Alessandra Tuccitto
Alessandra earned her Honours BSc at the University of Toronto, where she completed the Neuroscience Specialist program with a minor in Biological Sciences.
Alessandra is currently a postdoc researcher in the Sivak lab. She earned her PhD from the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at UofT where she was examining the role of protein synthesis in retinal degeneration. She has developed technical expertise in ocular drug delivery, in vivo models of retinal disease, multi-well metabolic assays, cell culture, western blot, and confocal microscopy.
In her personal life, she enjoys going to fitness boot camp, trying new restaurants, and playing Runescape.
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Amina Adama
Amina obtained her BSc at the University of Windsor in Forensic Science with a specialization in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry.
Amina is currently a PhD student in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. In the Sivak lab, her project aims to characterize the pathway of a neuroprotective lipid metabolite using next generation sequencing. The goal being to identify key biomolecules essential for the lipid’s bioactivity.
In her free time, Amina enjoys watching horror movies, crime documentaries and volunteering as an emergency first responder.
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Darren Chan
Darren holds a BSc of Environmental Science from the Open University of Hong Kong and an Applied Science Program degree from Hong Kong Polytechnics (now HKPU).
Darren holds years of experience as a research technician in both the Physiology Department at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and as a technician in a bio-engineering lab at the University of Toronto. Darren is paramount to the success of the Sivak lab, juggling lab orders and balancing multiple projects in addition to being a fountain of knowledge.
In his spare time, Darren indulges in sport fishing and reads about technical fishing strategies.
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David Mathew, MD
Dr. David Mathew received his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the Christian Medical College in Vellore. Dr. Mathew went on to do his residency in ophthalmology at the Schell Eye Hospital, Christian Medical College in Vellore.
Currently, Dr. Mathew is a clinical fellow in glaucoma at the Toronto Western Hospital, and postdoc fellow at our lab. During his PhD, Dr. Mathew’s project focused on aqueous humor lipidomic profiles in patients with and without glaucoma.
When he’s not hard at work, Dr. Mathew enjoys spending quality time with his family and playing rock music on his electric guitar.
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Izhar Livne-Bar, PhD
Dr. Livne-Bar received his PhD in Neuroscience from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Columbia University.
Currently, Dr. Livne-Bar research focus is on discovering therapeutic strategies to protect retinal neurons, focusing on protecting retinal ganglion cells from the neurodegenerative disease glaucoma.
When not toiling tirelessly at the lab, you can find Dr. Livne-Bar listening to live chamber or jazz music, or outdoors playing tennis.
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Joseph D’Ercole (Master student)
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Jenny Zhang
Jenny obtained her Honors BSc at the University of Toronto, where she completed a double major in Physiology and Human Biology: Health and Disease.
Jenny is currently a PhD student in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. Her project in the Sivak Lab aims to characterize the pathological changes in human eye following elevated intraocular pressure using a novel perfusion model.
Outside of the lab, Jenny spends her free time drawing with her iPad and café hopping around the neighborhood.
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Margaret Luke
Dr. Margaret Luke completed a PhD in Neuroscience and a postdoctoral fellowship in Ophthalmology and Pharmacology at Dalhousie University.
Margaret’s research interest lies in studying genes and signalling pathways that are essential for retinal ganglion cell survival following injury using experimental models of glaucoma. In addition to her research, she also manages the lab. Outside of work, Margaret enjoys traveling, watching TV dramas, and spending time with her family.
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Tahani Baakdhah
Dr. Baakdhah (MD/MSc) earned her PhD from the University of Toronto in 2021. Her PhD project was focused on expanding retinal stem cells and their downstream progenitors in an effort to cure blindness. Currently, Dr. Baakdhah is a postdoc researcher at the Krembil Research Institute (vision research) working on establishing a protocol to grow retinal ganglion cell enriched organoids in order to replace cells lost in glaucoma. Outside the lab, Dr. Baakdhah is a science communicator, crocheter and an author who uses her crochet skills to create many educational science/medical models. Her work has been featured on CBC Art, Forbes, Business Insider, UofT, the Varsity and more! 
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Tiffany Yeh (Master student)
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Junbo Huang (Research Associate)