NSERC Chair for

Women in Science & Engineering

Prairie Region

FIND YOUR MENTOR OR COLLABORATOR.

Learn About Women Doing Research in the Prairie Provinces

Saskatchewan

Britt Hall

Britt Hall

University of Regina

Ecology

My research focuses on environmental controls regulating the formation and bioaccumulation of methylmercury (MeHg) in aquatic, specifically prairie, ecosystems. Prairie lakes and wetlands are critical wildlife habitats, providing cover and nesting sites for hundreds of game and non-game wildlife species and containing the some of the most important waterfowl breeding habitat remaining in North America.

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Denise S. D. Stilling

University of Regina

Industrial Systems Engineering

Current research is value-added products and processing from waste streams; in particular agriculture fibre (flax and hemp crop residue), crushed tires and reclaimed plastic packaging. The research encompasses the reclamation of waste, size reduction and manufacturing of innovative material, empirical and analytical property assessment and subsequently optimizing production, product design with life cycle analysis along with the transfer of technology into industrial systems engineering for commercialization.

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Kerri Finlay

University of Regina

Ecology

I am researching carbon biogeochemistry in lakes, and in particular looking at how different water bodies (lakes, streams, and agricultural dugouts) in the prairies are impacting the global carbon cycle. This work is exciting because we think that some of these water bodies could be used as carbon offsets for greenhouse gas emissions in the area.

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Maria Isabel Vélez

University of Regina

Geology

I reconstruct past climates and environments using diatoms and sediment analyses. I enjoy every step of the way: from collecting cores in the field to plotting a diatom diagram; also, the correlation between tools or proxies is very exciting. It is a beautiful process, of putting pieces together like in a big puzzle. I am also very excited about the possibility of using my paleo data in the risk analysis of water bodies! I think soon I will be able to make my results more relevant to society.

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Tanya E. S. Dahms

University of Regina

Biochemistry

The Dahms group currently studies microbial responses to external stimuli, including mechanisms associated with carbohydrate remodeling and cell wall integrity. We pioneered techniques to study the surface ultrastructure and physical properties associated with mechanisms of polarized and non-polarized growth in whole, live cells of moss and moss. We use a battery of microscopy techniques including atomic force microscopy (AFM), fluorescence, laser scanning confocal (two-photon), transmission and scanning electron microscopy, and near-field interferomic infrared AFM (ALS, Berkeley) to complement traditional and modern (metabolomics, proteomics) biochemical approaches.

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Fidji Gendron

First Nations University of Canada, University of Regina

Biology

We work in collaboration with Elders who share with us traditional knowledge about Saskatchewan native plants. Our role in the lab is to perform a chemical survey of these plants and identify their bioactive compounds.

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Susan G.W. Kaminskyj

University of Saskatchewan

Mycology

I study fungi, a model species called Aspergillus nidulans, and another called Trichoderma harzianum. The genus, Aspergillus includes species that help in the food industry (A. sojae and A. oryzae) and in aspects of the drug industry (A. terreus, A. niger). Some aspergilli are plant pathogens (A. flavus, A. parasiticus) and some are human pathogens (A. fumigatus, A. flavus). Yes, A. flavus does both. A. fumigatus is the most serious inhaled fungal pathogen in the world, and it is increasing in its virulence. Most people who are infected with A. fumigatus already have an underlying disease such as HIV or TB, and frequently the combination is deadly.

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Dena McMartin

University of Saskatchewan

Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering

One of the current research projects I'm working on is focused on how rural communities respond to flood and drought (we're thinking about adding wildfires, too). My students and I are learning about the infrastructure communities and farmers use to limit consequences of flood and drought. We're trying to understand why infrastructure fails or doesn't perform as expected - and even sometimes makes the problem worse. From there, we can offer solutions for better designs, new technologies, or different ways of responding to flood and drought.

