Summer Research Assistantships Faculty Sponsors List
The faculty listed below are actively looking for summer research students. Below each name you will see what assistantship that they could sponsor a student for. Please read the faculty's research interests to see who may match with your personal and professional goals, prior to submitting your application to them. Students may approach other CBS faculty not listed on this page however please note not all faculty are looking for summer research assistants. Additional names will be added daily so please check back regularly.
Human Health and Nutritional Sciences
The goal of my research program is to understand and gain intimate knowledge regarding mechanisms associated with age-related alterations to muscle contractility across multiple scales of organization. We investigate the neural control of movement using various neuromuscular tools and techniques (e.g, brain, spinal cord, muscle stimulation, electromyography) and basic intrinsic muscle contractile properties at the cellular level. This work has significant relevance, including understanding the neural control of voluntary movement across the lifespan and generating new insight into the active and passive muscular contributions to force production / transmission of skeletal muscle. Utilizing the chronic adapted state of human senescence, we aim to identify mechanisms which regulate intrinsic contractile function and gain invaluable insight into the adaptive capacity of skeletal muscle and what limits function in the context of normal adult aging. Please see lab website on my faculty profile page for more information.
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, Indigenous
Sleep, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour are collectively referred to as the “movement behaviours” that exist over the 24-hour period. These movement behaviours have a significant influence on young children’s physical, cognitive, and emotional development. Research has demonstrated that that lifestyle habits are established early in an individual’s life, therefore the need to enhance movement behaviours at a young age is critical. My lab group is specifically interested in using small devices, similar to a Fitbit/Apple Watch, to capture movement behaviours in young children enrolled in the Guelph Family Health Study (GFHS), a family-based longitudinal intervention study that aims to prevent the development of obesity and promote healthy habits amongst families. As part of my team, you will have the opportunity to work with myself as well as other researcher collaborators to explore the links between physical activity, sleep and wellness in the GFHS families with the goal of promoting the long-term health and development of young children.
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, Indigenous
Integrative Biology
Our research group explores the evolution and distribution of biodiversity and develops new tools for efficient biomonitoring in light of environmental change. We especially focus on using DNA sequence data for studying Arctic, aquatic, and invertebrate biodiversity. Up to two undergraduate summer projects are available. The first involves literature review and data organization on interacting species, to provide insights on patterns of coevolution and to test a newly developed software tool and statistical methodology. The second involves literature review and data organization regarding the traits of biting flies, contributing to an aquatic biomonitoring project in Nunavut and responding to community requests for this research. Depending upon the interests of the summer assistants, there are also opportunities to contribute to other projects and gain some bench skills (e.g. digital photography and specimen databasing). These projects would be a valuable experience for students considering an Honours thesis or graduate studies in Integrative Biology or Bioinformatics.
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, HART Aquatic Biodiversity Assistantship, Ted Morwick SRA in Aquatic Biology, Ted Morwick SRA in Global Change, Indigenous
The work we do in the Bernhardt Lab combines ‘curiosity-inspired’ and ‘use-driven’ research, with the aim of advancing fundamental knowledge and helping inform conservation planning. The goals of our research are 1) to predict biological responses to environmental change at multiple scales; 2) to identify the mechanisms by which biodiversity influences human health via fisheries and seafood; and 3) to harness ecological science to contribute to conservation and management solutions that benefit people and nature. We use a broad quantitative and empirical toolkit, working across sub-disciplines (physiology, evolutionary ecology, metabolic ecology, environmental data science) and combining theoretical, experimental, and comparative analyses with the aim of generating a more predictive understanding of biospheric change and implications for human well-being.
We are recruiting for two projects listed below, but also welcome applicants with other interests.
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Seafood in a changing world: Foods from aquatic sources - ‘blue foods’ (i.e., seafood including finfish, shellfish and seaweeds) are a major source of essential nutrients in the human diet and contribute to food security globally, but they are threatened by climate change. Using approaches from organismal physiology and metabolic ecology, we will use lab and field experiments to study the potential for environmental change to alter the nutritional benefits that we derive from ‘blue foods’, and what those changes mean for human health and well-being.
