Ontario Biology Day

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Ontario Biology Day at Ryerson University this past weekend was a very successful event for McMaster! Ontario Biology Day is an annual research symposium for 4th year students completing their research projects and students from our thesis courses are invited to attend and present their senior research. McMaster had 22 students attend and they gave really wonderful presentations.

Congratulations to all the McMaster students who presented at this event. The organizers noted the outstanding quality of all the presentations and posters.

In particular, congratulations to those who were awarded for their exceptional performance –

Theresa Warriner working with Sigal Balshine and Graham Scott for her talk in the Environmental Toxicology area – “Living in Wastewater: Effects on Fish Behaviour”

Alejandra Lagos from the Department of Pathology working with Dawn Bowdish and Chris Verschoor for her poster in the Molecular Biology area – “The Dynamics of Anti-Microbial Immune Responses by Nasopharyngeal Epithelial Cells”

Nicole Zathey working with Pat Chow-Fraser for her poster in the Ecology area – “Factors Affecting Northern Pike (Esox lucius) Nursery Habitat Suitability in Northern Georgian Bay, Ontario”

Yung Lee from the Faculty of Health Sciences working with Sara Dizzell, Aisha Nazil, and Charu Kaushic for the Best Overall Poster – “Examining the Effect of Female Sex Hormones on Susceptibility to HSV-2 Using a Novel Air-Liquid Interface Culture”

Lindsey Boyd awarded research grant

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Lindsey Boyd (M.Sc. candidate) in the Chow-Fraser lab, was recently awarded the Zone H Fisheries Research Grant from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters/Toronto Sportsmen’s Show (see attached photo). The $4,000 award will be used to build a vegetation mapping unit (canoe, side scan sonar and trolling motor) that will help Lindsey collect data on submersed aquatic vegetation in our wetlands in Georgian Bay. The award was given to her in an award ceremony on March 19, 2016, at the Hilton Hotel in Mississauga.

Devils Tongue in the Greenhouse

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Biology has acquired an Devil’s tongue, or Amorphophallus konjac that is sending up an inflorescence bud. This Indonesian plant is used for food and medicine. The corm (the below-ground plant part – like a tulip bulb) was given to Biology by the Niagara Parks garden. This is our second flower for this plant, and the bloom is pretty amazing. The inflorescence is a few feet across.

This Devil’s Tongue has spathe and spadix inflorescence morphology,
similar to a peace lily. However, devil’s tongue is fly-pollinated, and so it will
look and smell like rotting meat for the next few days.

Dan Weller wins Dr. Ed Crossman Research Education Grant

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Dan Weller (Ph.D candidate) won the Dr. Ed Crossman Research Education Grant from Muskies Canada. This is a scholarship of $1,000 to be used at his discretion. In awarding him this scholarship, the President of Muskies Canada stated they were  “impressed by your  proposal and we strongly support the work you are proposing.
McMaster has a strong record of important work on the habitat and environmental conditions that support Georgian Bay muskellunge. We are very pleased to encourage your contribution to this body of scientific knowledge.”

Award-winning biologist searches for diabetes treatment in fruit flies

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As a little girl growing up in Goa, India, Natalie D’Silva was more likely to have pieces from a Meccano model building set in her hands than a doll.

It may have started as a way to keep her occupied, her mom telling her to go play with her brother. But something stuck.

– See more at: http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/article/award-winning-biologist-searches-for-diabetes-treatment-in-fruit-flies/#sthash.4INWRcmr.dpuf