Research can have a profound impact on medical advancements, enhancing quality of life and saving lives. Did you know this can all start as an undergraduate? Career Services, in collaboration with Professors from various science specializations, are coming together to discuss Undergrad Research Opportunities at the Bannatyne Campus. Attend this virtual event with us on November 26 at 2:30 pm to learn more about the countless opportunities open to undergraduate students. Register on careerCONNECT today.

Through undergrad research experience you can explore your interests, test drive your career ideas and learn more about a specific specialization.

Here’s what previous undergraduate student researchers, Ally Farrell and Tushar Upreti have to say:

What research project/s have you been involved in?

Ally: My first summer research project was in the McManus lab studying chromosome instability (CIN) in Colorectal and Ovarian cancers. I did data analysis for an MSc student.

I completed an honors project (BGEN 4010), focused on investigating the combined impact of CIN and genotoxic stress on the molecular origins of high-grade serous ovarian cancer. I’m now working as a lab assistant, doing optimization experiments. 

Tushar: My first research opportunity was with Dr. Steve Whyard in the Faculty of Science to work on developing species-specific dsRNA to control Flea Beetle population. I also worked with Dr. Hagar Labouta in the College of Pharmacy synthesizing and characterizing Gold Nanoparticles for later use in cancer diagnostic and therapeutic studies.

How have these experiences supported your learning?

Ally: The feedback I received from Dr. McManus and the other lab members about my scientific writing and research skills was immensely helpful and reflected in the grades I received. I entered the 2019 undergraduate poster competition through my work and won 1st place in the health sciences category.

Tushar: I contributed to three papers and first authored one. The College of Pharmacy and Dr. Labouta facilitated an environment that allows young researchers like me to explore their interest in the field and contribute groundbreaking research to the scientific community.

What would your advice be to future undergraduates applying for research positions?

Ally: Research will help you identify your interests in areas that you want to continue working in. It helps you grow your network and spread your name. Do not let the fact that you are less trained stop you from applying. Research will help you build this experience.

Tushar: Research gives you different opportunities and teaches your time-management and critical thinking. It will help you build your CV so try research.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to gain essential information on the application process, when to apply, ask questions to professor and learn why undergraduate research can open a lot of doors for career paths both in and outside academia.

To learn more about all the Career Month events check out the Career Month calendar and register on careerCONNECT your one stop to access information on all Career Services’ events.

Because education students are often working full time, research projects can be challenging. However, over the past five years, Tamtik has worked with five students through the Undergraduate Research Award program, and Tamtik says each experience has been very positive.

“URAs are great opportunities for faculty members, and the students are committed,” Tamtik says.

Tamtik has published two journal articles, including Policy analysis of equity, diversity and inclusion strategies in Canadian universities – how far have we come? in the Canadian Journal of Higher Education in 2019 and this year, the article The political process of international education: Complementarities and clashes in the Manitoba K-12 sector through a multi-level governance lens, was published in Education Policy Analysis Archives. A third publication, an edited book titled, “International Education As Public Policy in Canada,” is expected to be released by spring/summer 2020 from McGill-Queens University Press.

Working with then-BEd-student Melissa Guenter was very much a collaboration, Tamtik says.

“She came to me with the idea of looking at internationalization,” Tamtik says. “And then, because my work has to do with policy analysis, mostly, I brought in the idea of looking at the policy documents across the U15 to see what initiatives and policy documents that universities put forward in order to enhance equity, diversity and inclusion, including internationalization, across institutions.”

Supervisor and mentor

Guenter is thankful for the opportunity to work with a great supervisor and mentor throughout the publishing process.

“I was fortunate enough to not just be part of the research, but also get a glimpse of what it means to organize the findings into an article and summarizing the work we had done over a number of months,” Guenter says. “Beyond the rich experiences I have gained through being a URA, having my name on a published article looks great on my resume, especially looking into the future and considering possible MEd programs.”

In “The political process of international education…”, Tamtik worked with master’s graduate Angela O’Brien-Klewchuk, who currently works at a private school that recruits most of their students internationally. Working together, the pair exposes the policy contradictions between Manitoba’s previous NDP government and the current Conservative government. They also found diverging policies between the federal Liberal government, which has already fulfilled its commitment to attract 450,000 more international students by 2022, and the provincial Conservative government’s contrasting policy capping the number of international students in classrooms to 20 per cent.

A third publication, “International Education As Public Policy in Canada,” due to be released this spring/summer, explores the federal and provincial governments approaches to various policies such as global affairs, immigration policy as well as research and innovation policy, as it relates to international education. The book also examines topics such as ethical practices in internationalization, how Indigenization plays a role in international education, among others. Tamtik serves as lead editor for the book, whose editors also include Dr. Roopa Desai Trilokekar, associate professor at York University Faculty of Education, and Prof. Glen Jones, dean at OISE/UT.

Wayne Davies, BEd/91, PB DipEd/07, MEd/19

A new work-in-progress includes a book chapter in collaboration with Wayne Davies, vice-principal at Glenlawn Collegiate, a 2016 Homecoming lecturer and 2019 Master’s of Education graduate. In collaboration with Dr. Tamtik, Davies writes about his experience with the B.O.S.S. Guitar Works Project, a woodworking program he founded while working at Ecole Selkirk Junior High. Students in the program made guitars that were signed by celebrities and auctioned to raise money for the building of the Canadian Human Rights Museum.

“Dr. Tamtik was terrific at explaining what needed to be done and keeping the goal in sight. I found the process challenging yet quite enjoyable as it pushed my understanding of a particularly interesting part of my career by forcing me to reflect deeply upon it,” Davies says. “I am excited to see what comes of the work and to read the other chapters in the book. My advice to fellow MEd students and graduates is to accept invitations to write with any of our terrific faculty members if the opportunity arises. You won’t regret it!”

The deadline for applications to the Undergraduate Research Award is Friday, Jan. 24. To apply, follow the link at:  http://umanitoba.ca/research/experience_research/index.html

Read more about Dr. Tamtik’s work and her publications at her website.

2018 recipient Kaitlyn Tymko also gave us a glimpse into the simple application process. Identifying a professor to conduct research with is one of those necessary and important steps.

The Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management is complete with a team of experienced, award-winning, and trailblazing faculty members to help guide an undergraduate research journey.

One of those professors is Dr. Ayesha Saleem. Conducting research in her lab means:

• cutting edge science that investigates cellular mechanisms of organ cross-talk
• experiments to deduce how endurance exercise affects this conversation between cells/tissues
• analyze whether this cellular conversation changes during imposed conditions of chronic disease

Furthermore, as a trainee in her lab, you’ll have access to a number of professional development opportunities, including, but not limited, to:

• learning how to analyze, and interpret scientific data
• acquiring scientific writing skills to produce reports, research abstracts, and original research articles
• honing your public speaking and presentation skills as you present your work, and scientific papers at journal clubs, seminars and/or conference presentations,
• developing networking skills as you work in a collaborative research environment at The Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM) and learn about innovative and groundbreaking scientific experiments being conducted by researchers at the University of Manitoba

The Undergraduate Research Awards offer:

• A rewarding experience for students to be mentored full-time with a professor of their choice for 16 weeks (May to August) and to gain valuable experience in their field of interest.
• a $7,000 monetary award
• and is a recognized University of Manitoba Co-Curricular Record activity

Application deadline is January 25.