SMU faculty support front line health workers

During the global pandemic of COVID-19, supporting each other and our community is more important than ever. At Saint Mary’s University, while administration prepared for the move to virtual operations, an enterprising group of researchers and faculty members saw an opportunity to help those at the front lines of the epidemic.

A portion of @SMUScience lab supplies going to health care workers today. Thank you @EPICLundholmLab for coordinating today with Megan Vincent. Hoping to coordinate more PPE and lab supplies to go to health care workers from @SMUScience over the next few days. #COVIDkindness pic.twitter.com/2s0wx66v5s

— Dr. Linda Campbell (@LM_Campbell) March 23, 2020

“As the university prepares to transition away from in-person classes and labs, we quickly realized that we had lab supplies that could be useful to medical professionals,” says Dr. Linda Campbell, Director of the School of Environment at Saint Mary’s. “It’s important that people support the nurses, doctors, and medical staff at the front lines.”

Dr. Linda Campbell and Dr. Jeremy Lundholm coordinated the efforts. Dr. Lundholm was joined by chemistry professors Dr. Christa Brosseau and Dr. Jason Masuda and Faculty of Science staff to gather lab coats, safety glasses, gloves and masks, and prepare the supplies for transport to local hospitals.

“We saw an opportunity to show support on behalf of the SMU community, and we seized the opportunity to get these supplies in the hands of the people who need them most right now,” adds Dr. Campbell.

The Saint Mary’s University Community sends thanks to them, and the Faculty of Science, for their donations of much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE).

Dr. Sam Veres wins prestigious award in spinal research

Dr. Sam Veres, Associate Dean of Science at Saint Mary’s University

Dr. Sam Veres, a biomedical engineer and Associate Dean of Science at Saint Mary’s University, has won the prestigious ISSLS Prize in Basic Science for 2020 from the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine.

The winning paper, co-written with student Tyler Herod (MASc in Biomedical Engineering at Dalhousie), is titled “Beyond microstructure: Circumferential specialization within the lumbar intervertebral disc annulus extends to collagen nanostructure, with counterintuitive relationships to macroscale material properties.”

The work focuses on intervertebral discs, which are a component of the skeletal system that is not yet fully understood, despite being critically important to everyday living. These thin soft tissue discs interposed between adjacent vertebrae are what provide the spine with flexibility, allowing us to bend and twist.

Intervertebral discs support mechanical load in a similar way to an exercise ball or car tire, explained Dr. Veres. “When compressed, the pressure generated within the centre of an intervertebral disc resists the compressive load, while the periphery or annulus of the disc is stretched in tension, restraining the pressurized interior from escaping.”

A herniation, or slipped disc, occurs when the stretched disc ruptures, allowing the pressurized centre of the disc to escape—with painful, debilitating consequences for the patient. Disc herniations often occur posteriorly, and their proximity to the spinal cord makes this especially problematic. Herniated nuclear material from within a disc can cause pain by mechanically compressing or chemically irritating the spinal cord or its enveloping membrane, the dura.

“What struck us as odd about the posterior annulus is not that failure often occurs here, but that the rates of microdamage accumulation in this area—the small tears, clefts, and fissures that start to develop within the first few decades of life—are not remarkably higher compared to other less loaded regions of the annulus,” said Dr. Veres. “We suspected that the posterior annulus may possess structural differences to other regions on a smaller structural scale.”

To test their theory, Dr. Veres and Tyler tested the lumbar spines of sheep to study the structural organization of collagen molecules using a thermo-mechanical technique known as hydrothermal isometric tension analysis.

“In general, our results showed that the collagen fibres of the intervertebral disc annulus are much stronger than previously thought—more than double the strengths previously reported,” said Dr. Veres.

“Interestingly, despite being composed of fibres with greater intermolecular connectivity, the posterior annulus was significantly weaker than the anterior annulus,” he said. “These results show that a previously unknown regional variation exists in the fundamental load-bearing structural makeup of the intervertebral disc annulus.”

