Steve Whyard: Battling Mosquitoes and the West Nile Virus

Quick Mosquito Facts:

• Only the female mosquito blood feeds - she uses the blood to nourish eggs; some species can produce eggs without blood meals; but the majority are obligate blood-feeders.
• Mosquito development is dependent on availability of water, but it also depends on temperature - the warmer it is, the faster they develop into adults.
• The majority of mosquitoes get consumed during the larval and pupal stages by other aquatic species - the adults you see represent only a small fraction of the population.
• Mosquitoes transmit disease to about 700 million people each year. It is the older females that are responsible for this disease transmission, and they first have to acquire an infected blood-meal, let the pathogen proliferate for severay days to a week and then bite again.

Manitobans are well acquainted with female mosquitoes, both as pests and carriers of the West Nile Virus; male mosquitoes do not bite, but actually feed on plant nectar. Steve Whyard, Biological Sciences, is working on ways to address the insect problem through mosquito population control, and through new treatments for the “patients” – both the people patients and the mosquito patients.

Mosquito Population Control

One common method of controlling the mosquito population is through the use of pesticides, including fogging. The unfortunate consequences of regular pesticide use are that mosquito populations gradually become resistant to pesticides, and the pesticides can poison many additional species. Whyard’s lab is pursuing other approaches.

One of these is the sterile insect technique. The essential step is to release large numbers of sterile, but otherwise healthy, male mosquitoes into an area. If there are sufficient numbers of these sterile males, then most females will breed with them, and consequently not produce any young. Typically, the males are sterilized by radiation, but this weakens them and renders the approach ineffective, because the females breed with the naturally occurring fertile males instead, and go on to produce many healthy, hungry offspring. Whyard’s group is working on an alternative – to use genetic engineering to produce sterile males and breed them in captivity.

In another approach, Whyard’s lab is developing materials, known as “gene-silencing” molecules, which specifically attack mosquitoes’ genes that are essential for the mosquitoes’ development. By feeding these materials to mosquito larvae, the larvae are killed before they can develop into biting adults. By selectively targeting only the right genes, it will be possible to make pesticides that kill only the mosquitoes, without adversely affecting any other species, or only a few others. This will be a great improvement over current pesticides. This general approach of developing species-specific pesticides should also be applicable to many other noxious insect pests.

Treatment

In a third aspect of his research, Whyard is examining how the West Nile virus infects different species, with the aim of developing new therapeutic agents that can suppress viral infection in either humans, the mosquitoes, or both. By examining how the virus hijacks the cellular proteins of its different hosts, the researchers are identifying key molecules that the virus needs to replicate. By blocking how the virus affects host cells, it is possible to prevent the virus from infecting different hosts, like birds and mosquitoes, and thereby, stop the infection cycle. Whyard anticipates that this work could be useful in developing treatments against other serious insect-borne diseases such as dengue virus and malaria.

Posted in:  Science

Calen Ryan - Studying in Australia

Calen Ryan exploring a billabong by boat, complete with a basking croc in the background!

For Faculty of Science student, Calen Ryan, spending the 2009 Winter term taking courses in Wollongong, N.S.W., Australia was just the change he needed while working on his B.Sc. (Hons.) degree in Biological Sciences.  Calen explains, “Working towards an undergraduate degree can feel like an eternity. So I started looking into an exchange program to break up the routine of education, satisfy my wanderlust, and give me respite from one of our brutal winters!”

Calen heard about the World W.I.S.E. Resource Centre at the University of Manitoba though a friend, and decided to look into an exchange.  He discovered that he could spend a winter term in Australia, and still take courses towards his degree.  “I basically paid my tuition at the University of Manitoba, but attended university in Australia. You get the benefits of international study, but with the same fees as studying here at U of M.”

His search for a host university, however, was somewhat unorthodox.  He wanted several things:  a high quality institution with a good reputation, in a smaller city, next to mountains and a beach! He was able to find it all at the University of Wollongong, and its proximity to Sydney didn’t hurt either.

The staff at the World W.I.S.E Resource Centre helped Calen with information and details; they also have all kinds of resource information for students online.  Noticing his excellent academic record, they encouraged Calen to apply for a highly competitive scholarship that landed him $5,000 AUS - a very nice perk for those long hours studying.

