Research

My Research Interests

INNOVATIVE DIRECTIONS IN ENVIRONMENTAL OR  BIO-SEPARATIONS:

Our group has developed the first circulating fluidized bed ion exchange chromatography system in the world (US Patents 6716334 B1 and 6887386 B2) in 2004/5 for truly continuous, uninterrupted ion exchange which can be scaled up or down. This technology (renamed Uninterrupted Ion Exchange (UIX) (by Renix)) is currently being commercialized by a succesful London, Ontario, company Renix Inc. (www.renix.ca ). Renix has taken the next steps by designing and developing practical UIX applications and has been demonstrating this technology for many applications in the wastewater area. Renix continues to work with the Bassi group to develop new research ideas and directions such as for the Ontario Vegetable  Greenhouse industry. Research in the Bassi lab has been supported by  NSERC Idea to Innovation Grant, Western Innovation Fund and NSERC Strategic Partnership  Grants and the NSERC ENGAGE grant, OMAFRA New Directions Grant.

PHYCOREMEDIATION:

Phycoremediation is  the application of beneficial microalgae for the remediation of wastewaters. Our group at Western has successfully established new directions for the application of phycoremediation for the treatment of challenging wastewater streams.
In particular, The Bassi lab has built a significant and long-term partnership in the important area of microalgae applications with a large, local dairy farm, Stanton Farms, in Ilderton, ON. to treat liquid anaerobic digester effluent containing nutrients (ammonia, nitrates, phosphates). This partnership (Bassi lab/Stanton Farms) is unique and the first example in Canada to serve as a model for
phycoremediation research being conducted at the interface of industry and academia. The partnership has been very successful in the generation of research funding and has been supported by three NSERC Strategic Grants with the most recent and current NSERC Strategic Partnership Grant to Bassi and colleagues in 2017-2020. This current grant is focused on the generation of biodegradable plastics from algae cultured on farm effluents.  This research also resulted in new collaborations and funding from other sources including OMAFRA New Directions (Vegetable Grower Greenhouse industry); Imperial Oil, City of London and Ontario Ministry of Transportation. This research contribution continues to enable new collaborations and partnerships between the Bassi Lab, UWO and other organizations.
BIOPLASTICS AND PLASTIC BIODEGRADATION
Research in the Bassi lab is focussed on both the areas of coventional  plastic biodegradtion and the development of biodegradable plastics from waste resources.

BIOSENSORS AND BIOLOGICAL TRANSDUCERS:

We have developed innovative technologies for biosensor design using bacteriorhodopsin as a platform. Smart valves and actuators based on this protein have also been investigated.

My Research Group

 

Current PDF/Ph.D students/ M.E.Sc/M.Eng students

  • Dr. Shan Gao (PDF)
  • Dr. Ahmed Alasuity (PDF)
  • Dr. Peng Xiang (MITACs PDF- Polyanalytik)
  • Dr. Solmaz Karamdoust (MITACs PDF- Polyanalytik)
  • Shawn Hamilton (PhD)
  • Leila Azimian (PhD)
  • Essam Batooq (PhD)
  • Islam Guawdat (PhD)
  • Anuradha Krishnan (PhD)
  • Ana Giron (PhD)
  • Jiayi Wang (Summer 2018 Research Assistant)
  • Lohith Malasani (NSERC USRA 2018)

Ph.D Students Graduated (18)

  • Dr. Yulin Hu (2018)
  • Dr. Ahmed Alasuity (2017)
  • Dr. Shreyas Yedahalli (2017)
  • Dr. Roopa Devasya (2017)
  • Dr, Mengyue Gong (2017)
  • Dr. Ana Maria Aguire (2015)
  • Dr. Harpreet Kaur (2013)
  • Dr. Khaled Al Aribe (2012)
  • Dr. Mehran Soleimani (2009)
  • Dr. Nicholas Ruzich (2009)
  • Dr. Rajeeb Gautam (2007)
  • Dr. Jega Jeganathan (2006)
  • Dr. Umang Trivedi (2006)
  • Dr. Wei Wei Wang (MME)(2006)
  • Dr. Ladan Holakoo (2006)
  • Dr. Chris Lan (2001)
  • Dr. Shirin Bahrami (2001)
  • Dr. Ying Zheng (1999)

