Research Area
As a faculty member with Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory (AMBL), the educational facilities of the Michael Smith Laboratories, I’m exploring creative ways to get people excited about Science. Inspired by the late Nobel Laureate Dr. Michael Smith and his commitment to science education, I’m involved in a wide variety of outreach programs that range from science education initiatives, to high school field trip programs, to interdisciplinary projects that bridge the Arts and the Sciences.
The Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory (AMBL) offers a wide range of outreach programs designed to involve elementary, high school, and university communities in authentic, hands-on scientific inquiry, expose them to Canada’s leading researchers, and cultivate scientific curiosity and literacy. Annually, I organize two major science education conferences, one aimed at high school teacher professional development and the other for high school students. I’m also actively involved in our popular field trip programs, which have garnered a strong reputation for excellence. Building on several successful pilots, I’m currently implementing a new full-day bioinformatics field trip that offers an integrated laboratory and computer based hands-on experience. Through these efforts, AMBL outreach programs cater to over 3000 students per year. To ensure lasting impact for our programs, I’m responsible for the development and delivery of a wide-reaching and varied set of teaching resources, websites, blogs, and publications available through our website, http://bioteach.ubc.ca.
At the University, I contribute to undergraduate teaching in the Departments of Microbiology and Immunology (MICB405: Bioinformatics) and in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (ASIC200: Global Issues in the Arts and Sciences). I also lecture in courses from Medical Genetics, Pathology, Food Nutrition and Health, and Biology. AMBL also offers professional training opportunities for researchers. Drawing on my experiences with the Canadian Bioinformatics Workshops, I’ve delivered several bionformatics professional workshops at AMBL that aim to give hands-on practical training for local researchers, as well as for government and industry leaders.
With our broad mandate of engaging audiences with Science, my role at AMBL often involves very creative and collaborative projects. For example, I’m one of four faculty and staff members involved in leading the Terry* project on campus, a joint initiative of the University of British Columbia’s Faculties of Arts and Science (as well as many others including those from groups as diverse as UBC Student Development and UBC Community Affairs). Its primary mission is to educate members of the UBC community (notably undergraduate students) on the pressing global issues of our time. I also work with a wide variety of partners covering a diverse range of disciplines and expertise. This includes those with an integral interest in science education (a variety of science and applied science departments at UBC, UBC Sustainability Office, Science World, BC Science Teachers’ Association, GenomeBC, Let’s Talk Science, BC Innovation Council, BCIT, and other youth oriented student groups as examples), as well as groups belonging to more unconventional arenas, that are curious about the potential interplay of their own expertise with science communication (a variety of humanities and creative arts departments at UBC, student groups, and media).