While studying abroad, Calen found that the perspectives and emphasis differed both in the research being and in the course subject matter.  He explains, “For example, in Australia global warming and issues surrounding invasive species are given a lot more attention.  As a developing Biologist, it was really interesting to learn about their perspectives and benefit from their specialized knowledge in certain areas.” 

Calen gained an appreciation for the subtle influence society and culture has on science and research, and how the importance given certain issues in science is not absolute. Scientists in different parts of the world approach topics from different perspectives and have developed expertise in different areas - and that gave him a broader understanding of his field.

He also found he was well-prepared for their education system. He discovered that his education at the U of M had given him a strong theoretical and practical foundation in his field.  He had developed skills in problem solving, critical thinking, and scientific communication which meant he was well-equipped to handle the major assignments and long formal reports he encountered there. Calen was also able to see how some of the U of M program requirements gave him an advantage over students without the same background. 

While abroad, he noticed that the Australian institution didn’t have the same course and program options available to students at the U of M, and that they didn’t have the same opportunities to be involved with research. “You have a lot of options in the Biological Sciences to pursue your passions and to get involved in research,” Calen said. “That may not always be the case at other institutions.”

Being enrolled in an Honours program is also important if you want to work in your field of study, enter a graduate program or consider a career overseas.  “They place a lot of emphasis on Honors programs down under, so it’s a wise choice if you want to keep your options open,” Calen reflects.

He also felt more confident about his degree from the U of M.  “You hear about people going to expensive ivy-league schools, and you wonder how your education measures up.”  After spending a term at another university, Calen believes that “we get an amazing experience at the U of M.  We have some awesome Profs, and all the tools we need to succeed are here. It is up to us to take advantage of that.”

Calen plans to continue with his ongoing commitment to his studies and to research, in order to get the grades and experience that he needs to be competitive for postgraduate funding. His goal is to make a career out of studying life, and to share that passion with others.

He says that he often has to explain to people, even other students, that being a biologist really is a job - a very cool job where you can travel, meet amazing people and never stop learning new things. He implores new students to work hard, keep an open mind and pursue what they are passionate about. The perfect way to do all three is to participate in an exchange with a foreign university.

Calen’s advice for anyone looking at studying overseas: “Start your preparations early!”

Posted in:  Science

Dreams Do Come True

For Computer Science graduate, Doug Falk, working as a programmer for the Mayo Clinic is a dream come true.

Growing up in Carmen MB, Doug wasn’t sure whether he wanted to become a physical education teacher, like his father, or work as a programmer, like his brother.  After visits with his brother, a programmer for the Mayo Clinic, Doug decided in high school, not only that he wanted to be a programmer, but that he, too, wanted to work at the Mayo Clinic.

His journey took him to the Computer Science Co-op Program at the University of Manitoba, and he credits his solid education and his Co-op experience in helping him achieve his goal.

“With each Co-op work term,” says Doug, “I became more satisfied with my life choice.” 

In his first Co-op work term, he learned what it was like working in a business environment, how a company functions and how to form working relationships with the different people at the company. 

For his second Co-op work term, Doug was employed by a small software development company that was “very well run.”  The whole company model was different and focused on ways to enhance employee interaction.  It didn’t take long for Doug to see the results. 

“I was comfortable around the people who I worked with,” he explains.  “I was given opportunities to have input in decisions, and was given more responsibility.  I still keep in touch with the friends I made in the company.”

Doug believes having a year of Co-op work experience was vital to him getting his job.  “I had better examples of real-life work experiences to share, and I had confidence in my interviews.” He explains.

During his Co-op experience, he had had over 30 job interviews; interviews where he had a chance to practice his skills and gain confidence.  He had also benefitted from the feedback employers gave him – a built-in component of the Co-op program.

“I took their advice to heart, and I made the effort to make the changes they suggested.  It’s not an easy thing to do, but in the end, it makes a difference,” says Doug.

Still, getting a job at the Mayo Clinic wasn’t easy.  “I checked the on-line jobs every day, and I sent in applications,” he said.

Finally, he got a telephone interview, and although he didn’t get the job, the manager who interviewed him, recommended him to a colleague at the Clinic. 

He was also encouraged by the Human Resources Manager who noticed that Doug had been applying for computer-related jobs.  She gave him a call, and encouraged him to keep trying.  “It really gave me hope that a job at the Clinic might be a possibility,” he explains.

