Alumni

Current Activities: As of 2020, I'm in my second year of the MD/PhD program at UBC. I'm doing my PhD in the Reproductive and Developmental Sciences program. My research focus is studying immune-related methylation quantitative trait loci (mQTLs), which are SNPs associated with differential DNA methylation, in the context of placental insufficiency and pregnancy complications.

Science One Journey: After Science One, I went into the Microbiology program for one year, then transferred to the Physiology program (CAPS). After 4 years of undergrad, I started medical school at UBC. One year into medical school, I transferred into the MD/PhD program.

Current Activities: As of 2018, I'm currently in my fourth (and likely final!) year of CAPS. I co-founded a non-profit organization, called STEM Fellowship, where a bunch of Science One alumni are currently acting as senior executives (and I'm hoping that tradition will continue). Our focus at STEM Fellowship is creating mentorship and experiential learning opportunities in data science and scholarly communication. We have a presence on more than 20 campuses around Canada, where we hold workshops, networking events and research placements. At UBC, I am currently working on a project with the Faculty of Medicine that would train MD students in basic data analysis with clinical data, followed by a broader challenge that will include analyzing clinical research data and finding trends using the skills they've learned. This is going to be a pilot that I'm hoping would expand to other fields and campuses, and it will be a continuum of previous Big Data Challenges that STEM Fellowship has held for HS and Undergraduate students in Toronto. I could go on and on, but I'm hoping to inspire the ext generations of Sci1 students to get involved in this dynamic community of 300+ students across the country, as my own university journey began with Sci1!!

Science One Journey: It's been 2.5 years since Science One, so my journey has been relatively short, yet quite exciting. After Science One, I went into microbiology and immunology in second year and then transferred to CAPS (honours physiology) in third year. Research wise, after a focus on nanochemistry which was a continuation of my high school interest, I moved more towards the life sciences, starting with cancer immunopathology, moving onto neurosurgery clinical research and now neuroscience, which is the field of my honours research project. Leadership-wise, I've been involved in advising organizations such as the Canadian Institutes for Health Research-Genetics Institute, the Canadian Red Cross, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and Science World BC on youth outreach.

Current Activities: As of 2016 I'm studying Integrated Sciences at UBC (integrating neurobiology, genetics and linguistics). I'm also a Research Assistant at the Sleep/Wake-Behaviours Clinic & Research Lab at B.C. Children's Hospital/Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children and I'm collaborating with the Down Syndrome Research Foundation on a major survey project and helping to prepare a report for dissemination to the BC provincial government.

Science One Journey: I applied to volunteer at the clinic during the second semester of Science One; I asked James and Chris [former program Directors] for advice, and they were both super helpful! I was accepted as a student for the summer following Science One, and I was able to apply the skills I learned from the program to the various projects at the clinic. I've been continuing my research as a lab member since 2014.

Current Activities: As of 2016 I'm a third-year BSc Psychology honours student. I conduct research on moral psychology. I submitted my first official paper as a co-author this year. My goal is to go to graduate school to investigate big picture questions.

Science One Journey: I enjoyed the evolution unit that Celeste taught, so early in first year, I reached out to profs who are experts in plant evolution. The summer after first year, I studied toxic metal resistance in sunflowers under an NSERC grant. I realized that I preferred studying human behaviour, with its links to evolution, so I declared Psychology as my major. Early in my second year, I began volunteering as a research assistant in a lab that studies the extent that morality is learned. I became heavily involved with the research in this lab, and I contributed to a few projects under a Quinn research grant in the summer of my second year. I'm now directing projects of my own in this lab.

Science One Journey: After Science One, I completed my Bachelor's Degree in Microbiology and Immunology. I spent a few of my summers conducting wet lab research at the University of Ottawa and the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. I learned however, that my interests lay more in the fields of epidemiology and population health and I felt that I could have more of an impact in these fields.

Current Activities: As of 2016 I'm studying Physics and doing an Applied Music Technology minor. Also I'm starting a company called VisuaLife to build and develop lighting technology (laser arrays, holographic projection, etc) for use at live events. I'm the 2016 Science Career Information Fair Coordinator, I'm the cofounder and Technical Director of the UBC Electronic Dance Music Club and we recently secured funding from the Innovative Projects Fund to build and develop a performance oriented DMX light controller.

