Psychology professor studies the silent epidemic of burnout in healthcare

Healthcare workers are stressed and overworked—the pandemic only made it worse. Dr. Debra Gilin and her team study the effects of burnout in healthcare.

Dr. Debra Gilin works with Dr. Dayna Lee-Baggley and a team of psychology graduate students to research burnout in healthcare workers.

Within the sanitized halls of hospitals and clinics, a silent epidemic is wreaking havoc among the very caregivers we depend on.

Burnout within the medical field has become an alarming concern across the globe, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, where uncertainty and growing hospitalization numbers impacted the well-being of healthcare professionals who worked tirelessly to slow the spread of the virus.

According to Dr. Debra Gilin, professor of psychology and graduate program coordinator for the Department of Psychology at Saint Mary's University, burnout among healthcare workers has been going on long before the pandemic.

“Doctors and nurses were already burnt out from the normal structure of the healthcare system, and then you added COVID, where people were dying,” she explained. “So, the stakes were really high, and they experienced what they described as a ‘moral distress,’ because they couldn’t help the person the way they should be able to under medical oath.”

Dr. Dayna Lee-Baggley

Together with her colleague, Dr. Dayna Lee-Baggley, and a team of graduate students specializing in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Dr. Gilin and her team decided to study the effects of burnout in healthcare workers. The 2020 study—funded through a collaboration with the Nova Scotia Health Research Coalition/ Research Nova Scotia— focused specifically on burnout during COVID and how the pandemic compounded the existing crisis that healthcare workers are experiencing. 

“We wanted to use the knowledge we gained [through the study] to create some intervention courses that could actually help leaders and the people that they lead in healthcare, not get as burned out during the pandemic,” she said.

How do you measure burnout?

Burnout is more than just being tired. It’s a complex and multifaceted condition that includes emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment.

But how does one measure these emotions?

Using homecare nurses, nursing leaders, and medical faculty leaders as participants, Dr. Gilin and her team embarked on a seemingly Sisyphean mission.

“We couldn't change that people were being re-deployed to other health units, we couldn't change that they weren't always getting good communication or didn't always have PPE,” she said. “But we could help leaders realize that sometimes what they need to do is just be honestly validating and supportive, and that's materially useful, not only to themselves but to the people that they lead.”

The study groups had to take a six-week course over Zoom, where they learned about supportive leadership skills, the science of a brain under stress, how to recover from burnout, and leadership skills around conflict and empathy. Funds from the Research Coalition/Research Nova Scotia, and partner organizations, helped further refine their study.

“With the funding, we were able to give them a Fitbit, and we tracked their self-reported burnout, their health behaviors and their stress response, as measured by their resting heart rate during sleep,” Dr. Gilin explained.

The participants were broken into two groups: those who started the course earlier and those who took it later and served as a control group. The team saw that those waiting for the course had escalated resting heart rates as they tried to navigate the stress of the pandemic and avoid catching the disease. Once they started the course, their resting heart rates would level off and then start to come down.

“This is being recorded during sleep, so there’s nothing you can do to fake that,” said Dr. Gilin. “And the self-report surveys they were answering gave the same story… we had biological data and survey data that corroborated one another, so we felt like we were onto something.”

Systemic challenges and the way forward

While burnout is a personal experience, its root causes are deeply intertwined with systemic challenges within the healthcare industry.

Excessive workload, long on-call shifts, inadequate staffing levels, unfair policies and unpredictability in the workplace, are a few of the factors that healthcare workers have to deal with daily.

“We’re not so naïve as to assume that we’re able to change the healthcare system,” Dr. Gilin explained. “There are things about how funding happens and how people are trained that can lead to an unhealthy culture and unhealthy workload, but I think there’s been a shift in recognizing that working people so hard is counter-productive.”

The team is also working with web developers to create apps and offer the six-week course to health practitioners outside of Nova Scotia who are looking to manage their burnout as well.

“We plan to cut up the course into little videos and activities that people can complete every day,” said Dr. Gilin. “We have a mock-up ready and have the funding to continue moving these courses to a more accessible format for workplaces across Canada.” The team is currently conducting a research study on the effectiveness of the app-based course. Leaders who are interested in participating in the research will get access to the app for free. For more information contact phs@smu.ca, debra.gilin@smu.ca, or DrDayna@impactme.app.

For those experiencing burnout— regardless of profession— Dr. Gilin advises to actively take the time to rest and find joy through hobbies, activities and other social interactions.

“Take some time to reflect on what are the more energizing and fulfilling aspects of the work that you do,” she said. “Try to find a creative way to shift the balance, so that what makes you show up every day becomes a reasonable part of your day.”

New agreement allows Holland College diploma graduates to complete science degree at Saint Mary’s

Saint Mary’s University has recently signed three cooperation agreements with Holland College, enabling graduates from the college’s Bioscience Technology, Wildlife Conservation, and Environmental Applied Science Technology diploma programs to complete a Bachelor of Science degree at the university.

