THE TEAM
About Us
DR. MARZIEH BANESHI
Post Doctoral Research Assistant
Dr. Marzieh Baneshi holds a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry and is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Cape Breton University with the ChArTl research group. Her work focuses on developing novel composite materials for drug delivery and environmental remediation. At ChArTl, she specializes in biochar-based composites for recovering precious metals, removing heavy metals, and degrading persistent organic pollutants.
DR. KEVIN SCOTLAND
Post Doctoral Research Assistant
Kevin Scotland obtained his PhD in chemistry in 2020 in the field of Organic Materials Chemistry and is currently Post Doctoral Research Assistant with CHArTl. The focus of his research is the functionalization of biochar for use as environmental remediation materials, CO2 adsorbents, and catalyst supports.
DR. DAVID IRWIN
Technical Assistant
David J. G. Irwin is a retired associate professor of Physics, and currently a research assistant in support of the research of a colleague in the Chemistry department of Cape Breton University. He earned the degree BA (Mod) at Trinity College, Dublin University, and that of PhD at Johns Hopkins University (1969) specializing in vacuum ultraviolet photographic spectroscopy of triply ionized Neodymium. In 1973 he joined the faculty of the then St. Francis Xavier University, Sydney Campus (now Cape Breton University).
He has since retired from active teaching in 2004 and began working as a research associate, having developed the design and fabrication of a 1700W pyrolysis reactor system for extraction of condensates and char from birch bark, crab shell, wood, and a variety of other materials. More recently he developed and built a larger (4400W) pyrolysis reactor for greater productivity.
JUDY MACINNIS
Ph.D. Candidate
Judy is in her final year of a Ph.D. at Memorial University of Newfoundland under the supervision of Dr. Stephanie MacQuarrie (primary supervisor at CBU) and Dr. Christina Bottaro (co-supervisor at Memorial University) in the Organic-Materials group at CBU. The focus of her research involves the valorization of crab shell waste by exploring the properties of calcium rich and carbon rich crab shell biochar prepared through pyrolysis. Her research includes demineralization, characterization, as well as potential applications. Judy is active in STEM outreach for girls and under-represented groups through Island WISE and is an advocate for EDIIA. She enjoys painting, gardening, walking her 3 dogs, and spending time with family.
MADELINE MARINELLI
M.Sc. Student
Madeline graduated with a chemistry degree at Cape Breton University in 2022 after completing her honours project in the MacQuarrie group. She has been part of the MacQuarrie Research group since the summer of 2020, and in 2025 is completing a M.Sc. in chemistry through Memorial University under the supervision of Dr. Stephanie MacQuarrie (CBU) and Dr. Michael Katz (MUN). The focus of her research is on the thermochemical conversion of fruit waste into biochar for application in body odor adsorption.
BRANDON MACDONALD
Research Assistant
Brandon graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Chemistry degree at Cape Breton University in 2025. His current project focuses on the pyrolysis of mixed biomasses, specifically snow crab and larch wood. His previous project focused on the functionalization of woody biochar with MPTMS for applications in gold adsorption. This is his fourth summer as part of the MacQuarrie Research Group. He will be starting his M.Sc. in chemistry at Dalhousie University in the Fall.
LAUREN MACDOUGALL
NSERC USRA Research Assistant
Lauren is entering her fourth year of a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at Cape Breton University. Her current project focuses on characterizing crab bio-oil to evaluate its potential as an alternative to conventional fuel sources. This is her second summer with the MacQuarrie Research Group.
DAVAN MACDONALD
Research Assistant
Davan is a third year Bachelor of Science Chemistry student with a minor in mathematics at Cape Breton University. Her project focuses on the nitrogen-functionalization of biochar and its applications for carbon dioxide adsorption. It is her first summer working as part of the MacQuarrie Research Group, with plans of pursuing a Masters and PhD in Chemistry.
CONNOR CAMPBELL
Research Assistant
Connor is a fourth year Bachelor of Science Chemistry major, working in the MacQuarrie Research Group for his first time this summer, with plans to finish his honours degree next year. He is currently working on production methods and applications of snow crab and larch wood mixed biochar samples.
