Scholarship
I’m a structural biologist interested in the Origins of Life, Astrobiology, and related fields.
With a background in structural biology and biochemistry, I work on Aerosols and the Origins of Life. Dispersal by wind, or Anemochory, could have played a major role in spreading Life’s building blocks on the early Earth. My work at the University of Alberta shows its potential implication in the emergence of protocells through a model of aerosol to vesicle transformation.
Throughout my career, I have been part of multi-disciplinary teams conducting research at the interface of biology, chemistry and physics. I was fortunate enough to explore experimental and theoretical techniques, manage projects and supervise students. Additionally, I have thought master’s level courses, led the setup of a research laboratory and created a 3D printing service that supports research and education.
For more information, please take a look at the details below or download my CV.
Educational Record:
Ph.D. in Structural Biology, 2018
Chemistry and Biology of Metals Laboratory, Université Grenoble Alpes, France
M.Sc. in Functional Genomics and Proteomics, 2015
Faculty of Sciences, Université Saint‑Joseph de Beyrouth, Lebanon
B.Sc. in Life and Earth Sciences ‑ Biochemistry, 2013
Faculty of Sciences, Université Saint‑Joseph de Beyrouth, Lebanon
Experience:
- Awarded $48,000 to establish a 3D Printing Service focused on research and education.
- Employed assistants and acquired a high‑end 3D‑printer to produce laboratory accessories.
- Supported 35 research groups across 7 University Departments and laboratories abroad.
- Worked with 10 technical services and research support groups.
- Prepared proposals, financial reports and project progress reports.
- The service achieved $25,000 in financial savings for the University of Alberta within its first year of operation.
Research Activities:
- Conducted research on aerosols, proto‑cells and proto‑metabolism to gain insight on the origins of life.
- Designed and built experimental setups for the generation and handling of aerosols.
- Studied interactions between liquid media and aqueous aerosols with a focus on aerosol to vesicle transformation.
- Synthesized peptides and carried out experiments under anaerobic conditions.
- Developed Fit‑FeS, a spectral decomposition tool for UV‑Vis spectra to analyze iron‑sulfur clusters in peptides or proteins.
- Supervised and co‑authored research publications with postdoctoral fellows and undergraduate, graduate and visiting students.
Laboratory Management and Administration:
- Led the set up of a new research laboratory upon the arrival of Prof. Mansy to the University of Alberta.
- Coordinated laboratory logistics and the procurement of equipment and supplies.
- Was in charge of competitive bid procedures, instrument purchase, installation and user training.
- Assembled AtmosBags, optimized Schlenk lines and installed an inert atmosphere glovebox system.
- Formalized laboratory safety and chemical waste management. Wrote Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
- Designed and 3D‑printed laboratory accessories to streamline workflow. (more details here)
- Purified and carried out structural studies (MALLS, XAFS, SAXS) and crystallization of Fur proteins.
- Used molecular dynamics simulations and developed in house scripts to identify key amino acids in Fur/DNA and Fur/Fur interactions.
- Proposed mechanistic models based on a coupled theoretical and experimental approach.
- Laboratory of Pharmaceutical and Toxicological Chemistry and Biochemistry: performed interaction studies between a zinc metallo‑β‑lactamase and an inhibitor using SIBFA, a polarizable force field.
- Laboratory of Structures and Interactions of Macromolecules: identified monoclonal antibodies recognition sites on the HIV‑1 integrase using spectroscopic techniques.
Other research experiences
Quality Control Technician
Al Wadi Al Akhdar:
– Ensured the quality of raw materials and final products through inspections and microbiological tests.
– Oversaw industrial processes to uphold good manufacturing practices and accurate labeling.
Bio-Pesticide Remediation
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, USJ:
– Studied Bacillus thuringiensis strains from Lebanese soil for bio-pesticide production.
– Identified a new industrially exploitable strain possessing genes not yet characterized in B. thuringiensis.
Wine Quality Optimization
Center for Analysis and Research, USJ:
Studied phenolic compounds in grapes from Château KSARA to optimize harvesting calendars.