Graduates of the two-year diploma programs can apply to join the Faculty of Science and School of the Environment. The agreement provides Holland College graduates a streamlined pathway into one of Saint Mary’s ten undergraduate science programs taught by top Canadian researchers and award-winning faculty.

“We are delighted to have a new partnership with Holland College, opening doors to more students pursuing their academic goals,” says Dan Seneker, Saint Mary’s AVP Enrolment Management and Registrar. “This agreement will create opportunities for research, internships and exceptional mentorship for students who wish to obtain a Bachelor of Science at Saint Mary’s.” 

Doug Currie, Holland College’s Vice President of Corporate Services, said the college is proud to be able to add Saint Mary’s University to the list of partner universities. “Saint Mary’s University has an excellent reputation and a tradition of academic excellence,” he said. “Our graduates are sure to thrive in this top-tier university.” 

Saint Mary's science and engineering students have access to a range of academic student supports to help them succeed. Thanks to our close-knit, community atmosphere, many of our undergraduates participate in their professor's research projects—a valuable experience that can be hard to come by at larger institutions.

“In the Faculty of Science at Saint Mary’s we are committed to student success, with a mission to create the next generation of creative thinkers through exceptional Science programming with experiential and interdisciplinary learning opportunities,” says Dr. Sam Veres, Interim Dean of Science. “Through these new agreements, we look forward to welcoming more Holland College graduates to Saint Mary’s for the next step in their education and advancement toward their higher education and career goals.”

Visit smu.ca/futurestudents for more information.

Student researcher has found 100—and counting—invasive crayfish in Three Mile Lake

Invasive species has potential to move well beyond one Halifax-area lake

Dr. Linda Campbell, graduate student researcher Madison Bond, and DFO Officer Sarah Kingsbury MSc’20 show evidence of crayfish at Three Mile Lake

As a master’s student at Saint Mary’s University, Madison Bond has a unique and exciting opportunity to conduct research that could play a pivotal role in the protection of Nova Scotia’s ecosystem.

For her thesis project, she has been studying the presence of Red Swamp Crayfish, an invasive species found in Three Mile Lake, in Waverley, N.S. This species has the potential to wreak havoc on this lake—with the potential to create damage on a much larger scale.

Red Swamp Crayfish, which look like tiny lobsters, are native to the southern United States. It’s not known yet how they arrived in the Maritimes, but Madison, along with supervising professor Dr. Linda Campbell and partners at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), have been investigating the impact that they have already had on the lake.

Madison Bond speaks with media about her research

Under a student contract with DFO, Madison caught the first live crayfish at the lake in 2022; approximately 100 have now been captured in traps. Her research work this academic year and next summer is to collect more crayfish and study how their lifecycle and habits differ compared to the crayfish living in their native habitats.

Because Nova Scotia temperatures are colder than their native freshwater habitats, crayfish may burrow deeper into shorelines. The temperature could also affect the number of offspring and the length of their lifecycle. Using frozen crayfish in the lab, Madison will also determine what they eat—leading to more answers about their impact on the local ecosystem.

As an invasive species in a lake, crayfish cause a variety of issues. Crayfish are known for burrowing into the shoreline, which can cause significant damage by changing the shoreline which leads to erosion. Along with the loss of habitat for native species, the aggressive crayfish also compete for food, space and calcium in the water.

Crayfish go through a wandering phase in their lifecycle, which means that they can travel significant distances on land, and potentially move to new bodies of water. The Shubenacadie Canal is within walking distance for a crayfish, meaning this invasive species problem has the potential to become exponentially larger. “Shubie” Canal is a 114-kilometre waterway that stretches from the Halifax Harbour to the Bay of Fundy, and is a well-used and loved recreation destination in Nova Scotia.

Crayfish aren’t the first invasive species in Nova Scotia. Dr. Linda Campbell’s Dynamic Environment and Ecosystem Health Research (DEEHR) lab at Saint Mary’s has also investigated the impact of two other invasive species, Chinese mystery snails and chain pickerel.

To protect the province’s native species, habitats and waterways, never introduce a plant, pet or other animal into the wild.

If you find a crayfish, please put it in a bag and note details such as location coordinates, time and date, and contact Madison Bond and the team at Saint Mary’s who will collect it from you. Please do not disturb the traps.

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Public Lecture

Dr. Linda Campbell will present a lecture titled “Overlooked no more: non-indigenous, invasive species in Nova Scotia lakes & rivers”

The unanticipated and unplanned appearance of non-indigenous species in freshwater ecosystems is a global issue. In regions lacking biosurveillance and awareness programs, the potential for unwanted species to establish in lakes is very high. Dr. Linda Campbell will present case studies for both fish and invertebrates in Nova Scotia, highlight progress made over the past decade, and discuss ongoing needs in order to limit the impact of unwanted species on Nova Scotia’s freshwater ecosystems.

Date: Monday, December 4, 2023
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: In person at Saint Mary’s University – Atrium 101 or via Zoom
Details: https://nsis1862.ca/public-lectures/

Researcher leads team in discovering galaxies with James Webb Space Telescope

This image shows the Webb Deep Field of Galaxies, the very first unveiled science image by JWST. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Post-stamps: Shannon MacFarland (SMU).

