PhD candidate wins prestigious Vanier Scholarship

Amy Heim

Saint Mary’s University is proud to announce that Amy Heim, a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Science, is the recipient of a three-year Vanier scholarship worth $50,000 per year.

Heim’s work is in the area of Evolution and Ecology, and she was honoured for her research proposal titled “Using traits to enhance plant co-existence and maximize ecosystem services in the green roof environment.”

“I am very excited that Amy won this scholarship. It’s a great endorsement of her innovative research,” said supervisor Jeremy Lundholm.

A plant community ecologist who specializes in understanding the co-existence mechanisms between plant species in harsh environments, she is currently working in two distinct environments: the coastal barrens of Nova Scotia and on extensive green roofs.

Heim explains that both habitats are exposed to drought, high wind, and extreme temperatures, making them useful habitats to compare co-existence patterns in a natural and artificial environment.

“For my green roof research I am looking at how specific combinations of species with specific plant traits can improve the ecosystem services provided by green roofs,” says Heim.

Her work also focuses on better understanding how urbanism impacts humans and the environment as more people move to cities. “Our research will develop a practical approach for selecting high-performance plant combinations that will make green roofs more efficient, reducing several issues related to urbanism,” she explained.

When asked what this scholarship means to her, Heim said that it will let her fully concentrate on her research, and also make it easier for her to create collaborations with researchers across the globe. She has plans to complete an internship with a green roof researcher in Japan during the fall of 2018.

“As an international student, Amy is not eligible for regular NSERC scholarships, so we are grateful for this level of support for her PhD studies. This frees up grant funding and as a consequence I can now fund Amy’s travel to a conference in Italy in the fall,” said Lundholm.

“Research is a collaborative effort so I believe these opportunities will enhance my own studies,” says Heim.

About Vanier Scholarships

Vanier Scholarships are awarded to students in the areas of health research, natural sciences and/or engineering, and social sciences and/or humanities research.

The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships program aims to attract and retain world-class doctoral students by supporting students who demonstrate both leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health sciences.

Three equally weighted evaluation criteria are considered: academic excellence, research potential, and leadership.

Canadian and international students are eligible to be nominated for a Vanier CGS. Vanier CGSs are valued at $50,000 per year, for up to three years. For more info, visit the Government of Canada site.

Saint Mary’s Astronomer Awarded Canada Research Chair

Dr. Marcin Sawicki

Saint Mary’s University has been awarded one new Canada Research Chair and one renewal, the Government of Canada announced last week. Dr. Marcin Sawicki was named Canada Research Chair (Tier I) in Astronomy, and Gavin Fridell was renewed as Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in International Development Studies.

Dr. Gavin Fridell

Dr. Sawicki’s research explores the formation and evolution of galaxies at epochs when the universe was only a fraction of its present age. Using telescopes on the Earth’s surface and in space, including NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope set to launch in 2018, Dr. Sawicki explores how stars formed in the early universe to create carbon, iron and silicon—the elements necessary for life.

Created in 2000, the Canada Research Chair Program invests $300 million per year across Canada to attract and retain the world’s most accomplished and promising minds.

Saint Mary’s University proudly hosts a number of Canada Research Chairs:

Dr. Najah Attig
Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Finance

Dr. Christa Brosseau
Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Sustainable Chemistry and Materials

Dr. Gavin Fridell
Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in International Development Studies

Dr. S Karly Kehoe
Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Atlantic Canada Communities

Dr. Kevin E. Kelloway
Canada Research Chair in Occupational Health Psychology

Dr. Marcin Sawicki
Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Astronomy

Dr. Rob Thacker
Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Computational Astrophysics

Dr. Gregory Ventura
Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Petroleum Systems, Geochemistry and Reservoir Characterization
 

Government of Canada supports ground-breaking research through new Canada Research Chairs

Dr. Christa Brosseau, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry; Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, Saint Mary’s University President; Andy Filmore, Member of Parliament for Halifax; Dr. Todd Ventura, Associate Professor, Department of Geology

Saint Mary’s University was pleased to welcome Mr. Andy Fillmore, Member of Parliament for Halifax, and representatives from Dalhousie University to the Saint Mary’s campus today to announce new Canada Research Chairs being named to both universities.

The Canada Research Chairs Program supports and attracts the world’s best researchers, in the fields of engineering, and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences.

“Being named a Canada Research Chair is one of the highest honors that Canadian researchers can achieve,” said Saint Mary’s University President, Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray . “These researchers are at the forefront of their respective fields, and their work embodies the type of innovation that will help strengthen our economy and our society.”

From ensuring nanotechnology is sustainable to improving our understanding of the human microbiome, exploring the impact of nitrogen on different ecosystems, investigating the transformation of organic matter into oil and gas and studying the cultural history of Europe’s “small nations”, these Canada Research Chairs (CRC) are truly making an impact on our world.

Dr. Christa Brosseau –  Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry:
Dr. Brosseau is the Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Chemistry and Materials. Dr. Brosseau’s research focuses on sustainable nanotechnology. While nanotechnology has made great strides over the last several decades, the idea of sustainable nanotechnology hasn’t been a focal point. Dr. Brosseau aims to make sure that the future of nanotechnology, whether for human health, renewable energy or other purposes, is a sustainable future.