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Helen Booker

University of Saskatchewan

Plant Science, Flax Breeder

I lead a breeding program that develops flax cultivars for Western Canada. My research program centres on understanding the genetics of traits of economic importance in flax. What is excites me is when a cultivars from my program are taken up by seed growers across Western Canada. Also, when we discover the gene for a particular trait like rust resistance and can follow material in the breeding program using molecular markers developed for that trait.

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Helen Baulch

University of Saskatchewan

Aquatic Ecosystem Biogeochemistry

I’m working on a variety of projects that link to nutrient biogeochemistry and surface water quality. What excites me is that nutrients are a major stressor affecting water quality – but that our work is aiming to look to solutions – to help reduce nutrient loading in the medium to longer-term, and to help adapt to our current issues in the short-term.

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Karen Tanino

University of Saskatchewan

Agriculture and Bioresources

The potential to find fundamental mechanisms driving many important plant processes which can ultimately make a real difference to agriculture and society.

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Associate

Kerry Anne Mazurek

University of Saskatchewan

Water Resources Engineering

I work on a number of different areas including prevention of drowning at hydraulic structures, estimating and improving water quality, and problems related to erosion and scour of soils. I am excited about the opportunity to improve the quality of life for society.

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Kate Congreves

Kate Congreves

University of Saskatchewan

Plant Sciences

Her research program is focused on the development of sustainable cropping systems. It is her goal to inform better nutrient management practices for maintaining and enhancing soil health and fertility, while also reducing nutrient loss and environmental degradation. She studies the effects of fertility regimes, crop rotations, crop residue management, cover crops, and tillage systems on soil biogeochemistry (carbon and nitrogen cycling) and crop nutrition in intensive cropping systems, with particular interest in vegetable production.

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Christy Morrissey

Christy Morrissey

University of Saskatchewan

Avian Science

I conduct diverse research on ecotoxicology issues that affect wildlife- namely wild birds. I have exciting work on the toxicological effects and fate of pesticides in agroecosystems and how this can alter food chains. My work uses a combination of lab and field studies that directly complement each other. I am always excited to test what we see in the lab holds in the field setting and vice versa. This allows us to test cause and effect as well as ecological relevance of pollutants that are found in the natural environment.

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Alberta

Anne Naeth

University of Alberta

Land Reclamation and Restoration Ecology

My research is mainly in the dynamic and broad field of land reclamation.

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Tian Tang

University of Alberta

Mechanical Engineering

My work is on the modeling of materials, across different scales. I am always fascinated about how microscopic interactions between molecules can lead to meso- or macroscopic functionality of materials.

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Evelyn Merrill

University of Alberta

Biological Sciences

I have 2 applied topics of research. I study trophic dynamics of wolves-elk-grasslands and the consequences for the loss of the migratory patterns. The world is ever changing and making heads and tails out of the mechanisms behind these dynamics is really enthralling. My research on chronic wasting disease is somewhat different because of its urgency to find ways to control the spread of this disease. Understanding how animal behavior translates to disease transmission at the population level is what excites me.

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Feral Temelli

University of Alberta

Food Process Engineering

My research program is on the value-added processing of agricultural crops. Our main focus is on supercritical carbon dioxide technology, which uses carbon dioxide at temperature and pressure conditions above its critical point of 31oC and 7.4 MPa. As a supercritical fluid it has interesting properties in between those of a liquid and gas and it can be used as a solvent to replace petroleum-based organic solvents for some processes. We are working on new technology development involving lipid and bioactive compounds based on extraction, fractionation, reactions, membrane separation and particle formation operations. It is very exciting to be in the forefront of this field and be able to contribute to new knowledge generation to enhance our fundamental understanding of such processes.

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Jane Batcheller

University of Alberta

Textile and Apparel Science

I love solving problems and my research allows me to do this every day. Currently I’m involved in a project to evaluate the effectiveness of industrial drycleaning to keep coveralls clean for workers in oil and gas industries. My research interests fall within three main areas: Protective Clothing and Equipment, Textile Analysis and Care, and Archeological Textiles. As the Principal Investigator of the Protective Clothing and Equipment Research Facility (PCERF), I oversee research conducted to address the conflicting phenomena of protection and comfort. Such research includes assessing the physiological strain (comfort or lack thereof) of protective clothing, and evaluating fabric performance against hot liquid, steam, and flame hazards.