Currently the standard treatment for herniated discs is to remove the discs and fuse the two adjacent vertebrae to become a single column of bone; successful, well-established techniques for repairing discs don’t yet exist.

“Our work is just one piece in a much larger attempt by the spinal research community to understand normal function and failure within intervertebral discs, in order to inform how to better care for and perhaps one day repair or replace these critical elements of our skeletal system,” said Dr. Veres.

Dr. Sam Veres’s Research

Biomedical engineer Dr. Veres uses a multidisciplinary approach, using knowledge and techniques from engineering, physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine to improve understanding of tissue development, normal function, aging, injury, and repair. His work has provided fundamental insights into the structural changes that occur in mechanically overloaded soft tissues, and work continues on the development of new therapies for treatment of tendons, ligaments, and the intervertebral discs of the lower back.

The award-winning work was funded by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The Veres Group is part of a tissue development, damage and repair research collaborative located at Saint Mary’s University and Dalhousie University.

The Group specializes in investigating interactions between structure and function in the load-bearing tissues of the human body, and how these relationships change in health and disease.

The ISSLS Prize for Lumbar Spine Research

The ISSLS Prize program is sponsored by the European Spine Journal. Three prizes of $20,000 each are awarded annually based on scientific merit in the areas of basic science, bioengineering, and clinical science. Papers submitted for the competition must be original, full article manuscripts, not previously published or submitted for publication. The prize also comes with an invitation to present the winning paper in Australia in 2020.

SMU researcher’s groundbreaking earthworm study on recent cover of Science Magazine

Dr. Erin Cameron, a researcher in the department of Environmental Science, has published a paper in the prestigious Science Magazine on her work studying the global diversity and biogeography of earthworms.

The study had two main findings: that local species richness (the number of earthworm species at a site) was higher in temperate regions of the world compared to tropical areas, and that climate is the strongest driver of earthworm diversity. This suggests that future climate change could significantly alter earthworm communities worldwide, threatening the many functions they provide.

“Having her research recognized by such a prestigious scientific publication is a testament to Dr. Cameron’s innovative work in the field of environmental science,” said Dr. Lori Francis, acting Dean of Science at Saint Mary’s University. “The huge scope of her collaboration with such a large international group of scientists is impressive, and this work will allow further collaborations with other leaders in this field and answer important questions about effects of global climate change on earthworm communities.”

“Having her research recognized by such a prestigious scientific publication is a testament to Dr. Cameron’s innovative work in the field of environmental science.”

— Dr. Lori Francis, acting Dean of Science at Saint Mary’s University

Dr. Cameron and her German collaborator Prof. Nico Eisenhauer were the senior authors on the paper, with their postdoc Dr. Helen Phillips as the lead author. The research, based at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Leipzig University in Germany, used research compiled from 140 researchers from across the globe to create the largest earthworm dataset worldwide, encompassing 6928 sites in 57 countries.

First conceived in 2014 at a global earthworm conference after a workshop discussing questions concerning diversity patterns of earthworms, this report has been years in the making. The researchers looked at questions about what factors drive global patterns of earthworm diversity: soil properties such as pH and the organic carbon content of soil, or habitat cover, or climate: i.e. temperature and precipitation. Dr. Cameron had previously looked at earthworm distributions in the boreal forest of northern Alberta, and was intrigued by earthworms found further north than expected.

Earthworms substantially shape the way ecosystems function: their burrowing creates holes, mixes soil components and they eat organic debris. By doing so, they drive a wide range of ecosystem services, including nutrient provision, water infiltration and run-off, carbon storage, climate mitigation and seed dispersal.

“Earthworms are ecosystem engineers; they are species with a large impact on the structure of ecosystems,” said Dr. Cameron. “While the impact of earthworms on their local ecosystems is fairly well known, until now there has been no research or data on the distribution of earthworms at a global scale.”

