Research Interests
Samina was a project manager and research technician looking at SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater.
MSc Candidate (Graduated Fall 2020)
Wastewater effluent has impacted rainbow darter at every level of biological organization (gene expression, histology, physiology, somatic indices). Limited aging data exists, therefore, Samina is using otoliths to fill this knowledge gap. The Kitchener and Waterloo wastewater treatment plants were upgraded in 2012 and 2017, respectively, improving water quality considerably. This provides a unique opportunity to utilize historical samples to assess impacts of wastewater effluent on darter populations. Samina is using the von Bertalanffy growth model which is widely used in fisheries management to look at growth of darter populations. Many monitoring programs including environmental effects monitoring program (EEM) use growth as an indicator of fish health. Aging rainbow darter aids in understanding the effect of wastewater effluent on fish growth and serves as a sensitive endpoint that can be incorporated into monitoring programs.