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Jen Beverly

University of Alberta

Wildland Fire

I study wildland fire. As a student, I worked as a wildland firefighter for six years. It instilled in me a great fascination and respect for this amazing natural phenomenon and its capacity to transform ecosystems, valued forest resources, communities and lives. I do research on a broad range of wildfire topics including fire ecology, fire behaviour, fire risk assessment, landscape values-at-risk mapping, wildfire evacuations and fire-climate interactions – but they all respond to the same core question: “How do we make better decisions about fire?”

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Julianne Gibbs

University of Alberta

Chemistry

We have two different research areas in my lab. The first is trying to develop novel biodiagnostic platforms that will ideally operate at the point-of-care, which means in doctors' offices or in remote clinics. Our main strategy is to make biomarker enrichment and detection steps that happen at room temperature since this temperature would be ideal for simple diagnostics (no heat required). The other half of my lab is studying how surfaces like the chips used in many biosensors as well as environmental solids like sand influence the local chemistry.

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Alison Murray

University of Alberta

Palaeontology

I work on fossil fishes, describing new genera and species, determining their evolutionary relationships, and trying to decipher their biogeography - how they got where they were including looking at such factors as changing continental configurations, marine barriers, or other geological and environmental issues.

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Laura Frost

University of Alberta

Microbiology

I studied bacterial conjugation, the process by which bacteria transfer DNA encoding traits such as antibiotic and heavy metal resistance or bioremediation processes between one another. NSERC supported study on the filament that establishes the contact between donor and recipient cells called the pilus.

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Shelagh Campbell

University of Alberta

Developmental Geneticist

I am a developmental geneticist. I want to understand how our genes coordinate all the complex processes required for the development of a fertilized egg into a morphologically complex organism. I am fascinated by the complexity and beauty of life in all of its magnificent forms. The fruit flies that I work with are an incredibly useful model system for studying almost any biological question that you might be interested in.

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Sylvie Quideau

University of Alberta

Soil Biogeochemistry

My research program is based on soil organic matter, which continues to fascinate me. A thrust of my work has been to quantify the impact of environmental factors on organic matter accumulation and distribution in soils.

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Ania C. Ulrich

University of Alberta

Civil and Environmental Engineering

I use non-invasive biological techniques to clean up contaminated soil and groundwater. I love the simplicity and beauty of using techniques inspired by nature to help improve our quality of life. Human’s tend to overcomplicate problem solving, while nature finds the path of simplicity and least resistance, thus creating the best solution. I get most excited about the impact of my work. I can touch an individual's life or a community’s by providing them with clean water to drink or a safe environment for their families to live. That impact is priceless.

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Donna F. Vine

University of Alberta

Human Nutrition

I am researching how the endocrine hormones - androgens impact whole body and intestinal lipid metabolism, and how they regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-endocrine-ovarian-intestinal axis, in normal and disease conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome and metabolic syndrome. This research is exciting as we have a limited understanding of how androgens work in the body, particularly in different tissues, and androgens effect us throughout our life stages: in utero to puberty to ageing.

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Ellen Macdonald

University of Alberta

Renewable Resources

I'm working on how forest ecosystems respond to human-caused and natural disturbance. In particular my work focuses on how forests regenerate and change over time after disturbance and on the biodiversity of understory plants in forests. What excites me most is the opportunity to take our research results and apply them to approaches to sustainably manage and to restore forests.

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Elena Konstantinovskaya

University of Alberta

Integrated Petroleum Geosciences

Structural geology, seismic interpretation, fault analysis, analog modeling, and rock mechanics

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Cynthia Paszkowski

University of Alberta

Amphibian Conservation

Currently, I am primarily concerned with amphibian conservation. There is much to learn about the biology of these animals in Canada that includes the products of new technologies (eDNA, automated acoustic recorders that can be applied to protect amphibian populations.

