Research

Jenni [pronounced Yenni] Ottilie Keppler says she’s always felt a “personal calling towards the west coast of North America,” and a desire to conduct research in a UNESCO biosphere region.

When she discovered that Vancouver Island University (VIU) had a research institute focusing on projects within the UNESCO-designated Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region (MABR) she reached out to see if she could do a practical research semester.

The living world has fascinated Ally Badger ever since she was a child, and she always knew she wanted to pursue biology.

She graduated this June with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Biology. Navigating the challenges of the pandemic and the worsening climate crisis over the past few hasn’t been easy, but despite these obstacles Ally received a perfect grade point average. 

Emmerson Pollard, who is co-valedictorian for the Faculty of Social Sciences, is graduating this June with a Bachelors of Arts, Honours in Psychology. She plans on starting a Master of Public Health at the University of Victoria this September.

As part of our series highlighting VIU’s 2022 valedictorians leading up to convocation on June 23 and 24, we caught up with Emmerson to learn why she decided to attend VIU and what she loved most about her experience.

Exploring the issue of crowding in public parks and how it specifically affects people with mobility-related disabilities is at the centre of VIU Master of Arts in Sustainable Leisure Management (MASLM) student Hannah Dudney’s research.

She recently received a scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to continue her work.

Joseph Monaghan says there are a lot of unknowns coming into the first year of a PhD research project but many of his questions were already answered because he is conducting research at VIU, where he earned his undergraduate degree.

Dr. Karissa Patton’s journey as a historian of gender, health and activism began as an undergrad student when she learned that contraception was criminalized in Canada and other countries in the past.

“I was a young woman and I just took for granted that I had access to birth control,” says Karissa. “I wanted to learn more about activism around birth control and reproductive rights.”

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science, Major in Biology degree last April, Marissa Wright-LaGreca immediately began working in the Centre for Shellfish Research.

She is researching the first 24 hours of shell development in Pacific oyster larvae, hoping to find out how growth is impacted by changing seawater conditions such as ocean acidification. The results of her project could help hatcheries select oysters that are more resilient to harsher ocean conditions.

Vancouver Island University (VIU) alum Samuelle Simard-Provençal led a bird banding demonstration this September to allow girls and Indigenous youth to learn about biological sciences and the different career paths they can pursue.