Science One Journey: I got involved as an orientation leader, an exec in SOS and as a Sci 1 mentor after Science One which helped build my interest in student life. Academically I was actually really inspired mathematically and I love to share that with other people especially since many freshmen I've encountered have a sort of distaste or fear of math. I'm still at UBC in Science so Science One is a recent but significant starting boost in my academic journey.

Current Activities: As of 2016 I'm Studying physics and mathematics at UBC.

Science One Journey: Since completing Science One, I engaged in an NSERC USRA with one of the mathematics professors at Science One. You can check out the results of this at spiderwire.math.ubc.ca/. I'm currently in the co-op program at UBC, and completed an industrial co-op position at Tasktop Technologies this past summer. This summer I am looking forward to another USRA in computational fluid dynamics at the University of Waterloo, and participating in the Undergraduate School for Quantum Information Processing.

Current Activities: As of 2016 I'm studying electrical engineering in the biomedical option. In my project course we get to do cool stuff like make a heart rate monitor and a robot!

Science One Journey: In the year following ScienceOne, I studied Biophysics, which was challenging and involved studying very diverse topics! However I was looking for more applied, hands on courses so I switched into electrical engineering.

Current Activities: As of 2017, I am currently attending medical school at the University of Toronto as an M1.

Science One Journey: The professors in Science One, and the program itself, really helped to spark my curiosity in broad areas of science and research, and overall, the program was pivotal in helping me identify my areas of interest and passion. During my time at UBC, I specialized in Honours Cellular, Anatomical, and Physiological Sciences, and completed a co-op year working with the Colorectal Surgery Group at St. Paul's Hospital as a Clinical Research Coordinator.  I also got involved with neuroscience research in the Bamji Lab and did much work with the First Year Experience Portfolio with UBC Orientations.

Current Activities: Working software developer in the data engineering department at a multi-billion dollar hedge fund.

Science One Journey: Applied to CS major, did co-op, and worked random jobs.

Current Activities: In September 2016 I will start as an MSc. student in mathematics at the University of Toronto, after which I plan to begin a PhD.

Science One Journey: Following ScienceOne, I entered the honours mathematics program. I found that the math component of ScienceOne was very good preparation, as were the time-management and research skills I had learned. In particular, having taken on an independent research project (the "T2 project") was helpful in securing further opportunities, which in turn helped me settle on graduate school. Science one also left me with a small core of other students who were interested in what I was interested in, and supported each other on and off for the next three years.

Current Activities: As of 2016 I'm studying Law at UBC!

Science One Journey: I studied Biophysics for 2 years after Science One then started law school.

Current Activities: I'm currently studying Physics and Computer Science, Currently on co-op.

Science One Journey: I first majored in physics, then combined honors in physics and compSci, then a double major :)

Current Activities: As of 2016 I'm doing my PhD in transplant immunology at Cambridge.

Science One Journey: Class of 2016, Honours Microbiology and Immunology (Co-supervisors: Dr. N Cashman & Dr. M Horwitz) I approached my undergraduate with the goal of having a diverse experience. From going to McGill to do research to playing in the UBC Symphony orchestra, I definitely achieved that goal. Despite getting less sleep than I wanted, I loved getting involved on campus from being a mentor, creating an undergrad journal club, founding Shine On Music, and being co-president of URO. It was through these extracurriculars that I learnt how to lead a committee, write grants (unfortunately), and help create an awesome community. For more details about the courses I took: http://microinquiry.blogspot.ca/.

Current Activities: As of 2016 I'm in 4th Year Engineering Physics at UBC.

Current Activities: UBC Medical Student

Science One Journey: Science One -> Pharmacology Major -> UBC Medicine

Current Activities: UBC Medical Student

Science One Journey: After Science One, I majored in Pharmacology then entered UBC Medicine class of 2020. Science One has helped me connect with some amazingly smart, driven people I still keep in touch with!

Current Activities: As of 2016 I'm a Pharmacy Manager at Shoppers Drug Mart.

