Dr. Kyla N. Sask
Assistant Professor, Materials Science & Engineering
Associate Member, McMaster School of Biomedical Engineering
Associate Member, Department of Pathology & Molecular Medicine
Associate Member, Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute (TaARI)
Associate Director (Engineering), McMaster Centre for Advanced Light Microscopy (CALM)
Dr. Kyla Sask obtained her B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University in 2006 and her Ph.D from the School of Biomedical Engineering at McMaster University in 2012. Her Ph.D research was supervised by Dr. John Brash (Biomedical Engineering) and Dr. Anthony Chan (Pediatric Hematology) and focused on the development of antithrombogenic biomaterials. She joined Dr. Brian Amsden’s Advanced Biomaterials Laboratory (ABiL) at Queen’s University for a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in 2018.
Dr. Sask worked at Interface Biologics Inc. (IBI) for several years as an Associate Research Engineer. During her time with IBI she worked on Endexo™, a platform technology utilized for its antithrombogenic properties in various medical device applications and Epidel™, an anti-infective polymer coating technology for sustained release (spinout - Ripple Therapeutics).
The KSask Group enjoys time together in and out of the lab, with many celebrations at the Phoenix, outdoor and indoor activities, our annual summer potluck, holiday gatherings and other teambuilding events.
Graduate Students
Ph.D. Student
Alessandra Merlo
Alessandra received both her B.Eng and M.Eng in Materials Science and Engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Italy, with exchanges in the US and Sweden. Her research, co-supervised by Prof. K Grandfield, focuses on correlative techniques for the characterization of proteins and cells at biomaterials interface.
Ph.D. Graduate
Siyuan Li
Siyuan received his B.Eng. in Polymer Materials and Engineering from Jilin University and his M.Eng. in Chemistry from Soochow University, China. His research, co-supervised by Prof. Anthony Chan, focuses on developing an artificial placenta system through surface modification strategies to achieve effective antithrombogenicity.
Ph.D. Student
Linan Cui
Linan received her Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo. Her current research, co-supervised by Prof. A. Turak, focuses on nanoparticle-based surface functionalization to explore protein–surface interactions and advance optical biosensing technologies.
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Ph.D. Student
Avian Yuen
Avian is a PhD student in the Sask Lab (Materials) and Latulippe Lab (Chemical Engineering) at McMaster, researching real-time monitoring technologies for impurities in biomanufacturing processes. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy (2020, McMaster) and M.Eng in Biomanufacturing (2024, McMaster). Avian previously worked as a skating rink DJ, at a local bike mechanic shop, as a university lecturer, at an industrial robotics design company, and was studying to become an ordained clergyman before engineering took his interest. Avian has recently completed trainings in stem cell culturing and light scattering instrumentation with CATTI in Guelph, Ontario, and Wyatt Technologies' LSU in Santa Barbara, CA, USA and is enjoying contributing to biointerface research in the Sask Lab.
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M.A.Sc. Student
Nardine Abd Elmaseh
Nardine is a recent graduate from the Integrated Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences program specializing in Chemical Engineering! During her undergraduate degree, she completed a co-op at Sanofi Vaccines, influencing her biopharmaceutical interest! She recently started her Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering under Dr. Latulippe and Dr. Sask focusing on bioprocess technology, specifically in monitoring critical quality attributes in therapeutic production. In her free time, she love to read, bake, and binge-watch shows!
M.A.Sc. Student
Zain Bhaila
Zain is a Master’s student in Biomedical Engineering at McMaster University, holding a Bachelor of Engineering & Biomedical Engineering degree from McMaster University. His research, supervised by Dr. Kyla Sask, focuses on Diazirine, a carbene precursor, to functionalize chemically inert polymers. He is currently working on immobilizing antithrombic proteins onto diazirine functionalized surfaces and comparing their activity and stability to polydopamine (PDA) functionalized surfaces.
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M.A.Sc. Student
Malak Dali
Malak is a Master's student in Biomedical Engineering at McMaster University, holding an Honours Bachelor's Dual Degree in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering from Western University. Her research, co-supervised by Dr. Kyla Sask and Dr. Anthony Chan, focuses on developing and testing novel antithrombogenic surface modifications for blood-contacting medical devices. She is particularly interested in the translation of biomaterial innovations from the lab into practical clinical applications.
M.A.Sc. Student
Mira Abulibdeh
Mira is a Master's student in Biomedical Engineering at McMaster University, holding a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto. Her research, co-supervised by Dr. Kyla Sask and Dr. Charles-François de Lannoy, focuses on developing reusable hemodialysis membranes using polyether ether ketone (PEEK) as a sustainable alternative to conventional single-use materials. She is particularly interested in biomaterials innovation for blood-contacting medical devices and the development of more sustainable healthcare technologies that improve patient quality of life.
