Meet Ning Yan’s Group:
Graduates
Aakash Kanagala (Masters)
Kourosh Fathi (Flex Ph.D)
Gaojin Guo (Ph.D)
Weixuan (Lavia) Li (Ph.D)
Troy Su (Ph.D)
Kabirat Bello (Ph.D)
Erika Fu (Ph.D)
Tasmia Tabassum (Ph.D)
Post Doctorates
Dr. Dan Davidson
Dr. Mohammad Mahaninia
Dr. Cheng Hao
Dr. Keerti Rathi
Visiting Scholars
Professor Shang
Professor You
Graduate Students
Aakash Kanagala (Masters)
Aakash Kanagala completed his BASc in Chemical Engineering at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, in 2025. He gained valuable industrial experience through internships in chemical and pharmaceutical companies in both India and Canada. For his undergraduate thesis, he investigated the synthesis of narrow-sized copper–indium submicron particles for methane upcycling via molten metal catalysis. His work was recognized as the second runner-up at the AIChE Pacific Northwest Paper and Technical Presentation Competition in Calgary (2025).
In 2025, Aakash began his MASc studies in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, co-supervised by Prof. Ning Yan and Prof. Ramin Farnood. His current research focuses on designing Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) for the photocatalytic treatment of industrial wastewater.
Outside the lab, Aakash enjoys working on his unfinished English novels and exploring new corners of the city.
Kourosh Fathi (Flex Ph.D)
Kourosh completed his Bachelor of Applied Science in Materials Science in 2010 and Master in Architecture in 2014 from the University of Toronto. He worked for Atelier Thomas Pucher in Graz, Austria, Gh3 Architects and Diamond Schmitt Architects in Toronto. He is licensed and currently works for Graywood Group in Toronto. He started a Flex PhD study at the department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry under supervision of Prof. Yan in 2024. His research focuses on the synthesis of bio-based structural adhesives for timber, concrete, and steel. He enjoys playing tennis.
Gaojian Guo (Ph.D)
Gaojian Guo obtained his Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. During the process of his Master’s degree’s pursuing, he is involved in the research of a kind of composite hydrogel, which can be administered peripherally to inhibit abnormal intimal hyperplasia. He joined Prof. Yan’s group as a PhD student in 2024 and his research would focus on the construction of composite cellulose-based materials and their biomedical applications. He likes volleyball, jogging and other aerobics in his spare time.
Weixuan (Lavia) Li (Ph.D)- Co-supervised with Prof. Sain)
Weixuan completed her BASc in Nanotechnology Engineering at the University
of Waterloo in 2024.During her undergraduate studies, she gained research co-
op experience in Zinc-air batteries and single-atom electrocatalysis at the
University of Waterloo and the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology.
In 2024, she started her PhD study at the Department of Chemical Engineering
and Applied Chemistry, co-supervised by Prof. Yan and Prof. Sain. Her research
focuses on developing isotropic atomistic structures of graphite for high-energy
battery electrodes. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding, tennis, and
badminton.
Troy Su (Ph.D – Co-supervised with Prof. Lee)
Troy received his BASc in Engineering Physics with a specialization in Materials Science from Queen’s University in 2020. He completed his MASc under the co-supervision of Professors Patrick Lee and Ning Yan in 2023. His research focus lies in the development of a bio-based and biodegradable alternative to flexible packaging made from polylactic acid reinforced with cellulose fibers. The composite will then be processed through a micro-/nano-layered co-extrusion assembly to create a multi-layered structure containing micro-sized layers in order to quantify the effects of fibril alignment and confined crystallization on the mechanical and barrier properties of the composite.
Kabirat Bello (Ph.D)
Development of Bio-based Insulating Polyurethane Foams for Construction Applications
Kabirat received her Bachelor’s degree in Wood Products Engineering from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 2012 and Master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, Nigeria in 2017. She joined Prof. Ning Yan’s group in May 2021 and would focus on developing novel bio-based insulating Polyurethane foams for construction applications using Lignin containing cellulose nanofibrils (LCNF). She enjoys cooking, planning events and movies.
Erika Fu (Ph.D)
Erika obtained her BASc. in Nanotechnology Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 2021, with prior research coop experiences at the University of Waterloo and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Upon bachelor graduation, she conducted industrial research at an innovative biomaterial startup company. In 2023, Erika joined Professor Yan’s lab, looking towards a sustainable future, her research would focus on the development of next-generation electronic devices with renewable materials.
Tasmia Tabassum (Ph.D – Co-supervised with Prof. Sain )
Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Dan Davidson
Dan completed his Integrated Masters MChem (Hons) in June 2019 at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. He then stayed on at the University of St Andrews to complete his PhD in May 2024 under the supervision of Prof. Nicholas Westwood. His research focused on the isolation of lignins from a variety of agro-waste biomasses and their subsequent analysis, with a focus on NMR spectroscopy. Dan also completed a 5 month industrial placement with Unilever PLC during this time. He joined Prof. Ning Yan’s lab in July 2024 as a Postdoctoral Fellow and his current research interests include the modification of lignin to prepare novel flame-retardant materials.
Dr. Mohammad Mahaninia
Mohammad completed his BSc in Chemistry (2008) and obtained two MSc degrees in applied and physical chemistry from Tehran Polytechnic (2010) and University of Saskatchewan (2014). He completed his PhD study at department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry under supervision of Prof. Yan in 2025. He is a postdoctoral research fellow currently working on the development of flame-retardant polymeric binders for lithium-ion batteries.
Dr. Cheng Hao
Cheng received his Bachelors in Polymer Materials and Science from Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China(2016), master’s degree in Materials Science from Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA (2018), and Ph.D.’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA (2022, supervision: Prof. Jinwen Zhang). He joined Prof. Yan’s group in September 2022 as a post-doctoral fellow. His research interests are developing flame retardants from lignin, developing lignin-based vitrimer materials/composites, and chemical recycling of industrial waste fiber-reinforced composites. Cheng likes playing video games, playing soccer, basketball and watching sports games.
Dr. Keerti Rathi (Co-supervised with Prof. Sain)
Visiting Professors
Professor Shang
Prof. Shang is an associate professor of Northeast Electric Power University. In 2024, he joined Professor Yan’s group as a visiting scholar. His research focuses on the aerogel and construction of composite cellulose-based materials and their on the application of harmful gas adsorption and water treatment. He enjoys photography, tennis, and badminton.
Professor You
Dr. You obtained her Ph.D. degree from Beijing Forestry University (China) in 2017 under the guidance of Prof. Feng Xu (Chang–Jiang Scholar Distinguished Professor and awarded the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars), where she investigated the isolation and application of lignin and its complex compound. She then joined College of Material Science and Technology in Beijing Forestry University and has been an associate professor since 2020. Dr. You has published more than 50 research articles in Adv Funct Mater, Chem Eng J, etc, which have been widely cited for over 2,800 times with a H-index of 29. Three paper have been selected as ESI highly cited paper. She joins Yan’s lab in 2025, where she continues to explore the value-added application of LCCs.
Yan Lab 