Panels
Friday February 22, 2019
Shultz Theatre
St. John's College
13:00-14:00
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Presented by:
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Laura Burns:
Assiniboine Park Zoo, Conservation Research Specialist
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Sarah Semmier:
Living Prairie Museum, Museum Director
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Duncan Burnett:
North/South Consultants Inc., Aquatic Biologist
Non-academic careers in Biology
Our panel experts will provide an overview of career paths outside of the traditional route through academia. They will discuss the pros and cons of biological research outside of the university setting, job hunting tips, and career options available to early researchers
Panelists
Laura Burns is a Conservation Research Specialist at Assiniboine Park Zoo. She has a Master’s degree in Environmental Biology from the University of Guelph, and is a former Executive Member of The Manitoba Chapter of the Wildlife Society. She has worked for academics, industry, and non-profits studying a wide variety of wildlife which prepared her for her current role at the zoo, where she coordinates and conducts conservation-based research on a range of at-risk wildlife: from prairie butterflies to polar bears
Duncan Burnett has five years experience working with fish communities in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. He completed his B.Sc. in Biological Sciences in 2011 from the University of Manitoba focusing on integrative and environmental physiology. He then continued his education under Dr. Gary Anderson at the University of Manitoba completing a M.Sc. in 2014. His research focused on thyroid development in Lake Sturgeon larvae and the potential thyroid disruption associated with exposure to the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos. Duncan has been working at North/South Consultants since 2014 where he has been involved in projects related to adult and juvenile Lake Sturgeon, fish communities, benthic invertebrates, freshwater mussels, linear development, and water quality.
Sarah Semmler has a M.Sc. in Biological Sciences from the University of Manitoba and a B.Sc. Hons. in Biology from the University of Winnipeg. She studied entomology and prairie ecology, and now applies those interests to her role as Museum Director at the Living Prairie Museum. In addition to her museum duties, she is the Secretary of the Entomological Society of Manitoba, a member of the Poweshiek Skipperling Canadian Recovery Group, Bee Better Manitoba (launching in 2019), and the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) Arthropods Specialist Subcommittee.
Friday February 22, 2019
Shultz Theatre
St. John's College
13:00-14:00
​
​
Presented by:
​
Laura Burns:
Assiniboine Park Zoo, Conservation Research Specialist
​
Sarah Semmier:
Living Prairie Museum, Museum Director
​
Duncan Burnett:
North/South Consultants Inc., Aquatic Biologist
Non-academic careers in Biology
Our panel experts will provide an overview of career paths outside of the traditional route through academia. They will discuss the pros and cons of biological research outside of the university setting, job hunting tips, and career options available to early researchers
Panelists
Laura Burns is a Conservation Research Specialist at Assiniboine Park Zoo. She has a Master’s degree in Environmental Biology from the University of Guelph, and is a former Executive Member of The Manitoba Chapter of the Wildlife Society. She has worked for academics, industry, and non-profits studying a wide variety of wildlife which prepared her for her current role at the zoo, where she coordinates and conducts conservation-based research on a range of at-risk wildlife: from prairie butterflies to polar bears
Duncan Burnett has five years experience working with fish communities in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. He completed his B.Sc. in Biological Sciences in 2011 from the University of Manitoba focusing on integrative and environmental physiology. He then continued his education under Dr. Gary Anderson at the University of Manitoba completing a M.Sc. in 2014. His research focused on thyroid development in Lake Sturgeon larvae and the potential thyroid disruption associated with exposure to the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos. Duncan has been working at North/South Consultants since 2014 where he has been involved in projects related to adult and juvenile Lake Sturgeon, fish communities, benthic invertebrates, freshwater mussels, linear development, and water quality.
