Mara Jezernik Email & Phone Number

Toronto, On, Ca

Toronto, On, Ca

- Operating a bench-scale bioreactor that converts food waste from the City of Toronto into commodity chemicals. - Demonstrating the viability of this technology at bench-scale, and conducting techno-economic analysis to assess the feasibility of scaling-up our bioprocess.- Laboratory skills: chromatography (GC-MS, GC-TCD, HPLC), solid analysis (TSS, VSS, TS/VS), cell culture (aerobic and anaerobic), aseptic techniques, microscopy, bioreactor design and operation, and assay development.

- Acted as the primary point of contact for members, embodying the brand’s values and delivering exceptional customer service. - Supported the company’s expansion to a second location by conducting facility tours and onboarding new members during their launch.

- Thesis title: "Design of microbial co-cultures for hydrogen and carbon dioxide based chain elongation to medium chain fatty acids".- Research interests: Bio-manufacturing, anaerobic microbiology, microbiome engineering, bio-electrochemistry- Technical skills: Anaerobic cell culture, molecular biology, microbiome engineering, analytical chemistry (GC-MS, GC-TCD, HPLC) and bioreactor design and operation- Research presentations: U of T ChemE Exhibition Dinner (2022 Winner, Poster Competition - Environment category), Gordon Research Seminar: Molecular Basis of Microbial One-Carbon Metabolism (Southbridge, MA, 2022), Biochemical and Biological Engineering & Synthetic Biology (Waterloo University, 2023), Challenges and Opportunities in Biotechnologies for CO2 Conversion (U of T, 2023)- Publications: Nwanebu, E., Jezernik, M., Lawson, C., et al. Impact of cathodic pH and bioaugmentation on acetate and methane production in a microbial electrosynthesis cell. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

- Onboarded hundreds of new patients during the launch of the new Covid-19 testing sites at Toronto Pearson Airport. - Managed dozens of patient inquiries daily, and streamlined customer support processes. Provided exceptional customer support in both English and French.

- Provided support in math, science and languages to students K-12 on the online platform. - Mentored dozens of new science focused tutors, and taught best practices for relationship-building with students.

- Assisted the development of a novel protocol for incubating fungal cells.- Designed, fabricated and operated a microfluidic device for high-throughput incubation and sorting of cells on the lab bench.- This work was published in Microsystems & Nanoengineering (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-022-00456-1).

Master Of Applied Science, Chemical Engineering

Worked on the conversion of carbon dioxide to industrial chemicals using microbial electrosynthesis reactors. Graduate research supervised.

Graduate Diploma, Biotechnology And Genomics

Graduate research project supervised by Dr. Steve Shih.

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Pharmacology And Toxicology

Undergraduate research project supervised by Dr. Ehab Abouheif.

High School Diploma