Science College students already on the road to attaining their goals
Andrea Ming-Si Lee (left) and Carolin Madwar both had numerous research opportunities while studying at the Science College. Lee will be pursuing a PhD at the University of Ottawa. Madwar is continuing work in the labs at Concordia.
Photo by andrew dobrowolskyj
In between exams and convocation, Andrea Ming-Si Lee wedged in a European vacation. Last month, she wrote to the Journal from Montmartre, Paris.
She recently completed an Honours in Psychology and a minor in Multidisciplinary Studies in Sciences.
“My ambition revolves around specializing and promoting physical, mental and social health in children.”
To this end, she will start a PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Ottawa this fall, and has received government funding to do so.
At the Science College, she studied cystic fibrosis at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, examined the role of dopamine in the entorhinal cortex of the rat brain, as well as motor skill learning in musicians.
“The multidisciplinary classes the College offered continually reinforced and allowed my interests for the sciences and research to blossom.”
She has received several scholarships during her studies, and last year was one of the 150 top students in the Faculty of Arts and Science. She is also a member of the Concordia chapter of the Golden Key Honour Society.
When the Journal called biologist Leah Nemiroff, she was loading up her car to move to Halifax, where she will begin an MSc at Dalhousie University.
With government funding, she will survey Northern bottlenosed whales off the coast of Labrador.
“This population was very highly whaled a few decades ago, and we don’t know how well they’ve recovered,” she said.
One of Nemiroff’s research projects at the College with Judith Patterson was profiled in The Gazette last summer: They composted manure at an NDG dog park.
“The Science College gave me a lot of experience in research, and really put me on the path to achieving my goal” of gaining entrance to a highly competitive post-graduate program, she said.
Nemiroff achieved a GPA above 4.0 and earned the 2006 Biology Medal while balancing full-time studies with part-time employment as a unit co-ordinator at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
Honours Biochemistry student Rafael Languay is a three-time recipient of Science College bursaries who has been on the Dean’s List throughout his entire undergraduate career.
He is now in Europe, where he will travel before settling down in the French Alps to work as a ski technician this winter.
Upon his return, he is considering a doctorate in pharmacology at the Université de Montréal.
“I really did enjoy my time at the Science College, but not for the same reasons most people do,” he said in an email.
Though he is ecstatic about some of the projects he worked on. “The major asset I think I acquired is that I had a good taste of various research, and realized it’s not for me.”
Languay received NSERC funding for his work with Jim Pfaus last summer, and also worked in nucleic acid chemistry with Chris Wilds, a Canada Research Chair.
“I love the human body, along with the biological, chemical and physical interactions that are manifested within it. I like understanding the effects various chemicals have on the body, but I also need some interactive contact, thus the move to pharmacy.”
In addition to graduating with great distinction, Carolin Madwar will be honoured with both the Science College and Chemistry Medals at her ceremony.
Her GPA sits well above the 4.0 mark, and she has received several scholarships in recognition of her outstanding academic record, including the $5,000 International Student Award. She has won it twice.
Madwar, who completed an Honours degree in Biochemistry, is of Egyptian origin but was born and raised in Kuwait. She was invited to join the Science College after her first semester.
“What initially attracted me was the fact that I could participate in research not only in biochemistry, but in other fields,” she said.
Her favourite research project involved foldamers, “flexible molecules that prefer to adopt a specific shape in solution” and have myriad applications in the medical field.
She completed that project with Louis Cuccia. This summer, she will be working on a different project with Cuccia and John Capobianco on nanocrystal synthesis.