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Alexandra Komrakova

Alexandra Komrakova

University of Alberta

Numerical Models

My research work is focused on numerical simulations meaning that I model physical systems in my 'virtual' computational lab. The exciting part is that with the powerful computational resources, I can numerically consider physical events that are challenging to study experimentally in a lab.

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Catherine Field

Catherine Field

University of Alberta

Nutritional Science

My research program centers on the effect of nutrition on the development of the immune system and the role of specific fatty acids in the treatment of breast cancer. My NSERC research program focuses on how diet, specifically long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, help the immune system develop tolerance. We study this in the postnatal period and use a number of animal models that involve feeding mom during lactation or directly supplementing the pup.

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Barb Thomas

Barb Thomas

University of Alberta

Forest Genetics

I work on trees, their genetic variation and phenotypes. Understanding how plasticity plays into the performance of a tree’s success on the landscape and how to improve selection for climate change and forest health.

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Colleen Cassady St. Clair

University of Alberta

Animal Behaviour

I study how animal behaviour contributes to both problems and solutions related to conservation biology. Some current project goals include reducing conflict with urban coyotes, assessing the importance of personality in town-dwelling elk, and mitigating train strikes on grizzly bears in the mountain parks.

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Ute Kothe

University of Lethbridge

Biochemistry

Dr. Ute Kothe is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry of the University of Lethbridge and a founding member of the Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute (ARRTI). Dr. Kothe is originally from Germany where she conducted graduate studies investigating protein synthesis in bacteria. In general, she is interested in the function of coding and non-coding ribonucleic acids (RNA) and the interaction of RNA and proteins during gene expression in health and disease. Dr. Kothe is a passionate researcher, mentor, teacher and science ambassador. In 2017, she has been selected into the College of Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada. She facilitates “Instructional Skills Workshops” for her colleagues and has received the University of Lethbridge Distinguished Teaching Award in 2014.

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Laura Chasmer

University of Lethbridge

Physical Geography

My research examines how northern wetlands and permafrost ecosystems are changing as a result of climatic changes and disturbance. Canada contains vast amounts of both frozen and unfrozen peatlands, and these have accumulated C for millennia. The changes in climate that we are seeing have a profound impact on the movement of greenhouse gases, water and energy within these ecosystems. I am especially interested in how their rapid changes are affecting wildfire burn severity and what this might mean for these ecosystems in the future.

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Wendy Osborn

University of Lethbridge

Computer Science

My general area is data management and query processing of non-standard data types, such as spatial data and network data. Query processing from a centralized system, distributed system and from mobile devices.

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Jennifer Mather

University of Lethbridge

Professor, Psychology

Dr. Jennifer Mather was born in Victoria, BC, where she developed her fascination for sea animals. She holds a BSc in Biology from UBC, an MSc in Biology from Florida State, and a PhD from Brandeis University (1980), after which she earned a University Research Fellowship and worked as a Research Assistant Professor at Western University for five years. She has been at the University of Lethbridge since 1985, where she currently works as a Professor of Psychology, researching octopus behaviour. Beyond these research interests, Dr. Mather's work is also concerned with women in science (having been involved in activism and teaching on gender issues), non-standard university teaching, human-animal interactions and invertebrate welfare. She is widowed, with two children and two grandchildren.

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Jackie Rice

University of Lethbridge

Computer Science

I am researching how people use language. This is actually a field of linguistics, and so I collaborate with many linguists. However linguists look at how people use natural language (e.g. English, Japanese, Arabic, etc.) while I am interested in how people use programming languages. For instance, men and women use natural language in different ways, and computer programs can identify whether a man or a woman wrote a particular article, blog post, or book. So what does that mean for your computer?

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Joy Morris

University of Lethbridge

Mathematics

My research is primarily in automorphisms of graphs. In lay terms, that's symmetry in networks, but mathematicians use graphs to model networks and abstract algebra (permutation groups) to study symmetry. I enjoy being able to draw diagrams to illustrate my work and to try out new ideas. I love that there are so many interesting problems to think about and to work on!

