After completing her M.Sc. at Trent, Josephine Esposto worked in industry for two years as a research and development chemist in Calgary. Now, she has found her way back to the University to complete her doctorate degree. 

“I realized the longer I worked in industry the more I missed Trent. I also noticed that most of the lab scientists were at the Ph.D. level and that I’d need more training to reach my goal of becoming a clinical biochemist,” she said. 

Now a Ph.D. candidate in Trent’s Environmental & Life Sciences Graduate program, under the supervision of Dr. Robert Huber and Dr. Sanela Martic, Josephine has earned national recognition for her research, receiving a Rising Stars Trainee Award in ALS Research from Brain Canada. 

“This is an incredible achievement that recognizes Josephine’s potential for making meaningful contributions to ALS research,” says Professor Huber, one of Josephine’s supervisors and an associate professor and associate chair in the Department of Biology and director of the Molecules, Cells & Systems Research Centre at Trent University. 

Understanding how ALS proteins attach to metals 

After discovering a passion for medical research, Josephine is now engaged in work that could improve detection and treatment for ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. It’s a fast-moving and life-threatening neurological disorder affecting 3,000 people in Canada and thousands across North America, in which patients can lose the muscle control to move, speak, eat, and breathe. 

Josephine will use her $12,000 Brain Canada award to further her joint work in Prof. Huber’s lab and Professor Martic’s lab on the effects of bio-metals on proteins, both in vitro and in vivo.  

“I think the most exciting part about my work is that no one seems to have really done this before in the context of ALS, at least not with the approach we are using,” said Josephine. 

By looking at how ALS proteins attach to metals, she and her Ph.D. supervisors hope to better understand whether ALS genes are involved in metal dysregulation and could potentially act as biomarkers for detecting the disease and developing therapeutic strategies. Given that certain ALS proteins affect females more than males, Josephine will incorporate sex and gender-based differences into her research.  

The future for Josephine

Returning to Trent for her doctorate was a no brainer.

“Trent is perfect for what I wanted to do in terms of faculty, expertise, and resources, and working with people as knowledgeable as Prof. Huber and Prof. Martic is like having a neuro expert helping me over the next four years.”  

After graduation Josephine hopes to work provincially as a lab scientist and help to increase awareness of ALS in Canada. 

“The more I hear from people who are directly affected by ALS, the more it lights a fire in me to put all of my efforts into making a meaningful difference,” she said. 

The opportunities to continue life-long learning are endless. Learn more about graduate programs at Trent University.