10:00 - 10:05 Opening Remarks

10:05 - 10:25 Speaker 1 (TBA)

10:25 - 10:45 Speaker 2 (TBA)

10:45 - 11:05 Speaker 3 (TBA)

11:05 - 11:20 Break

11:20 - 11:40 Speaker 4 (TBA)

11:40 - 12:00 Speaker 5 (TBA)

12:00 - 12:55 Panelist Discussion & Questions

12:55 - 1:00 Student Award Presentation

Jasmine is a third-year biology-chemistry student at the University of New Brunswick. Over the summer she was involved with research at Dalhousie University, where she helped investigate gene expression changes in human skin cells to identify mechanisms of ultraviolet protection of an oral natural product formulation. When Jasmine isn’t studying at the science library, she can be found hiking, dancing, or volunteering with Best Buddies!

Previously earning a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology (Hon.) with a minor in Ergonomics at the University of New Brunswick in May 2018, Jackie Toner is currently a second year graduate student completing a Masters in Kinesiology at the University of New Brunswick. Jackie’s research interests lie in the area of ergonomics, ranging from The evaluation of current workplace designs, to future implementations that maximize a worker’s performance while simultaneously lowering their risk of injury. Currently her research is focusing on overexertion and the impact handle design has in terms of injury prevention. She is passionate about improving the workplace and the innovation of current practices and tools used in the field. Jackie is actively seeking a career in research that allows for her own personal growth as a researcher and is hoping to continue in academia by starting her PhD in Community and Population Health Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan in September 2020.

Jordan is a 4th year Medicinal Chemistry student here at UNB! He has worked in two different on-campus labs during his time at UNB, one of them being the Dyker Research Group and the other being the Blight Research Group. Both of Jordan’s research experiences have had a focus in inorganic chemistry, however that's where the similarities end. Jordan can't wait to see you all at SCIspire on November 2nd, and he hopes you all leave with more knowledge and excitement about where research can take you!

Ryan Hamilton

Dr. Janice Lawrence

Check back at a later date for a full list of our panelist speakers. All panelists have extensive experience in research within the Science Faculty here at UNB!

Ryan holds a PhD from the University of New Brunswick in Applied Sport Psychology and has also earned a Master’s degree in sport and exercise science and a bachelor’s degree (honours) in psychology. Dr. Hamilton is an associate professor in the department of Psychology at UNB and has recently won awards both as a teacher - the Arts Faculty Teaching Excellence Award, and as a researcher - the Harrison McCain Young Scholar Award. While Ryan applies the findings of his research to a variety of groups including cancer survivors and exercisers, he is most well-known for his work in sport. Ryan serves as a mental performance coach with the Canadian Sport Centre, the UNB Varsity Reds, Hockey Canada and an NHL franchise to name but a few. Recently, Ryan was the Mental Performance Coach for the gold medal winning Canadian World Junior hockey team. Ryan endeavors to combine rigorous research with creative practice so as to best meet the needs of the populations with whom he works.

Dr. Janice Lawrence is an Associate Professor in Biology and the Associate Dean of Science at the University of New Brunswick. She studies the ecology of microorganisms in marine and, more recently, freshwater environments. She is collaborating on two large research projects with University of Bergen and NORCE in Norway, one studying the coevolution of marine viruses and their hosts, and the other studying the role of appendicularians in altering the abundance and ecological fate of marine viruses. At UNB she supervises undergraduate researchers studying toxic cyanobacteria in New Brunswick rivers and lakes, employing molecular tools to study their presence, abundance, and genetic diversity.

Barry Blight

Ben Newling

Brian Hayden

Associate Professor Barry Blight completed his studies in Canada at Mount Allison University (BSc) and Western University (PhD) in Supramolecular Chemistry. He held a Marie Curie (IIF) Fellowship at the University of Edinburgh with Prof David Leigh studying molecular machines and hydrogen bonding materials, followed by an NSERC PDF in Canada at Queen’s University with Prof Suning Wang studying emissive boron-containing coordination complexes. Barry’s first academic appointment was a Lectureship (Assistant Professor) at the University of Kent (2013) in the School of Physical Sciences in Canterbury, UK. He then moved to the Department of Chemistry at the University of New Brunswick (2017) in Canada. Dr Blight was awarded the Faculty of Science teaching award in 2016. He has 30 publications in high impact peer-reviewed journals, authored one book chapter, held four patents, and has been awarded over $1.2M in research funding since 2013. More importantly, he has been the primary supervisor for 14 undergraduate researchers, 10 graduate student researchers and two full-time research associates.

Ben Newling grew up in Hull in the UK when it was still part of Europe. He studied Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge and accidentally stayed there to complete a PhD in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of fluid flow. After two years at the University of Surrey in Guildford (where Ford Prefect didn’t come from) he worked for Unilever Research before moving to UNB in 2002, all the while working on developing new MRI techniques for studying materials. Ben came to Fredericton with his wife, Anita, and one-year-old Esme. They have since been joined by Alice (who is a person) and James (who is a rabbit).

Brian Hayden is a Fellow of the Canadian Rivers Institute and a Research Associate at Biology Department in University of New Brunswick where he leads the Stable Isotopes in Nature Laboratory. Brian researches aquatic food webs from artic lakes to tropical mangrove swamps examining how climate change and biological invasions are changing the shape and function of these diverse ecosystems.