Mathura Thirugnanasampanthar

Mathura Thirugnanasampanthar is a MASc student at McMaster University in the Department of Chemical Engineering. She completed her undergraduate degree in Honors Biology before pursuing graduate studies in Chemical Engineering. Mathura works in a cross-disciplinary team: her main advisor, Dr. Zeinab Hosseinidoust, is a Canadian Research Chair in Bacteriophage Bioengineering, and her co-advisor, Prof. Myrna Dolovich, is associated with the Firestone Institute of Respiratory Health at St. Joseph’s Hospital, McMaster University, with decades of experience in aerosol technology.
Mathura’s research focuses on the generation and analysis of biologic aerosols, namely those containing bacteria and viruses, two types of pathogens with differing physical and aerodynamic properties. She uses her custom-built aerosol sampling apparatus, a design based on the ASTM F2101-19 standard, to understand and assess the filtration properties of face masks and respirators under clinically relevant conditions.
Significantly, biologic aerosols containing bacteriophages or bacterial viruses can function as surrogates for SARS-CoV-2. Bacteriophages are important model organisms for her research – these viruses can physically and chemically resemble SARS-CoV-2, but they are innocuous enough to be handled in level 1 laboratories. Mathura’s research interests include aerosolized disease transmission, respiratory infections, mucosal immunology, and filtration properties of porous materials.