LAURYN MCCORMICK
Research Assistant
Lauryn is a Cape Breton University Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) student, having completed her second year of an undergraduate degree, with a minor in biology. Her project focuses on the photocatalytic degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using a biochar/ nanocomposite material. This is Lauryn’s first summer working in the MacQuarrie Research Group, with plans of pursuing medical school after her undergraduate degree.
NEVAEH COLBOURNE
Clean Foundation Research Assistant
Nevaeh is a Cape Breton University Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) student, having completed her second year of an undergraduate degree with a minor in psychology. This summer, through the Clean Foundation grant, Nevaeh will primarily be working to characterize and functionalize nitrogen enriched biochar. This is her first summer being a part of the MacQuarrie Research Group and she is planning to pursue a master's degree in the field.
JACEK MARMULAK
Research Assistant
Jacek is a Cape Breton University student, entering his third year of a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. His project focuses on the functionalization of biochar with thiourea to act as an organic catalyst in the Morita-Baylis-Hillman Reaction. This is his first summer as a member of the MacQuarrie Group.
CLAIRE MCNEIL
NSERC USRA Research Assistant
Claire is a third-year chemistry student at CBU, and it is her first summer with the MacQuarrie Research Group. Her current research project focuses on investigating the application of Suzuki Cross-coupling reactions on brominated larch wood biochar for the development of a simpler method to functionalize biochar.
EMMA CHOLAK
Bell Internship
Emma is a Biochemistry major (Chemistry minor) going into her second year at Mount Allison University. This Summer, through the Bell internship, she is researching carbon-carbon coupling on biochar through the Suzuki cross-coupling reaction to more easily functionalize biochar.
NICK GUY
Research Assistant
Nick is a second year student pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with minors in Physics and Biology at Dalhousie University. This summer, Nick’s project involves enhancing zinc oxide photocatalysis with wood biochar. He plans to pursue medicine as a career after his science degree. This is his first year as part of the MacQuarrie Research Group.
ALUMNI
Look Where MacQuarrie Group Members Go
Dr. Preston MacQueen
Preston MacQueen, from Sydney, Cape Breton graduated from Cape Breton University in 2013 with an Honours degree in Chemistry. Preston worked in Prof. Stephanie MacQuarrie’s lab for four years during his time at CBU on organic catalysis and silica materials chemistry projects. He completed his honours thesis under the supervision of Prof. Matthias Bierenstiel on incorporating BODIPPY dyes into silica materials.
Preston then went on to Dalhousie University to study organometallic chemistry under Prof. Mark Stradiotto. In the Stradiotto lab, Preston worked on ligand design and catalyst development for the arylation of small molecules with a focus on Nickel catalyzed C-N bond formation reactions. After graduating from Dalhousie with his Ph.D. in chemistry in 2018, Preston completed his postdoctoral studies at MIT as an NSERC postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Tim Jamison’s lab where he worked on developing reactions in continuous flow.
Since 2020 Preston has been a process chemist at MilliporeSigma, leading a group working on scale up and purification of catalysts, ligands and custom fine chemical products.
Ryan Bach
Ryan worked in the MacQuarrie Group from 2011-2013. After completing his B.Sc. at CBU he went to DAL pharmacy (2013-2017). In 2019, Ryan and his team purchased Ferguson's Pharmacy in Glace Bay. They've since expanded by acquiring Stone's Pharmacy in Baddeck, which specializes in compounding.
Dr. Kori Andrea
Kori joined the MacQuarrie group in the summer of 2013 as an undergraduate researcher and continued to work in the MacQuarrie group throughout her undergraduate degree at CBU (2012-2016). After completing her BSc she attended Memorial University (2016-2021) in NL to obtain her PhD in Chemistry where Dr. MacQuarrie was apart of her doctoral thesis committee. Still not tired of school, Kori then moved back to Halifax to attend Dalhousie University (2021-2025) to complete her Doctor of Dental Surgery. Kori currently works as a Dentist in St. John’s NL.
Nicholas MacLean
From 2018-2022, Nic worked in the MacQuarrie group. He graduated with an Honours Chemistry degree in 2022 and is currently taking education here at CBU. He is also assisting in a WHMIS enhancement project, helping to regulate the WHMIS program at CBU.