“A surprising result of this study was that the biodiversity patterns in above-ground organisms do not match those of soil organisms, with a greater local diversity found in more temperate climates compared with tropical locations,” Dr. Cameron explained. “As typically the highest number of species in a local area is found in the tropics, this result was not expected, however we suspect that the total number of earthworms across the tropics is still higher than other regions due to dissimilarity among sites.”

“This is a seminal accomplishment in climate change research which Dr. Cameron has achieved so early in her professional career, with this being the first time Saint Mary’s research has been featured on the cover of Science Magazine,” said Dr. Adam Sarty, Saint Mary’s University’s Associate Vice-President Research.  “Her ability to lead this large international collaborative project, and provide a truly global perspective, makes us excited to see where her next projects will lead as she joins the growing team of Saint Mary’s University researchers focusing attention on the impacts of, and responses to, the effects of climate change.”

The research also found that the biggest driver of diversity in earthworm communities was climate, namely precipitation and temperature. “These organisms are an important part of our ecosystem, and below-ground biodiversity must be considered when considering the effects of climate change on our ecosystems,” said Dr. Cameron.

The study and its resulting comprehensive global map used as much data on earthworm diversity, abundance and biomass as possible. Future stages of this work will project earthworm diversity levels in the future.

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Dr. Erin Cameron is an assistant professor in the Environmental Science department at Saint Mary’s University. Her research examines effects of global change on species distributions, community composition, and ecosystem functioning. She uses a combination of field observations, experiments, citizen science, molecular approaches, data synthesis, and modelling to assess global change impacts across spatial and temporal scales. Dr. Cameron was recently awarded an NSERC Discovery Grant with a Northern Research Supplement.

Saint Mary’s researcher contributes to UN fishery and climate meetings

Dr. Tony Charles (2nd from left) participates in a panel at the UN’s International Symposium on Fisheries Sustainability in Rome.

The work of a Saint Mary’s professor is reaching the global stage via two international United Nations symposiums.

Dr. Tony Charles, who teaches in both the School of the Environment and the Sobey School of Business, was recently invited to speak on the future of global and regional fisheries at the International Symposium on Fisheries Sustainability. The event was held in Rome at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

The conference examined how decisions are made around all aspects of the fishery, with the aim to develop high-level policy on the role, value and sustainability of fisheries in the 21st century.

“My focus is on how fishing communities can do better in the future, how they can have healthier, better lives through conserving their local resources and environment,” says Dr. Charles.

“That’s been my interest for all my career here at Saint Mary’s, is how to make natural resources sustainable while providing livelihoods for people,” said Charles.

The topic is a timely one. Fisheries are linked with many of the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals not just the health of the ocean, but ending poverty, food security, gender equality, climate change.

“There’s been a philosophy that government has to control fishing people or they will go crazy and catch too much fish. But what I and many others have been documenting over the years is that if you let the fishers operate as local communities, all around the world, what you see is that they actually conserve the fish.”

‘It turns out if you just let local communities take action themselves, and give them support for doing that, it’s very impressive what they can accomplish.”

Another project led by Charles is also being taken to the international stage. His publication Addressing the Climate Change and Poverty Nexus looks at the links between poverty reduction efforts and climate change action and will be presented by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization at COP 25 this week in Madrid. “It’s kind of a tool kit to the countries of the world on how to make poverty reduction come together with climate action, and vice versa,” says Charles.

Learn more:

International Symposium on Fisheries Sustainability

Community Conservation Research Network

Undergraduate Astrophysics student publishes a lead-author scientific paper

Saint Mary’s University Astrophysics student Sophia Waddell

Publishing a lead-author scientific paper is always an exciting milestone for graduate students, one that comes after a lot of research, hard work and persistence to work through multiple edits with advisors and journal editors.  

Sophia Waddell has already achieved this goal after her third year of undergraduate studies, having published a paper with the Royal Astronomical Society. The Astrophysics student has also co-authored four other papers: one with a graduate student after her first year at Saint Mary’s, two with her supervisor Dr. Luigi Gallo, and another led by a postdoc.  