The telephone interview that finally landed him the job was with the five-member panel.  It was “intense,” and there were a lot of questions, but Doug felt good about interview.  One week later he received a job offer, and he was both elated and scared.  It had finally happened; he was moving to Rochester!

“The Mayo Clinic is an amazing place, and it’s the kind of work where you can help patients and have a positive impact on patients’ lives,” says Doug.

Posted in:  Science

Meet Mark Whitmore

As Dean of Science, Mark Whitmore runs a faculty with 3,000 students and 250 academic and support staff.  “It’s the breadth of the educational and research opportunities, and the excellence of our programs, that attracts people to science,” he explains.  “A degree from the Faculty of Science literally prepares you for ‘Many Futures;’ if you study science here, you have a multitude of options to choose from, and you can go anywhere in the world with your degree.  Our students work with world-class professors in research programs involving laboratory work, field work or theoretical research depending on their own personal preferences.” 

Whitmore believes that universities are, arguably, the single most transformational agents in society: “they transform us, our lives, and the world in which we live.”  

He says: “I’ve tried to imagine this world without universities.  When I think about all that university research and teaching have made possible, I can’t imagine how different our world would be.  I’ve thought about what my life would be, even in this world with universities, if I hadn’t attended one.  It would be very different.  And I am particularly privileged to be spending my life working at universities.”

As well as running the Faculty of Science, Whitmore maintains an active research program.  For most researchers, doing hands-on work means a trip down to the lab. But for Whitmore, switching to research mode can be as simple as switching on his desktop computer.

“I don’t need a lot of laboratory space,” Whitmore said. “I do a lot of my research using my desktop computer. So, if I have an hour during the day, I can turn to it and get in some work.”

Of course the whole system hinges on his desktop having access to much more powerful computers both at the University of Manitoba and elsewhere, but still it’s not a bad balancing act for a person who has to manage the administrative duties of being dean while still maintaining his research interests.

“I do computer simulations,” Whitmore said. “My goal is to predict what’s going to happen and to understand why it happens.”

“At times you can have a phenomenon that looks puzzling, but you can identify some factor which is really the underlying one and say, “Yeah, that’s why that happens.” And that can be very satisfying,” Whitmore said.

A theory that Whitmore and his colleagues developed a number of years ago involving phospholipids is a good example.  Phospholipids are chain-like molecules that form the backbone of cell walls in the human body. Whitmore and another colleague were busy coming up with a computer model of phospholipid behaviour, when one of their colleagues in the experimental field posed a question: why, when you apply pressure to phospholipids forming a wall, does that wall actually become thicker rather than thinner.

“The timing of the question was perfect. We took a day to run the simulation and, when we did, we reproduced this intriguing result,” Whitmore said.  So, the computer model was accurately reflecting what the experiment on phospholipids showed. But could it explain the results?  Yes.

“When you take a section of the cell wall, the chain-like lipids are oriented perpendicular to the layer, pointing generally inwards.  However, they do not point straight in, but are partially disordered, or compressed,” Whitmore said. “When you apply pressure you squeeze them together – the space between them is also constricted – so it forces them to straighten out, and that causes the layer to get thicker. On balance, this effect is stronger than that of the compressing forces on the layer surface, and the layers get a bit thicker.” 

So, inside of a day, Whitmore could not only tell his colleague that the computer simulations backed up the experiments, but he could also tell him why the molecules behaved as they did. This, and related systems, remain the focus of his research.

Born in Hamilton, Whitmore earned his degrees from McMaster University; his undergraduate degree was in applied mathematics and theoretical physics and his graduate studies were in physics. He had considered studying languages in high school but, by Grade 13, there was no question science was his future.

“It was an exciting time for physics; Neil Armstrong landed on the moon the summer when I was in high school. This was the culmination of a mere 10 years of space exploration - we went from the first human in space to a person actually setting foot on the moon,” Whitmore said. “I think the excitement of space exploration influenced a lot of students. There was a general enthusiasm around physics and astronomy.”

So he plunged into his undergraduate studies, not terribly worried about what would be at the end of the road.

“In those days we were less focused on career opportunities; we tended to take programs we enjoyed more for the sake of the program,” Whitmore said. “At the time, job prospects at universities were not very good. If you went to graduate school and got a related job you needed to be very lucky.”