Diagnostics Technician
Laboratoire de Dépistage Néonatal, Unité de Génétique Médicale, USJ:
Newborn screenings and measurements of TSH hormone levels, total galactose and erythrocyte enzyme G6PD.
Grants and Awards:
Campus Sustainability Major Grant, 2023
Awarded $48,000 by the Energy & Climate Action Office, University of Alberta, Canada
Campus Sustainability Leaders Award, 2023
Sustainability Council, University of Alberta, Canada
Service to the community:
Assisted electors in casting their ballots during the 2025 Federal Elections while staffing a bilingual polling station to accommodate diverse voters. Ensured strict compliance with voting procedures and completed necessary forms. Conducted the counting of ballots and facilitated the precise reporting of election results.
Established a 3D Printing Service dedicated to supporting research and education. Employed assistants and procured a high-end 3D printer to produce laboratory accessories, aiding 35 research groups across 7 University departments and laboratories abroad. Collaborated with 10 technical services and research support groups. The service achieved $25,000 in financial savings for the University of Alberta within its first year of operation.
Prepared fossil specimens uncovered from Dinosaur Provincial Park (Alberta, Canada) and joined a local excavation field party. Featured in Volunteer Spotlights.
Assessed and scored science projects. Interviewed candidates in English or in French. Contributed to the judging panel of special awards programs that attributed grants or internship possibilities.
Represented non permanent staff, PhD students and postdoctoral fellows, during laboratory council meetings. Organized social and team building activities. Created and managed social media pages for the laboratory.
Represented the Science and Technology Campus during general assemblies and meetings of the Saint‑Joseph University board. Proposed and conveyed solutions for problems faced by campus students.
Teaching Experience:
Taught 128 hours of laboratory courses for groups of 20 students for the M.Sc. “Drug Sciences and Health Engineering” throughout the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 academic years. Wrote examination questions and evaluated student exams, laboratory notebooks and oral presentations. Laboratory courses included the production of mutant and wild‑type DNA sequences, bacterial transformation, protein production and purification, and activity assays.
Technical Skills:
Aerosols: Expertise in aerosol generation and handling. Familiar with optical particle counters, custom and commercial nebulizers, microfluidics pressure regulators and gas mass flow controllers. Design of glassware for scientific glassblowing and de novo experimental apparatus.
Vesicles and Peptides: Liposome and vesicle preparation. Fluorescence assays. Peptide synthesis. Anaerobic experiments. Epifluorescence, confocal and transmission electron microscopy. LC‑MS and UV‑Vis spectrophotometry.
Structural Biology: Protein expression, purification and crystallization. Molecular Dynamics & Docking. Synchrotron beam‑lines: XAFS and SAXS.
Programming: AWK, LATEX, Python, Shell, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Linux/Unix environment.
3D‑design: Autodesk Fusion 360, Cura, Microsoft 3D Builder, UltiMaker and Prusa ecosystems.
Languages: Arabic (native), French (fluent), English (fluent), Italian (novice).
Additional Training and Certificates:
- Naloxone Training, University of Alberta, 2022.
- Transportation of Dangerous Goods, University of Alberta, 2019.
- Gender-Based Analysis Plus, Government of Canada, 2019.
- European First Aid, French Red Cross, 2018.
- Label Recherche et Enseignement Supérieur, Université Grenoble Alpes, 2018.
- Emergence of Life, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2017.
- Doctoriales®, Université Grenoble Alpes, 2017.
- FAME+, CNRS Délégation Alpes, 2017.
- Python Programming, The University of Texas at Arlington, 2016.
- Super-Earths and Life, Harvard University, 2015.
Scientific Communications:
Invited Seminars:
- University of Alberta Campus Sustainability Mixer, Jun. 2024, Edmonton, Canada.
- Saint George University of Beirut, Dec. 2023, Beirut, Lebanon.
- Laboratoire de Chimie et Biologie de Métaux, Nov. 2023, Grenoble, France.
Oral Communications:
- Conférence Nationale d’Exobiologie, Nov. 2023, Grenoble, France.