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Thermal adaptation in phytoplankton: A major challenge in ecology is to predict whether populations will persist in the face of a changing climate. Will species adapt to changing patterns of temperature and nutrient supply quickly enough to persist within their current geographic ranges? We will use experimental evolution in the lab to study what limits or facilitates adaptation to changing thermal and resource regimes in aquatic ecosystems.
Any interested students should contact Dr. Joey Bernhardt, joey.bernhardt@uoguelph.ca.
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, HART Aquatic Biodiversity Assistantship, Ted Morwick SRA in Aquatic Biology, Indigenous
Impact of temperature on scale cortisol content in green sunfish
The Bernier Lab is interested in identifying the physiological roles of stress hormones in fish, in part to gain basic insight into the biology of these animals, but also to assess the resilience of fish to cope with environmental and anthropogenic stressors. More information about our work can be found here.
Steroid hormones such as cortisol play many essential roles in vertebrate physiology. While measurement of cortisol in the blood is most common, there is growing interest in measuring steroid abundance in less invasive matrices like fish scales that may provide a more chronic record of stressor exposure. The aim of this project is to assess how water temperature affects scale cortisol accumulation, release, and breakdown. Green sunfish are a native Ontario species that live in a wide range of ambient temperatures. Scale cortisol will be compared to circulating cortisol levels, and molecular analyses of the skin, scales, and stress axis tissues will provide insight into impacts on cortisol synthesis and clearance. Enthusiastic students interested in gaining research experience in the fields of stress physiology and endocrinology are encouraged to apply.
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, HART Aquatic Biodiversity Assistantship, Ted Morwick SRA in Aquatic Biology
Plant responses to human-mediated pollinator decline The Caruso lab is seeking a summer assistant to help with our research into how native wildflowers will respond to human-mediated declines in pollinator populations. The assistant will primarily help a PhD student with greenhouse experiments testing how floral traits of the native wildflower Mimulus guttatus (monkeyflower) will evolve as pollinators decline. In addition to helping with these experiments, the assistant will also have the opportunity to develop their own research project on the effect of pollinator decline on delayed self-pollination in monkeyflowers. Finally the assistant will have multiple opportunities for professional development, including attending the Ontario Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution Colloquium at the University of Waterloo and networking with our lab’s US-based collaborators while conducting short-term fieldwork on Manitoulin Island in June.
For more information about our lab, see www.christinamariecaruso.com. Interested applicants should email Dr. Chris Caruso at carusoc@uoguelph.ca.
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, Indigenous, Morwick Global Environmental Change
My lab offers opportunities for students to participate in research on the sex lives of plants and their impacts on biodiversity. The precise project will depend on the interests of the student but may include: 1) Impacts of hybridization between domesticated crops and native plants with a focus on apple; and 2) Formation of polyploid species via unreduced gamete production. These and other projects usually involve a combination of field work and lab work. Students will have an opportunity to learn technical skills such as flow cytometry, PCR and micro-satellite analysis, & pollination biology and professional skills such as teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving.
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, Indigenous
Manufactured Ecosystems is a transdisciplinary team of international scholars who are working on a climate crisis adaptation strategy. Think microdrones to augment pollinators, air and water filtration systems on space stations, inspired by coral reef technology. During the summer 2024, we will be bringing together scientists, artists, and writers to learn and create nature-inspired solutions. We are seeking a summer student to help manage the teams, design content for the website, and provide a much-needed youth-informed perspective. The student will be part of a team of student interns from the NASA Glen Research Station. All work can be done fully remotely with access to the internet. This project is committed to dismantling barriers to equity, diversity, and inclusion and providing opportunities to equity-deserving groups.
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, Indigenous
Phenotypic plasticity of brain size in local cyprinid fishes:
The Laberge lab is offering an opportunity to join a collaborative research effort to evaluate the scope of plastic responses in brain size of local cyprinid fishes. This research aims to identify the factors that drive plastic responses in fishes and how plastic changes contribute to organismal success in variable environments. Work in summer 2024 will involve field sampling of diverse cyprinids to evaluate seasonal acclimatization and a laboratory experiment evaluating the effects of temperature acclimation. Students will be closely involved in fish care at the Hagen Aqualab and will have the opportunity to shape the research direction and lab methods to be used based on their specific interests. Interested students are encouraged to contact Dr. Laberge (flaberge@uoguelph.ca) to further discuss research possibilities.