Sarah Semmler has a M.Sc. in Biological Sciences from the University of Manitoba and a B.Sc. Hons. in Biology from the University of Winnipeg. She studied entomology and prairie ecology, and now applies those interests to her role as Museum Director at the Living Prairie Museum. In addition to her museum duties, she is the Secretary of the Entomological Society of Manitoba, a member of the Poweshiek Skipperling Canadian Recovery Group, Bee Better Manitoba (launching in 2019), and the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) Arthropods Specialist Subcommittee.
Friday February 22, 2019
Shultz Theatre
St. John's College
13:00-14:00
​
​
Presented by:
​
Laura Burns:
Assiniboine Park Zoo, Conservation Research Specialist
​
Duncan Burnett:
North/South Consultants Inc., Aquatic Biologist
​
Sarah Semmler:
Living Prairie Museum, Museum Director
​
Non-academic careers in Biology
Our panel experts will provide an overview of career paths outside of the traditional route through academia. They will discuss the pros and cons of biological research outside of the university setting, job hunting tips, and career options available to early researchers
Panelists
Laura Burns is a Conservation Research Specialist at Assiniboine Park Zoo. She has a Master’s degree in Environmental Biology from the University of Guelph, and is a former Executive Member of The Manitoba Chapter of the Wildlife Society. She has worked for academics, industry, and non-profits studying a wide variety of wildlife which prepared her for her current role at the zoo, where she coordinates and conducts conservation-based research on a range of at-risk wildlife: from prairie butterflies to polar bears
Duncan Burnett has five years experience working with fish communities in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. He completed his B.Sc. in Biological Sciences in 2011 from the University of Manitoba focusing on integrative and environmental physiology. He then continued his education under Dr. Gary Anderson at the University of Manitoba completing a M.Sc. in 2014. His research focused on thyroid development in Lake Sturgeon larvae and the potential thyroid disruption associated with exposure to the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos. Duncan has been working at North/South Consultants since 2014 where he has been involved in projects related to adult and juvenile Lake Sturgeon, fish communities, benthic invertebrates, freshwater mussels, linear development, and water quality.
Sarah Semmler has a M.Sc. in Biological Sciences from the University of Manitoba and a B.Sc. Hons. in Biology from the University of Winnipeg. She studied entomology and prairie ecology, and now applies those interests to her role as Museum Director at the Living Prairie Museum. In addition to her museum duties, she is the Secretary of the Entomological Society of Manitoba, a member of the Poweshiek Skipperling Canadian Recovery Group, Bee Better Manitoba (launching in 2019), and the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) Arthropods Specialist Subcommittee.
Technological advances in Biological Research
Our panel experts will discuss exciting technological advances in the field of biological sciences. From unmanned aerial vehicles, machine learning to respirometry, they will showcase new ways to study the world around us.
Panelists
Ben Lange has recently used a robust, lightweight Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in high Arctic regions to map snow and sea ice properties. He used a combination of visible, multi-spectral and thermal imaging systems. These results will be combined with ground based, airborne and satellite observations to better understand snow and sea ice habitat properties at multiple spatial scales. Future applications of the UAV will include marine mammal surveys using visible and thermal imagery.
Mike Domaratzki is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Manitoba. His research focuses on bioinformatics algorithms for genomic data using machine learning. He has a particular interest in kernel methods, agricultural data and genomic selection problems.
Yvonne Dzal is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the ‘Bat Lab’ at the University of Winnipeg. Their research takes advantage of an array of techniques to track and monitor wildlife populations; from passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags, radio-telemetry, and acoustic recording units, to quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (QMRI), and respirometry. These innovative technological advances have been critical in understanding the devastating effects of white-nose syndrome on hibernating bats, and also in identifying the behavioural and physiological traits that are linked with resistance and/or tolerance to this disease.
Saturday February 23, 2019
Shultz Theatre
St. John's College
14:00-15:00
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Presented by:
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Benjamin Lange:
NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Freshwater Institute
Marine Productivity Lab
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Mike Domaratzki:
Associate professor of Computer Science,
University of Manitoba
Yvonne Dzal:
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Winnipeg
Bat-lab