Before coming to Laurentian I worked in 5 diverse roles with a non-profit organization (the Federation of Ontario Cottagers' Associations), and three government agencies (the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), as well as Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)). My experience working with these organizations involved applied science and natural resource management for issues including community lake water quality monitoring (the Ontario Lake Partner Program), climate change and fisheries policy, and environmental effects monitoring related to mining. My doctoral and post-doctoral research employed multiple indicators (aquatic invertebrates, algae subfossils, photosynthetic pigments, and water chemical and physical measurements) to understand multi-century trends in primary production, nutrient levels, thermal stratification, and oxygen conditions in lakes. This research aimed to decipher the impact of climate change on lake ecosystem function, and understand the role of multiple human stressors in the increasing incidence of cyanobacterial blooms reported in Ontario lakes.
I feel most at home sitting in the lab and looking at remains of critters that are 100s of years old under the microscope. In my spare time you'll either find me cross-country skiing, or hanging out at my family cottage on Lake Nipissing, depending on the season.
TL;DR my lab plays with mud for work to find out how lake ecosystems have responded to environmental change
