May 20, 2021
Tiptoeing around in the frog embryo
Dr Martina Nagel recently found the answer to a puzzle that she has been pursuing for 30 years in the laboratory of Prof Rudolf Winklbauer. She determined how the sheets of tissue that become the adult frog can migrate past each other while staying mostly separate as the embryo grows and develops…
April 30, 2021
Cannabis’ Hermaphrodite Conundrum
Guest post by Hayley McKay The commercial cannabis industry is facing a looming problem: it doesn’t have the ability to cultivate cannabis efficiently. Sure, growers have tried to co-opt basement grow-op techniques for large scale production, but fundamental plant science is still missing. Not…
April 21, 2021
Transcriptional enhancers don’t require ‘master regulators’
A common assumption in studying gene transcription is that there are 'master regulators' that are required for gene regulation. Gurdeep Singh from Professor Jennifer Mitchell’s laboratory challenges this view in the latest Genome Research by showing that gene transcription can be precisely…
April 12, 2021
Exceptional Science at the CSB Undergraduate Research Fair
On April 9th, students in CSB497, CSB498 and CSB499 presented the results of their year-long research programs in a virtual talk. Presenters were divided into three breakout rooms for their presentations. Our graduate student volunteers did an excellent job chairing and running the concurrent…
March 8, 2021
Colleagues and friends support Julia Gauberg to academic excellence
My scientific journey began at York University, when I joined Dr. Scott Kelly’s lab as an undergraduate student and immediately became hooked on research. I love untangling the complexity of animal cells, collaborating with other scientists, and contributing to the scientific community with my…
March 7, 2021
Lifelong learner Monica Mc Sheim on mastering complex organizations
Monica Mc Sheim is fascinated by the interaction of social structures and individual roles in society, and by adaptations that have challenged traditional structures. She pursued this passion studying Sociology at Wilfrid Laurier University, with minors in Anthropology and Women’s Studies. Her jobs…
March 7, 2021
Dr Pauline Wang finds fun in tackling analysis of complex samples
Dr Pauline Wang is Facility Manager of the Centre for Analysis of Genome Evolution & Function (CAGEF). Her facility provides research services to scientists around the world in comparative, evolutionary, and functional analyses of genomes and proteomes. Inspired by a young woman who taught her…
March 7, 2021
Professor Keiko Yoshioka goes with optimism to a career in plant science
For International Women's Day 2021, Cell & Systems Biology (CSB) is celebrating our women colleagues and their accomplishments. Professor Keiko Yoshioka recalls the joy of running through fields of grass that were as tall as her near her childhood home in Osaka, Japan. As a young student, she…
March 5, 2021
Dr Sakthi Moorthy chasing the dream to be a scientist from India to Canada
For International Women’s Day 2021, Cell & Systems Biology (CSB) is highlighting the scientists behind the science we publish, and the staff that support them. Dr Sakthi Moorthy has been a valued member of the Mitchell Laboratory in CSB, and we would like to congratulate her on her new position…
March 2, 2021
Hone-Buske Award winner Julia Gauberg identifies presynaptic channel homologues in ancient animal
The Christine Hone-Buske award is given each year to a CSB graduate student who has produced an outstanding paper in their field. This year, the award went to PhD candidate Julia Gauberg for her publication “Conserved biophysical features of the CaV2 presynaptic Ca2+ channel homologue from the…