Dr. Ali Shafiee
Ali Shafiee received his Ph. D. in Analytical Chemistry in 2020 and now he is working as a postdoctoral fellow in MacQuarrie group at the department of chemistry. His research is mainly concentrated on material chemistry to develop, characterize and utilize new methods and (nano)materials toward a greener environment.
Haley Oliver
Haley joined the MacQuarrie Research Group in the summers of 2021 and 2022 as an undergraduate researcher. She completed her Honours degree in Chemistry at CBU in 2022, before completing her education degree. Haley is currently a Grade 6–12 Math and Science teacher in Cape Breton, with a particular focus on high school chemistry. She is passionate about science education and inspiring the next generation of students to explore and engage with STEM subjects.
Sara received her B. Sc. (Chemistry) from Memorial University of Newfoundland and completed an honours project in the Bodwell Group in 2020. Currently, she is completing a M. Sc. in Organic Chemistry under the supervision of Dr. Stephanie MacQuarrie (primary supervisor) and Dr. Francesca Kerton (co-supervisor) in the Green Chemistry and Catalysis group. Her M. Sc. projects she explored the functionalization of biochar (year 2) and collagen peptides (year 1). The focus of her research is the post modification and characterization of natural products for specified applications using green chemistry.
Sara Cheema
Olivia joined the MacQuarrie Research Group in 2019, spending her summers doing research in the lab until 2022. Following the completion of her BSc Honours degree under the supervision of Dr. MacQuarrie, she pursued a Master’s in Chemistry at Saint Mary’s University. Her MSc focused on untargeted metabolomic profiling of inducible metabolites to combat White-Nose Syndrome in North American bat species. She is excited to return to CBU in the fall of 2025 to study medicine at the Cape Breton Medical Campus. With a strong interest in rural family medicine, Olivia looks forward to one day serving the communities of Cape Breton.
Olivia Roland
Andrew is a CBU Chemistry Major (biology minor) going into his fourth year. He is currently working on biochar made from pharmaceuticals for adsorption processes via an NSERC USRA. His eventual goal is to become a pharmacist.
Andrew Gracie
Kuljit Kaur
Kuljit Kaur, originally from Mwanza Tanzania graduated from Cape Breton University in 2020 with an Honours Degree in Chemistry. Kuljit started her chemistry experience in Bierenstiel Research Group for 8 months under Prof. Matthias Bierenstiel working on Birch Bark Oil project. She then worked with Prof. Stephanie MacQuarrie’s lab for 2 years during her time at CBU on various material chemistry projects. She completed her honours thesis under the supervision of Prof. Stephanie MacQuarrie on Applications of Crab Char for the treatment of Acidic Mine Wastewater; co-supervised by Prof. Martin Mkandawire.
Kuljit then went on to work in the Pharmaceutical Industry at a local Maritime Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (cDMO) called BioVectra (now a part of Agilent Technologies) located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
As her time as BioVectra comes to an end, she has now enrolled in Masters of Science Program at University of Victoria in Giebelhaus Research Group.
Alyssa Burke
Alyssa Burke is a CBU student who graduated with her honours in chemistry in 2025 and is now applying to medical school and dentistry school. She has worked throughout the semester and two summers in the Chartl research group. Alyssa worked on finding a new route to functionalize biochar through carbon-carbon cross coupling with borylated biochar.
Ava Graham
Ava graduated from Cape Breton University in 2025 with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Chemistry with a second major in Mathematics. After working in the MacQuarrie Group for two years focusing on functionalizing biochar with thiourea, she decided to continue this work in her Honours Thesis which was co-supervised by Dr. MacQuarrie. Ava will be starting at Dalhousie University in September 2025 to complete the Juris Doctor and Master of Health Administration dual degree program.
Angela Amati graduated from Cape Breton University in 2025 with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Chemistry under the supervision of Dr. Stephanie MacQuarrie. She worked in the MacQuarrie Research group for two summers. Currently, she is continuing her education in the BEd program at CBU with hopes of teaching in the CBRM.
Angela Amati
Crewe MacDonald joined the MacQuarrie Research group in the summer of 2024. He completed a B.Sc. (Honours) Chemistry in 2025. Currently, he is continuing his education as a BEd student, with aspirations of teaching high school chemistry within the CBRM.
Crewe MacDonald