Lab members

Alexander is a senior Laboratory Technician with expertise in flow cytometry and inflammation measurements. He completed an honours Diploma in Biological Sciences-Laboratory and Research at NAIT in 2019 as a program ambassador. Afterwards, he has worked for Dr. Caroline Richard on clinical and pre-clinical projects. 

Alexander will oversee the training, human, animal sample processing and analysis in our laboratory for the many different projects that Dr. Richard is part of.

Paulina completed her Bachelor in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Sonora (Mexico) in 2014 receiving the award as the best graduating student of her class. 

She is a Dietitian Registered in Mexico where she worked in her own private practice. While working as a dietitian, she implemented evidence-based nutrition lifestyle programs. She also became a health promotion advocate through different media in her hometown: radio, TV, and social media. She moved to Canada to pursue her MSc in Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Alberta graduating in 2019. After completion of her Master's degree, she stayed working at the University of Alberta as a Program Coordinator in the field of Community Nutrition. She joined Dr. Richard's lab in the fall of 2020 and has been involved in the coordination of different Clinical Trials ever since. 

Paulina coordinates activities related to recruitment of participants, study visits, and oversees different tasks to help Dr. Richard's Human Clinical Trial studies run smoothly. She is also a phlebotomist so she collects blood samples from participants in Dr. Richard's clinical trials.

Paulina completed a Bachelor's in Nutrition in 2015 and a Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering in 2004 at the University of Guadalajara (Mexico). In Mexico, she worked as a Process Engineer in the recycling paper industry for a few years. While pursuing her second bachelor's degree, she worked as an instructor and coordinator for undergraduate courses related to chemistry, dietetics, food science, and research seminars. Paulina received a couple of awards for leading projects in food science. In her senior year, she wrote and presented her thesis entitled "Association of diet and methylation of MLH1 gene in patients with colorectal cancer from Civil Hospital of Guadalajara Dr. Juan I. Menchaca."

She moved to Canada to pursue her PhD in Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Alberta, graduating in 2021. As a graduate student, she conducted animal and clinical trials to investigate the role of dietary choline in atherosclerosis. She published her work in peer review journals. Paulina joined Richard's lab in the winter of 2023 and has been involved in the coordination of clinical trials and in the processing and analysis of human and animal samples.

In parallel, she balances her professional life with her personal life, where she takes pleasure in spending time with her family, cooking, and playing with her children.

Ines completed her bachelor’s degree in Nutrition at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and became a Registered Dietitian in 1986. She completed her Master’s Degree at the same University in 1990. She has been a professor of Clinical Nutrition at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State since 1989 and Rio de Janeiro State University since 1996.

Since the beginning of her career, she has been teaching undergraduate and graduate students (masters and doctorates) in the area of Clinical Nutrition with a focus on chronic and inflammatory diseases, including obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Specifically in the field of CKD, she has been the coordinator of the Treatment Center for Patients with CKD at the University Hospital of Rio de Janeiro State University since 1999. The activities include coordination, patient care, teaching, and training residents in Clinical Nutrition. All her research projects are performed at this center.

Her current work and expertise mainly centers around clinical and nutritional assessment, and treatment for adults living with CKD. The articles she has published in this area reinforce the importance of her contribution in relation to the various activities proposed in this project.

She collaborates closely with the Richard’s lab and have been a regular visiting professor at the University of Alberta since 2019 to learn about Nutritional Immunology and how to conduct feeding trials in humans. We aim to revise the current nutritional recommendations for potassium and phosphorous homeostasis in CKD.

Jenneffer is currently a fourth year PhD candidate at the AFNS department of the Uofa. She completed her bachelor degree and internship in Nutrition at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil) in 2016. Jenneffer holds a Master degree in Food Science (2017-2019) from the same institution, where she studied the effect of short-term fasting on metabolic and inflammatory parameters in women. She has work experience in clinical nutrition as a Registered Dietitian in her home country. Jenneffer’s research aims to characterize, in controlled feeding conditions, the functionality of the immune system by investigating a panel of markers of the immune system. 

Current grad program:

PhD in Nutrition and Metabolism, specializing in Nutritional Immunology

Project: The Nutrition and IMMunity (NutrIMM) Study

Activities: menu implementation, elaboration of source documents and study protocol, recruitment, study visits, blood processing, laboratory assays, data analysis,  knowledge dissemination.

Nastaran graduated with a Master of Science in clinical biochemistry from Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Iran (2017), and her master’s project was about comparing different methods of glycogen assay in the liver and muscle of rats. She worked as a medical laboratory scientist before deciding to return to school and pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Alberta.

Current grad program:

Supervisors: Dr. Lingyun Chen & Caroline Richard. 

Her current project is to investigate the anti-diabetic effect of oat protein on cells including Caco-2, HepG2, and INS-1, and the high-fat diet mice model. Moreover, we try to understand the synergistic effect of oat protein and β-glucan in lowering blood glucose levels.

