快猫成版视频 Allison鈥檚 Harold Crabtree Aqualab turns 10
A decade ago, 快猫成版视频 opened the Harold Crabtree Aqualab: Centre for Aquatic Sciences, which is dedicated to the aquatic sciences and to advancing our understandings of marine and aquatic biology and conservation.
鈥淔or some of our undergraduate students, Aqualab is their first practical research opportunity and delivers experiences that are fundamental in training future scientists and researchers,鈥 says Dr. Jennifer Tomes, 快猫成版视频 Allison鈥檚 Dean of Science. 鈥淭he students take knowledge learned in the classroom, combine it with their passion for the natural world, and translate it into a hands-on scientific experience with real-world applications.鈥
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The lab was established thanks to the generosity of the Crabtree Foundation as well as funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Province of New Brunswick, and the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation.
Since 2012, 51 undergraduate students, seven graduate students, and two post-doctoral fellows have conducted research in Aqualab, and research findings have resulted in close to two dozen published scientific papers.
鈥淢y primary research project in the Aqualab investigated the physiology of Atlantic salmon captured from the Miramichi River, and it was wonderful to be a part of a research project that could yield information about this vulnerable local species,鈥 says Louise Tunnah (鈥12, 鈥16). 鈥淲orking in the Aqualab was a very active and collaborative environment. It brought students from different labs together and it was always interesting to follow the different types of ongoing research projects. My work in the Aqualab certainly fostered my appreciation for aquatic research, and that appreciation continues to the present day.鈥
Tunnah earned both her undergraduate and master鈥檚 degrees in Biology at 快猫成版视频 Allison. She is currently completing her PhD in Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph.
In addition to students such as Tunnah, the lab has also hosted several guest researchers and even a television crew. In 2019, 快猫成版视频 Allison biology department head Dr. Diana Hamilton and a group of her student researchers were featured on CBC鈥檚 The Nature of Things. Parts of the filming were done in the facility.
鈥淎qualab research has advanced our understandings of the biology of Atlantic salmon, brook trout, and several other species,鈥 says Dr. Tyson MacCormack, associate professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. 鈥淢y own research focuses on the biochemical mechanisms used by fish to tolerate environmental stressors like changing water temperatures, and the research has benefitted immensely from the facility and the work of students.鈥
快猫成版视频 Allison Aqualab scientists have also collaborated with national and international partners including Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Gespe鈥檊ewaq Mi鈥檊maq Resource Council, and Brazil鈥檚 National Institute for Amazonian Research, among others.
鈥淭hanks to the Aqualab, we are all gaining better understandings of the impacts of climate change and pollutants in both fresh and salt water, and how we can better protect aquatic life and fisheries,鈥 says Dr. Andrea Morash, assistant professor, Department of Biology.
The Aqualab provides unique opportunities to researchers on campus to understand how aquatic animals cope with ecologically relevant changes in temperature, salinity, oxygen, and exposure to contaminants. The facility also allows research teams to carefully manipulate water temperatures, salinity, and tidal cycles to essentially bring the field into the lab.
鈥淲orking in Aqualab was the first time I was able to design and implement my own experiments,鈥 says Neal Callaghan (鈥14, 鈥16). Callaghan earned his bachelors and master鈥檚 degrees in Biochemistry at 快猫成版视频 Allison. Last year, he finished his PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto and has since completed his first year of Medicine at Dalhousie University.
鈥淭he Aqualab experience of interacting with and troubleshooting hardware, combined with the ability to learn physiology, was a major contributor to my choice of field for my PhD. Since my time at 快猫成版视频 Allison, I have had a major appreciation for multidisciplinary projects and the ability to integrate many different skills in a scientific pursuit.鈥