Dr. Gaël Noirot, a postdoctoral researcher at Saint Mary’s University, is playing a leading role in studying an image called “Webb’s Deep Field of Galaxies,” the extraordinary first image produced by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) which contains at least 7,000 galaxies.

Along with Saint Mary’s professor and CRC Chair Dr. Marcin Sawicki, a team of Canadian astronomers have used the Canadian NIRISS instrument on board JWST to collect spectra from galaxies in the image. These spectra are a type of scientific data created by breaking down the light of an object to reveal additional information such as the object’s age or distance. 

The team has now measured the redshifts—a precise measurement of a galaxy’s distance based on the unique chemical signatures seen in its spectra—of nearly 200 galaxies whose distances from Earth were previously unknown.

“NIRISS is perfect for doing this because it can measure the redshifts of hundreds of galaxies at once,” said Dr. Noirot who is Principal Investigator of this observing program and lead author of the study published this month in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 

Read the full press release.

Saint Mary's biomedical lab is on the frontiers of collagen exploration

Dr. Veres and his students study in great depth the structural makeup of collagen within the body to identify the unknown

Dr. Sam Veres (left) works in a research lab with Master of Science in Applied Science student Amanda Lee

What comes to mind when people think of exploration is typically outer space, or the deep ocean. But within the human body, there are many structural and functional questions that remain unanswered. 

The structural makeup of collagen within the body, and how it develops and is comprised in injury and disease, is one area still under exploration. Dr. Sam Veres and his graduate students explore this topic with great depth in Biomedical Structure-Function labs. 

Sam Veres

“We think hard about identifying things that are unknown, problems that persist and how we might solve them,” says Dr. Veres, interim Dean of Science and Professor in the Division of Engineering at Saint Mary’s University. “A more complete understanding of the collagen in our bodies, how it develops and how it can become structurally compromised, could lead to development of new treatments to help reduce disabling soft tissue injuries like sprains, strains, and overuse tendinopathies.”

Research and collaboration

Collagen provides structural integrity to tissues in human and animal bodies, including the skin, bones, tendons and ligaments, articular cartilage, even discs in our backs. 

Dr. Veres and his lab specifically study collagen fibrils, which are tiny in size—roughly 1,000 times smaller than a human hair. The size of these fibrils is why many aspects of their development remain unknown, and why the multidisciplinary lab uses knowledge and techniques from engineering, physics, chemistry, biology and medicine to study them.

“These sorts of problems are inherently multidisciplinary, and you need to have collaborative teams that come together and work on these problems together,” says Dr. Veres.

Identifying unknowns

It’s a very exciting time in the lab, with four of its graduate students publishing results within the next year. 

Kelsey Gsell is a PhD student who Dr. Veres co-supervises with Dr. Laurent Kreplak through Dalhousie University’s School of Biomedical Engineering. Her research looks at how collagen in the body respond to enzymes that help control tissue repair and renewal.

Dr. Veres is also working with master’s student Ted Lownie, whose research has shown that the specialized collagen structure of highly loaded tendons like the Achilles extends back to the earliest stages of fetal development rather than being driven by mechanical loading after birth, as previously thought.

Dr. Veres is excited to see his students take part in this innovative, multidisciplinary research and continue asking questions, and exploring in the hopes of finding answers. 

“It’s really satisfying to see students go on to do other great things and take this background with them,” he says. “Seeing my students gain an appreciation for what is unknown and still to be discovered is really so wonderful.”

To learn more about Dr. Sam Veres and his graduate students’ research, visit their lab’s website at vereslab.com.  

Innovative retail store will revolutionize how we shop

Saint Mary’s University, recognized as a top Canadian university, is teaming up with some of Canada’s most influential retail companies to create one of the foremost retail laboratories on the continent. It’s all part of the ground-breaking research at SMU’s David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services.

Visitors will soon become part of a living experiment designed to transform the future of shopping and reshape the retail landscape. Students and visitors to the south end of campus will walk into a deceptively simple convenience store that is actually a cutting-edge laboratory.

The retail robot is programmed to glide through stores tracking price tags, missing items and other information, which it relays to employees.

Inside, a retail robot glides through the aisles, logging items that have run low and sending messages to the stockroom. The robot is designed for large stores where it tracks inventory on shelves and assesses planogram and price compliance, explains Ramesh Venkat, Director of the David Sobey Centre. “The robot, equipped with cameras, matches price tags to the computerized lists, checks price tags for compliance for the latest discounts, spots misplaced or missing items, generates a report and sends a real-time alert to an employee.”

And if a shopper wants to take an item home? No need to look for a cashier; there isn’t one. Instead, when you exit the store your credit or debit card is charged automatically. But wait, maybe you want to try on something before purchasing? Step in front of 3D digital screen to model clothing using virtual fitting technology.

