Laurabeth Gill is a fourth-year honours student in the department of biology.
“I’m in the biology honours program working with Dr. Lloyd on Lyme disease. I’m looking at a chemical that might have antimicrobial properties and testing it on a causative agent of Lyme, the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. To me, research is fascinating because it’s generally the first time anyone has ever done that experiment. For example, the compound I’m testing has never been tested as an antimicrobial before, despite having been used clinically for years. Being able to work on Lyme disease, an emerging and serious issue in Canada, with the opportunity to help people who are currently sick is both humbling and incredibly exciting.”
Adam Beckett is a fourth-year honours student in the department of chemistry.
“Hello everyone, I am pursuing my honours research with Dr. Glen Briand. My research dives into the realm of green chemistry, in which the main goal is preservation of the environment using different chemical techniques. In particular, my goal is to create a new catalyst that can make biodegradable and biocompatible plastics from green starting materials. This would effectively allow industry to move away from petroleum-based plastics that have huge negative impacts on the environment and into a world where plastics break down into safe components.”