“As an undergraduate, I didn’t expect to have an opportunity to teach at a university.”

But he went on to graduate school anyway, and it turned out he was one of the lucky ones – securing a job at Memorial University after graduation.

It was a good fit.  Memorial gave him room to grow, conduct his research and go on leave to places like Kyoto. And like a lot of talented researchers, he found he loved teaching. 

“The teaching part is something I’ve always enjoyed. I won’t pretend I enjoy grading exams, but the actual teaching part is great” Whitmore said. “A lot of people suggest that the people who are interested in research are not as interested in teaching.  But in my experience the best researchers are some of the best and most dedicated teachers.”

Whitmore started to move into administration at Memorial University.

“At the time, the computer systems at Memorial were becoming obsolete,” Whitmore said. “We really didn’t have a way of financing new research computers on our own, so we had to find ways to partner with major computer manufacturers and other government users in the province.”

Whitmore found himself in charge of the project and it quickly snowballed, and eventually became an Atlantic consortium of seven universities known as the Atlantic Computational Excellence Network, or ACEnet. The involvement made Whitmore a natural choice to join when a national organization with similar goals was formed, the Canadian High Performance Computing Collaboratory, or C3.ca.  The involvement also made Whitmore a natural choice for associate dean of research in the Faculty of Science at Memorial.

As fate would have it, his three-year tenure as associate dean came during the turn over between two presidents, three vice-presidents and three people in the dean’s position in Memorial’s faculty of science.

Between keeping things together in the faculty and organizing cross-country groups such as C3.ca, Whitmore found he was getting a taste for administration. “You bring people together, work with institutions and things can happen,” Whitmore said.  “It’s really quite satisfying to see what people can accomplish when you bring them together.” 

So, when an executive search firm called him to say there was an opportunity at the University of Manitoba, Whitmore was ready for a change.  “I hadn’t really thought about Manitoba before, but when I started looking at the University of Manitoba, I realized there were tremendous strengths.”  Memorial and the U of M are similar in size, and they both have the same job of being the only full-service university in their respective provinces.

Of course, there is one difference.  The weather is better in Manitoba. “I really chuckled when the executive search firm that phoned me promoted the weather as being better than Newfoundland,” Whitmore said. “In fact, I now agree.  I even find Winnipeg winters quite agreeable on the whole, although I will admit there are a few memorable days each winter.”

Posted in:  Science

Finding New, Clean & Renewable Energy Systems

l-r, Douglas Thomson, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michael Freund and Torston Hegmann, Chemistry

 Researchers at the University of Manitoba are part of an international collaboration with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) working to find efficient ways to convert renewable energy resources: solar, electrical and wind energy into chemical fuels, such as hydrogen. 

Michael Freund, Torsten Hegmann, Chemistry; and Douglas Thomson, Electrical and Computer Engineering, have received 1.2 million dollars, over three years, in combined funding, from the Province of Manitoba:  Science, Technology Energy & Mines ($600,000) with matching funds from Caltech to develop the components that could be used to create a clean and renewable fuel-generating system. 

The University of Manitoba has built world-class facilities worth over $10 million dollars over the past five years, and the facilities, as well as the University of Manitoba scientists, are critical to the project’s overall success.

Freund is a Canada Research Chair and brings knowledge and expertise in the area of conducting polymers, electrochemistry and self assembly as well as characterization technology (x-ray photoelectron microscopy and electron microscopy).  Hegmann brings knowledge and expertise in self-assembly, organic chemistry and nanotechnology as well as characterization technology (thermal methods and x-ray diffraction).  Thomson brings knowledge and expertise in semiconductors, high frequency electronic characterization and scanning probe microscopy. 

One way to get a clean hydrogen fuel source is by using sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.  More energy from sunlight strikes the earth in one hour than all of the fossil energy consumed on the planet in a year - so what is missing is not the solar energy but the science and technology for its efficient widespread use.

The devices in simple high school chemistry lab experiments split water into hydrogen and oxygen using electrolysis.  These devices typically contain a platinum catalyst which is very expensive (more than $800 per ounce), and as a result is not practical for mass production.  One possible alternative is to find a robust efficient way to split water with catalysts made from earth abundant (and cheap) elements that would be cost effective for widespread use of the technology.  Another issue is the assembly of nanostructured semiconductors, (used to create electricity from light), and these catalysts in a way that efficiently splits water into hydrogen and oxygen.  This is where researchers at the University of Manitoba come into the picture.