After coming up with the idea for the paper in her High Energy Astrophysics course, she wrote the paper and worked with Dr. Gallo on a series of revisions. She then submitted the paper to the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society for an anonymous review, which resulted in just a few changes before the paper was accepted.  

“It’s very rare that an undergraduate student is able to publish a lead-author paper,” said Dr. Luigi Gallo, Professor of Astronomy at Saint Mary’s. “Sophia has an amazing work ethic that is driven by her passion for the subject matter.  She is constantly reading papers, working the data, asking questions, and often stumping me.”  

Waddell’s paper, titled Multi-epoch X-ray spectral analysis of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 478, explores X-ray data from a supermassive black hole (SMBH) called Mrk 478. “This black hole in particular is called an active galactic nucleus (AGN), which means that it is actively sucking in material, forming an accretion disk around the black hole,” explained Waddell.  

“The material located closest to the black hole gets so hot, that rather than radiating optical light (light our eyes can see), it emits high-energy X-rays. Using special space-based observatories, we can study the X-rays coming from active black holes, which can tell us about the structure and properties of the innermost regions.” 

In her paper Waddell used different models representing different physical structures of the inner region of this SMBH, and applied them to data collected with X-ray satellites. 

“Using the models, and a couple of other techniques, we were able to determine the structure and geometry of the inner region of this black hole, which can help tell us more about the evolution of galaxies and the Universe itself,” she said. 

“Sophia is currently following up on her results and is now looking at the rapid variability on time scales of a day, to see if those fast changes are consistent with the same model,” said Dr. Gallo. 

Black Holes

A black hole is a region of space that has experienced a gravitational collapse leaving behind a region from which nothing can escape, not even light. Supermassive black holes are the largest type of these astronomical objects, and are considered to be at least hundreds of thousands of times the mass of the sun. The concept of black holes was first considered in the 18th century, and the formation of supermassive black holes, first mentioned in the 1960s, is still a topic being researched by astronomers. The first photo of a supermassive black hole was only captured in the spring of 2019.   

Plans for the Future

Waddell has “loved all things math and science” since she was a small child, and with two parents who graduated from the Engineering program at Saint Mary’s, she had plenty of support at home for her STEM interests. After a unit in astrophysics in a high school physics class she was hooked and now plans to pursue an academic career as a physics and astrophysics professor. She’s currently applying to grad schools and would like to continue studying X-ray astronomy.  

“I think it’s incredible that we get to work with data taken by satellites in outer space, studying some of the most extreme objects in the Universe,” said Waddell. “I also love talking about my research and science in general, and I can’t wait to keep sharing my science with others!”

Saint Mary’s Researcher named a Fellow of the American Physical Society

Dr. Rituparna Kanungo

Saint Mary’s University physicist Dr. Rituparna Kanungo has been named as a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) for her outstanding research on rare isotopes.  

This honour goes to scientists who have made significant innovative contributions to the field of physics. No more than one half of one percent of the Society’s membership who have been nominated by their peers are elected as Fellows. Dr. Kanungo was nominated by the Division of Nuclear Physics. She is a professor in the Astronomy and Physics Department and an Affiliate Scientist of TRIUMF, Canada’s particle accelerator centre in Vancouver.  

 “I am deeply honoured to be chosen to receive this prestigious recognition from the American Physical Society, which I would like to share with all my students, post docs and collaborators. I am immensely thankful to my peers for valuing my contributions, and I thank my supervisors, mentors and our funding agencies for their support,” said Dr. Kanungo.  

“This motivates me further to pursue and enable new discoveries with the rare isotopes in nature. It came as a truly rewarding moment with a burst of encouragement in a long and challenging journey to explore the unknown.”  

Dr. Kanungo’s nomination was for research which encompasses several projects in Canada and abroad. She has a large network of national and international collaborators, bringing together undergraduate, graduate students, post docs and collaborating scientists from around the world. 

