Trainee Travel Awards
Travel Awards to the BSC Annual Meeting
The Biophysical Society of Canada will provide merit-based travel support for students (both undergraduate and graduate) and post-doctoral fellows to attend the 2023 annual meeting of the Biophysical Society of Canada in Calgary. To be eligible to apply, the student or post-doctoral fellow AND their supervisor must be members of the Biophysical Society of Canada at the time of the application. The submission deadline is May 1, 2023. For more information and to apply, please visit the Awards Page of the Biophysical Society of Canada
We encourage trainees who identify as Indigenous Peoples or persons with disabilities to apply for travel support. Please indicate in your application if you identify as one of these groups.
Biophysical Society of Canada (BSC) Trainee Symposium
The BSC Trainee Symposium is a student-led initiative organized in association with the 8th Annual Meeting of the BSC. The goal of the symposium is to provide opportunities for trainees to network with each other and with established researchers in academia, industry, government and communications. Trainees will also have the opportunity to present their work through oral presentations (Select: Consider my poster abstract for the BSC2023 Trainee Symposium on the Abstract Submission page).
The BSC Trainee Symposium will be held at the University of Calgary on Tuesday May 23rd, 2023. The symposium is being organized by both the BSC Trainee Executive and local trainees from the University of Calgary. The program for the symposium is as follows.
Trainee Symposium Schedule
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
- 9:30 am - 10:00 am: Coffee and Snacks (UCalgary GSA funded)
- 10:00 am - 10:10 am: Welcoming Remarks — Nancy Forde (BSC President) and Vishal Pandya (President of BSC Trainee Executive)
- 10:10 am - 11:55 am: Career Session (Chair: Vishal Pandya)
- 10:10 am - 10:30 am: Dr. Michael Woodside (University of Alberta)
- 10:30 am - 10:50 am: Dr. Jumai Abioye (Director of Technology at Northern RNA Inc)
- 10:50 am - 11:10 am: Dr. Sarah Treit (Figures First Consulting)
- 11:10 am - 11:30 am: Martin Z. Olszynski (UCalgary Faculty of Law)
- 11:30 am - 11:55 am: Panel Discussion
- 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm: Lunch (At Last Defense Lounge in MacEwan Student Centre. Food and non-alcoholic drinks will be provided. UCalgary GSA funded.)
- 1:05 pm - 2:05 pm: Trainee Talks Session 1 (Chair: Alaa-al Shaer)
- 1:05 pm - 1:20 pm: Kathleen Vergunst (Dalhousie University)
- 1:20 pm - 1:35 pm: Eugene Klyshko (University of Toronto)
- 1:35 pm - 1:50 pm: Sara Evans (Dalhousie University)
- 1:50 pm - 2:05 pm: Jiacheng Zuo (University of British Columbia)
- 2:05 pm - 2:35 pm: Coffee and Snack Break (UCalgary GSA funded)
- 2:35 pm - 3:35 pm: Trainee Talks Session 2 (Chair: Benjamin Baylis)
- 2:35 pm - 2:50 pm: Tanille Shandro and Stefan Lenz (UCalgary)
- 2:50 pm - 3:05 pm: Samantha Polege (University of Alberta)
- 3:05 pm - 3:20 pm: Daniiar Zhaguparov (University of Alberta)
- 3:20 pm - 3:35 pm: Shabnam Massah (University of British Columbia)
- 3:35 pm - 3:50 pm: Closing remarks
For more information contact Vishal Pandya or Alaa Al-Shaer from the BSC Trainee Executive (https://biophysicalsociety.ca/trainee-executive/)
BSC Trainee Symposium Speakers
Dr. Michael Woodside
University of Alberta
Dr. Michael Woodside is a Professor of Physics at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, AB, Canada. He obtained Physics Specialist and Music Major degrees from the University of Toronto, ON, Canada, followed by a PhD in Physics from UC Berkeley, CA, USA. He trained in single-molecule biophysics during a postdoc in the Biology Department at Stanford University before moving to Edmonton in 2006. His work focuses on three themes: the fundamental physics of folding reactions, the relationship between folding and function in viral RNAs, and protein misfolding that causes disease.
Dr. Jumai Abioye
Northern RNA
Dr. Jumai Abioye received her PhD from University of Glasgow, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at University of Lethbridge, Canada. She then accepted a manager role at Providence Therapeutics. Currently, she is a Director of Technology and Development at Northern RNA Inc. in Calgary.
Dr. Sarah Treit
Figures First Consulting
Dr. Sarah Treit received her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Alberta in 2015, after which she worked for several years as Research Associate in Biomedical Engineering. She has over 25 peer-reviewed publications on MRI of brain structure in developmental disorders (e.g. FASD), neurological conditions (e.g. epilepsy), as well as healthy brain development and aging across the lifespan. In 2022, Dr. Treit started a consulting company called Figures First, which provides research consulting services to PIs (grant development, writing, data and statistical analysis, and creation of figures) as well as educational workshops and courses for graduate students about how to design clear and compelling scientific figures. She has worked with PIs and presented workshops at numerous Canadian institutions including Dalhousie University, SickKids Hospital, University of Toronto, University of Calgary, University of Alberta, and St. Paul's Hospital.
Martin Z. Olszynski
University of Calgary
Martin Olszynski is an Associate Professor at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law. Prior to joining the academy in 2013, he practiced environmental and natural resources law as a lawyer for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Martin holds a BSc. (Biology) and an LL.B., both from the University of Saskatchewan, and an LL.M. (specialization in environmental law) from the University of California at Berkeley. He is currently pursuing a PhD in resource management at the University of British Columbia. He has appeared as a witness in regulatory hearings, committee hearings of both the House of Commons and the Senate, and as counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada.