Current Master's student with a bachelor’s in Nutrition and Dietetics completed in 2019 at “Universidad Nacional de Colombia.” Two years experience as a Dietitian in a pediatric hospital, “Instituto Roosevelt” in Colombia.

Current grad program:

MSc. Nutrition and Metabolism, currently working on the freezing study: “Feeding High Oleic Acid Canola Oil or Olive Oil Alters Inflammation, Insulin Resistance and Lipid Metabolism in a Rodent Model of Diet-Induced Obesity,” as well as helping with animal handling, feeding, and tissue processing for the project: “The role of choline in modulating immune function in the context of obesity.”

Boshra Mandour is a Registered Dietitian who graduated from the University of Alberta. She has worked as a Research Assistant in the School of Public Health since September 2020.

Current grad program:

Supervisors: Dr. Caroline Richard and Dr. Paul Veugelers. 

She is going into her first year of an MSc in Epidemiology, and her research will focus on the importance of nutrition in modulating immune function in the context of obesity, with a focus on the essential nutrient, choline. 

In her spare time she loves to read and watch TV/Movies 

Maria completed her bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics at the University of Panama in

2022 with Honors Chapter as Sigma Lambda and won the best undergraduate thesis award of her

promotion with an investigation titled: "Design and validation of an audiovisual educational

material on healthy eating habits for first and second grade children in Panama City schools”. She

fulfilled her internships and had experience working in the primary and third level of the health

care system in which nutritional education and intervention plays a key role to help patients

improve their overall condition.

She was also part of an immunology project that analyzed the correlation between an

inflammatory diet and nutritional status on inflammatory cytokine secretion in individuals with

and without type 2 diabetes in her home country. Her academic excellence led her to receive a

full scholarship from the National Secretariat of Science, Technology, and Innovation of the

Republic of Panama to study a MSc in Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Alberta.

Current grad program:

Currently she will be supervised by Dr. Richard in her project titled “Beneficial effect of buttermilk

and its choline forms on obesity-related immune dysfunction” with the objective to investigate

how the lipid soluble forms of choline derived from buttermilk can counteract the immune

dysfunction observed in the context of obesity.

Maria is certain that nutrition is the beginning of health, the way we nourish ourselves and the

lifestyle we led influences directly the immune system which in fact is translated to our condition

to stay healthy or to develop chronic noncommunicable diseases. In her free time, she enjoys

cooking and trying new recipes, spend time outdoors, read inspirational books, listen to music,

and do arts and crafts.

Dr. Yongbo She obtained his BS and MS in Food Science from University of Manitoba. He received his Ph.D. in Nutrition and Metabolism from University of Alberta in June 2023 (Supervised by Dr. Caroline Richard and Dr. Spencer Proctor). 

Yongbo is now an Assistant Professor at Northwest A&F University in China. His research interests include understanding the nutritional modulation on obesity-related immune perturbations. He also investigates early-life neurodevelopment and neurodegenerative disorders with a focus on "gut-immune-brain axis". Dr. Yongbo She published eleven peer-reviewed articles and presented his research on several national and international conferences. He also received "Young Investigator Award" from CSATVB in 2020.

Kun Wang completed his Bachelor of Science Honors degree in Nutrition in 2019 and Master of Science in Nutrition and Metabolism in 2022 (supervised by Dr. Spencer Proctor and Dr. Caroline Richard) both at the University of Alberta. In his role as a graduate research assistant, Kun collaborated closely with faculty members and peers to investigate intestinal lipid absorption and muscle lipid metabolism in a swine model of insulin resistance. This academic journey has equipped Kun with necessary skills and knowledge to engage in innovative research. 

Outside the lab, Kun is passionate about music (guitar and keyboard) and believes in the importance of balancing work and life to maintain a healthy and well-rounded lifestyle. 

Tianna obtained her Bachelors of Science in Nutrition from the University of Alberta in 2020. After graduation, she worked with Dr. Richard's lab for one year prior to starting her Master's program where she received hands-on training in laboratory analysis. 

Tianna completed her Master's degree in 2023 under the supervision of Dr. Richard. 

Tianna's Master's project was titled "the beneficial effect of phosphatidylcholine on high-fat diet induced immune dysfunction".  In this project, an animal model was used to assess the effect of feeding varying doses and dietary sources of phosphatidylcholine in a high-fat diet on immune cell function and intestinal permeability. 

Tianna has presented her research at the American Society for Nutrition Conference in 2021 and 2023, and the Canadian Nutrition Society Conference in 2022.

Jessy completed her PhD in Human Nutrition in the summer of 2022. Under the supervision of Dr. Richard, her research focused on understanding the role of dietary choline on immune system development and immune responses in the context of obesity. Jessy is currently starting a new role as Scientific Project Coordinator at Health Canada. 

Kelly Picard recently completed her PhD with the University of Alberta. Her research focuses on the impact of food processing on potassium and phosphorus management for adults living with kidney disease. In addition to her PhD work, Kelly has worked as a registered dietitian since 2008, with a special interest in diabetes and kidney health.