Honours Thesis Presentations

Each student will present for 15 minutes followed by 5 minutes of questions from the audience.  Light snacks and beverages will be served during a noon intermission.  Lab groups, family, and friends are invited to attend!

This event is IN-PERSON (with a hybrid Zoom option for guests)

Centennial Building CB3013

9:15 am  Symposium with Welcoming Remarks by Dr. Azim Mallik.

9:30 am  Alexandra Grillo (Dr. Adam Algar):  Evolution of climatic range limitation in true toads (Bufonidae).

9:50 am  Hannah Malloy (Dr. Adam Algar):  Photography as an alternative to tagging for mark-recapture studies of a colour changing amphibian.

10:10 am  Brennan Oliver (Dr. Adam Algar):  Climate limitations in range expansion of reptiles and amphibians into Canada.

10:30 am  Nathan Timmerman (Dr. Adam Algar):  Studying the hydrothermal ecology of Dryophytes versicolor using plaster replicas.

10:50 am  Kelvi Toskovich (Dr. Michael Rennie):  The effect of climate change on migratory birds in the Thunder Bay, Ontario region.

11:10  Connor Kubinec (Dr. Michael Rennie):  Impacts of aquaculture on mercury accumulation in minnows.

11:30 am  Zaid Shahid (Dr. Marina Ulanova): Immunostimulatory capacity of two strains of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae.

NOON  BREAK

12:40 pm  Caris Madsen (Dr. Wensheng Qin):  Cultivation of freshwater microalgae in unsterile malting wastewater for biomass production.

1:00 pm  Colin Warwick (Dr. Wensheng Qin):  Optimization of biomass and lipid yields of terrestrial microalgae using paper mill wastewater supplemented with various urea concentrations.     

1:20 pm  Jasmin Schiestel (Dr. Wensheng Qin):  Characterization of oil-degrading bacteria and optimization of oil-polluted environmental bioremediation.

1:40 pm  Viktoriya Dyukaryeva (Dr. Azim Mallik):  Shade effect on phenology, fruit yield and phenolic profile of two wild blueberry species Vaccinium myrtilloides and V. angustifolium.

2:00 pm  Salem McLean (Dr. Brian McLaren):  Invasive species and the decline of habitat accessibility for freshwater turtles:  Point Pelee National Park 2003 to 2022.

2:20 pm  Ryley Marchant (Dr. Brian McLaren):  The influence of canopy cover on benthic macroinvertebrate community structure in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

2:40 pm  Closing Remarks

Register for the Zoom webinar here; please register 24 hours prior to the start of the event.

Biology Departmental Seminar

Honours Thesis Presentations

Each student will present for 10 minutes followed by 5 minutes of questions from the audience. 

This event is IN-PERSON with a Zoom Webinar option (register with biology@lakeheadu.ca for the link).

Centennial Building CB3013

10:00  Symposium with Welcoming Remarks by Dr. Azim Mallik.

10:15  Celena Brosseau (Dr. Robert Mackereth):  The effects of beaver dams on brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) distribution in northwestern Ontario streams.

10:30  William Hunt (Dr. Kam Leung):  Arsenic detoxification: The bioremediation potential of and the ability to improve phytoremediation by As(III)-oxidizing bacteria isolated from an arsenic-contaminated mine tailing site.

11:00  Katherine Filopovic (Dr. Kam Leung):  Construction of a Tn5 isogenic mutant library of a plant growth promoting As(III)-oxidizing Pseudomonas strain BS2: Screening for As(III)-oxidizing mutants and IAA mutants.

11:15  Emily Hodgson (Dr. Leonard Hutchison):  Growth rates of saxicolous lichen in northwestern Ontario graveyards.

11:30  Kyle Swerhun (Dr. Neelam Khaper): The development of a spider silk-based hydrogel antimicrobial peptide delivery system.

11:45 Sydney-Lyn Bernardi (Dr. Adam Algar):  Predicting the northern range edge of Hyla versicolor using macro- and microclimate niche models.

 Coffee and light snacks provided.  Please bring your own mug!

Biology Departmental Seminar

Honours Thesis Presentations

Each student will present for 10 minutes followed by 5 minutes of questions from the audience.

This event is IN-PERSON with a Zoom Webinar option (register with biology@lakeheadu.ca for link).

Centennial Building CB3013

10:00 am Symposium with Welcoming Remarks by Dr. Azim Mallik.

10:15 am Calista Perrons (Dr. Simon Lees):  Exploring the radiosensitizing effects of non-radioactive 19FDG on MDA-MB-231 cells.

10:30 am Myles Cummins (Drs. Steven Hecnar and Peter Lee):  A botanical survey of the relict prairie in Stanley Cemetery.

11:00 am  Adam Falah (Dr. Michael Wesner):  A review of the neurological manifestations of SARS-CoV-2.

