Zhefei Guo (he/him)
PhD student, 2022-present
Zhefei comes from Wuhan, China. He completed his BSc degree in Chemistry at Wuhan University in June 2022, then joined the Joudan group at the University of Alberta as a PhD student in September 2022. During his undergraduate research, he participated in several projects, such as organic asymmetric catalysis and analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soil. Through the environmental analytical research of PFAS, he found a strong interest in environmental chemistry. His current study is to investigate the release of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) from some organic compounds occurring in the environment. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, reading books, watching movies, and listening to music.
Dean Nguyen, MSc
PhD student, 2022-present
Dean is from Vietnam and earned his BSc in Chemistry & Biochemistry and MSc in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota Duluth. During an undergraduate summer internship he performed soil testing and worked for a year of research projects in physical chemistry and molecular dynamic simulations of gaseous P2O5. He then developed an interest in analytical instrumentation and did his masters project on analysis of plant samples with GC-MS and RStudio software. He joined the Joudan Lab at UofA in Fall 2022 and is working to understand reactions of PFAS using GC-MS and LC-MS. His hobbies include watching movies, eating BBQ, lifting weights, and shooting traps.
Nipuna Senanayake
PhD student, 2022-present
Nipuna is from Sri Lanka and earned his BSc (Honours) in Environmental Science from the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka. He then joined the Environmental Science research group of the National Institute of Fundamental Studies in Sri Lanka as a Research Assistant. He has experience related to graphene membrane fabrication and RO water treatment. In Fall 2022, he started his grad school at UofA in the Joudan Lab because of his interest in environmental chemistry. He will be measuring tire-wear compounds in precipitation across Canada to understand atmospheric sources and transport. He enjoys outdoor activities and loves to enjoy nature in his free time.
Danielle Molenaar (she/they)
MSc student, 2023-present
Danielle is from Edmonton and earned her BSc in Physical Sciences from MacEwan University in 2020. In 2018, she joined Dr. Matthew Ross’ group as a research assistant, investigating the concentration of microplastics in stormwater runoff. Following this introduction to environmental research, she began working on a project using silicone wristbands as personal passive samplers for exposure to organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs). After a few years off, she joined the Joudan Lab in May 2023 to begin research on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in snow samples. In her free time, she enjoys video games, listening to music, spending time with friends, and painting ceramics.
Harshita Arora
PhD student, 2024-present
Harshita comes from Delhi, India. She completed her bachelors in chemistry from the University of Delhi, India in 2015, followed by her masters at the same university in 2017. Afterwards, she joined a college to teach undergraduate students. In 2019, she became a part of the research group lead by Prof. P. Venkatesu at the University of Delhi and did her research in the field of biophysical chemistry. There she published 2 papers in the journal 'ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering'. Her publications dealt with the stability of biomolecules and polymers in deep eutectic solvents. In fall 2024, she has joined the Joudan group to begin her research in the field of analytical and environmental chemistry. Her hobbies include listening to music and writing Hindi poetry in her free time.
Azka Attar
MSc student, 2024-present
Azka grew up in Edmonton and completed her BSc in Chemistry from the University of Alberta, where she gained interest in environmental chemistry following her class research project on indoor air quality in campus student residences where she measured PM2.5 concentrations. She did a CHEM 401 project in the Joudan Lab looking at the reactivity of TFA and other haloacetic acids using ion chromatography as her analytical method. Now, she has returned to the group for her MSc. In her spare time, she enjoys painting, calligraphy and hiking.
Jared Faulkner
MSc student, 2024-present
Co-supervised with James Harynuk
Jared is from Edmonton, Alberta and earned his BSc in Chemistry from The King’s University. During a summer internship he worked with Dr. Leah Martin-Visscher from The King’s University to aid in developing a method for corticosterone quantification in European Blackbird feathers. Through this internship he developed a strong affinity with analytical chemistry, resulting in him joining Dr. Shira Joudan and Dr. James Harynuk’s groups in a collaborative effort in 2024 to investigate the partitioning and persistence of oil and oil co-contaminants within Arctic environments. In his spare time, he enjoys video games, fishing, foraging, and spending time with his friends.
Geneviève Tremblay
Undergrad Researcher (CHEM 499), 2024-25
NSERC USRA and Lloyd and Margaret Cooley Memorial Studentship in Analytical Chemistry, 2024
Geneviève is from Edmonton and is currently completing her BSc in Chemistry with a minor in Biology. Her interests in environmental chemistry stem from a profound interest in conservation and environmental protection, as well as from courses she has taken throughout her degree. Geneviève has joined the Joudan Lab to work alongside Zhefei Guo in studying the production of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) from organic compounds. In her spare time, Geneviève enjoys hiking, camping, and swing dancing.
Samantha Burke (she/her)
Undergraduate Researcher (CHEM 399), 2024
iSTEAM and NSERC USRA summer student, 2024
Samantha grew up in Prince George BC but moved to Edmonton to attend the University of Alberta. She is currently completing her BSc in Chemistry with a minor in Earth Sciences. She became interested in environmental chemistry through her course work and seeing peers’ research projects at a local conference. Samantha will be working alongside Nipuna Senanayake in studying diphenylguadine (DPG), a contaminant originating from rubber. Outside of school, Samantha enjoys playing the saxophone, crochet, and spending time with friends.
Group Alumni
Undergraduate researchers
Azka Attar, BSc. May - December 2023. Lloyd and Margaret Cooley Memorial Studentship in Analytical Chemistry and CHEM 401
now: MSc student, Joudan Lab