More information about the Laberge lab can be found on this website: https://comparativephys.ca/labergelab/
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, Indigenous, Morwick Global Environmental Change
Over 120 million rodents are used annually in laboratory research worldwide. The majority these rodents are housed in same-sex groups in “shoebox” cages, which restrict their natural behaviours. These conditions vary significantly from the rodents' natural habitats, where mice and rats live in stable, complex social groups across much larger territories (often extending several cubic meters). Mice and rats prefer to live in groups, and when socially isolated, rodents show signs of poor welfare (e.g., elevated levels of stereotypic behaviours). Despite this, single housing remains a common laboratory practice: approximately one-third of researchers isolate male mice, and over half of neuroscience literature reports the use of isolation for rats.
This Mason lab project aims to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the effects of social isolation on rodent health and its potential impact on research data validity. The student will work with a Postdoctoral Fellow from the Mason lab, tasked with screening and extracting data from relevant biomedical research. This project offers an opportunity to gain proficiency in reading and critically evaluating primary literature. It also provides an opportunity to learn more about systematic review, meta-analysis, and animal welfare. This position requires remote work.
Interested applicants should email Jessica Cait (postdoctoral fellow) at caitj@uoguelph.ca.
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, Indigenous
Research in the Norris Lab focuses on the conservation of wild animal populations, including threats faced by birds in urban ecosystems, long-term population dynamics, and movement ecology. We are seeking an enthusiastic summer research assistant to support two ongoing spring/summer research projects:
1) The effect of cats on urban wildlife (late April- end of July): We are investigating outdoor cat predation on wild animals, including birds, by using animal-borne cameras. These ‘CatCams’ record where a cat goes, what it sees, and what it eats, allowing us to examine what they are hunting and what they kill. Field work will take place in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia and will involve deploying and retrieving CatCams, interacting with cat owners, as well as conducting video analysis of collected footage. Accommodation and airfare will be provided.
2) The ecology and conservation of a grassland songbird (late May to end of Aug): We are studying the ecology and survival of juvenile songbirds during the post-fledging period as part of a long-term (35 yrs) study of a population breeding of Savannah sparrows on Kent Island in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick. This is an exciting opportunity to do field work in a remote and beautiful location and gain experience with a variety of field research techniques, including radio telemetry, nest finding, behavioural observation, bird identification, and bird banding. Room and board will be provided.
Any interested students should contact Dr. Ryan Norris, rnorris@uoguelph.ca.
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, Indigenous, Morwick Global Environmental Change
Impact of food availability on fish respiratory plasticity:
Research in the Turko Lab is focused on understanding the causes and consequences of respiratory plasticity in aquatic animals. This work helps us understand how fishes cope in naturally challenging environments (e.g. mangrove swamps, seasonally variable streams), and also helps us identify which species may be most sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances. More information about the lab is available at www.andyturko.com
Previous work has shown that increased food provisioning can increase tolerance of fishes to environmental stressors such as high temperatures or low oxygen, but the mechanisms are not well understood. The aim of this summer project is therefore to understand how food availability affects the ability of fishes to alter gill structure and function, as these plastic changes often influence whole-animal performance. The successful student will be involved in conducting experiments with live fish (feeding and oxygen manipulations), histology, and molecular analyses of energetic and structural remodelling pathways.
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, HART Aquatic Biodiversity Assistantship, Ted Morwick SRA in Aquatic Biology
Molecular and Cellular Biology
This summer we have some exciting research in the Dawson lab, all related to cardiovascular disease! The research ranges from molecular work with purified proteins to high throughput screening of molecules using automated computer driven tracking and analysis to examining the hearts of zebrafish that have mutations affecting their hearts.
We study cardiac actin protein changes in cardiovascular disease, producing modified cardiac actin proteins for molecular defect analysis. Employing advanced single-molecule techniques, including fluorescence microscopy, we study their movement and use automation to identify functional differences to explain heart disease causes. Understanding these molecular causes then guides the development of drugs to correct the dysfunction. At the same time, we replicate similar changes in zebrafish cardiac actin, providing insights into physiological effects at the organism level and enabling drug studies on a model organism.