Science One Journey: I finished my BSc. Pharm. in 2015 after completing my 1st year with Science One.

Current Activities: As of 2016 I'm a software developer at Amazon Web Services in Seattle, working on a cloud computing service called EC2 Spot.

Science One Journey: During Science One I took CPSC 110, which was my first exposure to computer science. I decided to do a combined biology and computer science honours degree, but found myself more drawn to computer science than biology. I did a variety of co-op terms, the last one at Amazon. At the end of my summer at Amazon they offered me a full-time position after graduation and I decided to go for it!

Current Activities: Currently a med student at UBC.

Current Activities: Studying math and physics.

Current Activities: I'm doing a PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics with Prof. Mehran Mesbahi at the University of Washington.

My research is in the control and estimation of networked systems. I use a lot of cool techniques from combinatorics, algebra and functional analysis in my research.

Science One Journey: After Science One, I went into the Combined Honours in Mathematics and Physics program. In the summer of 2012, I worked with James Owen at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics on the dispersion of protoplanetary discs. The following summer I worked at the University of Alberta with Richard Marchand and Richard Sydora on using electrodynamic tethers to remove radiation belts in space. In my final year of undergrad, I did an Honours thesis with Greg Martin on the Hilbert-Polya and Pair Correlation conjectures, and an Honours thesis with Joanna Karczmarek on D-branes in string theory. 

After bouncing around a half-dozen different research areas, I decided I wanted to pursue something in mathematics but related to the exploration of space. I discovered Mehran Mesbahi's group in September of 2013, and realized it was the perfect fit! Control theory is a very elegant subfield of mathematics that explores the question of how can you influence the trajectories of differential equations. It brings together tools from the whole umbrella of mathematics; everything from category theory to algebraic topology finds its place in control theory.

Current Activities: As of 2017, I am completing my E2P PharmD degree in parallel with my Masters of Science in Experimental Medicine.

Science One Journey: After Science One I completed my undergrad in Microbiology and Immunology. The highlights of my undergrad: Science One, volunteering with Celeste Leander (AMAZING PERSON!!!!), Exchange program, Directed Studies, and Co-op (highly recommend doing these!!). I've been working at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, where I did my Co-op, for 3 years now. I'm also completing my graduate studies there while I'm in Pharmacy school. I'm hoping to work in public health and antimicrobial stewardship, with a focus on HIV and TB in Africa.

Current Activities: J.D. Candidate at Harvard Law School

Science One Journey: After Science One, I pursued a chemical engineering BASc at UBC followed by working for 3 years in a consulting firm. I’ve just wrapped up my work and have started law school in August of 2019.

Current Activities: As of 2016 I'm a PhD student in mathematics

Current Activities: As of 2016 I'm a firmware QA engineer at Apple working on human input devices (mice, trackpads, keyboards, etc).

Science One Journey: I transferred to Engineering Physics (UBC Applied Science) after Science One. I then had internships at iQmetrix (Vancouver), Philips (Eindhoven), and General Fusion (Burnaby) before working on a student-led 1979 Mini electric vehicle conversion in my fifth year, specifically on a 3-phase induction motor controller. The skills from that project directly led to my current job at Apple.

Current Activities: Author, speaker, researcher at leading academic institutions.

Science One Journey: Contemplative neuroscience, positive psychology, spiritual philosophy. Currently a speaker, researcher at leading academic institutions, and founder of Spirituality Science. 

Current Activities: As of 2016, I work for a company that synthesizes DNA for use as DNA primers, synthetic genes, CRISPR etc.

Science One Journey: Struggled through Science One. The rest of Uni was a breeze by comparison.

Current Activities: As of 2015 I'm a Chemistry PhD student at McGill.

Science One Journey: Having done some undergrad research through USRAs, as well as Co-op placements, I've decided that I like Chemistry.

Current Activities: As on 2016 I'm graduating from Sydney Medical Program in a month!

Science One Journey: After finishing BSc in Life Sciences at UBC in 2012, I moved to Australia for the MBBS postgraduate program. I've finished my course and was offered a job here for the next two years.

Current Activities: As of 2016 I'm a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, studying computer science education.