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Shelly Wismath

University of Lethbridge

Mathematics

My math research was in abstract or general algebra, and I loved the study of pattern and structure, and the mental exercise it gave me. Currently I work in SoTL, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and I study how to teach students math, quantitative, reasoning and problem solving skills, especially for students who are not in math or science.

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Caterina Valeo

Caterina Valeo

University of Calgary

University of Victoria

Water Resources Engineering

My research includes the impact of urbanization and climate change on water quantity and quality; the influence of hydrological processes on forest regeneration; modelling water resources in remote regions of the Canadian boreal forest, assessing the impacts of climate change and urbanization on water supply.

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Cathy Ryan

Cathy Ryan

University of Calgary

Environmental Geoscience and Hydrogeology

I conduct field-based research in environmental geoscience and hydrogeology on community relevant issues. I study free phase gas (i.e. bubble) transport in the subsurface, for example at oil and gas wells that have fugitive methane migration and at geysers. We know so little, and there is so much to learn!

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Elena Braverman

University of Calgary

Applied Mathematics

My area includes continuous and discrete dynamical systems, especially systems with delay. One can see delays every day, for example, delays when you move the shower tap to change water temperature … and like in the real life, this can lead to (temperature) oscillations of an otherwise monotone system (you just increase the temperature until the water is warm enough). We study systems where small (or any) delays do not significantly change the behavior of the system, as well as those where the behavior changes significantly. Another interesting topic of my research is the influence of the dispersal strategy on the extinction and survival of species in a competition.

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Marina L. Gavrilova

University of Calgary

Computer Science

I am a founding director of Biometric technologies and SPARCS laboratories in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Calgary as well as a Founding Editor-in-Chief of Scholarly Journal Transactions on Computational Sciences Springer. The focus of my research program is on development of machine learning algorithms to find new patterns in a vast amount of data we generate every day. I am particularly interested in development of deep learning methods and information fusion approaches to discover new insights about human beings. These include developing new generation systems for analysis of behavioral, physiological, emotional and social patterns. Those insights will help in the future to augment student learning, to have a better insights on how humans make decisions, and assist in development of practical technologies that help with everyday activities. In my labs we also focus on security and privacy in information collection as well as data mining.

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Rachel M. Lauer

University of Calgary

Geophysics

My research is broadly focused on geofluids and geohazards, with applications in both offshore environments (fluid processes in subduction zones related to seismicity) as well as terrestrial projects focused on applying near surface geophysical methods to understanding fluid pathways in the subsurface. I am excited to be working on projects that are linked despite their different environments. In the Alberta Prairie, I am looking into the mechanisms that drive the formation of small mud mounds that are analogous to submarine mud volcanoes, thought to be the result of focused fluid flow along faults.

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Susana Y. Kimura-Hara

University of Calgary

Chemistry

I first became interested in drinking water treatment because it is essential to human life. With pristine water sources being depleted due to population growth and climate change, alternative source waters are being used including saline and wastewater-impacted waters. My research investigates how compounds found in wastewater-impacted waters are removed or transformed by existing and new treatment technologies to ensure the safe use of reused water.

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Qingye (Gemma) Lu

University of Calgary

Chemical and petroleum engineering

I work on development of bioinspired functional materials in environmental remediation, and understanding of fundamental surface and interfacial interactions by molecular-level force probes. I find the fundamental interaction studies are important for guiding the material design and learning from nature can resolve some problems we faced and advance the sustainability of the world.

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Mozhdeh Shahbazi

University of Calgary

Geomatics Engineering

My current research program is mainly involved with the development of vision-guided, intelligent unmanned systems and their applications in geomatics. Everything about unmanned systems is exciting: from their development (stages of sensor integration at lab) to their applications (going to different fields for data acquisition and coming back to office with a huge amount of data to process).

