Current Executive

President

Shahid Ullah

Dr. Shahid Ullah is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Medicine under the Nephrology Division. His current work focuses on cardiovascular issues such as transplant rejection, neoangiogenesis and cell senescence, and is trying to figure out a way to reduce the cases of morbidity and mortality due to transplant rejection. Dr. Ullah completed his Ph.D. in Renal Physiology from the Department of Physiology, at the U of A and his MSc in Physiology, Cell and Developmental Biology from the Department of Biological Sciences at the U of A. Prior to that, he completed his Master's in Public Health from the prestigious James P Grant School of Public Health and his BSc in Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering from Bangladesh. Dr. Ullah has been a member of numerous student bodies and committees throughout his student life within the institutions he studied and outside the university for the communities like the food bank, winter cloth drives, blood drives etc.

 

VP Internal

Md Shaheen

Md Shaheen is currently working as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Alberta. He is working on developing biosensors targeting different biomolecules for clinical diagnostic use. He is trained as a microbiologist (B.Sc. in Microbiology) and obtained an M.Sc. degree in Microbiology and Biotechnology from the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta and a Ph.D. in Public Health with a specialization in Environmental Health Sciences from the School of Public Health, University of Alberta.

In addition to his academic pursuits, he has been actively involved in different student organizations and advocacy initiatives. During his graduate studies, he served as president of the Michener Park Residents Association and the Bangladeshi Students Association at the U of A. His dedication to serving the community is also exemplified by his previous role as a resident assistant, where he actively contributed to fostering a safe and inclusive living environment for international student families. He helped facilitate their smooth transition in Canada through educational initiatives and community engagement programs.

 

VP External

Alsayed Mostafa

Alsayed Mostafa is a postdoctoral fellow (PDF) in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. His current work focuses on combining the principles of environmental biotechnology and bioelectrochemistry to develop bioenergy and resource recovery from waste and wastewater. Alsayed completed his Ph.D. in Smart-City Engineering at Inha University, South Korea. Before joining the U of A, Alsayed worked as a postdoc in the Department of Environmental Resources Engineering at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, USA. He has gained large professional experience from his career working in multiple countries: the USA, South Korea, India, and Egypt. Alsayed has been a member of many student organizations during his student life. Outside of the university, he worked and volunteered with many organizations related to human rights, social initiatives, charity, and political campaigns in Egypt, South Korea, and the USA. Based on his social activity, Alsayed was selected by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation to participate in a program supporting the development of youth capacities, which lasted for 18 months.

 

VP Communications

Henry Prown

Henry Prown is in his second year as the Temerty Postdoctoral Fellow in Holodomor Studies with the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium here at the University of Alberta. He is also an ATS in the History, Religion, and Classics department teaching topics related to Soviet history.  Henry's PhD is in American Studies from William & Mary in Virginia, USA, which he received in 2022. As a founding member of that university's graduate union, he is very grateful to have the chance to now serve on the PDFA executive board.

 

VP Finance

Simran Kaur Dhillon

Simran Kaur Dhillon is a postdoctoral fellow in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Alberta. She is currently developing biosensors for environmental remediation and real-time monitoring. Her research endeavours primarily revolved around developing alternatives to address the world's most pressing challenges in water-energy-food security, emphasizing creating eco-friendly and sustainable solutions accessible to all. Her expertise lies at the interface of material science, electrochemistry, microbiology, and biotechnology for developing sustainable and emission-free bioenergy, bioremediation and real-time monitoring systems based on Microbial Electrochemical Technologies (METs) and their evaluation using electrochemical techniques. 

Having recently completed her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India, following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Bath, UK, in Chemical Engineering, she is eager to transition into the next phase of her academic and research career. She has demonstrated leadership by taking on roles such as student representative in the Institutional council during my Ph.D. These experiences have honed her organizational skills, time management, and ability to coordinate and lead projects effectively. Over the course of her academic journey and research endeavours, she has developed a diverse set of skills and experiences that she believes can be put to excellent use as a member of the PDFA executive.

 

VP Operations

Razieh Firouzihaji

Razieh is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Physics at the University of Alberta. Her research focuses on the preparation of graphene quantum dots and the evaluation of the microstructural and optical properties of graphene and other carbon-based quantum materials. Razieh is passionate about exploring the potential of these materials to revolutionize the field of electronics and energy storage. She is originally from Iran and has a background in organic chemistry. Razieh is very enthusiastic about participating in PDFA and contributing to the scientific community.

 

Member-at-Large

Sarita Bassil

Sarita Bassil is currently a postdoctoral fellow in forestry at the Forest Growth & Yield Lab in the Department of Renewable Resources of the University of Alberta. Sarita completed her Ph.D. in Natural Resources Management with concentration in Silviculture from the State University of New York-College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) in 2018. After graduating she moved to Guatemala and joined the Department of Agroforestry of the University of the Valley of Guatemala as a lecturer between 2020 and 2022. During her Ph.D. program Sarita served in different roles within the Graduate Student Association at SUNY-ESF and she is eager to join the PDFA and serve the postdoc community at the U of A.

 

Member-at-Large

Shui Jiang

Dr. Jiang completed her BSc in Biological Science in China in 2011 and her MSc in Tumor Immunology in Canada at the University of Saskatchewan in 2015. During a gap year in China, she developed a curiosity about how the interaction between genes and the environment (e.g., childhood trauma, stress) can influence certain psychiatric traits, which led her to pursue a PhD in 2017 in the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of Alberta, under the supervision of Dr. Katherine Aitchison. Her thesis focused on gene-by-environment interactions and their association with psychiatric conditions (e.g., self-harm and behavioral addiction). She is currently funded by the Alberta Innovates Postdoctoral Recruitment Fellowship and is further exploring these research topics at a genomic level in the Department of Psychiatry.

She served as the vice-president of the Medical Genetics Student Association from 2020 to 2022 and is currently volunteering with Alberta Health Services. Passionate about enhancing mental health, she is enthusiastic about her role with the PDFA, firmly believing in the importance of thriving together as a community.

 

Member-at-Large

Vinh Phuc Thinh Nguyen

Thinh is currently a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Alberta. His research focuses on developing biotechnologies in glycoscience, providing bio-analytical services within the Canadian Glycomics Network (GlycoNet) Integrated Services facility. Committed to supporting the postdoc community at the U of A, he joined the Postdoctoral Fellow Association (PDFA) as a member-at-large in May 2024.

After earning a joint Ph.D. from the University of Florida and AgroParisTech/Paris-Saclay in 2021, Thinh undertook his first postdoctoral fellowship at Aalto University in 2022 before moving to Canada in 2023. In addition to his lab work, Thinh enjoys practicing endurance sports, walking his rescue dog, and spending time with his family.