We are a very active lab and are looking for an enthusiastic student take part in any part of this research. If you have an interest in heart disease, protein biochemistry, computational analysis, or working with a model Organism of a disease, this is the lab for you!
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, Indigenous
Multicellular organisms rely on signal transduction cascades to control important biological responses such as cell growth, differentiation and survival. Understanding the biochemical basis of these protein-protein interactions is of key importance in defining how particular mutations can contribute to pathological conditions such as cancer. In this summer research project, the student will aid in determining the signalling pathways that are mediated by several phosphotyrosine adaptor proteins by identifying the molecular components and biological functions associated with these proteins. Techniques such as DNA cloning, PCR, bacterial and mammalian cell culture, protein purification, electrophoresis, immunohistochemistry and microscopy will be employed by the student.
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, Indigenous
Our nervous system must sense, integrate, and process vast amounts of information throughout the day and then coordinate the correct response. Neurons are the basic working unit of the nervous system and are large, complex cells. Neurons receive input at neuron-neuron connections known as synapses located on short projections called dendrites and transmit information to downstream neurons via long output projections known as axons. The efficient trafficking and delivery of neuronal proteins and organelles to specific subcellular locations is critical for neuronal function but can be challenging over long axonal distances. This project seeks to understand how the protein lipid modification palmitoylation regulates protein and organelle trafficking and targeting in neurons. Palmitoylation acts like a sticky tag to tether proteins to specific cellular membranes. Our lab is particularly interested in how palmitoylation of ion channels and trafficking machinery regulates sub-neuronal targeting of proteins and, in turn, neuronal function.
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, Indigenous
The Seah lab studies structure-function relationships of enzymes and proteins. We are interested in enzymes that 1. detoxify mycotoxins and pollutants 2. Can be used as biocatalysts to produce pharmaceutical drugs efficiently 3. that are targets for developing new antibiotics against pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In addition, we also developing a pipeline to discover new antimicrobial compounds that could be used to treat infectious diseases that are becoming recalcitrant to current antibiotic treatments. Students involved in the research project will have broad training in Molecular Biology techniques, protein biochemistry and structural biology.
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, Indigenous
Fungal pathogens are microbial species that are emerging as a critical threat to human health. The Shapiro lab develops and applies functional genomic tools for the genetic manipulation of human fungal pathogens, and uses these tools to study biology, pathogenesis, and response to antifungal drugs. Projects include the development of novel CRISPR-based systems for genetic manipulation, and the study of genetic mutants (singly or large libraries) to identify the genetic factors that regulate the biology of fungal pathogens. With a focus on Candida yeasts, projects look at the genes and genetic interactions that underpin fungal infections, fungal interactions with hosts, and the evolution of resistance to antifungal drugs. Further research in the lab aims at identifying and characterizing novel drugs that inhibit the growth or perturb the virulence of these pathogens.
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, Indigenous
The Uniacke Lab has three different projects available for students this summer. No specific experience is required for students to work on these projects. Students will be mentored by Dr. Uniacke and graduate students within the lab. They are looking for students with an interest in molecular biology, techniques, and human health. Dr. Uniacke will work with interested applicants to determine which project would be the best fit for the student.
In 2019, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for the discovery of how cells sense and adapt to low oxygen availability (hypoxia). These discoveries, first made about three decades prior, center around the essential transcription factors: the Hypoxia Inducible Factors (HIFs). Hypoxia and the HIFs are hallmarks of cancerous tumors and are linked to poor prognosis. We have recently implicate the RNA helicase DDX28 as a regulator of the HIF isoform HIF2-alpha. DDX28 acts as a tumor suppressor by sequestering HIF2-alpha away from its biochemical functions. We are looking for one student to further explore the mechanisms employed by DDX28 in its repression of the HIF gene expression program in cancer cells.
Area of Interest 1:Investigating the role of DDX28 in the regulation of HIF2-alpha in cancer
Area of Interest 2: The influence of oxygen on gene expression
Area of Interest 3: Investigating the hypoxia-dependent alternative splicing of ribosomal protein S24 and its role as a marker of cancer progression
Eligible Assistantships: CBS, Anne Dagg, Indigenous