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Jana Vamosi

University of Calgary

Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Currently, I'm engaged with plant conservation biology and collections-based research. I like discovering historical specimens locked in herbaria and exploring what has changed about that geographical area over time.

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Jocelyn Hayley

University of Calgary

Geotechnical Engineering

My research is in the general area of soil mechanics (geotechnical engineering), with a focus on sediments that undergo big changes when subject to temperatures and/or pressures. For example, gas hydrates, also known as "flammable ice" are an abundant source of natural gas found in submarine sediments and under the permafrost. I build gas hydrates into soil samples in the laboratory, and then study what happens when we reduce the pressure, let them thaw, or squish them to determine their strength. I also investigate permafrost soils, and what happens to roads, buildings, and the arctic coastlines when these soils thaw.

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Jingjing Wu

University of Calgary

Statistics

My research is in statistics. It is exciting to use statistical methodologies to reveal what is behind the data and what conclusions one can make to provide guidance for the future.

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Josephine M. Hill

University of Calgary

Chemical and Petroleum Engineeering

I research catalysts, which are substances that increase the speed of reactions. My group develops, characterizes and tests catalysts from sustainable materials for a variety of applications including water treatment, hydrotreating and gasification. It fascinates me that such a small amount of material (i.e., the catalyst) can have such a tremendous impact on a process.

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Laleh Behjat

University of Calgary

Electrical and Computer Engineering

My work is in the area of electronic design automation. Basically, I make software tools that automate the design of computer chips with the objective of making them faster, smaller and less power-hungry. This area is very fast paced, and research areas that were hot one year ago can be totally obsolete now. In some ways, working in this area means that I need to be very creative and draw knowledge from other areas to always be working on the state-of-the-art. The creativity is a necessity and that is what excites me.

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Lina Kattan

University of Calgary

Transportation Systems Optimization

My objective is to model, analyze and evaluate the impacts of emerging vehicular technologies on urban transportation and transit planning. Currently I am focusing on 1. Modelling and analyzing the traffic flow characteristics of a mixed traffic environment where emerging vehicle technologies such as automated and connected vehicles interact with manually driven vehicles, and 2. Examining how to integrate these emerging systems with the next generation of traffic management and control strategies to achieve improved safety and system performance.

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Lynne Cowe Falls

University of Calgary

Civil Engineering

Lynne has developed a research interest in the effectiveness and efficacy of soft-skills education within the constraints of an engineering curriculum.

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Kristine Bauer

University of Calgary

Math and Statistics

I research homotopy invariants and functors - things that can tell whether or not two mathematical objects should be counted as ``the same'' or not. I'm excited that this really deep, abstract phenomenon turns out to have the same kind of structure as calculus, which is really familiar.

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Marie Fraser

University of Calgary

Biological Sciences

We investigate how proteins function in the living cell. To "see" the proteins, we grow crystals of them and expose these crystals to X-rays to collect the diffraction pattern. From the pattern, we figure out where the atoms are in the protein and interpret from that how the protein works. What excites me is the sense of discovery in seeing the protein for the first time or seeing how a ligand binds to the protein for the first time. I enjoy the challenge, then, of trying to figure out how the protein works.

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Constance Finney

University of Calgary

Integrative Cell Biology

My overall research goal is to discover how the host immune system interacts with pathogens in these settings to improve/develop effective treatments/vaccines. I research the impact of chronic parasites on the immune system. How does our immune system cope under different pressures, for example multiple infections with the same parasite or multiple parasites at the same time? I find it fascinating to try to understand how both the host and the parasite coexist.

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Deniz Sezer

University of Calgary

Mathematics and Statistics

Probability models. They can be applied to every aspect of our lives. I work on diverse applications such as modeling financial markets, modeling wind, modeling social networks, population dynamics etc.

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Manitoba

Bernadette Ardelli

Bernadette Ardelli

Brandon University

Parasitology

I have a few research themes in my laboratory all focused around control of infectious disease. With my NSERC funded research we focus on mechanisms of drug resistance using two models – a parasitic protozoan and a parasitic nematode. The bulk of my drug resistance work has involved the ‘wonder drug’ ivermectin and focuses on a group of proteins known as ATP-binding cassette proteins.