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Undergraduate Students
Research Assistant
Scarlett Wang
A member of the group since 2024, Scarlett is an undergraduate student in the Materials Science and Biomedical Engineering program. Her work focuses on detecting thrombin-antithrombin complex through ELISA for thrombogenicity testing and biomaterial surface modification validation. She has assisted in the manufacturing and testing of single PDMS oxygenator units for the Artificial Placenta project, as well as in developing protocols for characterizing proteins using atom probe tomography. Her presentation on antithrombotic biomaterial surface modifications was awarded first place in the undergraduate category at the 2024 Canadian Biomaterials Society SWOSC 3-Minute Thesis competition. She was also the sole undergraduate presenter at the 2025 UT²-Mac Materials Engineering Workshop in Tokyo, Japan. Outside the lab, Scarlett is a competitive tennis player, non-competitive cook, and beginner nail artist.
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Research Assistant
Chloe E. Wong
Chloe is a second-year Materials & Biomedical Engineering student. She completed a summer research term with the KSask Lab through the Lawrence Tse Engineering Research Experience Award, investigating surface functionalization with diazirine molecules. Now, she supports the team with instrumentation, organization, and lab operations.
Thesis Student
Emalee Fannin
Emalee is currently in her fourth year of Materials and Biomedical Engineering. In the Sask Lab, her current project focuses on the surface modification and functionalization of stent materials to improve anti-thrombogenicity. Outside of the lab, she likes to read and go on road trips!
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Project Student
Charlotte Fleet
Charlotte is in her final year of the Materials and iBioMed program. Her research involves looking at the effects sterilization on antithrombin-heparin modified PDMS. Outside of school, she really enjoys hikes, skating, and cooking!
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Project Student
Melaina Del Grosso
Melaina is in her 5th year of iBiomed and Materials Engineering at McMaster. Her project focuses on new methods for chemical surface modifications to prevent blood clotting. She's interested in all things biomaterials from nanoparticles to tissue engineering. Her favourite lab task is passaging cells!
Project Student
Ella Thomson
Ella is a Level 5 Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering student. Her work in an independent research course focused on mechanical properties and image analysis techniques of blood clots. Her interests include biomechanics, 3D bioprinting, tissue engineering and implant design.
Alumni
Graduate Alumni
Name | Description | Current Position |
|---|---|---|
Shane Scott | Postdoctoral Fellow, 2022-2025 | Research Associate, Engineering Physics, McMaster Engineering |
Jie Li | PhD, 2019-2023 | PhD, Beijing Life Science Academy |
Chelsea Miller | Masters, 2019-2023 | Scientist, Allarta Life Science |
Undergraduate Alumni (Scroll to View All)
Name | Description | Current Position |
|---|---|---|
Mohamed Maatallah | Summer Student, 2024, 2025 | Medical Student, University of Toronto |
Sarah Arnold | Project Student, 2024-2025 | Bioengineering PhD Student, Stanford University |
Kristina Siiman | Project Student, 2024-2025 | Biomedical + Materials Engineering Student, McMaster University |
Khahill-Akil Richard | Summer Student, 2024, 2024 | Biomedical + Materials Engineering Student, McMaster University |
Eric Guo | Thesis Student, 2023-2024 | Tax consultant: Credits & Incentives, BDO |
Thomas Kells | Thesis Student, 2023-2024 | Biomedical + Mechanical Engineering Student, McMaster University |
Leah Barlow | Summer Student, 2022, 2023 | Junior Materials Scientist, Litens Automotive Group |
Tahirah Costa Correira | Summer Student, 2023 | -- |
Negar Goodarzynejad | Summer & Thesis Student, 2020, 2021, 2022-2023 | Medical Student, Western University |
Miguel Martinez Santons | Summer & Thesis Student 2022-2023 | MSc Student, University Health Network |
Kevin Da | Thesis Student, 2021-2022 | PhD Student, Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto |
Julia Love | Summer Student, 2021 | Research Specialist, ArcelorMittal Dofasco |
Sarah Cushnie | Summer Student, 2021 | Biomedical + Materials Engineering Student, McMaster University |
Joshua Tefal | Summer Student, 2021 | Medical Student, McMaster University |
Keerat Grewal | Thesis Student, 2021-2022 | PhD, Experimental Surgery (Thesis), McGill University |
Mitchell Albert | Thesis Student, 2020-2021 | Materials Failure Associate, 30- Forensic Engineering |
Ryan Lee Chan | Thesis Student, 2020-2021 | Associate Researcher, University of Toronto |
Mackenize Keeler | Summer Student, 2020 | Engineer in Training, Electronic Innovation |
Aanshi Gandhi | Thesis Student, 2019-2020 | PhD Student, Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto |
Maaha Chaudhry | Thesis Student, 2019-2020 | Associate Marketing Manager, Bayer |