Trainee Cohort

BioActives Ph.d. Training Program

Left to right: Anamika Sulekha, Liandrah Gapare, Sarah Greening, Mmasinachi Atansi (PhD Trainees), and Dr. Kimberly A. McManus, Partner/Patent Agent, Aird McBurney.

Left to right: Anamika Sulekha, Liandrah Gapare, Sarah Greening, Mmasinachi Atansi (PhD Trainees), and Dr. Kimberly A. McManus, Partner/Patent Agent, Aird McBurney.

The CREATE BioActives Ph.D. graduates will be equipped to “transform their field”, as argued by Golde in Preparing Stewards of the Discipline*. To ensure efficient and flexible implementation, BioActives trainees will enroll in existing programs:

  • Ph.D. in Chemistry or Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Dalhousie University (Dal)

  • Ph.D. in Chemistry or Biology at the University of New Brunswick Saint John (UNBSJ)

  • Ph.D. in Applied Science, Chemistry at Saint Mary's University (SMU)

In addition to attaining research excellence in isolating, synthesizing, purifying, characterizing, manipulating and transforming bioactive chemicals, BioActives Ph.D. trainees augment their employment competitiveness and entrepreneurship through opportunities such as industry experiences, career research skills, and professional skills and business acumen.

*Envisioning the Future of Doctoral Education: Preparing Stewards of the Discipline - Carnegie Essays on the Doctorate Jossey-Bass, 2006

 

BioActives M.sc. Training Program

Left to right: Kathleen Vergunst, Anamika Sulekha, Alex Brown, and Dr. Alison Thompson (Director)

Left to right: Kathleen Vergunst, Anamika Sulekha, Alex Brown, and Dr. Alison Thompson (Director)

NSERC CREATE BioActives M.Sc. serves as a route to Ph.D. training and an avenue for individuals aiming for technical positions or management/professional careers:

  • M.Sc. in Chemistry or Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Dal

  • M.Sc. in Chemistry or Biology, UNBSJ

  • M.Sc. in Applied Science, SMU.

Hands-on research excellence will be complemented by development of professional and career skills. Expectations are respectful of two-year M.Sc. programming, with activities selected as for Ph.D.

 

BioActives Undergraduate Training Program

2019 Maritimes Natural Products Conference- Poster Session

2019 Maritimes Natural Products Conference- Poster Session

Undergraduate training is an early-career opportunity to experience the BioActives program. Integrated at the front of the duration of CREATE BioActives, undergraduate training serves as a recruitment tool to encourage individuals to join CREATE BioActives as graduate students. Alongside summer lab-based research experience, trainees are immersed into programming: presenting (preferably talk) at the Maritimes Natural Products Conference; knowledge mobilization workshops; industry tour/workshops. Undergraduate trainees produce a mini portfolio of experiences and expertise, with a BioActives graduate student as the coach for reflection. This benefits undergraduates as a mechanism to demonstrate experience, as well as provides opportunities for graduate trainees to develop mentorship and coaching skills.