 “Being elected as a Fellow of the APS is a testament to Dr. Kanungo’s work in the field of subatomic physics, allowing her to enhance her scientific research and further expand collaborations with other leaders in this field,” said Dr. Lori Francis, acting Dean of Science at Saint Mary’s University. “This honour is also an international recognition of Canadian expertise and an appreciation of the work being done at our university and across the country.”  

“We are very proud of Dr. Kanungo’s leadership in nuclear physics research, and this award is a wonderful endorsement of the impact Dr. Kanungo and her many Canadian and international collaborators have had on her field,” said Dr. Malcolm Butler, Vice-President Academic and Research 

At Saint Mary's University. “Saint Mary’s has been pleased to support Dr. Kanungo’s work, and our students have had tremendous opportunities to work with her and her collaborators at major laboratories in Canada (TRIUMF National Laboratory) and around the world. On behalf of everyone at Saint Mary’s University, I offer congratulations to Dr. Kanungo for being named an American Physical Society Fellow.” 

The APS citation of her recognition

For seminal studies of weakly bound nuclei that have challenged our understanding of the nuclear many-body system, and for the development of innovative experimental techniques and approaches used in measurements with rare isotope beams. 

Research

Dr. Kanungo’s research focus is on nuclei, which are the core of all visible matter in our Universe. They embody the beauty and mystery of nature’s strongest force that binds two building blocks protons and neutrons into an enormous wide variety of complex many-body systems, forming the different elements and their isotopes. 

Only a small handful of the isotopes exist naturally on earth with most of them being stable or very long-lived. However, the access to explore the short-lived rare isotopes in nature, especially ones approaching the edges of the nuclear landscape, is revolutionizing nuclear science. 

Dr. Kanungo uses nuclear reactions to unveil the new features in rare isotopes. Her team, along with researchers around the world, are continuously working together to develop new experimental methods of harnessing the rare isotopes. 

“I look forward to contributing to a new era of exploration with the next generation rare isotope facilities coming online in this decade. Particularly, FRIB in the USA and ARIEL in Canada the new North American facilities, FAIR in Germany as well as the existing RIBF facility in Japan,” said Dr. Kanungo. 

More of Dr. Kanungo’s research can be found here.

APS Fellowships

The APS Fellowship Program was created since 1921 to recognize members who have made advances in physics through original research and publication or have made significant innovative contributions in the application of physics to science and technology. They may also have made significant contributions to the teaching of physics or service and participation in the activities of the Society.

Fellowship is a distinct honor signifying recognition by one's professional peers. Each year, no more than one half of one percent of the Society’s membership (excluding student members) is recognized by their peers for election to the status of Fellow of the American Physical Society.

Nomination Process 

The criterion for election is exceptional contributions to the physics enterprise; e.g., outstanding physics research, important applications of physics, leadership in or service to physics, or significant contributions to physics education.

Each nomination is evaluated by the Fellowship committee of the appropriate APS division, topical group or forum, or by the APS General Fellowship committee. After review by the full APS Fellowship Committee, the successful candidates are elected by APS Council.

Congratulation to Dr. Kanungo on behalf of the Saint Mary’s University community!

Dr. Christa Brosseau wins President’s Award for Excellence in Research

Saint Mary’s professor Dr. Christa Brosseau (left)

Dr. Christa Brosseau has won the Saint Mary’s University President’s Award for Excellence in Research for her outstanding work in the Chemistry department at Saint Mary’s.

Created in 1989 to honour outstanding research conducted by a full-time faculty member, the recipients of the Saint Mary’s University President’s Award for Excellence in Research must have a record of continued and exceptional contribution to research and scholarship, as well as national or international recognition as an authority in a major field of knowledge.

A world leader in her field, Dr. Christa Brosseau is an internationally recognized, highly productive, and influential scholar in the areas of electrochemistry, spectroscopy, and nanotechnology. By any metric of research success, be it number of publications, quality of publications, research grants obtained, awards received, high quality personnel trained, degree of innovation, potential for application, or knowledge transfer achieved, Dr. Brosseau exemplifies research excellence.

