ottawa, concentrating on advanced biofilms characterization and optimization in wastewater treatment. Juliet aspires to lead research and development in biological water and wastewater solutions post-PhD.
Patrick M. D’Aoust, PhD candidate
Patrick D’Aoust is the technical officer for the Environmental Engineering laboratories at uOttawa. He earned his M.A.Sc. in 2016, with research centered on hydrogen sulfide production in wet stormwater ponds and has since published four papers from his Master’s research. Patrick is now pursuing his Ph.D. at uOttawa, specializing in wastewater based epidemiology.
Nathan Ramsey, MASc candidate
Nathan, formerly an undergraduate student in the University of Ottawa’s Civil Engineering program with a specialization in Environmental and Water Resources, worked on treating and characterizing lagoon solids using Disc Filter technology for Alfred, Ontario. This research included identifying algae and tracking E-Coli and chlorophyll-α levels. Prior to this, he served as a Municipal Construction Inspector for the City of Peterborough and a Junior Inspector for GD Jewell Engineering in Belleville. Outside of work, Nathan is passionate about outdoor activities and often immerses himself in music and learning at home. He has since moved on to pursue his master’s, focusing on modeling and visualization of wastewater-based epidemiology data.
Tram Bich Nguyen, MASc candidate
Emma Tomalty, MASc candidate
Dr. Shen Wan, research associate
Dr. Ocean Thakali, postdoctoral fellow
Dr. Lakshmi Pisharody, postdoctoral fellow
Dr. Xin Tian, technician
Alumni
Dr. Neda Arabgol
Raheleh (Neda) Arabgol was a PhD candidate in Environmental Engineering at the University of Ottawa, specializing in bio-produced solids in MBBR systems. She obtained her undergraduate and MSc degrees from Isfahan University of Technology, Iran, and started her PhD at Ottawa in 2015.
Dr. Alexander Schopf
Alexander Schopf was a PhD candidate in Environmental Engineering at the University of Ottawa, focusing on ammonia removal using MBBR technology. His research involved nitrifying biofilm inhibition, ammonia removal optimization, and anammox reactor start-up. A Chemical Engineering graduate from the same university, he is affiliated with the NSERC CREATE TECHNOMISE program and undertook a 3-month stint at AnoxKaldnes in Sweden as part of his training.
Dr. Warsama Ahmed
Warsama Ahmed was a Ph.D. candidate in Civil Engineering, specializing in low temperature attached growth nitrification. He researched nitrification kinetics in moving bed biofilm reactors and studied biofilm responses to low temperatures. Warsama has since graduated.
Dr. Alexandra Tsitouras
Alexandra Tsitouras was a Ph.D. student in Environmental Engineering at the University of Ottawa, mentored by Prof. Robert Delatolla and Prof. Alain Stintzi. She previously earned a B.Sc. with first-class honors in Life Sciences from McGill University, specializing in Microbiology and Molecular Biotechnology. Alexandra has since graduated.
Dr. Xin Tian
Xin Tian was a PhD candidate in Environmental Engineering, specializing in biofilm technologies for wastewater treatment, notably the anammox process in MBBR systems. She also worked on optimizing nitrifying bio-cord reactors and evaluating hybrid BAF-MBBR systems. Xin holds a B.A. in Environmental Science from Sichuan University, China and has since graduated.
Dr. Bahman Banihashemi
Dr. Bradley Young
Rochelle Mathew
The individual began their journey in the Delatolla lab as a volunteer, where they assisted in various projects, including building a microorganism library for Dr. Bradley Young’s MBBR pilot plant. Later, they supported Alex Schopf’s lab-scale MBBR systems, particularly in studying the effect of copper inhibition on nitrification. Despite challenges faced during their Honours project in Biochemistry concerning copper inhibition and ddPCR, they redirected their focus and studied the impact of the same on ddPCR. In their Master’s, they’re delving into the mitigation of effects of agricultural runoff using controlled tile drainage and pond-wetland systems, guided by Dr. Christopher Kinsley and Dr. Robert Delatolla. Professionally, they serve as a Junior Scientist at Golder Associates Ltd in the Risk and Remediation sector, where they frequently conduct field work and assess environmental contaminants.
Guillaume LeBlond
Guillaume LeBlond completed his M.A.Sc. in Civil Engineering at the University of Ottawa, where he specialized in improving lagoon wastewater treatment systems in cold and temperate climates. He also holds an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from the same institution. Guillaume now works at Cima+ after his graduation.
Bianca Amaral-Stewart
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Bianca Amaral-Stewart was a M.A.Sc. Environmental Engineering student at the University of Ottawa, concentrating on optimizing start-up conditions for the anammox treatment process in ammonia-rich wastewaters. She holds an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering with a specialization in Water and Environmental Resources. Additionally, Bianca has a passion for teaching and has instructed courses in the Water and Wastewater Technician program at Algonquin College.
Éric Robert
Éric Robert was a M.A.Sc Environmental Engineering student at the University of Ottawa, focusing on ammonia removal in municipal wastewater using moving bed biofilm reactor technology. He holds undergraduate degrees in Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry from the same institution.
Cassandra Lavigne
Antoine Cantin
Pranesh Choolhun
May Ourabi
Chandana Sundar
Baisha Ren
Juliana Mejía-Franco
Liyu Chen
Nour Imad Al-Ghussain
Peter Roebuck
Ru Wang