SMU researchers are building a futuristic “frictionless customer experience” without inconveniences such as line-ups and check-outs, where customer privacy and protection of information are priorities. “We don't collect any video footage or store any credit card or debit card information. We will provide best-in-class privacy and security, which will set us apart from companies that are doing computer vision in retail environments,” adds Venkat.

The David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services brings together university researchers and Canadian retailers to test new technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and robotics. Vivek Sood MBA’98, Executive Vice President, Related Businesses, Empire Company Limited and Sobeys Inc., and Chair of the David Sobey Centre notes, “The retail sector is one of the main drivers of Canada’s economy and an incredibly exciting place of major innovation right now. Each time I visit campus I am eager to see the advances being made by the professors and their top research students.”

Students gain hands-on experience building tech solutions for retail

The retail store and its related labs offer SMU students unparalleled opportunities for hands-on learning and collaboration. Saint Mary’s University professors and students are building leading-edge tech from scratch: computer vision systems, augmented reality and robots.

The digital lab and mock store will allow researchers to track shoppers as they interact with digital platforms, including websites and advertisements. In the biometrics lab, graduate students will use advanced tools such as EEG (Electroencephalography), eye-tracker glasses and GSR (Galvanic Skin Response) sensors to understand customer behaviour and decision-making. Faculty and student researchers from several disciplines–marketing, psychology, information systems, engineering, and computer science all benefit.

Jason Rhinelander

Engineering Professor Jason Rhinelander, Head of Technology and Innovation for the David Sobey Centre, understands that the David Sobey Centre presents him and SMU students with a huge opportunity. “Retail has so many challenges and that is key for engineers and computer scientists. We don’t invent algorithms for the sake of it. We need problems to solve.”

“We can benefit small and medium-sized Atlantic Canadian companies recovering from the pandemic and battling stressors like inflation. By placing their products in our store which acts as a ‘living lab,’ we can provide data about how customers feel about their packaging, service and overall quality. We can also test the retail environment for accessibility: lighting levels, noise levels, and colour schemes.”

Watch: Jason Rhinelander loves solving problems with technology

Vinod Bachhao

Vinod Bachhao came to SMU as a Master’s student in 2015, graduated to PhD studies and is now the university’s first AI engineer. “I could have gone to Toronto, but I love Halifax and the environment here. I grabbed the opportunity to work on the SMU robot and state-of-the-art AI and computer vision. There is nothing better than this.”

The labs, mock store and the cashier-less store all provide the infrastructure for exploring new ideas and innovations that can shape the future of Canadian retail. “The purpose of the David Sobey Centre is to develop and share innovations, expertise and skills that help build a vibrant retail sector–domestically and globally. This new infrastructure and the collaboration between researchers, retailers and technology companies vitally enable us to achieve that vision. It's really exciting,” says Venkat.

Fall Valedictorian: Stephanie Kansiime, Bachelor of Science

Stephanie Kansiime, Valedictorian for the Faculty of Science

Quoting my mother’s wisdom, “Everything you do, do it well. Your work is the only thing that speaks of and for you when you're not in the room.”

These words have guided my journey from my birthplace in Uganda to my pursuit of a brighter future in Canada, which eventually led me to Saint Mary's University.

My lifelong aspiration, both personally and professionally, is to make a positive impact on people’s lives. To pursue this goal, I actively engaged with the international community throughout my academic career. These interactions have transformed me into a more open-minded and versatile individual, preparing me for a future where I intend to work on a global scale. The invaluable skills I have acquired, such as leadership and effective communication, have been nurtured here at Saint Mary’s, which I consider a cultural melting pot.

My defining traits include an insatiable curiosity and a deep commitment to serving my community. These qualities guided me toward a career in biology, with a specific focus on immunology research. Since high school, I have volunteered at hospitals in my home country and secured an internship studying biopolymers. Armed with the knowledge and skills gathered throughout my degree and work experiences, I am poised to innovate and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to develop efficient solutions, benefiting both my Canadian and Ugandan communities, with a long-term vision of global impact.

I owe my success not only to my dedication but also to the unwavering support of those around me. My mother’s sacrifices, my father’s steadfastness during challenging times, and the constant encouragement from my siblings Kristen and Andrew have been my pillars of strength. Additionally, the support of my parents’ friends and extended family has played a crucial role in my journey. Last, but not least, the faculty and friends I’ve encountered during my time at Saint Mary’s have been instrumental in my growth and success. To all of them, I express my deepest gratitude.

In the wise words of my mother, “It is not always the smartest people who achieve success, but the people who are organized and willing to put in the effort.” These words continue to motivate and inspire me on my path to greatness.

Q&A with Stephanie

Hometown: I grew up in Kampala Uganda, but my native village is in Hoima, Uganda.

Degree: Bachelor of Science majoring in Biology

Favourite class: Cell Biology. It still fascinates me today that cells as multiple single units work together in massive numbers to make me a functional human today typing this out and for you to read and comprehend it. The human body is remarkable!

Why did you choose Saint Mary’s?: Saint Mary’s offered me cultural diversity. So much as I was coming to Canada, I would experience a host of different cultures and nationalities while I pursued my education. I was also interested in the professor-student ratio, the professors would easily be accessible for help.