Dr. Christa Brosseau receiving the Saint Mary’s University President’s Award for Excellence in Research

As a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Sustainable Chemistry and Materials, Dr. Brosseau has received more than $1.1-million in research funding in the previous five years from such sources as Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). She has trained nearly 40 students in her lab since 2009; these students have received more than 25 awards for their own research presentations and publications.

With an interdisciplinary Chemistry research program spanning the fields of spectroscopy, electrochemistry, nanoscience and biomedical studies, Dr. Brosseau’s innovations in the area of Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy allows for detection of biomolecules that revolutionize the way we can detect and diagnose diseases. Dr. Brosseau and her research group have developed fabric chips, or wearable sensor technology, that lead to many health applications. This technology has been applied to earlier detection of diseases such as tuberculosis and preeclampsia. This work can also be used to help understand how diseases are spread.

A tireless champion of science literacy, Dr. Brosseau speaks frequently at international conferences, meetings, and seminars, communicating her research findings and their potential applications to solve real world challenges to wide audiences. Her creative and innovative research appears in the top scientific journals, and her scientific work is often profiled in technology and industry-based outlets due to its high impact.

Dr. Brosseau partners her research passion with a high degree of commitment to teaching and service to Saint Mary’s University and to her professional community. She is the former Chairperson and current Vice-Chairperson of the Canadian Section of the Electrochemical society, Co-President of nanoAtlantic, and a board member of Techsploration. She won the Discovery Centre’s Emerging Professional Award in 2013 and the SMUSA faculty of Science teaching award in 2010. Saint Mary’s University is fortunate indeed that Dr. Christa Brosseau calls Saint Mary’s home.

Congratulations Dr. Brosseau!

Student team promote entrepreneurial thinking across faculties

Meet the new ENbassador team. Back row, l-r: Aaron Graham, Commerce; Jake Chambers, Science; Emaaz Amjid, Science; Guillermo Villerreal De Lara, Arts. In front, l-r: Solana Purdy, Commerce; Amina Khan, Arts; Sambridhi Trikhatri, Commerce.

Last week, the Saint Mary's University Entrepreneurship Centre welcomed a brand new team of Student Entrepreneurship Ambassadors to their ENbassador Program.

These undergraduate students come from all academic faculties. The goal of the ENbassador program is to ignite an entrepreneurial mindset in all students at Saint Mary's and help them to develop skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and resilience.

The team of students ENbassadors will work alongside the SMUEC to help plan, promote, and execute entrepreneurship events on campus throughout the year. These students are excited to share their passion for entrepreneurship and help other students understand the value that entrepreneurial thinking can have, not only for those eager to one day start their own business, but also for those who wish to work for an organization beyond graduation.

The ENbassador Program is a CASE (Community and Student Engagement) funded initiative that uses a multidisciplinary approach to create an entrepreneurial mindset.

Saint Mary’s PhD graduate wins international award

Dr. Samantha A. Penney

Saint Mary’s University is proud to announce that Dr. Samantha A. Penney, a recent PhD graduate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, has received the prestigious 2019 Kenneth E. Clark Student Research Award from the Center for Creative Leadership and the International Leadership Association.

“It is an absolute honour to have my dissertation research recognized internationally,” said Dr. Penney.

In her award-winning paper on leadership titled Fostering a Psychologically Healthy Workplace through Leadership, Dr. Penney created and validated a scale to assess leadership behaviours that contribute to a healthy workplace, and then designed a workshop and phone-based coaching program which she delivered to leaders in eight organizations across seven provinces.

The training includes knowledge of what a healthy workplace is, leaders’ roles in creating that healthy workplace, and goal setting and skill development to act on that knowledge. “For example, infrequent feedback, such as only having annual performance reviews are a concern in organizations. Research has suggested that employees are more likely to change their behaviour and attitudes when they receive frequent positive and constructive feedback,” she explained.

 “The results demonstrate that leadership behaviours can be trained,” said Dr. Penney, adding that while many of the leadership behaviours identified aren’t new information, giving leaders the tools and training to apply the knowledge is key. “Employees often move up within an organization into a leadership role because they’re good at their jobs, but they don’t always have leadership skills.”

