AU Alumni
Students at Algoma University receive mentorship and training to become future leaders in research and innovation.
Find out below where our AU Alumni are now!
Kelly Balfour
(B.Sc. Biology, 2020)
As a graduate student at Queen's University, my work investigates the light environment of herbaceous vegetation and the capacity for species in these communities to exhibit shade tolerance. In forests, shade tolerance is considered a survival strategy under low light, but this adaptation is understudied in grasslands and old-fields. In a recent paper, I quantified canopy light capture in an old-field community and found that, contrary to common speculation, forest and herbaceous canopies can cast comparable shade. Small plants were also able to survive within the most shaded areas of this community. By measuring and analyzing suites of traits commonly associated with shade tolerance, I will determine whether smaller species in herbaceous vegetation are more shade-tolerant than larger species in the same communities. My research is currently funded by a Canada Graduate Scholarship from NSERC, and with my recent transfer to PhD, I will further explore the importance of shade tolerance in grasslands and old-fields.
Please visit Kelly Balfour’s research profile for more information on her projects.
Katherine Guzzo-Foliaro
(BA Honours cum laude Sociology, 2019 )
My experience as a researcher began in 2013 when my son was born with various complex needs, and I began the often-frustrating trajectory parents of a child with complex disabilities unfortunate experience. I encountered the conventional and ongoing barriers contextualizing the service provider's role as the expert, which silences the voice of the family. As my family struggled to fit within the dismissive and limiting box conceptualized for families, the lack of partnerships emphasized by the continuous struggle for hierarchical power often left our family without appropriate support services. My attempt to engage in my son's healthcare was often met with resistance.
My dedication as an advocate led me to return to school as a mature student to aid in the construction of problem-solving solutions necessary within children's healthcare. At Algoma University I completed my BA in sociology, with a minor in human development, honors cum laude. My independent qualitative thesis focused on community-engaged research by exploring a family-centred model of care through the lens of the often-overlooked Northern Ontario families.
In conjunction with the data I collected, my lived experience has contributed to my current master’s thesis work, titled Expected to care: Supporting sibling carers. Research conclusively illustrates that constructing a plan for the transition of the carer role results in fewer family crises. Due to the subject sensitivity and the common misconception that families assume that siblings will organically transition into the role of carer, the result is a lack of future planning. The consequence is siblings feeling excluded and unsupported during a transition that often occurs often at a time of crisis. I want to understand how we can change families expectations of the planning process and support these necessary yet difficult conversations.
Using a mixed methodology, I curated a questionnaire to understand the lived experiences through the lens of the sibling who has already transitioned to primary caregiver. Siblings expressed feeling excluded from the limited family discussions and were left unprepared and unsupported when the transition eventually happened. Next, in an inclusive and safe space, I reinforced sibling empowerment by interviewing sibling participants to explore and expand on the issues raised in the questionnaire. My research shows that siblings struggle to understand their role in relation to their sibling, that families assume siblings will become caregivers, and that some parents assume that they will outlive their child with a disability often leading to the false assumption that planning was not necessary.
What has been very unique in my work is the added role of the pandemic. Families have been forced to unexpectedly transition due to COVID restrictions and/or related illness, leaving families experiencing critical mental health complications. I also have a passion for knowledge translation. Although research is essential, the information we gather as researchers must be easily accessible outside of academia. In 2020 I graduated from CanChild, McMaster University, with a Family Engagement in Research certificate, during which I co-authored a knowledge translation initiative that is available on the CanChild website. It provides both families and service providers with a supportive checklist to ensure families feel empowered and understood in the decision-making process for their child. Additionally, I work in the field of the history of disability at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. I work with primary and secondary material for use in research papers and an upcoming book.
I also strongly believe in supporting families' empowerment in the process of patient engagement, and I enjoy working as a consultant in our community for families, service providers, and patient partners. I have had the opportunity to join various research projects over the last two years with CanChild, Kids Brain Health Network, the federal government of Canada, and McGill University. Currently I am working on two teams reconstructing existing policy. The first looks at the mental health of families and their experiences receiving assistance for their child with additional needs during COVID. The second is exploring an existing tool used by service providers to better reflect the needs of families.
