Since 2018, the Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) hosts a "GRADflix" competition, challenging students from across campus to communicate their research to a general audience. With only 60 seconds at their disposal, competetors create videos, moving slideshows or animation, in order to tell us why their research is important!
GSPA has announced their top 25 finalists, including four students from the Faculty of Science. Congratulations to Atiyeh Ahmadi (Department of Biology), Eugenia Dadzie (Department of Biology), Arisha Imran (Department of Biology) and Maya Petgrave (School of Pharmacy) for making it to the finals! Read about their research, and the titles of their videos below.
The viewing showcase, where their entries will be streamed live will take place virtually on Monday, January 31, 2021 at 3:00 pm (EST). Tune in, and pick your favourite for the People's Choice winner, every vote counts!
Name and program: Atiyeh Ahmadi (she/her), PhD student, Biology
GRADflix video title: Let's go for healthier future!
Supervisor: Dr. Brian Ingalls
Biography: Atiyeh Ahmadi has a background in microbiology and biophysics. She started at the University of Waterloo as a Master's student under the supervision of Dr. Brian Ingalls, and now she has transferred to a PhD in Biology. Her passion for creating a healthier, safer, and more convenient future has led her to research systems biology. Out of the lab, her favourite hobby is reading books. Her favourite book is Synthetic: How Life Got Made. By the way, she is a big fan of terraforming.
Name and program: Eugenia Dadzie (she/her), MSc student, Biology
GRADflix video title: Microbes and enzymes: sustainable plastic degradation
Supervisor: Dr. Trevor Charles
Biography: Eugenia Dadzie is a first-year Master's student at the University of Waterloo's Department of Biology. She is currently researching the potential of microbes and the enzymes they produce to degrade plastics, under the supervision of Dr. Trevor Charles. Before this, she completed her Bachelor's degree in biology, also at the University of Waterloo. In her spare time, you will find her reading, playing volleyball, or catching up on an episode of her favourite tv show.
Name and program: Arisha Imran (she/her), MSc student, Biology
GRADflix video title: Flooding in a drying delta
Supervisors: Dr. Roland Hall & Dr. Brent Wolfe
Biography: Arisha Imran completed her BSc at the University of Waterloo and is now an MSc student in the Department of Biology and a member of the WATER research lab group, led by Dr. Roland Hall and Dr. Brent Wolfe. She studies lakes in the Peace-Athabasca Delta in northern Alberta, Canada. Her work focuses on using water isotope and water chemistry data to explore flooding and drying trends in the delta. Arisha’s hobbies include hiking, biking, and travelling.
Name and program: Maya Petgrave (she/her), MSc student, School of Pharmacy
GRADflix video title: Glycosylation and dynamics of the human cannabinoid receptors
Supervisors: Dr. Aravindhan Ganesan (primary) and Dr. Nekkar Rao (co-supervisor)
Biography: Maya Petgrave completed a Bachelor's degree in Life Science at McMaster University, with a minor in Biochemistry. Currently, she is completing a thesis-based Master's at the School of Pharmacy in ArGan’s lab, while using computational biology approaches in her research. Her research and skill interests surround studying protein receptors in silico and coding. In terms of hobbies, she enjoys drawing, playing video games, and piano.