LITMUS
LABORATORY ON INNOVATIVE TECH
IN MEDICAL ULTRASOUND
People
Alfred C. H. Yu, Principal Investigator
alfred.yu@uwaterloo.ca
Alfred has a long-standing research interest in ultrasound imaging and therapeutics. As a Professor at the University of Waterloo, Alfred is based in the ECE Department and holds a cross-appointment in Applied Math. He is the Director of NSERC CREATE Program on Next-Generation Innovations in Ultrasonics (N-GENIUS). Alfred obtained his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Calgary, and he received his M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto. Alfred started his academic career at the University of Hong Kong, where he was the founding PI of HKU Biomedical Ultrasound Laboratory. He relocated his research group to Waterloo in 2015 to help spearhead Waterloo ECE department’s biomedical engineering research portfolio. Alfred’s research is recognized by various prestigious prizes, including the IEEE Ultrasonics Early Career Investigator Award, the Frederic Lizzi Early Career Award, and the Ontario Early Researcher Award. He is now an Associate Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, & Frequency Control, an Editorial Board Member of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, and the Chair of the Medical Ultrasound Group of IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium. He is also a Board Director of the International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound, an AdCom Member of the IEEE UFFC Society, and a Member of the AIUM Technical Standards Committee. He is a Fellow of AIUM.
Billy Y. S. Yiu, Associate Scientist
billy.yiu@uwaterloo.ca
A PhD graduate from the University of Waterloo, Billy is now a full-time researcher in the lab. He has an active research interest in advanced ultrasound imaging, and he has been involved in the design of high-frame-rate imaging techniques and related system tools. Prior to coming to Waterloo, Billy completed his B.Eng. (Hons) degree in Medical Engineering and his an M.Phil. studies in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, both at the University of Hong Kong. His work is recognized by various research honors, including the ASA Biomedical Acoustics Best Student Paper Award, the USE Young Scientist Award, and the KSUM Young Investigator Gold Prize.
Adrian J. Y. Chee, Associate Scientist
adrian.chee@uwaterloo.ca
Adrian’s research specializes on the design of new vascular ultrasound techniques and related experimental tools. He is also the group’s de-facto lab manager. A globe trotter, Adrian obtained his B.Eng. degree in Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and received his Ph.D. training at the University of Hong Kong. He also completed a research internship at Hitachi Central Research Laboratory in Tokyo, Japan.
Xinxing Duan, Associate Scientist
xinxing.duan@uwaterloo.ca
Xinxing brings to LITMUS her multidisciplinary expertise in engineering, physics, and biology. After receiving her B.Sc. degree in Physics and M.Phil. degree in Mechanical and Automation Engineering, she expanded her research interests toward biomedical science and obtained a Ph.D. degree in Biology at the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. Xinxing’s current research seeks to unleash the therapeutic potential of ultrasound, specifically in devising innovative drug delivery applications as well as investigating wave-cell interactions and related biophysical processes.
Hassan Nahas, PhD Candidate
hassan.nahas@uwaterloo.ca
Hassan graduated from New York University with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and with highest distinction (summa cum laude). With an affinity to biomedical engineering and signal processing, Hassan is now pursuing his PhD studies at the University of Waterloo. Before joining LITMUS, he has enjoyed multiple spells as an undergraduate research assistant in projects related to biofilms, DNA microarray technology, Doppler ultrasound, and indoor localisation.
Richard Shangguan, PhD Candidate
hanyue.shangguan@uwaterloo.ca
Richard obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Material Science Engineering at the University of Toronto in 2016. He gained initial experience in working with microbubbles during his undergraduate capstone project. He is now seeking to develop new biomedical ultrasound applications of these contrast agents as his research direction in graduate studies at the University of Waterloo.
Di Xiao, PhD student
di.xiao@uwaterloo.ca
Di has a strong research interest in different forms of medical imaging. He completed his undergraduate degree in Mathematics at the University of California - Berkeley, where he worked on Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) research, and his masters degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, where he focused on MRI research. Afterwards, he worked at the IBM Toronto Software Lab. With a background in hardware, software, and mathematics, Di is looking forward to integrating his expertise to the field of ultrasound imaging.
