Group BBQ August 2025
Principal Investigator
Christopher Rowley
I was born and raised in Ottawa, Canada. I completed a B.Sc. Hons. in computational chemistry at Carleton University. After completing my Ph.D., I held an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Chicago in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry with Professor Benoît Roux. I was a faculty member at the Memorial University of Newfoundland from 2012–2020, before returning to Carleton University. I have received the ACS OpenEye Junior Faculty Award, MGMS Frank Blaney Award, and the Tom Ziegler Award for my research. Please see my CV for the full details of my professional work.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Anna Ananchenko
Anna completed her PhD in biochemistry at the University of Ottawa where she used MD simulations to study lipid effects on membrane protein function. She is working on investigating toxin interactions with ion channels.
Graduate Students
Sheyla Vega Montero
Sheyla Montero completed her B.Sc. in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Havana. She completed her M.Sc. at Memorial University simulating the interaction of antimicrobial peptides with bacterial membranes, in collaboration with the Booth Lab. Her research investigates blockades of sodium channels.
Undergraduate Students
Ethan Bardeleben
Past Group Members
| Từ Nguyễn Thiên Phúc (Phuc Tu) | Ph.D. | 2020–2025 | Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Toronto (von Lilienfeld) |
| Christopher Smyth | M.Sc. | 2023–2025 | |
| Siri Williamson | B.Sc. | 2021–2023 | Graduate student at Dalhousie University (MacDonnell group) |
| Ernest Awoonor-Williams | Ph.D. | 2014–2020 | Senior Scientist at Schrödinger, Inc. |
| Shae-Lynn Lahey | M.Sc. | 2019–2021 | Medical Resident |
| Fatima Sajadi | M.Sc. | 2016 – 2018 | B.Sc. Shahid Beheshti University M.Sc. Memorial (chemistry) Thesis: Simulations of gasotransmitter permeation through lipid bilayers Two papers. |
| Mohamad Mohebifar | M.Sc. | 2016 – 2018 | B.Sc. Shahid Beheshti University M.Sc. Memorial (chemistry) Thesis: Evaluating and improving the description of London dispersion interactions in molecular mechanical force fields using the exchange-hole dipole moment model Three papers. CTO at CodeMod |
| Jason Sylvester | B.Sc | 2016 – 2017 | Honours project |
| Kari Gaalswyk | M.Sc. | 2014 – 2016 | M.Sc. Memorial (scientific computing) Thesis: Molecular Simulation Methods for Conformational Searches and Diffusivity Two first author papers. Recipient of Shawn C. Hillier Memorial Scholarship Ph.D. University of Calgary (MacCallum Group) Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Lethbridge, Wetmore Group |
| Andrew Walsh | B.Sc. | 2015 – 2016 | Honours project |
| Evan Walters | B.Sc. | Summer 2015 | Research Assistant Medical Resident Memorial University |
| Jessica Besaw | M.Sc. | 2013 – 2015 | M.Sc. Memorial (chemistry) Thesis: A Computational and Experimental Study of the Structure of the C-terminal Domain of the Wildtype and Mutant FOXL1 Protein Ph.D. University of Toronto |
| Saleh Riahi | M.Sc. | 2012 – 2014 | M.Sc. Memorial (chemistry) Thesis: “Development of the Drude Polarizable Force Field for H2S and QM/MM Study of Aqueous Mg2 and Zn2+” [PDF] Five first author papers |
| Tiffany Tozer | B.Sc. | Summer 2014 | Research Assistant Current Position: Pharmacist One paper |
| Jennifer Smith | B.Sc. | 2013 – 2014 | SURA, Honours project, and NSERC USRA student Two first author papers Winner of Best Undergraduate Poster Award at 2014 Canadian Society for Chemistry Conference in Vancouver, BC Current Position: Family physician |
| Archita Adluri | B.Sc. | Summer 2013 | WISE NL Summer Employment Program and Research Assistant One paper Doctoral student at the University of Victoria |
| Jennifer Murphy | B.Sc. | Summer 2013 | Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of Guelph One paper |
| Lana Hiscock | B.Sc. | Summer 2012 | Assistant Professor at York University Summer Undergraduate Research Award Student. One paper |
| Leif Hickey | B.Sc. | Summer 2012–2014 | Summer Undergraduate Research Award Student One first author paper. 3rd Engineer at Canadian Coast Guard |