What are your future plans?: I intend to pursue a Masters in Immunology or Biomedical Engineering. Following that, I will pursue research in academia, focusing on immunology because of my interest in communicable diseases that still plague my home country. 

Favourite spot at Saint Mary’s: My first room at the Rice residence! I was a little timid when I first arrived in Halifax, but my room on the 17th floor gave me a great view of campus ongoings and games and I loved people-watching!

Advice for new students that you wish you knew when you started university: When choosing electives, be explorative. My second favorite class is Astronomy, which I have always been passionate about but did not necessarily want to pursue as a degree. There is a whole host of very interesting classes far from your main focus. Make room to have fun with your degree 🙂. Always ask for help—even when you think you know, there might be a different perspective that will enhance your work.

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Fall Convocation takes place on September 22 and 23, 2023. Watch the ceremonies live at smu.ca/graduation or on our Facebook page.

Fall Valedictorian: Myles Davidson, Master of Applied Psychology

Myles Davidson BA’21, Valedictorian for the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research

Myles is an emerging research professional who was raised in St. Peter’s on the island of Cape Breton. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Criminology (Honours) and Psychology from Saint Mary’s University in 2021. Having a strong passion for both research and academia, Myles chose to stay at Saint Mary’s and enroll in the Master of Applied Psychology program. In his seven years at Saint Mary’s, Myles has been involved in various research projects centered on the prevention of sexual abuse, child sexual abuse and substance abuse.

With ten publications to his credit, Myles’ research contributions have led to real-world changes, most notably as a member of the research team that informed the current vaping legislation in Nova Scotia.

Myles has participated in several academic conferences to date, with his presentation at the 2023 Canadian Psychological Association conference winning second place amongst all graduate presentations. In addition to his research, Myles has been a teaching assistant at Saint Mary’s for the last five years specializing in research methods and statistics. For this work, he was recognized with an excellence in teaching award from the Council of Canadian Departments of Psychology in 2022. During his master’s degree, Myles received research funding from several notable organizations including Research Nova Scotia and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Aside from his education, Myles is an accomplished professional musician. To date, he has released two studio albums and has performed extensively throughout the Maritimes. Some of the highlights of his career include performing at the Celtic Colours International Festival and the East Coast Music Awards, as well as having one of his songs featured in a museum in Barra, Scotland. Despite the demands of school, Myles has ensured that music continues to be a central focus in his life. In the future, Myles intends to pursue a doctorate in forensic psychology and carve out his own path in academia by conducting impactful research.

Q&A with Myles

Hometown: St. Peter’s, N.S.

Thesis title: Consent in vanilla and BDSM sexual encounters: conceptualization, violations, and repercussions

Thesis description: This thesis sought to understand how consent is negotiated in BDSM encounters, whether practicing in an organized BDSM community is protective against consent violations, and whether having an interest in sexual sadism is a reliable predictor of consent violation perpetration.

Why did this type of research appeal to you? A lot of my undergraduate and graduate work was in sexual abuse prevention, specifically, the role that sexual sadism plays in sexual abuse perpetration. I believe it is critical to understand what causes sexual abuse and what researchers can do to prevent it. Additionally, since there has been very little research conducted on BDSM, I was motivated to contribute in this area.

Why did you choose Saint Mary’s for your graduate studies? I completed my undergraduate degree at SMU and loved every minute of it. The community at SMU is supportive, collaborative and welcoming no matter who you are and what your interests are. When I chose to pursue a master's degree in forensic psychology, I knew there was no better place for me.

Any other successes you’d like to share, or difficulties you were able to overcome? In terms of successes, SMU not only allowed me to conduct research that led to publications, but it also allowed me to work on projects that had a positive impact on the lives of others. In terms of difficulties, I spent the end of my undergraduate degree and the start of my graduate degree in the height of the pandemic. I commend SMU for how they went above and beyond to ensure that no student was left behind.

Future plans? I plan to pursue my PhD in forensic psychology, followed by a career in academia.

Any advice for new students?

• Build strong connections with your professors. A seemingly inconsequential conversation can lead to the opportunity of a lifetime.

• Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone.

• Most importantly, have fun with your degree. If you do what you love, you'll love what you do.

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Fall Convocation takes place on September 22 and 23, 2023. Watch the ceremonies live at smu.ca/graduation or on our Facebook page.

Researchers use the James Webb Space Telescope to view growing “baby galaxy”

Team co-led by Saint Mary’s astronomer uses the James Webb Space Telescope to get a detailed view of a “baby galaxy” undergoing an intense growth spurt

Artist conception of the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: NASA GSFC/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez

Answering the question of how galaxies form and grow over time has been a driving reason for the construction of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Now, a team of researchers led by graduate student Yoshi Asada and Dr. Marcin Sawicki at Saint Mary’s University used JWST to make an exciting discovery that will help explain the structure of the Universe. They discovered a highly magnified “baby galaxy” which is being assembled from “building blocks” created early in the history of the Universe. This galaxy is a perfect poster child of a galaxy’s early stages of growth, and its study will help scientists better understand this crucial part of a galaxy’s life. The galaxy is the result of an ongoing collision and merger of two smaller galaxies named ELG1 and ELG2.  The remnants of these two smaller galaxies can still be seen in the JWST images.