Past Research Associates and Post-doctoral Fellows

  • Dr. Ana Maria Aguirre
  • Dr. Gerald Rowe
  • Dr. Priyanka Saxena
  • Dr. Shaikh Razzak
  • Dr. Erin Johnson
  • Dr. J. Rao
  • Dr. S. Kandula

 

Recent M.Eng  (project) Students Graduated

  • Xiyin Li (2016)
  • David Lee (2016)
  • Mandeep Singh (2017)
  • Khaleda Afrin (2017)

M.E.Sc (thesis) Students Graduated (30)

  • 2015 Tulip Chakroborty
  • 2013  Juan Manuel Restrepo
  • 2012   Anam Kazim
  • 2012 Claudia Sacasa
  • 2011   Ravi Balgobin
  • 2009: Gureet Chandok
  • 2008: Rob Galloway
  • 2008: Jahirul Mazumdar
  • 2006: Manoj Patel
  • 2005: Khaled Abdel Gawad
  • 2005: Lin Yang
  • 2005: Chadresh Acharya
  • 2005: Reena Kurian
  • 2004: Yong Gao
  • 2004: Hedvig Nagy
  • 2004: Ying Zheng (Civil)
  • 2004: Ashish Deshpande
  • 2004: Victor Lei Liu
  • 2003: Yutian Yin
  • 2003: Parya Saneipoor
  • 2002: Abdul Zeidan
  • 2002: Douglas Walter Blue: (M.Eng)
  • 2000: LiJing Jing
  • 2000: Zuohong Geng
  • 2000: Lygia Alexandrescu
  • 1999: Julie Marie Pouliot (Civil)
  • 1999: Daniel Ning Ding
  • 1998: Colin Flock
  • 1998: Heather Connell
  • 1998: Diqing Tang
  • 1997: Esther Lee

UNdergraduate Students Supervised (53+)

a) ES 415 projects:

1994-95 Sean Hanstke, Esther Lee; 1995-96 Christopher McCloskey; 1996-97 Cynthia McGrath; 1997-98 Kevin Long, Andreanne Bouchard, Victoria Falvo (Civil Engineering); 2000-01 Carolyn Buccellia; 2001-02 Mark Masterson 2003-2004 Khaled Abdel-Gawad 2004-2005 E. Tim Fish 2005-2006 Sandra Cardoso 2006-2007 Jesus Cerna, Dorothy Ching

b) NSERC Summer Students:

1999- Nupura Krishnoamoorthy; 2000: Adeeba Habash; 2001: Sara Van Zenden and Emmi Dreidger; 2002: Mustafa Al Sabawi 2003: Khalid Abdel Gawad; Sayran Sulevani 2004: E.Tim Fish 2005- Sandra Cardoso Brent Parker NSERC USRA 2013; Ahsutosh Bagel IIT Summer Internship Student 2013; Tim Metke (2016)

c)Work Study Students or Part-time Research Assistants

Jason Pumfrey (2011) Peter Schurr (2009), Rezwana Yeasmin (2009) Eli Elzogbhy, Alina Simunek , Dorothy Fatehi, Roy Karivelil, Nathan Philllips, Rosyln Macleod, Francis Chua, Anima Peter, Yung Huang, Abdul Gueled, Shika Singh, Chris Ferris, Corrie Schyff, Nino Jolly, Mohammad El Zogbi, Kai Pisters, Sagar Patel, Harpreet Kaur, Jesus Cerna, Mike Afara, Thilani R.

Opportunities in My Research Group

We are looking for highly motivated and talented students willing to pursue innovative research in Biodiesel from Microalgae, Bioseparations of Proteins or other components of interest. Please follow the application guidelines. Only completed applications with all documentation will be considered.