11:15 am   Mohammad Ali Karimi (Dr. Alla Reznik):  Advances in prostate cancer diagnosis with prostate specific membrane antigen PET imaging.

11:30  am:  Christopher Armiento (Dr. Deborah Scharf):  Where do adolescents see cannabis marketing?  A GIS analysis in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

The Department of Biology Departmental Seminar

Honours Thesis Presentations

Each student will present for 10 minutes followed by 5 minutes of questions from the audience.

Please register with the Department of Biology for seminar access (biology@lakeheadu.ca).

9:45 am Login/Waiting room

9:55 am Welcoming remarks from the Departmental Chair Dr. Azim Mallik

10:00 am Shayla Hartley (Dr. Mallik):  Water absorption and retention of a terricolous lichen, Cladonia stellaris.

10:15 am Andraya Colistro (Dr. Lee):  Plant production in nitrogen-limited mine soil.

10:30 am Philip Robinson (Dr. Qin):  Optimizing growth conditions for Pleurochrysis dentata and determination of phenol degradation ability of six algae species.

10:45 am Taij Mann (Dr. Qin):  Phylogenetic identification and protein analysis of a forest isolated soil bacteria for evaluation of use in bioremediation.

11:00 am Nicole Costanzo (Dr. Khaper):  Molecular effects of prostaglandin analogues on glaucoma receptor activation.

11:15 am Hanna Merner (Dr. Lees):  Effects of a novel combination cancer therapy in a cell culture model.

11:30 am Victoria Anthes (Dr. Ulanova):  The role of IgA in the opsonophagocytosis of Haemophilus influenzae type a.

11:45 am Closing remarks.

The Department of Biology Departmental Seminar

Honours Thesis Presentations

Each student will present for 10 minutes followed by 5 minutes of questions from the audience.

Please register with the Department of Biology for seminar access (biology@lakeheadu.ca).

9:45 am Login/Waiting room

9:55 am Welcoming remarks from the Departmental Chair Dr. Azim Mallik

10:00 am Catherine Kibiuk (Dr. Leung):  Diversity of arsenic oxidizing bacteria from mining areas of northwestern Ontario.

10:15 am Emily Meek (Dr. Rennie):  An investigation of white sucker (Catostomus commersonii) respiration across a range of biologically relevant temperatures.

10:30 am Kimberly Geils (Dr. Rennie):  Effect of nanosilver on northern pike (Esox lucius) bioenergetics.

11:45 am Shaalin Dlaymi (Dr. Reyes):  The effects of clearcutting on Picea rubens regeneration in coastal red spruce forests.

11:00 am Dana Gummerson (Dr. Zehbe):  Investigating the role of RBX1 in the carcinogenic potential of HPV sub-lineage E6 oncoproteins.

11:15 am Simran Bedi (Dr. Zehbe):  Studying student behaviours and their knowledge of the Covid-19 pandemic.

11:30 am Closing remarks

Due to our need for social distancing, this event will now be a live Zoom event.   

See the Lakehead University Zoom page for download and set-up instructions.

The Zoom link and meeting ID are as follows:

Link: https://lakeheadu.zoom.us/j/372031498

Meeting ID: 372 031 498

Presentations will be 10 minutes in length with 5 minutes of questions from our virtual audience.

AGENDA

10:30 a.m., Symposium and Welcoming Remarks from the Department of Biology.

10:45 a.m., Paige Perrons (Dr. Simon Lees): Effects of a selective androgen receptor modulator on proliferation of C2C12 cells.

11:00 a.m., Alexandrea Macey (Dr. Simon Lees): Effects of a selective androgen receptor modulator on C2C12 cell line differentiation.

11:15 a.m., Cody Veneruzzo (Dr. Michael Rennie): Changes in mercury accumulation and energy density in lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) during aquaculture.

11:30 a.m., Colin St. James (Dr. Azim Mallik): A trait-based comparison of three alternate vegetation states.

11:45 a.m., Break; Pack your own snacks!

12:00 p.m., Ashley Faulkner (Dr. Ingeborg Zehbe): Evaluation of anti-E6 single-domain antibody binding capacity to recombinant E6 proteins.

12:15 p.m., Courtney Ferris (Dr. Marina Ulanova): Opsonophagocytosis of Haemophilus influenzae type a.

12:30 p.m., Prashidhi Pathak (Dr. Alla Reznik): Imaging and molecular mechanism of Alzheimer's disease.

Please invite your lab groups, family, and friends. Undergraduates considering an honours thesis project (BIOL4101YA) or special topic (BIOL3990FA, BIOL3991WA) with a biology faculty member or adjunct professor are encouraged to attend. 

The Lakehead University Association of Biology Students will be hosting a Research Symposium for students interested in Honours Thesis (BIOL4101YA), Special Topics (BIOL3990FA, BIOL3991WA, APBI3811, APBI3813, APBI4811, APBI3813), or summer research experiences.