Celebrating the 2025 Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Award Winners

Congratulations to Brooke Dexter, the recipient of the 2025 Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Award!

Supervisor: Dr. L. M'Gonigle

"I had the pleasure of working in the M'Gonigle lab over the spring and summer terms this year to conduct research on occupancy models. I worked closely with Professor M'Gonigle and his graduate student Hanna Jackson on a project about using species occupancy data to calculate community-level trends. I learned so much about modelling, R coding, and research in general throughout my time in lab. I also was fortunate enough to present my research at a conference in Quebec over the summer. Overall, the experience was both deeply enjoyable and rewarding. Thank you to SFU for nominating me for this award, and a huge thank you to the members of both the M'Gonigle and Mooers labs for giving me such a wonderful introduction to the world of ecological research."

Congratulations to Owen Kui, the recipient of the 2025 Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Award!

Supervisor: Dr. Isabelle Côté

"After a conversation with Dr. Ivona Mladovenic in my first year, I was encouraged to contact Dr. Isabelle Côté to ask if I could gain some hands-on experience in marine biology. After joining the Côté lab at the start of my second year, I worked as a research assistant under PhD candidates Em Lim and Claire Attridge. Then in the following summer, I won a USRA award with the Côté lab which let me have my own project studying how a prolific invasive mud snail can impact sediment. We tested this by setting up a field experiment that lasted 10 weeks in Blackie Spit, Crescent Beach. That fall semester I enrolled in a BISC 497W to write a manuscript for that project. I then presented my results multiple times, from an SFU symposium to conferences in Bamfield and Kelowna. Most recently I completed a second USRA with the Côté lab, this time investigating how parasite infection of a mud snail changes its behaviour, to which we went to a dozen beaches around British Columbia. I am grateful to everyone in the Côté lab for winning this award, I am the researcher I am today because of their constant support."

Congratulations to Jadzia Porter, the recipient of the 2025 Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Award!

Supervisor: Dr. Chelsea Little

"I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to conduct research in the field of road ecology - a field that I am so passionate about. As part of the Simpcw Badger Study - a collaborative project led by Simpcw First Nation and Simpcw Resources Group - I gathered and analyzed camera trap data to examine how American Badgers use drainage culverts to safely cross roads within Simpcw Territory. This work contributed to the Nation's efforts to inform transportation planning and conversation of endangered badger populations. I am very thankful to my supervisor, Dr. Chelsea Little, for her guidance. I am also thankful to my committee member Dr. David Green, Simpcw Resources Group staff, and the members of the Little Ecology Group for their support."

Congratulations to Shelby Connelly, the recipient of the 2025 Shaughn and Sharon Clements ISS Award!

Supervisor: Dr. Isabelle Côté

"Ever since I was young, I knew I wanted to become a marine biologist, but it felt like such an unattainable goal. That is, until I met Dr. Isabelle Côté. In the summer of 2024, I took Subtidal Science, her scientific diving course at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre. At the end of the course, she invited me to join her lab as an honours student, something I'd never considered possible for myself! Not only did Dr. Côté introduce me to the world of marine research, but she also encouraged me to believe in myself as a student, as s scientist, and as a person. For this, I am eternally grateful.

In the spring of 2025, under the supervision of Dr. Côté, I led scientific dive surveys to study the recolonization of giant California sea cucumbers (Apostichopus californicus) following experimental harvest in səl̓ilw̓ət (Indian Arm, British Columbia). Our research improves current understanding of the mechanism and role of adult movement in the recolonization of harvested areas, which can be used to inform management decisions for a sustainable sea cucumber fishery. I am grateful to have conducted my research in the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the səlilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation), who have been stewards of the marine environment since time immemorial. I would also like to thank NSERC, my fellow lab members, and all the volunteer divers who made this research possible!

Entering the field of scientific research can be a daunting experience. Thanks to SFU's ISS and scientific diving programs, I was able to dive into marine research as an undergraduate student. My advice to future students: don't be afraid to put yourself out there. you never know where it will take you!"