- Space Exploration Symposium, Nov. 2022, Edmonton, Canada.
- Scientific meeting of the “Academic Research Community 1‑Santé”, Sep. 2018, Isle d’Abeau, France.
- 11th Meeting of the Institute of Metals in Biology of Grenoble, Mar. 2018, Autrans, France.
- Journée Annuelle des Doctorants, ED CSV – UGA, Jul. 2017, Grenoble, France.
Posters:
- Origins of Life Donostia Meeting, Oct. 2023, Donostia, Spain.
- Molecular Origins of Life & Emergence of Life Forum, Jun. 2022, Munich, Germany.
- 43rd Federation of European Biochemical Societies Congress, Jul. 2018, Prague, Czech Republic.
- Rencontres scientifiques de la communauté de recherche académique ARC-1 Santé, Sep. 2017, Isle d’Abeau, France.
- XXème Congrès du Groupe de Graphisme et de Modélisation Moléculaire, May 2017, Reims, France.
- 10th Meeting of the Institute of Metals in Biology of Grenoble, May 2016, Autrans, France.
Publication Record:
Nader, S., Baccouche, A., Connolly, F., Abou‑Ghanem, M., Styler, S.A., Lewis, J., Pink, D., Mansy, S.S., ACS Earth & Space Chemistry, 2023, “Model atmospheric aerosols convert to cell‑sized vesicles upon entry into lipid coated aqueous solution”. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.2c00328
Nader, S., Sebastianelli, L., Mansy, S.S., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 2022, “Protometabolism as out‑of‑equilibrium chemistry. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsta.2020.0423
Valer, L., Rossetto, D., Scintilla, S., Hu, Y.J., Tomar, A., Nader, S., Betinol, I.O., Mansy, S.S., Canadian Journal of Chemistry, 2022, “Methods to identify and characterize iron‑sulfur oligopeptides in water”. https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjc-2021-0237
Ha, M., Nader, S., Pawsey, S., Struppe, J., Monette, M., Mansy, S.S., Boekhoven, J., Michaelis, V.K., The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2021, “Racing Towards Fast and Effective 17O Isotopic Labeling and NMR Spectroscopy of N‑formyl‑MLF‑OH and Associated Building Blocks”. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c07397
Betinol, I., Nader, S., Mansy, S.S., Analytical Biochemistry, 2021, “Spectral decomposition of iron‑sulfur clusters”. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ab.2021.114269; Fit‑FeS: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4765989
Basak, S., Nader, S., Mansy, S.S., JACS Au, 2021, “Protometabolic Reduction of NAD+ with ɑ‑Keto Acids”. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacsau.0c00124
Nader, S., Pérard, J., Carpentier, P., Arnaud, L., Crouzy, S., Michaud‑Soret, I., Biometals, 2019, “New insights into the tetrameric family of the Fur metalloregulators”. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-019-00201-8
Nader, S., Université Grenoble Alpes, 2018, “Structural studies on inhibition mechanisms, oligomerization and DNA binding of the transcription regulator Fur : from in silico simulations to in vitro biological assays”. https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-02050234
Pérard, J., Nader, S., Levert, M., Arnaud, L., Carpentier, P., Siebert, C., Blanquet, F., Cavazza, C., Renesto, P., Schneider, D., Maurin, M., Coves, J., Crouzy, S., Michaud‑Soret, I., Communications Biology, 2018, “Structural and functional studies of the metalloregulator Fur identify a promoter‑binding mechanism and role in Francisella tularensis virulence”. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-018-0095-6
Kwapien, K., Damergi, M., Nader, S., El Khoury, L., Hobaika, Z., Maroun, R., Piquemal, J.P., Gavara, L., Berthomieu, D., Hernandez, J.F., Gresh, N., The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2017, “Calibration of 1,2,4‑Triazole‑3‑Thione, an Original Zn‑Binding Group of Metallo‑β‑Lactamase Inhibitors. Validation of a Polarizable MM/MD Potential by Quantum Chemistry”. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.7b01053