You are now in the main content area

Graduate Research Symposium Winners Announced at Laurentian University

Graduate Research Symposium Winners Announced at Laurentian University

Diverse topics featured at week-long event

(April 12, 2023) - Laurentian’s Graduate Student Association, with the support of the Graduate Studies office, hosted a week-long ‘Discovery and Dissemination Graduate Research Symposium’ from March 27th to 31st, 2023. The event drew attention to diverse research projects of students enrolled in Masters and PhD programs. Presentations demonstrated the depth and breadth of research taking place at the University.

Symposium awards, judged by volunteer faculty, recognized best presentation in various categories: 

  • Education and Health: Taylor Watkins (M.A. Interdisciplinary Health), Supporting Healthy Pregnancies: Understanding Pregnant Women and New Mothers’ Perspectives Regarding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Prevention Campaigns to Inform Effective and Non-Stigmatizing Approaches in Northeastern Ontario
  • Science, Engineering and Architecture: Meghan McCue (Ph.D. Biomolecular Sciences), Exploring the effect of cancer and chemotherapy on skeletal muscle
  • Arts: Jennifer Dufoe (M.A. Psychology), The Efficacy of Mobile Mental Health Applications (mHealth apps) in Reducing Symptoms of Anxious and Depressive Distress in a University Population, tied with Luc Huneault (M.A. Psychology), The Effects of Different Message Frames on COVID-19 Vaccine Beliefs
  • Indigenous content presentation: Katherine Snazel (M. Indigenous Relations), Indigenous Authorship: towards understanding the intersections in inter-indigenous science fiction and fantasy

This year’s 3 minute thesis (3MT) winner, Victoria Camp, was determined by volunteer faculty judges will compete at Provincial Finals at Queen’s University on May 17th, 2023, with her presentation, Victoria Camp (M. Science Communication), Exploring public opinion of tailings practitioners through Facebook comments on digital news media.

“Participating in the 3MT competition has been great. It forced me to distill my research down to its essential parts and helped me develop my 'elevator pitch' for why this work is important. I'm really excited to share my presentation at the provincial competition in May and showcase the work I've been doing here at Laurentian,” said Camp when asked to speak about the competition.

Graduate Research Symposium Winners Announced

Graduate Research Symposium Winners Announced

Diverse topics featured at week-long event.

(March 30, 2022) - Laurentian’s Graduate Student Association, with the support of the Graduate Studies office, hosted a week-long ‘Discovery and Dissemination Graduate Research Symposium’ from March 21 - 25, 2022.  The event drew attention to diverse research projects of students enrolled in Masters and PhD programs. Presentations demonstrated the depth and breadth of research taking place at the University. 

Symposium awards, judged by students in the Science Communication program, recognized best presention in various categories: 

  • Faculty of Arts: Sarah de Blois (Ph.D Human Studies and Interdisciplinarity), Gendered experiences of women in mining: Challenging resistance to acceptance and respect
  • Faculty of Education and Health: Taylor Watkins (M.A. Interdisciplinary Health), Supporting Healthy Pregnancies: Understanding Pregnant Women and New Mothers’ Perspectives Regarding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Campaigns to Inform Effective and Non-Stigmatizing Prevention Approaches in Northeastern Ontario
  • Faculty of Science, Engineering and Architecture: Kyle Vincent (M.Sc. Biology), Weaving Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science to Investigate the Impacts of Railways on Wildlife
  • French language presentation: Léa Fieschi-Méric (Ph.D Boreal Ecology), Améliorer la conservation des amphibiens grâce à l’étude de leur microbiome cutané
  • Indigenous content presentation: Kyle Vincent (M.Sc. Biology), Weaving Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science to Investigate the Impacts of Railways on Wildlife

This year’s 3 minute thesis (3MT) winner, Sarah de Blois, PhD candidate in the Human Studies and Interdisciplinarity program, was determined by judges Markus Schwabe (CBC Radio host), Leah Britt (alumna and lawyer, Lacroix Lawyers / Avocats), and Cindy Fowler (alumna and Corporate Sites Manager, Plan A Long Term Care Staffing and Recruiting). de Blois is also the recipient of the event’s People’s Choice Award, and will compete at Provincial Finals at the University of Guelph on May 4th, 2022, with her presentation, Women, Mining, and Gender: Experiences from Sudbury, Ontario.

Describing with gratitude, the excitement of the week-long event, Paul Marchetta, President of the GSA and Master’s in Biology student, said: “This was truly an exciting week for Graduate research at Laurentian University. I would like to thank all participants whose research made this week so notable. Also, a special thanks to the dedicated students and staff involved in organizing this event, as well as faculty who support students in their graduate studies journeys.” 
 

University community prepares for Graduate Research Symposium

University community prepares for Graduate Research Symposium

The Graduate Students’ Association plans week-long event in support of the discovery and dissemination of research.

(March 16, 2022) - A week-long event that promotes graduate student research at Laurentian University will take place March 21st to 25th, 2022. This student-led ‘Discovery and Dissemination Graduate Research Symposium’ is spearheaded by the Graduate Student Association, with support from the Office of Graduate Studies. 

Presentations about current research projects from students and candidates enrolled in Master and PhD programs will be offered. A volunteer panel of student judges from the Science Communication program will award prizes to the best presentation delivered in each faculty. Awards will also be distributed for the top French presentation and top Indigenous content presentation. 

Students from Biology and Science Communication programs will additionally participate in a ‘Sci Comm Bio Bites Showcase.’ Produced and directed by the Science Communication students, this group of biologists will engage and inspire the audience with their fascinating research and polished presentation skills.

Graduate students also have the opportunity to compete in Laurentian’s 3 minute thesis (3MT). 3MT is a university-wide competition in which participants present their research in 3 minutes or less to a panel of non-specialist judges. The challenge is to present complex research in an engaging, accessible and compelling way, using only one slide. 

“The 3MT competition provides graduate students with an opportunity to refine skills that can be transferred after graduation to diverse career paths,” said Stacy Sathaseevan, Laurentian’s Graduate Information Officer. “Distilling research into a clear form, without over-simplifying or making it overly-complex, and highlighting the wider implications of the research are important skills to carry into post-graduate employment and public service.”

Laurentian’s 3MT competition winner will be invited to compete at Provincial Finals to be held at the University of Guelph on May 4th, 2022. 

Speaking positively about the upcoming symposium and its numerous offerings, Laurentian’s Vice President of Research, Dr. Tammy Eger said: “We are extremely proud of the tireless efforts and dedication of our graduate student body. Research and scholarship conducted by Laurentian’s graduate students continues to address important questions for northern Ontario and Canada, often done in partnership with industry and community partners.” 

All are invited to take part in this week-long event. Apart from the 3MT competition that will take place in the Classroom building, in Room C-203, on March 23rd, 2022, 12:00 noon - 2:00pm, all other events will be hosted via Zoom. 

The following Zoom link provides access to the week-long event. 
The Symposium presentation schedule with abstracts can be found here.