The graphic shows the two images (Image A and Image B) of the merging galaxy taken by JWST.  The two images of the same system are produced by Einstein’s gravitational lensing effect, which here is caused by the bending of light around the mass concentration of the galaxy cluster MACS 0417 that lies between the observers and the merging galaxy pair.  Light from the distant galaxy pair takes two separate pathways to reach JWST. This results in two images of the merging galaxy system.  The purple hue of the light coming from the merging galaxies is due to the hydrogen gas within them that’s made to glow by the large numbers of hot young stars that are forming within the young galaxies.

Image credit: Yoshi Asada, Marcin Sawicki and the CANUCS collaboration.

The baby galaxy discovered by the astronomers is particularly exciting because its JWST images have been highly magnified by a phenomenon called Einstein’s gravitational lensing effect. Due to the presence of other massive galaxies that lie between the telescope and the target baby galaxy which act like a cosmic magnifying glass, the baby galaxy’s light has been warped.

Dr. Marcin Sawicki

There’s an upside, notes Dr. Sawicki, Canada Research Chair and Professor of Astronomy and Physics. “Because of Einstein’s lensing effect, we see the galaxy twice in two slightly different places in the sky. It’s like seeing a mirage in the desert – we see the same image twice because light takes two paths to reach our eye.” The galaxy’s light also appears up to 15 times brighter, making it easier to observe and study.

The images of the baby galaxy were taken earlier this year using the NIRCam instrument aboard the JWST, which was launched in December 2021. The astronomers’ study of this system was published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Combining the power of  JWST and gravitational lensing has allowed the astronomers to get an intensely close look at this poster-child baby galaxy. “Studying this object has allowed us to gain some important insights about how young galaxies form. We learned that they get built from the merging of smaller sub-components and that during their assembly, the galaxies can undergo intense growth spurts of star formation,“ says Asada, a Kyoto University PhD student who is the lead author of the study and who is spending a year in Canada working on JWST data with Canadian astronomers.

Both Asada and Sawicki are members of the CANUCS collaboration which uses the power of JWST boosted by Einstein’s gravitational lensing to study the details of some of the smallest, youngest, and most distant galaxies in the Universe.  “The combination of JWST and gravitational lensing is letting us get a glimpse of the early Universe that was not possible until now. With our JWST CANUCS observations in hand, we look forward to many more discoveries about how galaxies such as our own Milky Way grew over cosmic time,” adds Dr. Sawicki.

Related links:

• JWST catches the assembly of a z ∼ 5 ultra-low-mass galaxy

• Saint Mary’s contribution to the James Webb Telescope

Meet the new face of retail: the Saint Mary's retail robot

L-R, Mohammad Rahimipour MSc in Applied Science; Professor Adel Merabet; Lucas Orychock first-year Diploma of Engineering; Uzair Tahir MSc in Applied Science; Abhishek Vijayakumar Latha MSc in Computing and Data Analytics; Francis Kuzhippallil MSc Computing and Data Analytics.

Students are arriving to Saint Mary’s University from Nova Scotia and around the world to create the next generation of robots.

Uzair Tahir

“It was a very big decision to leave my country, my family, come to Canada and start from zero,” says Uzair Tahir, a Master of Science in Applied Science student who left Pakistan to join the team in Dr. Adel Merabet’s lab on the third floor of the McNally Building. Only three months into his studies, he is enhancing his skills in computer vision and machine learning and can see a bright future. “My work here leads to a career in robotics and I see the potential for commercial application.”

The Saint Mary’s robot is the brainchild of the university’s David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services. The robot is just one of several technology-based innovations currently being pioneered at the Centre, all designed to transform our everyday shopping experience. The robot will certainly free up retail employees from humdrum tasks, but that is only the beginning. The real advantage is its ability to capture voluminous data about customers’ buying habits, which can lead to greater efficiency in inventory management and eventually enable retailers to anticipate shopper demands. Combine the robot with machine learning and AI, as the Saint Mary’s team is doing, and we are entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution which will transform how we work, conduct business and how we shop for goods and services.

Does this mean robots will commandeer grocery aisles or replace humans at your favourite big box store? No, but robots are finding their niche by enabling better data capture before and after point of sale, allowing managers to respond more quickly to customer demands for everything from potato chips to batteries.

Students work together on the retail robot in Professor Merabet’s lab

Francis Kuzhippallil and Abhishek Vijayakumar Latha, both current students in the Master of Science in Computing and Data Analytics program, see the project as a great gain for their future careers. They contributed to the development of algorithms and codes that enable the robot to take photos of products on store shelves and transmit the information without overlap or duplication, a key factor in planogram compliance, which lets retailers know exactly which products have been moved or purchased and when to restock.

