Series: Undergraduate Student Research Awards Recipients (#3)

(August 14, 2025) - This summer, twenty-four students have the opportunity to support research projects through Laurentian University with funding provided by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRAs) are meant to nurture interest among undergraduate students and develop their potential for a research career. This funding provides students with research work experience that complements their studies in an academic setting.

Students support research for a period of sixteen weeks, on a full-time basis, from May to August. Students can hold one USRA per fiscal year but can hold up to three USRAs throughout their undergraduate career.

Getting the opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way to a research project is often reserved for graduate students. USRAs grant a unique and coveted opportunity to undergraduate students to get experience in their field of interest. The students’ year of study, major, and areas of research vary but they all similarly demonstrate the positive impact that this opportunity has on their current studies and future goals.

Throughout the remainder of the summer, the students will share in their own words their ambitions, their interests, and a little about the research project they are supporting.

Alex McFadden, 3rd year Biochemistry student at Laurentian University

Hometown: Sudbury, ON

High school: École Secondaire Macdonald-Cartier

As a child, I always wanted to become a scientist. Continuing my education in biochemistry allows me to become just that, and hopefully solve some of the world's most pressing matters. The USRA is an incredible stepping stone that has enabled me concrete research experience. For this, I am very thankful. Under the supervision of Dr. Janice Kenney, I am working to better understand how to filter water contaminants using diatomaceous earth (DE), a porous material made up of fossilized diatoms whose skeletons made of silica have exceptional adsorption properties. Using surface complexation modelling software while modifying the surface chemistry of DE could help us predict better ways of using it as a natural filter. The hardest part of the job? Saying “diatomaceous earth” five times fast.

Randolph Kneer, 3rd year Computer Science and Economics student at Laurentian University

Hometown: Espanola, ON

High school: Espanola High School

This summer, I am grateful to be working at the Cliff Fielding Research, Innovation and Engineering building as an undergraduate student researcher, under the guidance of Dr. Luckny Zephyr.

The project I’ve been fortunate to contribute to explores the feasibility of a wind farm for a private company in rural Quebec. With the use of historical data analysis, modelled potential power output, and by applying various analytical tools and techniques, our project will allow the firm to make an informed decision upon whether it is feasible to build this farm. This process has developed many skills that will certainly be of use to me in my career, including: data collection, data processing, statistical analysis, and plot design.

This project is incredibly exciting and interesting to me because it may lead to an outcome in which a company decides to source a large portion of their energy in a more sustainable manner. Because transitioning to a more sustainable future is of paramount importance, I am happy to play an—admittedly small—part in this most urgent development.

After graduating from Laurentian University, I aspire to earn a PhD in Economics and become a professor. My academic interests include economic instability, modern monetary theory, unemployment, and inequality, to name a few. Outside of my studies, I enjoy playing basketball, listening to music, and spending time with my family and friends.

Lindsay Yu, 4th year Life Sciences student at Queen’s University

Hometown: Sudbury, ON

High school: Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School

Under the supervision of Dr. Sujeenthar Tharmalingam at NOSM University, I am investigating DNA damage-responsive long non-coding RNA (lncRNA)—an RNA transcript that regulates gene expression, signalling pathways, protein stability, etc. We are specifically exploring lncRNA's influence on DNA damage repair in several cell lines including breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung fibroblast, and bronchial epithelial cells. This project has broad implications on molecular and cancer biology, as lncRNA may act as a biomarker for DNA damage and modulate radioresistance in cancerous tissues.

Rohwen Bockus-Murphy, 3rd year Zoology student at Laurentian University

Hometown: Scarborough, ON

High school: Rosedale Heights School of the Arts

This summer, I have been working at the Vale Living with Lakes Centre under the supervision of Dr. Brie Larson as part of the government funded Conservation and Restoration of Aquatic Diversity in the face of Legacy and Emerging Stressors (CRADLES) project, under the Cooperative Freshwater Ecology Unit. I've been working directly with Masters student, Ellis Albrecht, as she conducts research on pelagic macroinvertebrates.

My USRA has provided me opportunities to learn more about recovery projects created to help habitat restoration within the Greater Sudbury area and about just how much our lives leach into aquatic ecosystems, like estrogen from birth control and even caffeine. Being able to experience fieldwork and see the processes it takes to plan a field season and work in tandem with other research teams has been invaluable. This summer has made me even more excited and prepared for when I have to conduct my own research for my honours thesis, Master's thesis, and one day, my PhD.

Outside of research, I've been working on new short stories and poems to hopefully be published, like some of my past works have been. I've also been pinning new bugs I've found while out in the field, all sourced post-mortem, of course. One fun fact about me is that before coming back to school, I worked a placement in animal medicine that found me at a bat hospital in Queensland, Australia.