Science One Journey: Since I was interested in compsci, for my Science One measurement project I asked one of my compsci profs (Steve Wolfman) to supervise the project. We wound up working on the project beyond Science One, and I later TAed Steve's class. When he hired me as a TA he asked me to do curriculum development for the class. And so I started reading up on curriculum development and then researching the effectiveness of the curriculum development I was doing. By the time I finished my degree at UBC I'd realized I wanted to specialize in science education, and had even published a paper on my curriculum evaluation work. My Master's and PhD work have both been in the area of computer science education.

Current Activities: As of 2016 I'm a hospital clinical pharmacist, and I am doing my graduate PharmD program here at UBC! I started the program this past winter (2015), and will be complete my PharmD degree in 2017.

Science One Journey: Right after I completed ScienceOne, I went into the UBC undergraduate Bachelor of Pharmacy program (2009-2013), and became a pharmacist in June 2013. In 2013-2014, I completed an accredited hospital pharmacy residency with the Lower Mainland Pharmacy Services. From July 2014 to July 2015, I worked at St. Paul's Hospital and Mount St. Joseph's Hospital (Providence Health Care) as a clinical pharmacist, after which I was accepted into the second-last class of UBC graduate PharmD program...and here I am!

Current Activities: As of 2016 I'm a PhD Student in Chemistry.

Science One Journey: I completed my BSc degree with an Honors in Chemistry and Minor in Hispanic studies at UBC during which I applied (unsuccessfully) to enter medical school. In my last year as a bachelor I decided to undertake a semester abroad. I completed the last of my required credits there and after graduating from UBC I decided to continue my chemistry education abroad as a Master's student and now a PhD.

Current Activities: As of 2016 Philip Edgcumbe is in the 5th year of the UBC MDPhD program where he is training to become a clinician-scientist. Philip is a PhD student in the Engineers in Scrubs biomedical engineering training program. He is completing his PhD research under the co-supervision of Dr. Christopher Nguan (Department of Urologic Sciences) and Dr. Robert Rohling (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering) in the Robotics and Control Lab. Philip is doing research in medical imaging, surgical guidance and surgical robots. He is currently developing an augmented reality ultrasound navigation aid (ARUNA) for more intuitive display of intra-operative ultrasound images taken during minimally invasive surgery. ARUNA development includes developing computer software that tracks the location of the surgeon’s intraoperative ultrasound probe and accurately displays the ultrasound image onto the surgeon’s field of view. Philip will test his computer software and intraoperative ultrasound probe using to determine their effect on surgery and surgical outcomes. His first prototype ARUNA system has been developed for robotic-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomies (RALPN) using the da Vinci surgical robot. When he’s not in the lab Philip enjoys participating in student government, playing sports and travelling. During his time at UBC he served for three years on the UBC Alma Mater Society Business and Governance Board and as the Vice-Chair of the UBC Vancouver Senate. In 2009 Philip studied for one semester at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, India followed by teaching at Joybells School and Orphanage in a village 300km north of Delhi. Philip has also lived in Berlin, Germany where he completed a summer research project in computational biophysics research at the Freie Universitat in Berlin.

Science One Journey: I did my undergraduate degree in Engineering Physics while continuing to do research at the UBC Brain Research. My training in engineering and research in neuroscience inspired me to pursue a career at the interface of engineering and medicine. Thus, I applied to the UBC MDPhD program and I am fortunate to be doing my PhD in biomedical engineering.

Current Activities: I finished grad school at MIT! Then I joined the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research next door to do data science in biomedical research.

Science One Journey:  Long and winding! Lots of twists and turns. Mostly a combination of hustling for opportunities, and leveraging them for cooler projects at the next stage. Key milestones at UBC: research at the Finlay Lab, starting UBC iGEM in 2009. Remember UBC's motto - it's yours! At MIT I joined the Biological Engineering program, applying data science techniques to solve infectious disease problems.

Current Activities: Postdoctoral fellow in experimental particle physics.

Science One Journey:  Long and winding! Lots of twists and turns. Mostly a combination of hustling for opportunities, and leveraging them for cooler projects at the next stage. Key milestones at UBC: research at the Finlay Lab, starting UBC iGEM in 2009. Remember UBC's motto - it's yours! At MIT I joined the Biological Engineering program, applying data science techniques to solve infectious disease problems.