 “Working with leaders and organizations to provide practical recommendations is something that I am very passionate about, and my research ties into my new role of conducting leadership assessments for the purposes of selection and development,” she said.  

“Dr. Penney, and her research, are very deserving of this international recognition,” said Dr. Arla Day, her dissertation supervisor. “Not only does this award demonstrate her expertise and innovation in the area, but it also reinforces the reputation of Saint Mary’s as a high-caliber training institution with a strong level of research expertise in occupational health psychology.”

Background

Dr. Penney recently completed her PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Saint Mary’s. She completed her Master of Science in Applied Psychology at Saint Mary’s and has an Honours Bachelor of Arts from Lakehead University.

She has authored several journal articles and book chapters on leadership and employee well-being, and has presented her work at national and international conferences.

Her experience as an independent consultant and leadership coach, developing both leader-level and employee-level training programs, and as a facilitator, delivering workshops and seminars to corporate clients aligns with her background in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

She recently accepted a role as a Talent & Leadership Development Assessment Analyst at Lee Hecht Harrison Knightsbridge in Toronto.

About the Kenneth E. Clark Award

The Kenneth E. Clark Student Research Award recognizes one outstanding unpublished paper by undergraduate and graduate students each year. It is sponsored by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) and the International Leadership Association (ILA).

Papers are evaluated by 13 CCL research faculty members through a multi-rater, blind review process. Winners of the international award receive a cash prize, and a trip to ILA’s Annual Conference to present the winning paper there and in various multimedia ILA publications.

Dr. Penney follows in the footsteps on another Saint Mary’s alumna in winning this award. Aleka MacLellan, who was then a recent PhD graduate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and won the same award in 2017.

Saint Mary’s part of new $6.5 million offshore de-risking project

Adam MacDonald, NS Department of Energy & Mines, examines a core sample taken during an offshore coring cruise. (Source: Genome Atlantic)

Saint Mary’s University is part of a major new initiative that adds genomics technologies to traditional geoscience with the aim to reduce the risk for oil exploration in Nova Scotia’s offshore. 

The $6.5 million project, Validation and Integration of Genomics Solutions for Offshore Oil Exploration in Nova Scotia and Beyond, was announced by the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport, as one of 20 projects across Canada awarded through Genome Canada’s Genomic Applications Partnership Program (GAPP). 

The initiative builds on the work of a previous GAPP project in which genomics data and results were compared with petroleum geochemistry data to paint the clearest picture yet of petroleum deposits in areas of Nova Scotia’s offshore. This new project, involving the same team, will take that work to the next level by delivering high-resolution tools and maps developed with the help of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), advanced ‘omics technologies and machine learning.

 “The idea of using genomic (DNA-based) tools to help de-risk offshore oil and gas exploration efforts has transitioned from a ‘what if’ idea not that long ago into a compelling opportunity that has earned the support of this project’s many partners,” said Steve Armstrong, President and CEO of Genome Atlantic. “We are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to work with such a dedicated and talented group committed to establishing Nova Scotia as a leader within this globally competitive sector.”

Project co-lead Dr. Todd Ventura

The project is co-led by Dr. Todd Ventura (Saint Mary’s University), Dr. Casey Hubert (University of Calgary), and Adam MacDonald (Nova Scotia Department of Energy and Mines) and is managed by Genome Atlantic in partnership with Genome Alberta.

“This GAPP is expanding on the microbiological toolkit with the addition of lipidomics,” said Dr. Todd Ventura, Saint Mary’s University.  “This may allow us the ability to detect more ancient seepage events that can lead to the discovery of new active petroleum systems in the offshore.”

Project partners include the Nova Scotia Department of Energy and Mines; the Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada; Research Nova Scotia; Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Research Association (OERA); Mitacs Canada; Applied Petroleum Technology (APT); the University of Calgary; and Saint Mary’s University.

