This week, students and faculty in the Department of Biology gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of their colleagues at the 2024 Biology Awards.
Awards were presented to undergraduate and graduate students as well as teaching staff. A reception followed the event, allowing students and staff to mingle and connect.
Congratulations to all award recipients!
Undergraduate awards
Professor Marilyn Griffith Senior Honours Project Excellence Award
Established in memory of our colleague and friend, Dr. Marilyn Griffith, to recognize outstanding performance by an undergraduate student in a senior honours project.
- Noah Rogozynski
Biology Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Award
- Nathalie Balbontin (Winter 2024)
John Carter Memorial Award
Established to help perpetuate Dr. John Carter’s spirit and enthusiasm for field studies, awarded to an undergraduate student enrolled in an ecology-based field course.
- Amanda Armstrong
Graduate awards
Biology Graduate Teaching Assistant Award
- Claire Schon (Winter 2024)
Brian M. Jessop Graduate Scholarship in Fisheries Science
- Sana Gavarikar
Davis Memorial Scholarship in Ecology
Established in the memory of Robert M. and Doreen M. Davis and awarded to a graduate student in the field of ecology.
- Ryan Leys
Dr. Hugh Bernard Noel Hynes Memorial Graduate Scholarship
- Beatriz Nogueira E Figueira
E.B. Dumbroff Award
- Hanna Hickey
Image of the Year Award
- Liahm Ruest
J. Frank Brookfield Memorial Graduate Scholarship
- Yubing Chen
John E. Thompson Biology Graduate Scholarship
- Ryan Leys
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Canada Graduate Scholarship (Master’s)
- Yasmeen Alshehabi
- Genna Coletta
NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship (Master’s)
- Michela Contursi
- Filip Cotra
- Sepidar Golestaneh
- Hanna Hickey
NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship (Doctoral)
- Ryan Leys
NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship (Doctoral)
- Emma Collington
NSERC Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships program
- Harold Hodgins
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) 2023-2024
- Allison Veronica Weber
- Meredith Watson
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) 2024-2025
- Emilie Montreuil Strub
- Josh Pickering
- Beatriz Nogueira E Figueira
- Kevin Shen
- Jessica Turecek
- Alex Umbach
Provost Doctoral Excellence Award for Women
- Emilie Montreuil Strub
- Shahrzad Zahedifar
Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology
- Yubing Chen
- Nathanael Harper
- Gab Izma
- Aranksha Thakor
- Hannah Thibault
Ram and Lekna Tumkur Memorial Graduate Scholarship
- Noah Rogozynski
- Eddie Wu
Science Senate Graduate Scholarship
- Rachel Beaver
Waterloo Pioneers of Microbiology Graduate Award
- Anjali Krishna
- Anastasiia Kurnosova
- Abtin Roostan
- Anja Skrobonja
W.S. Rickert Graduate Student Fellowship in Science
Established in honour of Dr. Bill Rickert, alumnus (PhD ’68) and entrepreneur, and awarded to a student working in nano-medicine, biotechnology or bio-medicine.
- Nicole Schulz
Weston Family Award in Northern Research (Master’s)
Support for young Canadian scientists pursuing research in Canada's North.
- Amy Lacey
For more information about these awards and how to apply, visit our Graduate Studies Funding and Awards page.
Faculty and staff awards
The Lili Pasternak Staff Excellence Award
To recognize outstanding performance by a staff member who consistently demonstrates exceptional performance in all areas of their contribution to the department.
- Karen Miinch
The Professor Jack Carlson Teaching Excellence Award
In memory of Jack Carlson, a long-standing faculty member in the department of Biology who was recognized for his teaching excellence. He taught human anatomy, comparative animal physiology and vertebrate reproductive physiology. His research was focused on reproductive biology and luteal regression, which led him to investigate the mechanisms of aging.
- Laura Lemieux