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Margaret E. Carrington

Margaret E. Carrington

Brandon University

Physics

I'm a theoretical high energy physicist, and I study the fundamental interactions of elementary particles.

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Mousumi Majumder

Brandon University

Molecular Genetics

My research interest is to investigate the roles of micro RNA (miRNA). miRNAs are mostly known for their roles in cancer development, hence targeted for many cancer therapies. In the funded NSERC project, I am investigating the roles of miRNA in our development and in angiogenesis or new blood vessel formation. Most exciting part of my research is to show the basic valuable and positive roles of these miRNA, which are popularly known for their disease causing functions

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Sarah Plosker

Sarah Plosker

Brandon University

Mathematics

I work on matrix analysis and operator theory applications to quantum information theory. I enjoy learning new things and solving problems. I am always excited to collaborate with other researchers and students.

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Rachel Krause

Rachel Krause

Canadian Mennonite University

Parasitology

My research is in parasitology, both in humans and wildlife. I have a number of collaborations with other researchers, which has allowed me to continue working in a few different systems, even though my teaching load does not allow as much time for research as I would like. This has meant that I have had the opportunity to exchange ideas and work closely with really talented scientists, here in Canada (in Winnipeg, where I'm based), and internationally. This interchange of ideas keeps things interesting and fresh.

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Anita Brule Babel

Anita Brûlé-Babel

University of Manitoba

Wheat Breeding & Genetics

My research focuses on wheat breeding and genetics with emphasis on disease resistance. My most recent work had been to study the genetics of wheat resistance to Fusarium head blight. Fusarium head blight is a devastating disease of wheat that affects yield, end-use quality, and food and feed safety. Through my research, and the work of my collaborators, we are developing wheat varieties with better resistance to Fusarium head blight.

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Andrea Bunt

Andrea Bunt

University of Manitoba

Computer Science

I work in an area of computer science called Human-Computer Interaction, which is the study of how people interact with technology and how to design technology so that people can interact with it in better and/or novel ways. I get excited by how interdisciplinary the research is -- it is a great combination of Computer Science, Psychology, Sociology and Design.

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Dana Schroeder

University of Manitoba

Plant Molecular Genetics

We are using molecular genetics to dissect plant environmental response. Basically we want to identify genes that help plants respond optimally to light, heat, drought, or UV stress.

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Jay Kormish

University of Manitoba

Biological Sciences

How organs develop has always been a fascination of mine. Individuals start from a single cell to become a complicated network of cells with highly specialized functions. During embryo development the cells are constantly communicating with each other to coordinate their functions. The process is extremely complicated yet reproducible and exquisitely precise. The elaboration of this simplicity fascinated me during my undergraduate training and still does. Developmental biology and genetics are rapidly growing fields. I enjoy teaching about the subject and solving the biological puzzles.

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Jill Oakes

University of Manitoba

Professor, Environment and Geography

I am studying ways to eliminate barriers in order to increase the number of women working in the field of aviation from 6% to 50% women. It is extremely exciting to meet women who are paving the way for the next generation of aviators.

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Jillian Detwiler

University of Manitoba

Biological Sciences

One aim of my research is to characterize helminth parasite diversity to better understand what processes have led to speciation. This area is exciting to me because we are discovering new species, and addressing a really complex problem. We have also started working on determining the role of chemical communication in parasite-modified host behaviour. This topic is intriguing because we've found that in some cases parasites alter host behaviour, and in other cases they do not.

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Judy Anderson

University of Manitoba

Biological Sciences

My research is focused on understanding the regulation of muscle stem cells called satellite cells and how that changes across species, with aging, and with disease. That fundamental knowledge has led to discoveries about nitric oxide-mediated activation of satellite cells (to begin regenerating muscle after injury, for example) that led to us developing a new molecule that improves muscle regeneration and promotes muscle growth.