“De-risking our offshore for exploration is critical for Nova Scotia to remain competitive in a global market,” said Adam MacDonald, NS Department of Energy and Mines. “Adding new tools and building innovative and integrated projects such as this collaboration with the University of Calgary and Saint Mary’s University gains recognition and attention to our quality and capacity to compete. Not only do we de-risk exploration but this project provides environmental baseline information on the benthic life and communities that may be dependent on natural occurrences of hydrocarbon on the seafloor.”

The Province of Nova Scotia’s commitment to the project is part of its $12 million investment in offshore R&D over the next four years.

“For generations, the offshore has paid off for Nova Scotians and it still holds tremendous potential to grow our economy and create jobs across the province, especially in rural areas,” said Nova Scotia Energy and Mines Minister Derek Mombourquette. “By continuing to invest in leading-edge research we will find cleaner and safer ways to look for resources and attract international investment to our shores.”

Forensic Science Camp underway

It’s an exciting week for students in our popular Forensic Science Camp in the Faculty of Science.

Now in its second year, and with a second week added due to popular demand, teens in Forensic Science Camp learn about DNA extraction and examination, fingerprint collection and analysis, and examination of blood stains and spatter patterns.

“Forensic science is the application of science with a legal component,” explained Dr. Brenna Frasier, the camp’s founder and lead instructor.  “You could use forensics in chemistry, biology, engineering… it encompasses almost any scientific field.”

The lessons are a combination of instruction and hands-on learning, designed for students who are keen to learn and participate and who want experience conducting scientific research in a lab. They also learn to work as a team, as they would in “real world” situations.

An exciting part of the camp is doing a mock crime scene investigation in the field – in this case, in a staged residence room. Processing a crime scene is followed by a mock trial and presentation of evidence. Students also meet with professionals working in the field.

This camp gives participants a feel for the forensic science industry, and most of these students are already considering university programs in this field. By learning about skeletal remains, hair and fibre examination, and crime scene examination from our expert faculty members, students learn what crime scene investigators, forensic experts and other professionals do in their careers, and many are looking forward to pursuing this study further.

To be accepted into the camp, students age 14-17 complete an application form and an essay outlining their interest in Forensic Science.  To learn more, click here. Registration for summer 2020 will open in February.

Dr. Roby Austin recognized with the Father William A. Stewart Medal for Excellence in Teaching

Bafana Mashingaidze BSc’14 MBA’16, Secretary of the Alumni Council, with Dr. Roby Austin

Dr. Roby Austin, Professor of Astronomy & Physics, has been recognized by her current and former students and colleagues with the Father William A. Stewart Medal for Excellence in Teaching for her dedicated teaching approach and empowerment of women in science. 

She received the award at convocation on May 17, 2019.

Since joining Saint Mary’s in 2004, Dr. Austin has served on the Saint Mary’s Academic Senate and curriculum committees for Senate and the Faculty of Science. The classes she teaches range from first year physics courses to graduate level courses, and she has supervised both B.Sc. Honours and M.Sc. students. Her focus as a teacher is to create a classroom environment which encourages students to work with and understand the material. Alumni commend her for her accommodating and respectful approach with her students. 

An accomplished researcher, Dr. Austin has published more than 20 papers and received more than $4 million in research grants. She is committed to continuous learning, and is a member of the Division of Physics Education of the Canadian Association of Physicists, the Forum on Education of the American Physical Society, and the American Association of Physics Teachers. Students recognize her dedication to learning and improving teaching methods in the classroom. 

Outside of the classroom, Dr. Austin volunteers her time with Techsploration and Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Atlantic. These organizations create opportunities for girls and young women to explore science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and empower them to consider a career in STEM. 

The Medal for Excellence in Teaching is named for the late Father William A. Stewart, a Professor of Philosophy and administrator at Saint Mary’s University from 1950-1982. Father Stewart was known for his inclusivity, approachability, innovative teaching methods, and service to the University. The Medal is awarded by the Saint Mary’s University Alumni Association in partnership with the Faculty Union.