Dr. Anna Ignaszak is a chemical technologist with a master’s degree in chemical engineering, and a Ph.D. in materials engineering, both awarded from top universities in her native Poland. Her master’s degree is from Poznan University of Technology, and her Ph.D. is from the AGH University of Science and Technology. While completing full-time studies, she also completed two internships – one at ABB laboratories (their red ABB label is on many electrical devices and power sockets) – and a second at Pliva Pharmaceutical.

She was privileged to receive a one-year fellowship at the University of Western Cape in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. There, she learned about DNA-biosensors, immunosensors, and was introduced to bio-electrochemistry.

“One day I sat at Cape Point, the most southern point of Africa. I was looking at this breathtaking view, with the Atlantic Ocean on my right, and the Indian Ocean to my left, and wondered, “Where shall I go next?” A few weeks later, she was sitting on Kitsilano beach in Vancouver, British Columbia, admiring the Pacific Ocean.

Dr. Ignaszak’s postgraduate education in Canada started in 2007, at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC). While working at UBC with some of the top electrochemists in the world, she conducted research on the most advanced clean energy technologies: hydrogen-powered fuel cells. At that time, she was also guided by scientists from Ballard Power Systems (BPS). BPS moved fuel cell technology forward and is a leader in this field.

She was then hired in her first governmental position as a research associate at the National Research Council Canada (NRC), where she worked in electrocatalysis. BPS and other industrial partners such as the Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation were involved in her job at NRC – the then Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation in Vancouver. Working at NRC, with prominent experts in their field of clean energy, was one of the most influential experiences of her career.

Following this experience, she received a competitive fellowship awarded by Carl-Zeiss Foundation which required her to move to Germany. She fulfilled this fellowship at the Friedrich-Schiller Universitat (FSU) in Jena. Her immersion in a highly competitive German system had a significant impact on how she conducts her research. Dr. Ignaszak learned leadership skills and made life-long friends in Jena and has published significant research with her FSU colleagues.

Dr. Ignaszak returned to Canada in July 2015 with an excellent record of delivering on her own research and began her academic career as an independent PI at the University of New Brunswick.

“I am fortunate to attract the best students,” Dr. Ignaszak says of her research group. “My young scientists demonstrate impressive creativity and productivity in electrochemical diagnostic research in critical areas that will directly impact society: electrochemical detection of infectious diseases, viral diseases, and early diagnosis of cancers – all with the aid of electrochemistry, which I like to call e-chem.”

Why the focus on e-chem? e-chem is her favourite discipline because of its strong technical aspect – aspect of “electro:. Dr. Ignaszak is an engineer, everything with “electro” increases her oxidation state (!!!), electric sport cars particularly.

But the truth is … e-chem is not her job, it is her passion.

“We can find e-chem everywhere, even in animals such as electric eels,” she says. “Eels can generate several hundred volts – this is several times the voltage of a standard power socket. e-chem is also in plants. Some of them show triboelectric effect, the tissue of plant leaves can conduct electricity. Some plants can produce as much as 150 volts! That would be enough to power dozens of LED bulbs. This is crazy super cool.”

Dr. Ignaszak has received several national and international awards for her contribution to e-chem. These awards have demonstrated her competence in the field and motivated her to work harder. They include: the Science Award in Electrochemistry funded by Volkswagen and BASF (Germany among 6 finalists), Canadian National Committee IUPAC Travel Award (Canada), Harrison McCain Young Scholar Award (Canada), Joachim Walter Schultze Prize in Electrochemistry (Germany). She was classified as top 20 out of 220 participants in Toyota Young Investigator competitions (United States). Her recently awarded project on electrochemical diagnostics of cancer biomarkers is funded by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) – Deep Health Challenge program. This project competition was open to applicants from Canada and abroad, and 5 out of 20 finalists are outside Canada, with only two finalists from Atlantic Canada.

Dr. Ignaszak swims at 5:30 a.m. and follows that with a 45-minute run. She also likes to take long walks with her headphones on and listens to rock hits, rock symphonies or classic symphonies such as Paganini’s caprice No. 24 played by a variety of different artists such as Itzhak Perlman, David Garrett, Caroline Campbell, Andre Rieu, and many others.

Electrochemistry was born from the marriage of electricity and chemistry and comprises an enormous field with applications in almost everything. As always, nature is the greatest designer and has already found uses in biology. At its core, electrochemical reactions involve the transfer of electrons and corresponding charge between objects. From the neurons that allow you to sense and interact with the world around you, to the incredible defense mechanisms of the electric eel, it all boils down to simple electrochemistry. In our modern world, where electrical energy is the driving force for many technologies, electrochemistry has been at the forefront of technological improvement and development.

Perhaps the greatest applications of electrochemistry is a personal glucose sensor – the most frequently used electrochemical analyzer. These sensors are widely available in stores and have saved or improved the quality of lives of millions of diabetic patients worldwide. From the user’s point of view, this electrochemical blood tester is easy to handle, offers painless sampling, does not require constant maintenance, provides measurement along the way of other daily activities, and presents results in an easy-to-understand fashion. Having this in mind, electrochemical biosensors for disease monitoring became the driving force for our research.

When current is provided to bring about a chemical reaction, this process is known as electrolysis. Electrolysis is responsible for metals refining, electroplating, and splitting water to produce hydrogen for fuel cells. Breakthroughs in electrochemistry could pave the way for cleaner, more sustainable sources of energy and lead our world into the future. The most famous use of electrochemistry is the battery. Within the battery, molecules with stored chemical energy undergo spontaneous reactions that generate current. These can be irreversible like in the standard AA alkaline battery, or reversible (rechargeable) like the lead-acid automotive battery or lithium-ion battery.

Our group has a broad focus with the goal of turning in-lab electrochemical processes into real-world electrochemical solutions. We are exploring sensors that detect disease faster than current methods, searching for new lightweight, flexible materials capable of storing energy, combating electrode breakdown in Li-ion batteries, and developing rapid, electrochemical detection methods for specific pathogens and blood biomarkers. We invite you to look through our publication if you are curious about what our ongoing projects are, or the News page for quick updates on what’s been happening recently.

Publications

CHEM 5P41 Special Topics in Analytical Chemistry

CHEM 5P44 Directed Readings in Chemistry

Group