Opportunities
Winter 2022
BIO 408 Insect Behaviour Directed Studies Project - Larvae of the Agriotes obscurus, or the dusky click beetle, have become a serious agricultural pest, particularly in potatoes, across North America and Europe. The female sex pheromone of A. obscurus, has been characterized and is used in the field, yet few studies have examined the influence of sex pheromone on click beetle mating behaviour. We have previously video recorded the courtship and mating behaviour of A. obscurus beetle pairs in the presence and absence of female sex pheromone. We are looking for a student to analyze the behaviour in the videos using Behaviour event-logging and motion-tracking software as a BIO 408 directed studies project. The research is being conducted in coordination with researchers at Agriculture Canada in Agassiz. Please contact Dr. Alida Janmaat at alida.janmaat@ufv.ca if you are interested.
Recent Projects
Morgan, Jessica. BIO408 Dysbacteriosis: Gut Microflora Imbalance and Hypersensitivities (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stephen Thomas)
Thai, Mai. BIO408 Identification of Two Bacterial Species Based on Their Ability to Bind and Metabolize Motor Oil (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stephen Thomas)
Turner, Shae. BIO496 Using Radiofrequency Identification (RFID) Technology to Study the Nesting Behaviour of Tree Swallows (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Debbie Wheeler)
Plug, Curtis. BIOC409 Investigations into the Pharmacological Impact of Mono- or Di-methoxy Substitutions on Chalcones in the Model Organism Caenorhabditis elegans (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nathan Bialas)
Townsley, Katherine. BIO499 New age technology for local historical biology (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sharon Gillies, Dr. Mariano Mapili)
Derksen, Alison. BIO499 Identification of isolated bacteria based on their ability to metabolize specific hydrocarbons (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stephen Thomas)
Azami, Samim. BIO409 Hunting for Genes: Using bioinformatics to explore genome organization in Drosophila. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. James Bedard)
Challman, Kelsey. BIO409 Hunting for Genes: Using bioinformatics to explore genome organization in Drosophila. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. James Bedard)
Marusiak, Kathleen. BIO499 Hunting for Genes: Using bioinformatics to explore genome organization in Drosophila. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. James Bedard)
Kaur, Ranjot. BIO499 Bactericidal properties of neem extract, azadirachtin and nimbolide against antibiotic-resistant strains of Helicobacter pylori in vitro (as a potential treatment for H.pylori infections). (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Carlos Leon Guevara)
Pritchard, Daylan. BIO408 Use of Rainbow Trout Epithelial and Monocyte Cell Lines to Study the Actions of Nitrite in Fish. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Justin Lee, Dr. Lucy Lee)
Yegaeh, Farzad. BIO499 Effects of pendant phenol functional groups on secondary coordination spheres of heme like Fe-salen complexes. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Linus Chiang)
Hosseini, Helia. BIO408 The effectiveness of using different spices to attract worms to determine the distribution of invasive worms in the Fraser Valley. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sharon Gillies)
Tuttle, Sasha. BIO408 The natal host species and genotype of Trissolcus japonicus interact to determine their behavior and reproductive output. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Carin Bondar, Agassiz Research Center Advisor: Dr. Paul Abrams)
Brunner, Kristina. BIO499 Microplastic analysis of the Fraser River. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sharon Gillies)
Praat, Dilan. BIO499 Effectiveness of autonomous recording units in the observation of ardea Herodias fannini colonies. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Gregory Schmaltz)
Dancey, Chandanee. BIO409 Investigating the effects of Haskap Berry (Lonicera caerulea) extract on neuronal function and the insulin signalling pathway and in Caenorhabditis elegans. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nathan Bialas)
Poonia, Kabeer. BIO409 Investigating the epigenetic and stress resistance properties of Haskap berry (Lonicera caerulea) extract in Caenorhabditis elegans. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nathan Bialas)
Hayes, Erik. BIO408 The effects of Lonicera caerulea extract on fat accumulation and autophagy levels in Caenorhabditis elegans. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nathan Bialas)