“I want to be one step ahead and this project gives me that opportunity,” says Latha. For Francis Kuzhippallil, the project has boosted his portfolio. “Interviewers and colleagues are always interested to know more about this project. I am honoured to have a role.”

Francis Kuzhippallil

Abhishek Vijayakumar Latha

Mohammad Rahimipour, who is in the Master of Science in Applied Science program, came to Saint Mary’s from Iran in 2022. “My experience here has been amazing,” says Rahimipour. “Saint Mary’s University is very multi-cultural. The environment is collaborative; students know their input is valued and the professors support us.”

Mohammad Rahimipour

Rahimipour is the team leader—he has led the construction of version 3, a robot that is autonomous and able to operate without a human controller. New cameras allow it to take accurate photos at a greater distance, all advantages for a machine that will need to navigate around bargain shoppers or avoid a ‘cleanup on aisle two.’

“I have made a lot of changes to the robot. I see my progress every day as the robot performs and the project improves. I can’t wait to try out the robot in a real store. That’s the next step,” says Rahimipour.

Lucas Orychock

Entering his second year in Engineering at Saint Mary’s, Lucas Orychock from Bedford, Nova Scotia, knows it is unusual for an undergraduate student to gain this type of first-hand experience. During his summer work with Dr. Merabet’s team, he had the opportunity to learn how to use sophisticated tools to capture photos from high-quality cameras. “Achieving this level of exposure to hands-on research is motivating. There is a place for everybody’s input.”

For Professor Adel Merabet, the collaboration with the David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services and the participation of many students from programs such as Engineering, the Master of Science in Applied Science and Computing and Data Analytics, is the perfect example of a project that is interdisciplinary, combining the talents of many researchers and pragmatic, demonstrating real-world application and commercial potential.

Saint Mary's researcher part of international astronomy mission XRISM

Source: www.mhi.com

Source: JAXA

Source: NASA

High-energy astronomy mission will further understanding of the extreme universe

Saint Mary’s professor Dr. Luigi Gallo is one of two Canadians involved in an exciting new three-year mission, a collaboration led by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) with important contributions from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and the European Space Agency.

On Wednesday, September 6 at 8:42:11 p.m. ADT, a powerful satellite called XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) was launched on a rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan.

Watch the launch video (via SciNews):

Source: YouTube via SciNews

This new space observatory will contain two scientific instruments: Resolve, an X-ray spectrometer contributed by NASA; and Xtend, an X-ray imager. Some filter calibration for Resolve was carried out by NASA at the Canadian Light Source, a synchrotron facility in Saskatoon, SK.

XRISM is eight meters long, with the telescopes mounted at one end focusing X-ray light onto the detectors at the other end. To study X-ray sources in the universe, the XRISM satellite must be launched into space above the atmosphere, as X-rays cannot penetrate Earth’s atmosphere. XRISM was launched into space on the JAXA HII-A rocket; it will take several months to get it tested and calibrated before science data starts flowing.

The mission itself is essentially going to look at X-ray spectra with very high resolution—analogous to seeing very fine differences in the colours of optical light we can see with our eyes, explains Dr. Gallo. X-rays are a high-energy form of light that is undetectable to the human eye. The regions around black holes, as well as massive stars, supernovae and clusters of galaxies all emit X-rays.

Dr. Luigi Gallo

“The X-rays are basically produced in the hottest and most volatile environments in the universe,” says Dr. Gallo. “We’re studying extreme events like black holes, neutron stars, supernovas, and giant galaxy clusters. I’m looking at the black holes. That's what I study, and I'm looking at the X-rays coming from the regions closest to the black hole—basically, the material just before it disappears and falls beyond the black hole event horizon.”

Because these extreme events can’t be replicated in laboratories on Earth, these missions are crucial to furthering our understanding of the universe.

“We’re looking at extreme gravity, extreme temperatures, and huge magnetic fields—you can't produce those kinds of environments on Earth,” explains Dr. Gallo. “You can't study the physics and understand what happens to matter under those extreme conditions. The only way we can do that is by looking out into space.”

This work done by scientists on this mission, the previous 2016 Hitomi (ASTRO-H) satellite mission and others, pushes the limits of our understanding, and it’s important for generations to come.

“In science, we are always building on our current understanding,” says Dr. Gallo. “What we're doing today is building on the successes, and failures, of previous work over the past centuries, and we're just taking one relatively small step forward. As revolutionary as XRISM will be, ultimately, it’s one step forward that future generations will build on. There are always bigger things to come.”

Dr. Gallo completed his PhD at the prestigious Max Planck Institute in Garching, Germany, followed by postdoctoral research in Japan. He later joined the Saint Mary’s faculty and works with the Canadian Space Agency. He has been a professor in the Department of Astronomy and Physics at Saint Mary’s University since 2007. As part of the XRISM program at Saint Mary’s, graduate student Margaret Buhariwalla and postdoc Dr. Adam Gonzalez have also been able to participate in this research with Dr. Gallo.  

