People

The Forde lab is a biophysics research group affiliated with the departments of Physics, Chemistry and Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. We are part of a larger, active group of biophysics researchers at SFU. Our group members are scientists who develop and apply physical techniques to address interesting and relevant biological problems.

Current group members

Nancy Forde

Principal Investigator
Nancy is responsible for directing research of the lab as a whole.

  • Research interests: Molecular biophysics, mechanical properties of single molecules, protein structure, molecular motors, collagen, optical tweezers
  • Background: B.Sc. (Toronto), M.S., Ph.D. (Chicago)
  • Hobbies: Hockey, cooking and baking, spending time with my family
  • Location: P8470 (Office), P8424/P8434/P8426/P8418 (Labs)
  • Phone: 778.782.3161 (Office), 778.782.6595 (Lab), 778.782.3592 (Fax)
  • Email: nforde@sfu.ca

    • Laleh Samii

    Physics PhD Student
    Laleh develops experimental and numerical models to design and construct a molecular “lawnmower".

    • Research interests: Molecular motors
    • Background: B.Sc. (Ferdowsi University of Mashahad), M.Sc: (Sharif University of Technology)
    • Hobbies: Hiking, enjoying nature, listening to music
    • Location: P8424 (Office) and P8434 (Lab)
    • Phone: 778.782.6595
    • Email: lsa22@sfu.ca

    Marjan Shayegan

    Chemistry PhD Student
    Marjan uses optical tweezers to probe polymer networks.

    • Research interests: Microrheology, optical tweezers, biopolymers, polymer networks
    • Background: B.Sc., M.Sc. (Sharif University of Technology)
    • Hobbies: Watching movies, cooking, hiking
    • Location: P8424 (Office and Lab)
    • Phone: 778.782.6595
    • Email: msa98@sfu.ca

    Andrew Wieczorek

    Research associate
    Andrew supervises the group's biological wet lab.

    • Research interests: Cloning and expression of a variety of proteins in bacterial, insect and mammalian systems, protein purification, assay development
    • Background: B.Sc. (SFU), M.Sc. (UBC)
    • Hobbies: SCUBA, brewing beer, motorcycle
    • Location: P8426 (Office) and P8434 and P8418 (Labs)
    • Phone: 778.782.6595
    • Email: aaw8@sfu.ca

    Naghmeh Rezaei

    Physics PhD student
    Naghmeh is using the single-beam optical tweezers to study single collagen molecules.

    • Research interests: Optical tweezers, elastin, collagen
    • Background: B.Sc. (University of Tehran)
    • Hobbies: Iceskating, yoga, reading books, painting
    • Location: P8424 (Office), P8424 and P8434 (Labs)
    • Phone: 778.782.6595
    • Email: nra18@sfu.ca


    Alumni

    Marieke Berga Research assistant, 2005-2007 High school science teacher, greater Vancouver
    Gerhard Blab Postdoctoral researcher, 2009-2010 Assistant professor of Molecular Biophysics, Universiteit Utrecht
    Braden Brinkman NSERC USRA and undergraduate researcher, 2006-2007 Physics PhD student, University of Illinois
    Clara Chan Physics thesis student and research assistant, 2010-2011 Bioengineering PhD student, UCLA
    Samuel Chan MBB co-op student, 2009 MBB BSc graduate, SFU
    Gina Chang NSERC USRA, 2007 Licenced pharmacist, Vancouver
    Jeanie Chiu Chem 481 and Chemistry co-op student, 2007-2008 Chemist, Intertek QTI, New Jersey
    Linda Dekker Visiting MSc student, 2010 MSc student, VU Amsterdam
    Yi Deng Physics MSc graduate, 2005-2007 Physics PhD student, Princeton University
    Benjamin Downing Physics MSc graduate, 2007-2010 English teacher, Taiwan
    Arnau Farré Visiting PhD student, 2009 Optics PhD student, University of Barcelona
    Alex Fong Biology co-op student, 2011 Biology BSc student, Simon Fraser University
    Katie Gagnon BISC 498 student, 2005 Medical Physics PhD graduate, University of Alberta
    Astrid van der Horst Postdoctoral researcher, 2006-2009 FOM Postdoctoral researcher, VU Amsterdam
    Derek Howell Undergraduate researcher, 2005 Physics PhD student, SFU
    Philip Johnson Physics MSc graduate, 2004-2007 Chemistry PhD student, University of Toronto
    Suckjoon Jun Summer visitor, 2007 Bauer Fellow, FAS Centre for Systems Biology, Harvard University
    Shahryar Khattak Short-term postdoctoral researcher, 2005 Research Fellow, Developmental & Stem Cell Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children
    Suzana Kovacic Research associate, 2007-2011 Research associate, Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University
    Michelle Lee Physics MSc graduate, 2005-2007 and research assistant, 2008 High-school math teacher, Ottawa
    Cindy Li Research assistant, 2009 MBB MSc student, SFU
    Karen Lo BISC 498 student and undergraduate researcher, 2006-2007 Biology MSc student, SFU
    Jos One Biophysics NSERC USRA, 2008 Undergraduate student, SFU
    Rob Welch Physics NSERC USRA, 2009 Physics MSc student, McGill University
    Ruobing Yang NSERC USRA and Biophysics co-op student, 2008 Medical School student, UBC