Dr. Todd Ventura – Associate Professor, Department of Geology:
Dr. Ventura is the Canada Research Chair in Petroleum Systems, Geochemistry and Reservoir Characterization. His research investigates how organic matter deposited at the Earth’s surface becomes transformed into oil and gas once it is buried deep underground. This research will help improve our understanding of what the molecular composition of oil actually is and how that composition changes over time. This has the potential to improve the efficiency of finding oil reserves while minimizing impacts to the environment from its extraction.

Saint Mary’s shoots up rankings in Canadian Research Universities report

Dr. Kevin Vessey

‌‌Saint Mary's University has shot up in the rankings of the well-regarded Research Universities of the Year (RUY) report by Toronto-based consultants Research Infosource.

The 2016 report, released October 27, shows Saint Mary's has leapt nine positions to 35th place from last year’s 44th ranking.

The RUY ranking method takes into account financial input (sponsored research income) and research output at Canadian universities. It also considers the impact and quality of that research output as reflected by the number of publications, publication intensity (research income per full-time faculty) and publication impacts (citations in peer-reviewed literature).

“I like this ranking system because it is a measure of return on investment of research dollars,” says Dr. Kevin Vessey (pictured), Associate Vice-President Research and Dean of Graduate Studies at Saint Mary’s.  “The increase in our standing in the RUY ranking shows that the extraordinary impact of our research is being well recognized by others.”

Learn more about the Research Infosource reports.

Partnership ready to help businesses respond to breast cancer in the workplace

Leaders of the Partnership for a Healthy Workplace Response to Breast Cancer research project want to connect with small and large businesses to help them implement their action plan to create “bright spots,” or best practices for a healthy workplace response to breast cancer.

The Partnership is comprised of a system of individuals who touch the working lives of breast cancer survivors in some way: breast cancer survivors, themselves, professionals working in public policy, organized labour, labour law, health services, cancer advocacy groups, and students and research experts in psychosocial oncology, work psychology, disability management, and knowledge mobilization, among others. The Partnership will spend the day on Friday designing workplace interventions to create a healthy workplace response to breast cancer. They are also developing an action plan that day, and would like to talk to community organizations, managers, and large and small businesses to help them implement this action plan.

“Help us get it right,” says Dr. Catherine Loughlin, co-investigator with the project. “We need the engagement of businesses and community members who have experienced breast cancer in the workplace.”

The project began in April 2016 and is led by researcher and Saint Mary’s University professor, Dr. Lucie Kocum and co-investigators, Dr. Catherine Loughlin (Saint Mary’s University), and Dr. Lynne Robinson (Dalhousie University). The project is funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canadian Institutes of Health research, Saint Mary's University and the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation and community partners.

“We are doing this research for women who deserve a healthier workplace response to their disease. For the 68 Canadian women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer today, and the 68 more who will be diagnosed tomorrow,” says Dr. Kocum.

Dr. Robinson agrees: “This is about women hit hard by a life-threatening illness, and the cure rate is increasing, so is the number of working aged women diagnosed.”

Currently breast cancer is the most common cancer among women aged 20-59.

The second Partnership for a Healthy Workplace Response to Breast Cancer workshop will be held at Saint Mary’s new CLARI facility on Friday, October 28 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Website: workwellnesslab.com
Twitter: @WorkWellnessLab
Facebook: WorkWellnessLab

Contact

Nicole Webb
Partnership for a Healthy Workplace Response to Breast Cancer
Project and Communications Manager
Cancer and Work Communications Coordinator
902-293-5857
Nicole.Webb@smu.ca

Saint Mary’s team attends BioFuelNet’s Advanced Biofuels Symposium in Vancouver

(L-R) Emily Peters, Jingwen Zhao, Dr. Kevin Vessey  Dr. Zhongmin Dong and Dr. Houman Fei.

A five-member team from the Faculty of Science at Saint Mary’s University recently attended the BioFuelNet’s Advanced Biofuels Symposium in Vancouver. 

The BioFuelNet (BFN) is a network of biofuels research community members. Their mandate is to focus “on the challenges impeding the growth of an advanced biofuels industry,” says the organization. 

Drs. Dong and Vessey have been involved with BFN since 2012 as researchers and Dr. Vessey is a member of the group’s Research Management Committee and  leads a Task Force in the Network on Biomass Feedstocks. 

“Advanced biofuels are part of our green and clean energy future,” says Vessey.  “Advanced biofuels can be used as replacements for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. In their production, many other high-valued bioproducts can also be produced like precursors for biomaterials and pharmaceuticals.”

Vessey also explains that advanced biofuels are produced from biomass waste. Along with forestry and other agricultural residues and municipal waste, they may also be derived from high-yield, low-input species such as willow or hybrid poplar. 

“Our research at SMU looks at how we can efficiently produce these biomass crops in Nova Scotia by using plant growth prompting supplements like seaweed extracts and beneficial soil bacteria and fungi,” says Vessey. 

Master of Science student Emily Peters found the conference to be beneficial, explaining that one of the biggest obstacles to research in this field is the lack of communication between researchers and the community that will be impacted.

“The student workshop at the conference was focused on teaching students how to use the skills and knowledge that we have worked so hard to attain during our research to find a job in Canada’s bioeconomy,” says Peters. 

“I think sometimes it’s hard to transfer skills learned in academia into a non-academic sector, so having successful professionals telling us how to transfer our skills most effectively based on experience was a great opportunity,” she added. 

BFN says it is working to develop and apply novel and innovative science, engineering and socio-economic strategies that will enhance environmental sustainability for future generations.