Professor Frank Gu
Frank Gu is the Director of the Institute for Water Innovation in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, the NSERC Senior Industrial Research Chair in Nanotechnology Engineering, and a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto. A leading nanotechnology engineer, his research has resulted in numerous inventions that have advanced the field of functional nanomaterials and their applications in healthcare and the environment.
Gu's research focuses on leveraging the knowledge of nanoscience to drive industrial applications in various areas, including ocular drug delivery, medical devices, catalysis, and water treatment. His research group has been at the forefront of engineering buoyant photocatalysts that can be powered by natural sunlight, showcasing their effectiveness in improving the safety of industrial wastewater. In 2015, he founded H2nanO Inc, commercializing energy-efficient, eco-friendly, and climate-resilient passive water treatment solutions for the mining, power, and process industries. Additionally, he made a significant breakthrough in nanomedicine by engineering nanomaterial structures with unique photonic and drug-delivery properties, particularly for treating anterior ocular diseases. This breakthrough has opened new avenues for developing long-lasting medicated eye drops. Gu's expertise in nanomedicine has also led to serial collaborations with medical device companies, contributing to the advancement of therapeutics and devices aimed at improving patient compliance, enhancing comfort, and optimizing visual acuity.
His ongoing research projects encompass diverse areas such as AI-powered nanomedicine formulation discovery, the development of low-carbon and climate-resilient water treatment technologies, and the extraction of critical minerals from waste materials to establish a circular economy. Throughout his career, he has supervised and mentored over 200 undergraduate and graduate students, as well as research associates in his laboratory. He has published more than 110 peer-reviewed papers with over 16,000 citations, delivered over 160 invited lectures, and holds over 60 issued or pending US and international patents.
Gu received his BSc from Trent University and his Ph.D. from Queen's University in 2006. Following his doctoral studies, he received postdoctoral training in chemical engineering at MIT from 2006 to 2008. In 2008, he joined as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo and was subsequently promoted to associate professor in 2013. In 2018, he was recruited to the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Research Interests:
Nanomedicine, ocular drug delivery, targeted delivery, mucoadhesion, controlled drug release
Dr. Shengyan (Sandy) Liu
Postdoctoral Fellow
Research Interests:
Water treatment, nanoparticles, photocatalysts, solar, recyclable, oil sands
Dr. Tim Leshuk
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD Students
Aldrich Ngan
PhD Student
Diogo Livera
PhD Student
Research Interests:
Targeted delivery of nanoparticles for environmental applications, colloidal nanoparticles, nanoparticle synthesis, environmental remediation, surfactants, photocatalysis
Stuart Linley
PhD Candidate
Research Interests:
Wastewater treatment, metal removal, nanomaterials, photocatalysis
Andrew Holmes
PhD Candidate
Research Interests:
Nanomedicine, targeted drug delivery, protein-nanoparticle interactions, infectious disease
Jeff Watchorn
PhD Student
Research Interests:
Nanoparticle production, starch properties, starch modifications, biomaterials, drug delivery
David Wulff
PhD Candidate
Research Interests:
