Eugenia Dadzie, a master’s student from the Department of Biology, won first place in Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA)’s GRADflix showcase for her video Microbes and enzymes: sustainable plastic degradation, describing her research into finding microbes that can break down plastics in the environment.
The fourth annual GRADflix showcase was held On January 31st, featuring the top 25 one-minute videos created by graduate students to describe their research at the University of Waterloo. Four of the 25 finalists were from the Faculty of Science, and the second place GRADflix prize was also given to a student in the Department of Biology – PhD candidate Atiyeh Ahmadi for her video Let’s go for a healthier future!
Eugenia began her undergraduate degree studying economics but fell in love with biology after taking an elective course in the subject. She discovered her passion for microbiology in a similar way, and it was in a microbiology class where she learned that microbes could produce bioplastics.
“Whenever I thought of bacteria, I thought of pathogenic bacteria” Eugenia says about her thoughts before studying microbiology. “But in my second microbiology course I learned about PHAs — polymers that bacteria produce — that can be used to make plastics.”
The knowledge she gained from her biology classes together with her childhood experiences fostered her interest in studying bacterial degradation of plastics.
“I grew up in Ghana, which is a beautiful country, but there is an issue of improper plastic disposal and how we manage the waste.”
These two factors increased her interest in bioplastics, as well as her decision to work with Professor Trevor Charles for both her undergraduate thesis and currently, her master’s degree. She is working on identifying microbes and enzymes that can degrade harmful plastics and simultaneously produce bioplastics.
Her interest in learning more about creating animations and improving her science communication skills led her to partake in this year’s GRADflix competition. Through this experience, she has both honed technical skills in animating and effectively communicating her research to a non-technical audience.
“I’ve been able to identify the key concepts I need to convey my research to a non-specialist audience,” she says. She believes that this is a skill she will continue to develop over the course of her master’s degree.
In the future, Eugenia aims to pivot into a role in industry, preferably in biotechnology, where she can apply her scientific expertise to address the problem of plastic pollution, particularly in African countries.