The project’s approach will be to develop an artificial photosynthetic system using a modular development method.  The distinct components, the photoanode, the photocathode, water splitting catalysts and the proton-conducting membrane to separate the hydrogen and oxygen side will be developed separately in the different labs containing complementary expertise.  The goal will be to eventually assemble the components into a prototype of a complete water-splitting device.

The development of photoanode and photocathode nanorods will occur largely at Caltech where initial progress has already been made.  Characterization of the nanorods, in terms of composition and structure will take place at the U of M (Freund and Thomson) in the state-of-the-art Manitoba Regional Materials and Surface Characterization and NanoFab facilities.  The development of new low-cost catalysts is taking place at both Caltech and MIT.  New strategies for immobilizing these catalysts will be developed at Caltech and characterized at the U of M (Freund and Thomson).  In parallel, major efforts on developing strategies for assembling and orienting nanorods (Hegmann) and creating ionic/electronic conducting membranes (Freund) will take place at the U of M.

The overall goal is to develop viable technologies that will help transition the world’s dependence on fossil fuels to sunlight and other renewable sources of electricity.  With Manitoba’s abundance of renewable resources, scientists at the University of Manitoba are ensuring that we are at the forefront of the research and development of clean energy technology.

Posted in:  Science

Science Co-op Student Gets Double Honours

Bobby Beattie in Freiburg, Germany

Robert (Bobby) Beattie, an undergraduate student in the Faculty of Science’s microbiology co-op program, was presented with $1750 and the title of Co-operative Education Manitoba Student of the Year award. Earlier this month Beattie was nationally recognized with an honourable mention in the Co-op Student of the Year Award competition annually organized by the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education.

Beattie started his university education not really sure about what he wanted to do or where he wanted to go.  His international co-op experience, arranged through the Co-op Program at the Faculty of Science, changed everything.

In the summer of 2008, Bobby, along with nine other students from around the world, traveled to the Max-Planck Institute in Freiburg, Germany to start a summer work term.  The initial travel to Germany was “definitely out of my comfort zone,” said Bobby, but the 10 international students, housed in two guest houses, soon became their own family.  The students purchased bicycles, and on weekends would take excursions to places like Paris, Prague and the Black Forest - an unforgettable experience.

At the Max-Planck Institute, Bobby worked on a project in developmental embryology that involved neural stem cell research.  He generated a transgenic mouse line that combined state-of-the-art technology in conditional genetics using an in vivo approach to analyzing gene function in neural stem cells.  He learned new techniques in mouse genetics and neurogenesis, and his research is now part of a larger on-going study at the Institute. 

Researchers at the institute made sure he was part of the entire research experience; he participated in group discussions, journal club and was regularly called upon to give updates and presentations on his work.  He was welcomed as part of the team, and will be included as a co-author on resulting publications.  Bobby’s summer research experience inspired him to sign up for an Honours Project course in the Faculty of Science where he worked in Steve Whyard’s lab learning techniques in RNA interference and electron microscopy. 

According to Bobby, “joining the co-op program was the greatest decision I made in my undergraduate career.”  He now has international contacts, incredible research experience and direction - he wants to do a graduate degree in developmental biology and continue working in research.  It was the experience of a lifetime.

For more information contact Diane Kunec, Science Co-op Coordinator, Faculty of Science, University of Manitoba at (204) 474-7396.

Posted in:  Science

Christina Penner - Computer Science Instructor/Novelist

Instructor, Department of Computer Science, University of Manitoba

Author, Widows of Hamilton House, 2008

I grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, went to high school in Sacramento, California, and moved to Winnipeg, where I completed Grade 12 at the Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute.  After finishing a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Winnipeg, I intended to pursue an MBA, because my family was in business, but somehow, the fit wasn’t right for me.  I had always been interested in reading and in stories, and I pursued this interest through a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English.  I came to the University of Manitoba for my graduate degree, because, at the time, it was one of only two universities in Canada that offered a Master of Arts degree with a creative thesis. 

In order to pay the bills while going to university, I taught computer courses in the corporate world.  I was approached by the Computer Science Department at the University of Manitoba to teach a first-year Computer Science course, and I took the job because I wanted to have University-level teaching experience, especially since I was thinking I would someday complete a Ph.D. in English.

