BRANDON, MB – Students from Brandon University (BU) have been honoured for summer research projects, which include understanding drug resistance and creating new synthetic materials to build better computers and medical diagnostic equipment.
A reception and research presentation was held for seven BU students sharing $31,500 in Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA), plus almost $8,000 in awards from Brandon University. Students spent sixteen weeks doing research under the direct supervision of a BU faculty member.
“Our University has a long, productive history of world-class research,” says BU President and Vice Chancellor Dr. Gervan Fearon, “and the NSERC Undergrad Awards help our students contribute to research projects that help all of us better understand our world and potentially affect the quality of life for members of the Brandon community and beyond. Ultimately, these awards reflect the student experience and excellence we stride to achieve at Brandon University.”
The Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) are given annually to high achievers by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), to encourage graduate studies and research careers in the sciences.
Dr. Martin Lemaire, Department of Chemistry, has been working with two students to develop new materials which could revolutionize the electronics industry. He expects both students will be able to publish their work, a significant milestone for undergraduates.
“Publishing original research will really increase their opportunities for attending graduate school and receiving scholarships,” notes Dr. Lemaire. ”It’s certainly one advantage of the education experience at Brandon University.”
“This experience is definitely going to help me decide whether I pursue a master’s degree or move right into the workforce”, says Danielle Sharanowski, a third-year science student researching drug resistance with Dr. Bernadette Ardelli, Department of Biology and fellow student Katrina Cristall.
The students, supervisors, and 2014 USRA projects are as follows:
1) Ryan Bergen supervised by Dr. Margaret Carrington (Physics) “Classifying Feyman Diagrams”
2) Katrina Cristall supervised by Dr. Bernadette Ardelli (Biology) “Vsg genes and antigenic variation in Cryptobia salmositica”
3) Danielle Dinsdale supervised by Dr. Martin Lemaire (Chemistry) “New hybrid conducting spin-crossover metallopolymers”
4) Lyndon Duff supervised by Dr. Wendy Untereiner (Biology) “Diversity of fungi associated with the western thatching ant”
5) Danielle Sharanowski supervised by Dr. Bernadette Ardelli (Biology) “Functional analysis of RNAi in Cryptobia salmositica”
6) Tara Steliga supervised by Dr. Martin Lemaire (Chemistry) “Preparation and solid state NMR properties of spin crossover metallopolymers”
7) Theresa Urichuk supervised by Dr. Wendy Untereiner (Biology) “Molecular characterization of fungi isolated from children’s sandboxes”
Brandon University, founded in 1899, promotes excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship; educating students so that they can make a meaningful difference as engaged citizens and leaders.
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