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Peizhi Yan
(B.Sc. Computer Science, 2018)
Peizhi Yan is a Ph.D. student at the University of British Columbia and a Research Intern at Huawei Technologies Canada. His research includes deep learning, computer vision, 3D computer graphics, and wireless communication optimization. He obtained B.Sc. in Computer Science from Algoma University in 2018; and M.Sc. in Computer Science from Lakehead University in 2020. During his undergraduate studies at Algoma University, Peizhi worked as a Research Assistant at the BCI lab, supervised by Dr. George Townsend, and from whom he gained research skills and knowledge in artificial deep neural networks and signal processing. His undergraduate research thesis (Dr. Yi Feng as the supervisor) is about developing an AI program to solve the GOMOKU board game, which yields a conference publication and a journal article. After joining Lakehead University as a Master's student, he won the first year's competition of Vector Scholarship in Artificial Intelligence ($17,500). Peizhi's Master's supervisors are Dr. Salimur Choudhury and Dr. Shan Du. During his Master's, he focused on combining state-of-the-art machine learning methods with traditional optimization algorithms in wireless communication optimization. He published five SCI journal articles (four as the first author) and three flagship conference (in communication technologies) papers (two as the first author). Upon graduating from Lakehead, Peizhi received the Governor-General's Gold Medal (one of Canada's most prestigious academic awards). At the University of British Columbia, Peizhi's research is about combining computer vision and 3D computer graphics with the help of deep learning. This research area will bring a broad impact to the next generation of the Internet in creating a more immersive browsing experience. Besides his own research, Peizhi also serves as the reviewer for many journals and conferences.
Kendriah Pearse
(B.Sc., Honours Biology, 2018)
Kendriah Pearse studied diel variation in ovenbird song for her thesis under Dr. Jenn Foote and later published this work, along with Megan Thompson in Ethology. During her undergraduate degree, Kendriah was awarded three summer NSERC USRA awards. After graduating from Algoma, she took the Geographic Information System Specialty program at Sault College. In the summer of 2019, Kendriah moved to Michigan to work as an ornithology research assistant for the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Centre focusing on the tracking of Kirtland’s warblers from their nesting grounds in Bahamas to central Michigan using hand-held telemetry. Kendriah then went on to work as a Fire Research Scientist at Great Lakes Forestry Centre in Sault Ste. Marie before beginning her M.Sc. Forestry at the University of Toronto in September 2020. Her thesis is on “Moving towards early wildfire evacuations warnings for Canada.”
Kylee Adam
(B.A. Geography, 2018)
I am an NOHFC intern with Algoma University and the SSHRC funded Lake Superior Living Labs Network (https://livinglabs.lakeheadu.ca), working under Dr. Nairne Cameron, and the Rural Agri-Innovation Network (RAIN), working under David Thompson. I graduated in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in Geography from Algoma University. One of the major projects Dr. Cameron and I are working on right now is a site plan to implement raised garden beds, a food forest, and a passive solar greenhouse on the Algoma University Campus. We envision the site also including a labyrinth path, commercial kitchen, pergola, an outdoor kiln and seed library, underground root cellar, beehives, and an outdoor amphitheater. Through the Rural Agri-Innovation Network I have put together an ArcGIS map for internal use mapping tile drainage plots, soil samples, and land clearing in the Algoma Region. We also hosted an online local food processing webinar that presented information to small local food processors in the area about funding and Algoma public health regulations. The webinar featured guest speaker Trevor Laing from Algoma Highlands Wild Blueberry Farm to give us some insight about what it is like to start and run a business from the ground up.
Riley Tessier
(B.A., Hons., Community Economic and Social Development, minor in Social Justice and Globalization)
Riley graduated from her program with the highest honours, a Cum laude distinction, and also earned a CESD award. Currently, she was Dr. Laura Wyper’s research assistant during the summer of 2020 . Riley has played a significant role in contributing to Dr. Wyper’ project, the Art of Taste, which is part of a Canadian Liaison operation with SLOW FOOD INTERNATIONAL. Since graduating, Riley has worked in community development agencies, including work as the Resource Mobilisation Officer for BoMake Rural Projects/Crossroads International (Eswatini) in 2019-2020.
Other Research Focused AU Alumni
Where are they now?
Hannah Murphy
B.Sc. Psychology, 2018
Applied Linguist Research Assistant, University of Victoria
Glenn Driver
B.Sc. Computer Science, 2018
Forest Fire Research Technician, Natural Resources Canada
Taylor Jolin
B.A. Fine Arts, 2016
Cross-Cultural Learning and Community Development Research Assistant, NORDIK Institute
Ryan Pelletier
B.Sc. Biology, 2013
Clinical Research Assistant, University of Waterloo
Christine Caron
B.Sc. Biology, 2020
Staff Research Associate I, University of California, San Diego
Dana Simpson
B.Sc. Psychology, 2020
Research Assistant, Queen’s University
Hilary Cutler
B.A English Literature, 2005
Research & Policy Advisor, Algoma Public Health
Damian Okungbowa
B.BA. Business Administration (Accounting), 2020
Research and Financial Assistant, Maximus Rose Living Benefits Inc.