Mentors

Angelica is a first-year Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering and the Experiential Learning and Student Engagement Coordinator at the Chemical and Materials Engineering Department of the University of Alberta. Driven by her love for chemistry and research, Angelica has 10+ years of lab experience in inorganic and metalorganic chemistry, electrochemistry, materials synthesis, and microbiology. Outside of STEM, she enjoys coffee, the outdoors, her weekly 5k run, and time with loved ones.

Caitlyn discovered her interest in sustainable building technologies during her undergraduate Mechanical Engineering degree at the University of Alberta. She pursued an MSc focused on climate-resilient building retrofits and wildfire smoke mitigation. She now works as a Mechanical Buildings Consultant at CIMA+.

• BSc and MSc Mechanical Engineering
• ARCT certification in Speech Arts & Drama
• HYRS summer research student (UofA)

Craig is a structural engineer focused on thoughtful detailing and community-based work in Jasper, Alberta. He is licensed in Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan, and is also an Avalanche Professional and Apprentice Ski Guide.

Dr. Bradley is a Clinical Professor of Medicine, Nephrologist and General Internist who works at the Grey Nuns Hospital and in a community office in Edmonton. Besides his clinical practice, he has developed an interest in medical leadership and regulation. This has lead to roles as a previous president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta and the long time president of the Alberta Medical Assocation's Section of Nephrology. He also has participated in various educational endeavours with medical students and residents.

Sung Ho Yun is a Occupational Therapist currently located in Edson Alberta. Having studied a Bachelors of Health Sciences majoring in Occupational Therapy at Yonsei University, South Korea, he furthered his education to a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Sciences at McMaster’s University. For 15 years since, he has been working as an professional healthcare provider, practicing in various provinces and settings. Sung is a Board Member of the Alberta Hospice Palliative Care Association since 2015, and is the President of Edson’s Senior Transit Society."

Kevin Skoblenick grew up on a fruit and vegetable farm in rural southern Ontario, where most of his early work was helping out with strawberry picking and tractor work. His first job off the farm didn’t come until his second year of university, when he had the chance to work in a neuroscience lab as a summer student. Kevin’s journey through science and medicine has been a long and winding one. He completed his BSc and MSc in neuropharmacology at McMaster University, followed by a PhD in neurophysiology at Western University in the combined MD/PhD program. After medical school, he trained in emergency medicine at the University of Alberta, where he now works as an emergency physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton. He also holds a research appointment in the Department of Emergency Medicine and an adjunct professorship in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta. Today, Kevin’s research focuses on the neurophysiology of addiction and behavioral emergencies. He is especially interested in developing new ways to treat patients in crisis in the emergency department, blending his background in neuroscience with his work as a physician.

Mina Akrawi is a Medical Radiation Technologist with expertise in X-ray, mammography, bone density, and automated breast ultrasound imaging. She holds a Bachelor of Medical Radiation Sciences from McMaster University and has experience across hospital, clinic, and research settings. Currently working with the University of Calgary and Mayfair Diagnostics, Mina combines technical skill with compassionate, patient-centered care. She is also committed to advancing healthcare through mentorship, preventive screening education, and continued professional development.

Dr. Jennifer McCombe completed medical school at Queen’s University in Kingston, Neurology residency at the University of Alberta and a Master’s in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. In 2022 she completed additional fellowship training in Autoimmune Neurology at the Mayo Clinic Rochester. Dr. McCombe is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Alberta in Neurology. She has worked at the Northern Alberta Multiple Sclerosis and neuroinflammatory clinic since 2013.

Erica Prins is a PhD candidate at the University of Alberta studying soil science. She is also a RAP student with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge. Her research focuses on soil health on the Canadian Prairies under different crop rotations. This research will help farmers in the prairie provinces continue to produce high quality food for a long time to come, especially in the face of changing climate and more frequent drought events. Her previous education is in Biology (B.Sc.) and Viticulture and Enology (M.Sc.). She has lived, worked, and studied around the world and has worked in academia, government, and industry. In her spare time she enjoys competing in triathlon.

Lindsay Komar is a Registered Nurse and Research Director in the College of Health Sciences at the University of Alberta. Lindsay graduated from the U of A Master of Nursing program, with a focus on Planetary Health in Nursing research, education and practice. She currently works to build interdisciplinary connections and actions that support the well-being of both people and the planet. Lindsay is excited to be a member of the U of A Climate Change and Health Hub.

Christina is a second year MSc student in experimental plasma physics at the University of Alberta but her love of all things laser goes way back! During her undergraduate degree in Engineering Physics at the university of Alberta she did a variety of research projects that involved lasers and had her fall in love with the field. Now her research focuses on using high power lasers to generate plasmas for applications in X-ray imaging. Outside of the lab Christina enjoys a variety of hobbies from beading to kickboxing!

Amina Hussein completed her PhD in Applied Physics at the University of Michigan in 2019, where she conducted experiments using the (former) most intense laser system in the world, after earning an MS in Nuclear Engineering from Purdue University and a BSc in Honours Physics from McGill University. She then held a postdoctoral fellowship at University of California Irvine before joining the University of Alberta in 2020 as an Assistant Professor, where she is now a Canada Research Chair in Laser-Plasma Interactions. She has served in leadership roles with LaserNetUS, the Advanced Laser Light Source, and the Jupiter Laser Facility Users' Group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and is actively involved in mentorship, equity initiatives, and interdisciplinary energy systems programs.

Paul Lu received the MSc degree from the University of Alberta (1993) and the PhD degree in parallel programming systems from the University of Toronto (2000). He is a Professor in the Department of Computing Science at the University of Alberta, Canada.His research interests include various areas of high-performance computing, including parallel algorithms and applications. His research group has made contributions in the areas of parallel search, computer games, network protocols, distributed computing, virtual machines, bioinformatics, and applied machine learning.

Dr. Jackson is an assistant professor in the physiology department at the University of Alberta and the Canada Research Chair in Neural Circuits. His laboratory is focused on studying how different cell types in the brain connect and communicate. Current projects are focused on determining how and why different brain regions are active during sleep, and how this sleep-related activity facilitates memory consolidation. Dr. Jackson grew up in rural Alberta, on a grain farm, near the village of Elnora. Despite some rather mediocre high school grades, and no high school biology, he enrolled at Red Deer college. After two years he transferred to the University of Calgary where he completed an Undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Psychology, and a Master of Science. He then moved to McGill University where he completed his PhD in Neuroscience. Following his PhD studies, he spent 2 years at Columbia University in New York City as a postdoctoral fellow, and another 3 years at Janelia Research Campus in Virginia. He opened his laboratory at the University of Alberta in 2018.

Becki Hiebert is the founder of BH Quality Management Consulting and has over a decade of experience helping early-stage life science companies overcome quality and regulatory challenges to successfully commercialize their innovations. She partners with small businesses and startups, offering strategic guidance to ensure regulatory compliance and position products for market entry. With a strong background in both science and business (MBA, University of Alberta, BSc in Chemistry, University of Winnipeg), Becki is passionate about driving growth and innovation in the life science industry. Her leadership integrates quality management systems and regulatory processes directly with product development, ensuring a company's compliance and providing a competitive advantage in a complex regulatory landscape. Becki currently lives in Edmonton and enjoys bird-watching with her cat, Martin.