Nanotechnology engineering, biomaterials, medical diagnostics, infectious diseases, machine learning
Paul Chen
PhD Candidate
Masters Students
Aaron Clasky
MASc Student
Mahtab Z. Roshandel
MASc Student
Sukrit Rajpal
MASc Student
Emile Milan
MASc Student
Michelle Si
MASc Student
Research Interests:
Wastewater treatment, desalination, supercapacitors, electrochemistry, nanotechnology
Zac Young
MASc Student
Lori Pollit
MASc Student
Mostafa Saquib
MASc Student
Research Assistants - Fall 2018
Brandon Tran
Jaksana Kananesan
Dean Stipanic
Jane Ye
Eileen Zhong
Kayleanna Giesinger
Eric Lee
Kristian Young
Alumni - Graduate Students
2018 Graduation
Research Interests:
Contact lense engineering, semiconductor photocatalysis, advanced water treatment technology
Harish Krishnakumar
MASc
Research Interests:
nanoparticles, nanomedicine, targeted drug delivery, mucoadhesion, sustained drug release
Noor Bahsoun
MASc Student
Dr. Tim Leshuk
PhD
2017 Graduation
Research Interests:
Mucoadhesive nanoparticles, drug delivery, targeted therapy
Aaminah Ahmad
MASc
Dr. Peter Lin
PhD
2016 Graduation
Dr. Erin Bedford
PhD
Jacob Rogowski
MASc
Dr. Shengyan (Sandy) Liu
PhD
2015 Graduation
Dr. Mohit Verma
PhD
Sarah (Leblanc) Strathern
MASc
Alumni - Research Assistants
Spring - 2018
Corin Seelemann
Daniel Harrold
Danielle Smith
Elora Deering
Kashyap Kartha
Katie Kobernyk
Maaz Shanjer
Mary Gopanchuk
Megan Thomson
Natalie Pundsack
Nicholas Rasmussen
Sean McLay
Shannon Tsai
Winter - 2018
Adam Calvert
Corin Seelemann
Danielle Smith
Ivy Liu
Zihan Li
Fall - 2017
Aleksei Angell
Amelia Caza
Arianna Skirzynska
Darron Phann
Fezza Haider
Kevin Lee
Maaz Shanjer
Savannah Knorr
Shirley Chan
Simi Zhang
Soung-Jae Bong
Spring - 2017
Aaron Clasky
Alyssha Schneider
Andrew Bright
Aya Tsugimatsu
Diogo Livera
Emma Belliveau
Fionna Fenlon
Iason Giannis
Jordan Van Wyk
Mayar Zawawi
Nicholas Calen
Shannon McBride
Soung-Jae Bong
Zixin Zhang
Winter - 2017
Aaron Clasky
Daid Ahmad Khan
Ibrahim Fanek
Jenny Chang
Lisa Krygsman
Maaz Shanjer
Michael Johnson
Patrick Bardo
Peter Keillor
Sabrina Zuccaro
Savannah Knorr
Shakhir Lakhani
Fall - 2016
Adam Calvert
Bryan Bartle
Ibrahim Fanek
Patrick Bardo
Ronnie Wan
Sabrina Zuccaro
Soung-Jae Bong
Zhendong Li
Spring - 2016
Adam Calvert
Aya Tsugimatsu
Bryan Bartle
Daniel Kahn
Karyn Sun
Michelle Si
Mostafa Saquib
Nicholas Kam
Ronnie Wan
Sukrit Rajpal
William McLaren
Yunsheng Jiang
Winter - 2016
Austin Tripp
Aya Tsugimatsu
Caleb Jefferies
Daniel Kahn
Diogo Livera
Mostafa Saquib
Sukrit Rajpal
Fall - 2015
Aya Tsugimatsu
Shuyu Chen
Sucharita Vijayaraghavan
Ye Huang
Spring - 2015
Cullen Tielemans
Diogo Livera
Elaine Huang
Harish Krishnakumar
Matthew Dozois
Paul Chen
Perry Everett
Winter - 2015
Harish Krishnakumar
Paul Chen
Perry Everett
Timothy Wong
Fall - 2014
Mahyar Abolhallaj
Spring - 2014
Brooks Maclachlan
Duleeka Ranatunga
Timothy Wong
Winter - 2014
Deborah Ng
Harish Krishnakumar
Matthew Dozois
Mostafa Saquib
Myung Kim
Paul Chen
Perry Everett
Fall - 2013
Harish Krishnakumar
Matthew Dozois
Myung Kim
Paul Chen
Perry Everett
Spring - 2013
Lori Pollit
Matthew Gleason
Mostafa Saquib
Stuart Linley
Xin Liu
Winter - 2013
Brent McCleave
Harish Krishnakumar
Paul Chen
Perry Everett
Stuart Linley
Fall - 2012
No research assistants
Spring - 2012
Chun Wong
Harish Krishnakumar
Perry Everett
Shun-Chi Chiang
Tim Leshuk
Winter - 2012
Benjamin Dippelsman
George Baxter
Stuart Linley
Tim Leshuk
Fall - 2011
George Baxter
Stuart Linley
Spring - 2011
Eun-Sue Cha
Mohit Verma
Winter - 2011
Mohit Verma
Stuart Linley
Tim Leshuk
Fall - 2010
Tim Leshuk
Spring - 2010
Roger Tsang
Stuart Linley
Winter - 2010
Mohammad Siddiqi
Mohit Verma
Tim Leshuk
Fall - 2009
Mohit Verma
Spring - 2009
Jasper Huang
Tim Leshuk
Winter - 2009
Jasper Huang