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Related links:

• Canadian scientists to get a glimpse of the hot universe (via Canadian Space Agency)

• Saint Mary’s University professor goes above and beyond with astronomy research and teaching

Building confidence in chemistry: Dr. Mary Sheppard’s research supports how students learn in her lab

Dr. Mary Sheppard wins the Father William A. Stewart Medal for Excellence in Teaching. Her PhD research focused on how students learn chemistry.

L-R: Alumni Association member Fiona King BComm’93, SMU President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, and Dr. Mary Sheppard at Spring Convocation.

First-year chemistry classes introduce students to an exciting field of science—with new terminology and research methods, and the opportunity to study in a university laboratory setting for the first time.

Arriving at Saint Mary’s from Halifax or homes around the world, students’ first university classes can be an exciting, eye-opening experience—and a big adjustment.

Luckily, these new students at Saint Mary’s have an award-winning professor who understands the challenges they face. As a first-generation university graduate from Taylor’s Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Dr. Mary Sheppard still remembers leaving her small community for Memorial University.

“Leaving my family behind and going to the ‘big city’ of St. John’s was huge for me, and I understand what our rural students, and those from close-knit communities, are missing,” said Dr. Sheppard.

Finding the right path in her academic career meant being flexible and open to new paths.

“At first I wanted to be a pharmacist,” explained Dr. Sheppard. “When I was growing up in rural Newfoundland there was no access to career counseling. If you got good grades you were told you should be a pharmacist, nurse or doctor…I didn’t want to be a nurse or doctor—too much blood.”

It was her first-year chemistry professor who suggested that pharmacy might not be the best fit for her, and offered a chance to do a summer project that led to more than two decades studying and teaching chemistry.

“Growing up, I didn’t even know that a career in chemistry was a possibility,” said Dr. Sheppard. “I tell my students to keep an open mind. You don’t have to stick with what you first thought you wanted to be—I wouldn’t have been happy as a pharmacist.” 

Along with teaching first-year classes as a senior lecturer, for the past five years, Dr. Sheppard was also a student, pursuing a PhD at the University of New Hampshire.

Dr. Mary Sheppard

Dr. Sheppard’s PhD research has made her uniquely qualified for her role teaching at the university level. Her interest in how students learn led her to pursue the topic of chemistry education research for her doctoral degree. She explains that during the first few weeks of classes, she intentionally slows the pace to let students adjust to the environment.

“For some students, the lab can be very daunting because they didn't have a lab in high school—coming from a big city high school is not the same as any rural area in the world,” she says. “As part of our student success program, their first experience in that room isn’t an experiment—they go into the space as part of a scavenger hunt around campus…it helps them get oriented first.”

Once the term is underway, students will look forward to performing guided inquiry experiments along with a more traditional curriculum of procedural experiments. Guided inquiry prepares students for real-world work by challenging them to design an experiment to tackle a problem, tweaking it in the lab and submitting their group’s finalized experiment.

“Learning how to approach a problem teaches creative thinking— if the procedures don’t all work out perfectly, they learn more from that,” she says.

In her PhD research, Dr. Sheppard looked at how students learn about pH buffers, a chemistry topic that many find difficult to grasp. “I was trying to figure out why is this so tough for students—what are the roadblocks,” she explained. First, she interviewed students at the University of New Hampshire using a “think out loud” approach, recording them as they worked through problems. A qualitative analysis followed, allowing her to design teaching strategies that matched students’ successes and challenges.

“It was interesting to see that while the American students might have different backgrounds, they have the same or similar challenges that our students have.”

Her last goal for her PhD was to design a teaching strategy that addresses those challenges, setting students up for success. After many years of teaching, the instinct to help students is strong.

“You have to separate yourself from the student, you can’t help them because you want to see what they’re thinking and what the issues are,” she explained. “I think I ground the enamel off my teeth because I kept wanting to jump in and help.”

This research is beneficial to students in the classroom and lab and may lead to changes in how the topic is introduced in textbooks.

“Textbooks come from an expert point of view, but if you’re not an expert yet, that approach can be frustrating,” she explained. “One of the tenets of teaching pedagogy is that it’s not about knowing the topic, it’s about knowing how to teach it.”

Dr. Sheppard explained that like most PhD topics, hers was very narrow in focus. But she says it also exposed her to literature and people at conferences who are talking about different ways to teach.

“Understanding better how students learn at a higher level, it’s easier to transfer that knowledge to other areas of chemistry,” explained Dr. Sheppard.

Dr. Sheppard’s history of successful teaching and her drive to continuously build on that success have been recognized. This spring she won the Father William A. Stewart. S.J. Medal for Excellence in Teaching, the top teaching award at Saint Mary’s. The award is determined by nominations from alumni, students and colleagues and is awarded to a professor who has made significant contributions to the education of Saint Mary's students through excellence in teaching and service.

Father Stewart was known for his strong beliefs in promoting accessible education to marginalized communities and was also very much involved in promoting teaching innovation and excellence on campus. The award honours this legacy.

After receiving the award at the May convocation ceremony, Dr. Sheppard travelled to the U.S. where she received her PhD at the University of New Hampshire.

Congratulations Dr. Sheppard!