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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.”