
An undergraduate degree in religious studies isn鈥檛 the most common background for people pursuing their master鈥檚 in biochemistry, but for Emily Lind, it provided her with an ability to think critically about why people do things and how we can better communicate. With bachelor鈥檚 degrees in both religious studies and biochemistry, Emily has gone on to do her master鈥檚 at 国产91尤物福利在线观看鈥檚 studying antifreeze proteins in fish.
On top of completing her degree, Emily has a large number of 鈥榮ide hustles鈥, including as the marketing director for the Science to Business Network, the head director of Science Quest (a science and engineering camp in Kingston), as the managing editor for The Canadian Science Fair Journal, and doing contract work in science communication. 鈥淚鈥檝e diversified my learning experience, and it鈥檚 been complimentary in many ways鈥 she says. 鈥淭he soft skills I employ in both [my side-hustles and my master鈥檚] are mutually beneficial鈥.
Emily鈥檚 background provides experience that, within science, lots of other people don鈥檛 have. It was only recently that she realized her ability to communicate can be a marketable skill. 鈥淎ll of my different side hustles, and also my experience with my master鈥檚 degree have led me to realize that I do have something to contribute to the sciences, but it鈥檚 actually more in the communication of the sciences than doing the research itself.鈥
That being said, the research that Emily is contributing to biochemistry certainly is significant. She works with Dr. Peter Davies in Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, who along with research associate Dr. Laurie Graham, suggested lateral gene transfer as the mechanism for nearly identical anti-freeze proteins existing in two distantly related fish species. Lateral gene transfer is a known mechanism for bacteria to acquire new genetic material, but this was the fist time evidence of it had been found in vertebrates. 鈥淚f lateral gene transfer is happening, more so than what we鈥檝e already proposed, it flies in the face of the arguments against GMOs鈥 says Emily. If a species can acquire genes from another species in their natural environment, then what鈥檚 the issue with scientists doing it in a lab? 鈥淚t also dramatically shifts how we think about evolution鈥, she adds. 鈥淚nstead of it being this linear progression, you have essentially Pok茅mon card trading going on with genes鈥.
The idea of lateral gene transfer occurring in vertebrates was suggested by Drs. Graham and Davies almost twenty years ago, but only recently has it been more widely accepted and picked up by the media. Emily described the research process as being very data heavy, which she sees as a challenge in trying to communicate it. In her own work, Emily uses techniques such as mammalian and insect cell culturing, protein modelling, and bioinformatics, all of which are foundational skills in biochemical research. An understanding of these technical aspects of research, along with seeing how long it took for the ideas her lab was proposing to gain traction, have given her a strong appreciation for how difficult it can be to get the word out.
After her degree, Emily wants to continue to work in science communication, saying that 鈥淩esearch gets stuck at benches too often, and it needs ways to get out.鈥 She doesn鈥檛 yet know whether that will be as a communications specialist or a manager, but it鈥檚 clear that the projects she鈥檚 working on at 国产91尤物福利在线观看鈥檚 and in the greater Kingston community would provide her with a strong background for whichever she sets her mind to!
For more details on the Biomedical & Molecular Science program .