Shedding light and sharing messages
Natasha Knier (BSc ’18, Health Studies) has shown extraordinary commitment to teaching others and making community contributions to health research and cancer awareness while pursuing a demanding PhD related to diagnostics and treatment of disease.
While at Waterloo in the Honours Health Studies (co-op) program, Natasha was a tutor, chair of the Applied Health Sciences Endowment Fund, media coordinator for orientation week, digital content manager for the TEDxUW Conference and a student ambassador.
Knier started a PhD at Western University in 2018 and dedicates her spare time to teaching and sharing her skills and knowledge while mentoring other students. In the community, she has also served as a social media coordinator for two different cancer outreach groups, the Cellular and Molecular Imaging Group at Robarts Research Insitute and various local conferences. She has worked with the Breast Cancer Society of Canada, leading fundraisers and writing digital content, as well as doing interviews and talks. Health research and cancer awareness are two areas she commits much of her time to.
Knier is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Doctoral Research Award. Her research has resulted in 37 conference presentations and seven published manuscripts in peer reviewed journals. She has also been involved in curriculum development and has taught as a teaching assistant and instructor.
In recognition of her accomplishments and aptitude for research, her enormous commitment to teaching and her involvement in the community, Natasha Knier is the recipient of the 2022 Faculty of Health Young Alumni Award.