Current Activities: PhD Neuroscience UBC, Mitacs Canadian Science Policy Fellow,
Policy Analyst, Defence Research and Development Canada.

Science One Journey:  After Science One, I completed my B.Sc. in Psychology from UBC. Then, I did my PhD in Neuroscience, also at UBC, with Dr. Yu Tian Wang, developing novel preventative therapies for Huntington's Disease. Currently, I am a part of the inaugural cohort of Mitacs Canadian Science Policy Postdoctoral Fellows, working in the Federal government. Through this program I work as a Policy Analyst at Defence Research and Development Canada.

Current Activities: I am a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, studying biophysics and the microbes that live in our gut. What I have learned in Science one is still very much relevant to my studies now, integrating physics, math and the gut microbiota.

Science One Journey:  Following Science One I pursued the Biophysics program at UBC and started working in Dr. Marziali's lab in the summer, and part-time during the school year. After presenting a poster at a conference I met Dr. Ronaghi who invited me to go to Stanford as a visiting scientist for the summer of 2006. I came back to UBC the following term and did my undergraduate thesis in Dr. Hansen's microfluidics laboratory. I went to graduate school at Stanford where I studied the biophysics of the bacterial cell wall in Dr. Huang's laboratory. After graduating, I became a postdoctoral fellow in the department of Microbiology and Immunology in Dr. Sonnenburg's lab.

Current Activities: Inspired by the principles of Green Chemistry, my research group seeks to empower communities in Canada and internationally through interventions at all stages of the drinking water supply chain. We are particularly interested in metals and other contaminants introduced through human activity. Specifically this means we design molecular sensors, evaluate human and environmental health hazard, and use this information to design better safer molecules and systems. We collaborate closely with toxicologists, science policy experts, microbiologists, public and global health experts, government regulatory agencies, and various types of chemists and engineers.

Science One Journey: Science One taught me a lot about asking hard questions, following questions that inspire me, working across disciplines and embracing being wrong, listening, and learning. Today I do all of these things a lot!

In 2003, after debating between engineering and science, I fell in love with the bright colours and geometric symmetry of inorganic chemistry, and I completed my BSc Hon in Chemistry at UBC in 2006. I love fundamental science, and I also feel deeply driven to apply science, technology and creativity to improving the world; in 2006 I didn't have a clear idea of how these pieces fit together. Following my love of metals, I spent a summer in Germany, a winter in Calgary, and completed an MSc at UBC with Prof. Jennifer Love in 2009, developing a catalytic process to remove fluorine from organic molecules. Inspired by a talk I'd seen in undergrad, a Fulbright fellowship carried me to University of California Berkeley to develop non-platinum catalysts for fuel cells with Prof. John Arnold, trying to overcome a major limitation of this greener technology by taking inspiration from biology.

At Berkeley, I was introduced to the concept of green chemistry, which I think of as the design of materials and processes to be inherently safer throughout the life cycle. This work is inherently interdisciplinary: I rely on my colleagues in toxicology, public and global health, microbiology, regulatory agencies, science policy, and various aspects of design and engineering to help me identify important questions worth studying, and finding meaningful ways to answer them. Life cycle thinking also led me to consider my research in a more international context, and during my PhD and postdoctoral fellowships (at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) I have been fortunate to work in Poland, Germany, and India on challenges ranging from building materials for low-income housing to the impacts trace metal contaminants in coal on Kosovo's energy future to safer preservatives. 

In Fall of 2016, I learned about a new exciting Civil Engineering program at the University of Victoria, with a mandate to be the greenest civil engineering department in Canada. I joined this department in January 2018, and I am excited to be back in Canada in an environment that, much like Science One, encourages bright, creative people who have fundamentally different expertise to work together, talk to each other, challenge each others' ideas, and teach a new generation of students to think in this way.

Current Activities: Clinical Product Director, Carrier Screening at Counsyl, managing the clinical aspects of the flagship product - Family Prep Screen.

