Graduate Students

 

Jeffery Woodacre

During his education, Jeff has spent many years gaining research experience in a broad range of fields including: crystal growth, hydraulics, advanced control systems, underwater sonar, and most recently, high power therapeutic ultrasound transducers. He has Bachelor’s degrees in both Honors Physics and Mechanical Engineering, as well as a Master’s of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering. Jeff is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Biomedical Engineering and specializes in modelling and fabrication of high power ultrasound transducers for histotripsy applications. He intends to continue in academia and has a passion for being in the classroom as an instructor in experimental research programs (experimental design, data acquisition, and software).

Alejandro I. Villalba

Alejandro Villalba was born in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico in 1993. Alejandro received his B.Eng in Mechatronics from Universidad La Salle Noroeste in 2015. Additionally, He received a diploma in humanities from the same university in the same year.  Alejandro is currently pursuing his MASc in Electrical Engineering at Dalhousie University under the supervision of Dr. Jeremy Brown. His research is now focusing on the development of a Shear-wave imaging software for a High-Frequency Ultrasound System.

 

Matthew Mallay

Matt received his B.Eng in Electrical Engineering from Dalhousie in 2014. After graduating, Matt worked in industry for 4 years, where he designed underwater acoustic transducers for towed array sonar systems. He decided to return to Dalhousie to pursue a MASc in Biomedical engineering under the supervision of Dr. Jeremy Brown. His research is focused on the development of a miniature high-power ultrasound transducer array for histotripsy  applications.

 

                                                 Nicolas Campbell

Nicholas Campbell received his B.Eng in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Dalhousie in 2017. He worked in industry at Daxsonics Ultrasound with a focus on designing test equipment, implementing and executing test procedures to verify basic functionality of High energy ultrasound circuits. He is currently pursuing a MASc In Biomedical engineering at Dalhousie University under the supervision of Dr. Jeremy Brown. His research is focused on the ultra-fast ultrasound imaging and 3D Ultrasound Imaging.

 

Research Staff

 
Dr. Thomas Landry PhD

Tom has a background in Neuroscience (BSc Neuroscience, Dalhousie) and completed his PhD in 2011 at the University of Melbourne/The Bionics Institute. His PhD research focused on various effects of auditory nerve stimulation by a cochlear implant in combination with a drug therapy delivered directly into the cochlea in a rodent model of profound deafness. This work involved combining a number of research techniques, including surgery, chronic electrical stimulation, histology, optical and electron microscopy, and neural response recording to electrical and acoustic stimulation. Tom joined Dr. Jeremy Brown’s research team in 2011, bringing to the group expertise in these biological research methods.

 

Ms. Deborah Wright, RN

Deborah has over 30 years’ experience in health care.  After many years in Critical Care, Emergency and Flight Nursing, Deborah moved towards management and administration within Nova Scotia Health Authority.  In 2012 as NSHA’s Cardiology Research Manager, she led the development of the research enterprise and in this capacity managed large-scale projects. In October 2017, Deborah joined Dr J. Brown’s research team as Project Manager and as such provides management and administrative support for Dr Brown’s multiple research endeavors with the focus being on the current AIF project.

 

 

Collaborators

Dr. Rob Adamson. PhD, Associate Professor in Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering at Dalhousie University

Rob is interested in the application of light and sound to the diagnosis and treatment of disease.  Upcoming and ongoing projects include, Developing a microscope that can see through the eardrum for diagnosing hearing disorders and planning ear surgeries, Combining ultrasound and optical treatments for skin disease to allow for efficacious treatment with fewer side effects,Intrasurgical tools for photoacoustic imaging of vasculature during brain surgery, Improved electrical circuit designs to achieve fast, short pulses to create ultrasonic cavitation for histotripsy

 

 

Dr. Adrienne Weeks. MD, FRCSC, Division of Neurosurgery, NSHA

Adrienne is a Neurosurgeon and Basic Scientist at Dalhousie University. Her clinical interests are in Neurooncology and Neurovascular. She has slowly made her way from coast to coast in Canada. She began her training at University of British Columbia medical school. From there she moved east to Toronto, where she obtained her PhD working under Dr. Jim Rutka, while completing her Neurosurgery Residency. Her laboratory at Dalhousie focuses on discovering novel therapeutic  strategies for malignant brain cancer.

 

Dr. James P. Fawcett, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology and Surgery at Dalhousie University

Dr Fawcett completed his BSc, MSc, MScT at McMaster University.  He completed his PhD at McGill and PDF at Toronto Universities.  The Fawcett Lab is interested in developmental neurobiology with an emphasis on intracellular signaling complexes underlying neuronal polarity. We utilize molecular and cellular approaches, combined with mass spectrometry based screens to characterize protein complexes involved in establishing neuronal polarity and synapse

 

 

Dr. John Frampton. PhD, Assistant Professor , School of Biomedical Engineering, Dalhousie University

Dr Frampton’s laboratory develops new technologies and approaches for microscale tissue engineering with an emphasis on neural tissues. The laboratory is also actively involved in the development of microtechnologies for user-friendly, cost-effective in vitro assays and analysis systems for cells and biomolecules.

 

 

Dr. Roger J.  Zemp,PhD, Peng, Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Adjunct Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta

Dr. Zemp’s research interest primarily involve novel methods of biomedical imaging, including biomedical optics and biomedical ultrasound. These new technologies aim to provide information to clinicians and biologists that are presently difficult to obtain with other imaging techniques. He is also interested in technologies for improved drug and gene delivery, and disease diagnosis using biomarkers and ultrasound. His research encompasses system design, physical modeling, micro- and nano-fabrication methods, optics and laser systems, ultrasound hardware and software development, image and signal processing and analysis, molecular biology-based methods, and nanotechnology.

 

Dr. Eli Vlaisavljevich PhD, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Dr Vlaisavljevich research interests include therapeutic ultrasound, non-invasive tissue ablation (histotripsy), cavitation physics, nanomedicine, biomaterials, tissue regeneration, cancer, and clinical translation. Prior to joining Virginia Tech, Dr. Vlaisavljevich received a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Michigan Technological University in 2010, an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2013, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2015.