{"id":169,"date":"2023-02-02T21:21:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-02T21:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grad.biology.ualberta.ca\/tierney\/?page_id=169"},"modified":"2025-10-23T22:08:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T22:08:58","slug":"undergraduate-research-assistants","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/grad.biology.ualberta.ca\/tierney\/undergraduate-research-assistants\/","title":{"rendered":"Undergraduate Research Assistants"},"content":{"rendered":"
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KAHLAN MCDONALD (2025 – Current)<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>Hey there! I am a fourth-year undergraduate student working to complete my BSc in Psychology with a minor in Biological Sciences. I am very interested in the development and behaviours of living creatures, especially aquatic-based mammals and vertebrates. I have worked with injured animals and aided in their rehabilitation in years past, and I have always loved the environment, finding myself intrigued by all that it has to offer. My involvement in the Tierney lab will push me in the right direction to hopefully work as a marine animal consultant or researcher in the future. I am a sucker for a good hike, I enjoy dabbling in the world of photography, and the majority of the time you will find me out on the soccer pitch kicking a ball about.
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MORGAN STEFFLER (2024 – Current)<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>Hi everyone! I’m currently in the final year of my Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Integrative Physiology and am also nearing completion of a Certificate in Research. I joined the Tierney Lab in January 2024 to complete my BIOL 298 project, where I investigated how avobenzone (a common ingredient in sunscreen) affects the swim speed and survival rate of zebrafish larvae. Since then, I\u2019ve contributed to several ongoing projects in the lab, both as a summer research assistant in 2024 and as a BIOL 399 student. This summer, I will continue working in the lab as a research assistant and begin my BIOL 499 project, investigating the question: What effect does methane have on the developmental toxicity of petroleum-derived pollutants in larval zebrafish? I\u2019m particularly interested in how organism personalities shift in response to toxicant exposure, and the mechanisms underlying these changes. In my spare time, you can find me rock climbing, reading, or horseback riding.
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ABDULLAH CHAUDHARY (2024 – Current)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Hi! I am going into the final year of my Sociology after-degree at the University of Alberta. I also hold a BSc in Psychology and Biological Sciences from U of A, where I joined the Tierney Lab under Christina\u2019s mentorship. For both my BIOL 398 and BIOL 499 projects, I employed advanced histological techniques to investigate how creatine monohydrate and hydroxymethylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation modulate age-related muscle decline (sarcopenia) in zebrafish. These projects have honed my laboratory skills and inspired me to pursue public health in the future.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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This summer, I\u2019m working as a research assistant in the Tierney Lab, contributing to zebrafish-based studies designed to inform and advance population health and aging. Outside the lab, I serve as President of the Youth Restorative Action Project (YRAP), where I lead our efforts to embed restorative justice principles in youth justice interventions. When I\u2019m not in the lab or organizing YRAP events, you\u2019ll find me competing on the soccer pitch, squash court, or in a jujitsu tournament. I\u2019m also fluent in five languages and passionate about exploring the world through travel and reading!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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ARTESIA WOO (2023 – 2024)<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>Hi! I’m Artesia and I recently graduated with a BSc in Biological Sciences and a minor in Chemistry. I completed my BIOL 398 and 498 projects and assisted in the lab over the summer, working primarily on Zhanika\u2019s synthetic fragrance project. I love learning about anatomy and the intricate physiological processes of organisms. Because of that, I enjoy exploring how toxicological substances affect anatomy, and indirectly, physiology, in the lab. I hope to pursue something related to that in the future. In my free time, I enjoy playing frisbee, creating stop-motion videos, and geeking out over science fiction and fantasy media. <\/span><\/div>\n
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LAUREL FORD (2021 – 2024)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
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EMILIE TORWALT (2022 – 2024)<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>Emilie (she\/they) is an undergraduate student studying Biological Sciences, Political Sciences, and Biological Research. She has always been passionate about research and loves environmental problem-solving and conservation work, but also enjoys working with data, running statistics, and coding in RStudio. After graduation, Emilie hopes to work as an environmental consultant, research associate, or professional science communicator within Canada. In their free time, Emilie enjoys competitive debate, horseback riding, weightlifting, badminton, backcountry hiking, and hanging out with their cat, Matilda.<\/span><\/div>\n
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ANWYN NERAASEN (2022 – 2023)<\/strong> <\/span><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>I am a fourth-year undergraduate student completing a BSc Honors in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. I am interested in using the tools of molecular biology to study aquatic toxicology. This year I am working on a BIOL 499 project in the Tierney lab, studying the effects of artificial sweetener exposure on embryonic and larval zebrafish. I also completed my BIOL 298 project with this lab in 2021, conducting a literature review on chemical UV filter toxicity. When I’m not in the lab, I love to be outside! You can find me climbing, hiking, skiing, trail running, or just exploring interesting places.<\/span><\/div>\n
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KAHLAN MCDONALD (2025 – Current) Hey there! I am a fourth-year undergraduate student working to complete my BSc in Psychology with a minor in Biological Sciences. I am very interested in the development and behaviours of living creatures, especially aquatic-based mammals and vertebrates. I have worked with injured animals and aided in their rehabilitation in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grad.biology.ualberta.ca\/tierney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grad.biology.ualberta.ca\/tierney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grad.biology.ualberta.ca\/tierney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grad.biology.ualberta.ca\/tierney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grad.biology.ualberta.ca\/tierney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169"}],"version-history":[{"count":46,"href":"https:\/\/grad.biology.ualberta.ca\/tierney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":671,"href":"https:\/\/grad.biology.ualberta.ca\/tierney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/169\/revisions\/671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grad.biology.ualberta.ca\/tierney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grad.biology.ualberta.ca\/tierney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grad.biology.ualberta.ca\/tierney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}