I didn’t anticipate preferring teaching science courses to teaching literature.  I liked teaching students to think in new ways and apply that thinking to solving problems. To learn computer programming means you have to think in a way you didn’t think before.  And it’s hard and uncomfortable.  And exciting.  Also, for me it’s great to teach in our Computer Science department because the department is very pro-teaching and pro-student.  Lately, I’ve boiled my teaching philosophy down to three words: to be kind. And I mean that in a personal and social sense, but also in an intellectual sense.  I think that an openness and curiosity in education contribute to an intellectual versatility that is important to the world.

Although I work in the Department of Computer Science, I still think about literature and literary theory. In my third year course, Technical Communication for Computer Scientists, we talk about rhetorical theory and the importance and power of language.  I feel lucky that the Faculty of Science supports and appreciates the Arts.  And I try to encourage my students to think openly, to be aware of their own paradigms, and to try taking courses in both the Arts and the Sciences.  Many times there’s no need for this kind of encouragement because many students (and faculty) come to the Computer Science department with backgrounds in music, literature and fine arts. It’s exciting to see these different perspectives come together.   

Posted in:  Science

Saving Sturgeon From the Brink

Cheryl Klassen, Ph.D. Student, Biological Sciences

I am originally from Steinbach, Manitoba, and upon graduation from the Steinbach Regional Secondary School, I was awarded the Chown Centennial Scholarship by the University of Manitoba.  After four years of study, I completed my Bachelor of Science degree (with distinction) in Ecology.  Through courses offered in the Ecology program at the Faculty of Science, I was able to:  travel to Churchill, Manitoba and observe polar bears and caribou in the wild, conduct a behavioural study at the Assiniboine Park Zoo on a captive herd of muskox and spend time at the University of Manitoba’s Delta Marsh Field Station learning valuable field research techniques.  These experiences led me to pursue a career in biology and conservation.         

Summer employment with the Manitoba Science Academy in Pinawa, Manitoba (formerly Deep River Science Academy) presented me with the opportunity to study lake sturgeon, a fish whose numbers have plummeted over the past century due to over-fishing.  I worked on a research project focused on developing more efficient methods of rearing larval and juvenile lake sturgeon in order to support stocking programs.  My fascination with these unique creatures and concern for their continued existence, led me to build on this research at a higher level and I obtained my Master of Science degree in Biology from the University of New Brunswick (Fredericton campus) in 2007.

Over the past few years, success in the hatchery has resulted in large numbers of juvenile lake sturgeon being released into Manitoba waters.  The survival rate of these released animals is currently unknown, and to learn more about their survival, I have moved my research from the hatcheries to the rivers.  To continue my research, I chose to return to the University of Manitoba and am currently pursuing a PhD in the newly formed department of Biological Sciences.  I am hopeful that the results of my research will shed new light on the effectiveness of using cultured lake sturgeon for the purposes of restoring their population.

Posted in:  Science

The Faculties of Arts and Science Host a Reception for President’s Scholars

Standing, from left: Laura Tapley, President’s Scholar, Dean Richard Sigurdson (Arts), Dr. Judy Anderson, Head, Biological Sciences, Jane Hendrickson-Rebizant, President’s Scholar. Seated, from left: President’s Scholars, Diana Houle, Ashley Pauls, Talia Pankewycz and Peiki Loay.

On Monday, November 17, Dean Mark Whitmore (Science) and Dean Richard Sigurdson (Arts) welcomed the first group of President’s Scholars to the Faculties of Science and Arts.  Dr. Robert Kerr [Vice-President (Academic) and Provost], the originator of the President’s Scholars concept, brought greetings on behalf of President David Barnard.  Students had the opportunity to discuss career plans and curricular options with student advisors and Department representatives from both Faculties in the Cross Commons Room, St. John’s College.  Myra Sitchon (Archaeologist with the Government of Manitoba and Lecturer at the University of Manitoba) spoke about how in blending the the Arts and Sciences she came to her current career in forensic and archaelogical anthropology.  She shared with the President’s Scholars stories of her archealological fieldwork in Siberia, Hungary, Ontario and Manitoba, and how her education and fieldwork brought her to work with the RCMP and Vancouver Police on high-profile forensic cases.

Posted in:  Arts, Science