Scientists
Email: landon.edgar (at) utoronto (dot) ca
Principal Investigator
Landon J. Edgar, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
The University of Toronto
Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology | Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Department of Chemistry | Faculty of Arts & Science
Graduate Students
Dzhangar earned his Pharm.D. degree at the University of Debrecen, Hungary. As an undergraduate, Dzhangar gained research experience in the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Physiology under the co-supervision of Dr. Attila Olah and Dr. Toth Fanni. The goal of this project was to study the influence of endocannabinoids on epidermal differentiation in the context of skin pathologies. This work identified the mtCB1 receptor as a key regulator of the mitochondrial ROS generation and highlighted its possible impact on epidermal cell differentiation. This project eventually shifted to the study of mitochondrial disorders as precursors to skin disease. Currently, Dzhangar is a Ph.D. student in The Edgar Lab and will focus on using synthetic carbohydrate chemistry to develop next-generation tools for editing specific glycans on the surface of immune cells.
Dzhangar Badmaev, Pharm.D.
Ph.D. Student (2021–Present)
Focus: Synthetic Chemistry
Fauzia Nurul Izzati, M.Sc.
Ph.D. Student (2022–Present)
Focus: Glycoimmunology
Fauzia graduated from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Indonesia, with her bachelor's in Pharmacy and the University of Glasgow, UK, with her Master's in Forensic Toxicology. Her bachelor's research work was on the in vivo appetite-stimulating effect of essential oil from C. xanthorrhiza under the supervision of Prof. Suwijiyo Pramono and Dr. Ika Puspitasari. Her master's research was focused on mass spectrometry analysis of synthetic cathinones under the supervision of Dr. Calum Morrison. Fauzia gained research experience in immunopharmacology under the supervision of Prof. Zullies Ikawati (UGM) with her project on the immunomodulatory activity of herbal medicine. Prior to her tenure in the Edgar Lab, she was a junior researcher at the National Research and Innovation Agency in Indonesia (BRIN). Here, she was involved in a clinical trial on the immunomodulatory activity of herbal formulation for COVID-19 patients in Indonesia.
Paolo is a M.Sc. student in the Edgar lab interested in studying the role of glycans in regulating normal immune responses and how altered glycan expression can promote human disease. As an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto, he gained experience in the fields of molecular genetics and pharmacology in the labs of Dr. Frederick (Fritz) Roth and Dr. Basil Hubbard. Paolo’s work in the Edgar lab will focus on identifying glycan binding proteins that function as immune checkpoints, which may serve as novel targets for therapeutics.
Paolo Giuliana, HB.Sc.
M.Sc. Student (2022–Present)
Focus: Glycomaterials and target discovery
Hani graduated from McMaster University with her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Biology. As an undergraduate student in Dr. Philip Britz-McKibbin’s laboratory, she developed a strong passion for the field of bio-analytical chemistry and gained experience in mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and biomarker discovery research. In one of her major projects, she worked towards identifying alternative metabolomic biomarkers for newborn screening of galactosemia using multiplexed capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (MSI-CE-MS) methodology. As a Master’s student in the Edgar lab, Hani is excited to bridge her analytical chemistry background with glycoimmunology research and work towards mapping and elucidating the role of glycans in autoimmune disorders using high dimensionality spectral flow cytometry, with the aim of identifying potential disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
Hani Choksi, HB.Sc.
M.Sc. Student (2022–Present)
Focus: Glycans in autoimmunity
Eric is a second-year undergraduate student pursuing a pharmacology specialist and chemistry minor at the University of Toronto. His current interests are focused on learning about the roles of glycans in regulating immune responses and how these structures can be used to treat human diseases. Eric will be completing a second-year research experience in the Edgar lab focusing on the expression of recombinant enzymes for the remodeling of glycans.
Eric Chiu
HBSc. Student (2020–Present), NSERC USRA
Focus: Protein biochemistry
Aled is a second-year undergraduate research experience student in the Fundamental Genetics and its Applications Specialist program at the University of Toronto. He is interested in exploring the role of the glycocalyx in immune function, and what applications glycan modification might have for enhanced therapies. His current project in the Edgar Lab focuses on the chemical synthesis of metabolic inhibitors of eukaryotic glycosylation, for glycoengineering primary immune cells.
Aled Blundell
HBSc. Student (2020–Present)
Focus: Synthetic chemistry
Sam is a fourth-year undergraduate student in the pharmacology and toxicology specialist program at the University of Toronto. He is interested in immunology, health, and disease - specifically, the role glycans play in the immune system. Sam will be completing his fourth-year research project in the Edgar lab, where he will be focusing on manipulating the composition of immune cell surfaces to study the role of the glycocalyx in the regulation of the immune response.
Samuel Watanabe
HBSc. Student (2019–Present)
Focus: Synthetic chemistry