Hood, Emily. BIO408 Burke Mountain naturalist bat monitoring protocol for volunteers. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Alida Janmaat)
Sahota, Harinder. BIO408 Water quality testing using the polymerase chain reaction. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stephen Thomas)
Samra, Manvir. BIO408 Bioremediation using oil-eating bacteria. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stephen Thomas)
Ni, Min. BIO408 How does ovary maturity influence female behaviour and mating receptiveness? (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Alida Janmaat)
Dobie, Aisa. BIO409 Investigation of the neuroprotective effects of Haskap Berry (Lonicera caerulea) extract on Caenorhabditis elegans. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nathan Bialas)
Krahn, Kyle. BIO408 Camera trapping study of Aldergrove Regional Park. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Alida Janmaat)
Chandok, Sahil Virat. BIO409 Effect of downregulating REV3 gene expression in cell viability of yeast cells. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Carlos Leon Guevara)
Kotak, Kanika. BIO409 Effect of osmolarity on the HSP70 expression in drosophila melanogaster. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Carlos Leon Guevara)
de Bruin, Blossom. BIO408 Parasites found in different earthworm species. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sharon Gillies)
Fernando, Anne Amiliya. BIO408 Diversity of parasites in earthworms. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sharon Gillies)
Braley, Eryn. BIO409 ACCESS – Addressing Cascade Carrier Education and Support Services. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. James Bedard)
Klaer, Ajeet. BIO499 The role of parasites and the distribution of invasive worms in the Fraser Valley. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sharon Gillies)
Oberhoffner, Shayne. BIO499 Efficacy of sulforaphane derived from daikon radish (raphanussativus) as an antimicrobial agent. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stephen Thomas)
Hay, Brenna. BIO408 In vitro eco-genotoxicology. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Lucy Lee)
Griffiths, Brayden. BIO499 The effects of Canadian Haskap Berry (Lonicera caerulea) extract on stress resistance of Caenorhabditis elegans. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nathan Bialas)
Gill, Dib. BIO499 Effects of Phenothiazine Antipsychotics on Mitochondrial Function. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Stea)
de Bruin, Blossom. BIO409 Effect of non-crop hosts on the overwintering activity of spotted wing drosophila. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Alida Janmaat)
Ell, Lauren. BIO499 The effects of Haskap Berry extract on lifespan and insulin/IGFR pathway of Caenorhabditis elegans. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nathan Bialas)
Boyd, Taylor. BIO408 Metogenomic and chemical analysis of Takhini Hot Springs microbiota in Whitehorse, YT. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nathan Bialas)
Beard, Wes and Dekker, Jake. Isolation of Oil Degrading Bacteria Retrieved from Diesel-Contaminated Soil, and Development of an Assay to Measure Oil Degradation (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stephen Thomas)
Dekker, Jake and Beard, Wes. BIO499 Isolation and Subsequent Identification of Oil Metabolizing Bacteria Based on Their Ability to Bind to Hydrocarbons (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stephen Thomas)
Gill, Matthew S. BIO408 Bacterial Adaptation with a Focus on Bioremediation (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stephen Thomas)
Lindhout, Ivan. BIO408 Motor Oil Toxicity Analysis and Isolation of Bacteria Capable of Metabolizing Toxic Components in Oil (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stephen Thomas)
Draayers, Veronica. BIO409 Modification of the Parthenogenic Cycle in Daphnia through alteration of the Mevalonate Pathway. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anthony Stea)
Leffers, Kurt. BIO409 Investigating lifespan and healthspan effects of Canadian grown Haskap Berries (Lonicera caerulea) on C. elegans. (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nathan Bialas)
Beard, Wes. BIO408 Analysis of the metagenomic and phylogenetic relationships of hot spring diversity using 16S rRNA sequencing on microbes in the Ainsworth and Nakusp Hot Springs of the Kootenays (Canada). (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nathan Bialas)
Ponte, Olivia. BIO408 The Development of an Assay for the isolation of Biosurfactant Producing Bacteria (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stephen Thomas)
Webb, Tessa. BIO499 Cloning of the alkB Gene from Gordonia otitidis On1 (UFV Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stephen Thomas)