Science One Journey:  After ScienceOne, I realized I am very much interested in learning more about genetics and decided to complete my BSc in Cell Biology and Genetics at UBC. During my 3rd year, I heard about the genetic counselling profession and pursued a directed studies course at UBC's Medical Genetics department to learn more. I subsequently went to Sarah Lawrence College in the states to complete a MS in Human Genetics and an Advanced Certificate in Public Health Genetics/Genomics. I am now a board certified genetic counselor.

Current Activities: Since 2014 I have been an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Riverside. I teach introductory and advanced organic chemistry to a total of about 250 undergraduates and I teach a graduate course on organic synthesis. I love teaching, but my true passion is research. I lead a group of 5 graduate students, 1 postdoc and 4 undergraduates working in the areas of catalysis, new reaction development and the synthesis of bioactive natural products. We are interested in discovering new methods that use light energy to drive chemical reactions and synthesizing naturally occurring molecules with neuroprotective effects to understand how they function.

Science One Journey:  The Science One program provided me with the skills and confidence to approach difficult scientific problems that I have built upon throughout my career. I have always thrived when I am challenged and lost interest when I am not, and Science One pushed us to address questions where there was not a simple answer or they required us to examine an issue from more than one perspective. This approach to science set me up for success in finishing my Honours degree in Chemistry at UBC and the research career that I would pursue afterwards. After working one year in industry at The Merck Frosst Centre for Therapeutic Research in Montreal, I pursued my Ph.D. at the University of California, Irvine. Here I exercised all of my problem-solving skills to develop the shortest synthesis of strychnine reported to date. After a post-doc at Princeton University working on an exciting new area of catalysis called photoredox catalysis, I started my career as an independent  investigator at the University of California, Riverside. I have been actively involved in mentorship programs for undergraduate researchers and starting graduate students to foster a sense of excitement about research and help students adjust to the many challenges of navigating graduate school. I look back on the many supportive faculty at each institution and the close relationships I built with them, starting in the Science One program, and I see the impact this had on my career. I hope I can pay this forward and provide the encouragement needed by many students to take on their own challenges and pursue their own passions, hopefully addressing some interesting scientific questions along the way.

Current Activities: RE/MAX REALTOR­® and Board Member for Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA)

Science One Journey:  My journey after Science one started with finishing my degree, forming a rock band, and generally applying entropy to my mid-twenties. It ended with making the most intelligent decision of my life —which was choosing a career path that provided me with freedom and money to live the life I wanted. I'm proud that I completed Science One as well as my degree. I would like to think my learning allowed me to see beyond expectations that were held for me and figure out a more favorable outcome.

Current Activities: I'm an Associate Professor at INSEEC School of Business and Economics in Paris, France. I teach Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Resource Management and other courses. My research explores themes of workplace spirituality, especially new age religions, within sociology and anthropology, from critical and positivistic perspectives. Or particular interest to me are the vast possibilities of the mind, and states of consciousness that can be cultivated through contemplated techniques, and how these relate to collective society and beyond. Alongside, inspiring my work, I'm a holistic practitioner, as a medium and healer. For hobbies, I sing, as a soprano in Bloom Gospel Choir as well as Italian classical music, and write poetry. I live happily alongside the Seine river with my partner and three teen kids. I'm still close friends with several Science One friends, and we sometimes reflect about the enthusiasm and ingenuity of the professors we had, and how precious the experience was in adding to our foundation of learning toward forming a good and rewarding life.

Science One Journey:  Following Science One and my degree in Economics from UBC, I worked in banking for ING DIRECT, then headed an events and marketing company for a span of years. Following that I worked in Norway for a cultural center, then completed a Master of Science degree at BI, in Oslo. I moved then to Morocco, then Ireland to work at Google, and other adventures in Asia and the Middle East through the years. Scrolling forward, I ended up in France, doing a doctoral degree in Management Science from Sorbonne University and a PhD from ESCP Europe, and followed this with a Post-Doctorate at Grenoble Ecole de Management. Following that I was based at Excelia Group in La Rochelle, and then, where I am now, at INSEEC Business School in Paris. My research has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals including Organization, and the Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, with more on the way! I'm also a reviewer for Organization, M@nagement, the Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion, and other journals.