Rebekah Maffett, PhD Student
rebekah.maffett@uwaterloo.ca
Rebekah completed her BASc degree in Nanotechnology Engineering at the University of Waterloo in 2018. During her undergraduate degree, she worked in research fields ranging from materials science for the development of more efficient particle accelerators, to probing the radiation tolerance of CMOS and CCD image sensor designs. Rebekah joined LITMUS to further develop her interest in medical imaging technology by expanding her knowledge in biomedical ultrasonics and electrical engineering.
Anni Pan, PhD Student
anni.pan@uwaterloo.ca
Anni Pan received her MASc degree in Pharmaceutical Science from Peking University, researching on the use of nanoparticles for cancer theranostic applications. Briefly before moving to Waterloo, she worked on HIFU-mediated drug delivery at Tsinghua University. Pursuing her interest in theranostics, Anni joined LITMUS to investigate on novel methods of ultrasound-microbubble mediated drug delivery for cancer treatment.
Cyrus Cerkauskas, PhD Student
cyrus.cerkauskas@uwaterloo.ca
Cyrus completed his B.Sc. at the University of Windsor in Physics in 2016 before going on to pursue a Master’s degree in theoretical condensed matter physics at the University of Waterloo. With a background in stochastic modeling and numerical simulation, Cyrus hopes to describe the acoustic activation of nanodroplets and their use in therapeutic ultrasound on a quantitative level.
Jason Hsu, PhD Student
jason.hsu@uwaterloo.ca
Jason obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering at Chang Gung University, Taiwan, where he acquired his first experience with biomedical engineering. He then completed a master’s degree in communications engineering at National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan. Jason’s ongoing passion in biomedical engineering has led him to LITMUS, where he seeks to explore new applications of biomedical ultrasound imaging.
Nova Alam, PhD Student
nova.alam@uwaterloo.ca
Nova completed his BASc degree in Electrical Engineering with Distinction and Dean’s Honours List at the University of Waterloo. Throughout his undergrad, he has been exposed to a broad range of work from conducting research in the area of nanoelectronics for the standardization of TSC spectroscopy in Japan, to developing signal processing software for better spectrum management in the area of RF communications here in Canada. He is keen on applying his diverse skillset to innovative research at LITMUS while furthering his interests in the area of ultrasound imaging.
Robyn Klassen, MASc Student
robyn.klassen@uwaterloo.ca
Robyn has long been eager to improve the quality of life and care of patients by developing new therapeutic technologies. To that end, she received her BASc degree with distinction in 2020 as part of the University of Waterloo’s new Biomedical Engineering program. During this time, she was captivated by the prospect of using ultrasound and microbubbles for localized drug delivery, joining LITMUS to pursue her interest in understanding fundamental cell-bubble interactions. Robyn brings with her a diverse research background, including the development of new digital microfluidic manufacturing processes at Nicoya, and the evaluation of a low-resource medical instrument sanitization device for her capstone project.
William Pitman, MASc Student
william.pitman@uwaterloo.ca
Will attended Queen’s University, receiving a Bachelor of Applied Science with a major in Electrical Engineering. His first exposure to imaging systems was through a 16-month internship testing hardware for imaging sensor systems at L3Harris WESCAM. Will’s interests were extended to biomedical applications while completing a capstone project developing a sensor system to track exercise movement. He is excited to combine his experience with imaging systems and biomedical signal processing to conduct research related to ultrasound imaging.
Pat de la Torre, MASc Student
pat.delatorre@uwaterloo.ca
A former math Olympian, Pat obtained his Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering (Honorable Mention with Excellence) at Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico. He first joined LITMUS as a research assistant in summer of 2019 through the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship program. After experiencing various biomedical research groups working on projects related to biochemistry, 3-D mechanical modeling, and electrochemistry, Pat decided to return to LITMUS to further pursue his passion to explore the novel applications of ultrasound imaging.
Michael Heckman, Undergraduate Research Assistant
moheckman@uwaterloo.ca
Michael is an undergraduate student in his third year of Chemical Physics at the University of Waterloo. His current focus is in the development of novel phantom fabrication protocol specifically to develop calcified arterial models for imaging investigations. He hopes to gain experience in imaging and data processing that could be applied later on in his career.