Celebrating the 2024 Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Award Winners

Congratulations to Jasnoor Bedi, the recipient of the 2024 Shaughn and Sharon Clements ISS Award and a Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Award!

Supervisor: Dr. Bernard J. Crespi
ISS Thesis: Endometriosis, Body Mass Index, and Socioeconomic Status: What are the Connections?

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to engage in research through the ISS program. Under the guidance of Dr. Bernard J. Crespi, I explored whether women with endometriosis exhibit lower BMI compared to women without endometriosis, and the roles socioeconomic status and ethnicity may play in these differences. This experience has significantly enriched my understanding of health disparities and has been a rewarding step in my academic journey. I am thankful to Dr. Crespi, ISS committee member Dr. Julian Christians, lab manager Silven Read, and my peers for their support and encouragement throughout this process.
- Jasnoor

Congratulations to Augustus Negraeff, the recipient of a 2024 Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Award

Supervisor: Dr. Gerhard Gries

As both an aspiring scientist and insect enthusiast, I feel extremely lucky to have worked in a lab conducting entomological research over the past two years of my undergraduate degree. Under the supervision of Dr. Gerhard Gries and Emmanuel Hung (PhD candidate), I have had the opportunity to contribute to several projects exploring visual and chemical cues which elicit conspecific attraction in stable flies. I am forever grateful to Dr. Gries, Emmanuel, and the rest of the lab for their continued support, encouragement, and invaluable mentorship in my journey as a budding entomologist.
- Augustus

Congratulations to Kiersten O'Hara, the recipient of a 2024 Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Award

Supervisor: Dr. Kathleen Fitzpatrick
Research Paper Thesis: Identifying single-nucleotide polymorphisms for morphologies and behaviours in dogs 

As an aspiring Veterinarian, I have been working in the Veterinary field as a Registered Veterinary Technician while completing an undergraduate degree in Biology at SFU. After an intriguing conversation with Dr. Kathleen Fitzpatrick about the dog genome she recommended I join her over the summer to obtain new single-nucleotide polymorphism data for not only morphologies but behaviours as well. This new data will directly benefit future undergraduate labs and hopefully peak the interest of students who will be able to genotype their own dogs - all with a simple buccal swab! I look forward to seeing how this research grows in an attempt to better understand our furry companions. I feel very fortunate to have worked alongside Dr. Fitzpatrick who is not only an outstanding professor, but an incredible teacher who enjoys nerding-out about dog genetics just as much as me. Thank you to SFU for nominating me to receive this award for an area of science I am truly passionate about. 
- Kiersten