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Juliette Mammei

University of Manitoba

Nuclear Physics

My research is in fundamental subatomic physics. I use the property of parity violation in the weak interaction to study nuclear and nucleon properties. Most excitingly, my experiments are looking for new force mediators that we have never seen. If found, they could explain many things, including the abundance of dark matter and energy in the universe.

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Kateryn Rochon

University of Manitoba

Entomology

Right now I am mostly working on the geographic distribution and seasonal activity of ticks, mainly species that can transmit animal pathogens. In general, my research involves studying insects (and other arthropods, like ticks) that affect animal health and well being. Not only does that involve pathogen transmission, but also anything that bites and causes irritation. I'm excited about this area of research because it combines my interest in insects and larger animals (both livestock and wildlife), and my interest in microbiology.

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Margaret Docker

University of Manitoba

Evolution of lampreys

Most of my research uses genetic tools to better understand the evolution of lampreys, a group of jawless fishes that has been around for more than 500 million years and represents one of the few survivors of the early vertebrate lineage and to apply these tools to help conserve native lamprey populations that are in decline (which is common in many parts of the world) or, in the one case where a lamprey species invaded a new environment (the Great Lakes) and became a significant pest, to help control or eradicate the problematic species.

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Qiuyan Yuan

University of Manitoba

Environmental Engineering

I have 10 years research and development experience in sustainable nutrient removal and recovery processes applied to wastewater and biosolids. Since 2014, her research area has expanded to solid waste treatment and management. Currently, she is focusing on: 1) developing technology to produce high value product form solid waste including organic waste, glass and tires; 2) landfill methane mitigation using innovative bio-cover, 3) wastewater nutrient removal and recovery, including landfill leachate treatment.

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Trust Beta

University of Manitoba

Food Science

I have been researching on plant chemicals (phytochemicals) in crops, their identification, quantification and changes during handling and processing.

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Darshani Kumaragamage

University of Winnipeg

Environmental Pollution

My research mostly focuses on reducing pollution from agricultural activities, with emphasis on nutrient pollution due to fertilizer and manure application. It is exciting since I can use my knowledge on soil physical chemistry and hydrology in finding solutions to mitigate environmental pollution from fertilizer and manure use in crop production.

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Melanie Martin

University of Winnipeg

Physics

I am developing new magnetic resonance imaging and simultaneous positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging methods to visualize parts of the central nervous system, which cannot currently be visualized non-invasively. It is always exciting to see something that has never been seen before.

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Mirjana Roksandic

Mirjana Roksandic

University of Winnipeg

Anthropology

I have two vastly different areas of research: one is human evolution in the Middle Pleistocene of Europe, the other is centered on sedentary hunter-gatherers in the Caribbean. Knowing about past humans gives you a very different perspective on current human condition. The variety of human responses to life challenges and the time depth at which anthropologists look at these phenomena allow you to see both the unique human qualities and the variability inherent in any biological organism. The questions human pondered from the very beginning remain the same.

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Nora Casson

University of Winnipeg

Geography

My research investigates how human activities across landscapes influence water quality in streams and lakes. I work in a variety of different environments, including forests, wetlands and agricultural systems. This research excites me because understanding how water and nutrients cycle through ecosystems helps us make informed management decisions and protect water quality for everyone.

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Sheela Ramanna

University of Winnipeg

Applied Computer Science

My research is primarily in machine learning. Specifically, my focus is on fundamental and applied aspects of computational intelligence methods in machine learning. The explosion of large volumes of data have opened new and exciting research problems in areas such as natural language processing and social networks. This is a very challenging and exciting time to be a computer scientist.

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Tabitha Wood

The University of Winnipeg

Synthetic Organic Chemistry

I study synthetic organic chemistry methodology - which is to say, gaining understanding of methods for predictably changing the structures of carbon-based molecules. I like designing experiments that reveal clues that help move us closer to understanding how these methods work. It would be exciting to create a method that allows us to prepare a useful molecule (like a pharmaceutical) in an elegant and efficient process.

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