Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA)
Needles Hall, second floor, room 2201
I was interested in learning about bioengineering and synthetic biology. The expertise of my advisors, the reputation of the university, and proximity to family were primary motivators for pursuing my PhD at UWaterloo.
Individual genes determine how individual microbes behave, and individual microbes determine the processes the community carries out. Therefore, I am investigating how to install or remove genes from microbiomes in a rational manner. Controlling the functionality of entire microbiomes has wide-reaching applications in environmental remediation, healthcare, and the bioeconomy. The interdisciplinary challenges, the potential impacts associated with microbiome engineering, and the great people I work with provide me inspiration to give my best every day.
I was born in Ottawa but grew up overseas in Italy and Belgium (grades K-12). I earned my B. Eng. and MASc from the Department of Process Engineering and Applied Science from Dalhousie University. Given my somewhat frequent moving rate, I usually say the last place that I was living is where I'm from.
It used to be all the free food and snacks, but then COVID happened. But on a more serious note, working in an intellectually stimulating environment with other great minds is a great part of being a graduate student.
I compete for the varsity tennis team, and I play the drums for the Kitchener Musical Society Band. I am also involved in the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Association. In 2020-2021, I regularly volunteered in STEM outreach activities for Women in Engineering. I now share my passion for science with kids and adolescents through the Skype a Scientist program.
I use the library services very frequently. They provide me with practically unlimited access to reading, both for research and recreation.
Normally in grad school, you get plenty of opportunities to assist in teaching courses. I have been very fortunate to have opportunities to mentor co-op students and interns. This has helped me develop a lot of people skills that are hard to learn through other means.
When I was a TA at Dalhousie University, I would like to believe that I helped several students make it through some tough theoretical concepts in heat transfer and succeed where it mattered most. In the end though, the students deserve all the credit for their successes.
I am usually out training on the tennis courts, playing music, cooking, and spending time with my partner and my two calico kitties.
Do your graduate degree if you are passionate for what you are doing; succeeding in something that you care about is much easier. And be patient, mistakes are inevitable in research. You will experience failures, no matter how clever you are. I can't speak for all graduate students but can say that I've gained my smarts by doing a lot of stupid things.
I plan on working in an environment where I can make an impact on my community and society in general. I will be content as long as I'm doing good things for society and the planet, whether this is in the form of being a professional engineer, a professor, or a research scientist in industry.
The projects you have to do can be daunting; there is just a lot of work involved with putting out quality research. I remind myself that I don't have to complete a PhD, I need to complete a few tasks today, tomorrow, the day after, etc., and the PhD will take care of itself.
I used to study fire and fluid dynamics at Dalhousie University. Now I watch fluorescent bacteria grow under the microscope. How the turn tables.
Country of origin: Canada
Domestic or International: Domestic
Academic stream: Research
Full-time or part-time: Full-time
Research supervisor: Marc G. Aucoin, Brian Ingalls
Graduate student awards held: NSERC CGS-D, Engineering Excellence Fellowship
TA/RA or GRS held: TA/RA
Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA)
Needles Hall, second floor, room 2201
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.