Giardiasis (beaver fever), pumpkinseed fish and flying squirrels are just some of the thesis topics undertaken by this year’s annual Biology Department award winners.

The annual Awards Ceremony was held on April Fools Day in the DNA Building but it was no joke. Students, faculty and staff affiliated with the Trent University Biology Department gathered in celebration of the academic achievements of undergraduate students in the Department.

In attendance at the ceremony was Dr. Percival Powles, former Trent University faculty member and longtime member of the Biology Department, to present his namesake award the Powles Prize.  This award is presented to the student who demonstrated excellence in the area of fisheries and aquatic sciences. Dr. Powles presented the award saying, “I hope this tradition continues, it’s a wonderful ceremony.”

A complete list of the 2014-2015 Biology Department Awards and their recipients is as follows:

McKerracher Scholarship: Awarded to one or two outstanding student(s) in the 4th year of the Honours program in Biology or Biochemistry with the aim of encouraging promise and interest in a career in health services.

1. Kelly Nori

Kelly is a 4th year Biology Honours major.  She is currently finishing a double credit biochemistry thesis.  Kelly has applied for a Masters in Genetic Counselling.  This is a course-based Master’s program that allows graduates to become genetic counsellors. She has an interview for this very competitive program in April.

        2.Courtney Toms

Courtney is a Biology Honours major.  She is currently doing a Health Sciences placement with Dr. Bensimon’s Dental Office.  She hopes to attend Dental School in September and has upcoming interviews with the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario.

Charles Omole Medical Scholarship: Established by Dr. Charles Omole, an alumnus of the original class of 1964 upon his death in 2012.  Charles never forgot how important Trent was on his path to becoming a general surgeon in Wingham, Ontario.  To be awarded to a full-time upper-year undergraduate student pursuing Trent Internship or Placement courses with the intention to become a doctor or t a student enrolled in current or future Trent University medically related courses or programs.

1. Noah Ben-Ezra

Noah is a Biology Honours major currently doing a Health Sciences Internship at the hospital. He will be conducting research with an NSERC-USRA this summer and hopes to attend medical school in the future.

        2. Andrea Luke

Andrea is a Biology Honours major currently completing a Health Sciences Internship at the hospital. She will be attending New York Chiropractic College in Seneca Falls for the Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) program in September of 2015.

Roy L. Edwards Scholarship:  Established in honour of Roy L. Edwards, one of the founding faculty members of Trent University and the first Chair of the Biology Department.  Awarded to an outstanding student entering the fourth year of the Honours program in Biology, with the aim of encouraging promise and interest in the study of freshwater ecology.

1. Sarah D’Amario

Sarah was awarded an NSERC USRA in 2013 to carry out a summer study linking land use to greenhouse gases concentrations in streams. This was submitted as a manuscript to Biogeochemistry which has been accepted.  She will be be doing an MSc with Maggie on the FloodNet project studying the environmental effects of flooding.

Biology Department Scholarship: Awarded to a student of high academic achievement and promise entering the third or fourth year of the Biology Program.

1. Gillian Fraser

Gillian is a fourth-year Biology Honours student doing both a research thesis and an internship placement with MNR at Trent. She is completing a current status review of furbearers in three Ontario eco-regions and evaluating how all furbearers in Ontario are responding to climate change. For her thesis, she is looking at the behavioural ecology of two species of flying squirrels in response to climate change. 

Botany Prize: This is awarded annually to a student who shows excellence and promise in plant biology. 

1. Katherine Clover

Katherine is a Biology Honours major entering 4th year.  She was actually nominated for both the Powles Prize and the Botany Prize.

       2. Elyse Owen

Elyse Owen is a Biology Honours major finishing 4th year.

Joseph Ernest Goodhead Prize:  This prize is the gift of an anonymous donor and is awarded for excellence in the study of Biology. 

1. Robert Pazdzior

Robert is a 4th year biochemistry major currently completing his thesis.

       2. Emily Webb

Emily is a 4th year Biology Honours major and plans to continue in nursing.

Biology Department Book Prizes: Awarded for excellence in the study of Biology.

1. Emily Hartjes

Emily is currently completing a health science internship at the hospital.  She attend Western in September for her MSc in Pharmacology and Physiology.

      2. Jamie Wallace

       Jamie is finishing her 4th year as a biology/history major.

      3. Kayla Trudeau

Kayla is entering 4th year as a joint honours major in Biology and Forensics.

      4. Mustafa Alsaad

Mustafa is a biology honours major entering 4th year.

      5. Audrey Shakespeare

Audrey Is a biology honours major entering 3rd year.

      6. Sabateeshan Mathvarajah

Sabateeshan is entering second year and received the highest grade in a first year biology course.

Powles Prize: This award is given in honour of Percival M Powles, long time member of the Biology Department.  Awarded to a student who has demonstrated excellence in the area of fisheries and aquatic sciences.

      1.Tracy Ashenden

Tracy is a 4th year Biology/ERS major completing a thesis looking at the personality and dispersal tendency of native and non-native pumpkinseed.

      2. Rebecca Paton

Rebecca is a 3rd Biology honours major with an impressive academic record (highest GPA of 3rd yr bio majors).  She is currently doing an internship in the Prairies and couldn’t be here.

      3. Rebecca Lewis