Science MattersWinter 2025 | |
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Dean's Message
Winter is winding down, and soon enough we will be celebrating longer and warmer days… And it is my privilege to welcome you again to the Faculty of Science, a community of scholars, researchers, technical and operating staff, which embraces the education, training, and mentoring of over 4,000 proud undergraduate and graduate Lancer students.
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With so much to celebrate, let’s take a moment to recap some of the many achievements of the Faculty of Science; be it highlighting the stories of our alumni through the “Because of Science” series, or praising three generations of a Lancer family, or our dedicated students receiving the Governor General’s Gold Medal, the Lieutenant Governors’ Legacy Awards, or the Board of Governors In-Course Medal for the Faculty of Science. Be it celebrating teaching excellence or our top-notch research in neural development, restoration of freshwater ecosystems, avian flu, arctic ecology, pharmaceutical innovation, neuroblastoma, blood, and breast cancer treatments, arctic sharks and Great Lakes algae and sturgeons. Be it building global bridges through ecology…
With all that is going on, it is easy to understand why the Faculty of Science is responsible for more than half of all the extramural funding at the university!
This broad scope mirrors the diversity and creativity found in our departments of Computer Science, Biomedical Science, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Economics, Environmental Science, Integrative Biology, Mathematics & Statistics, and Physics, our two programs in Behaviour Cognition Neuroscience and Forensic Science, and our two research institutes, the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research and the WE-SPARK Health Institute.
We offer great opportunities for our students, develop innovative research, and transform our community, come and join us in reading and celebrating this issue of the Science Matters newsletter.
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Through the “Because of Science at UWindsor” campaign, you have an opportunity to join us in this spirit of giving by supporting the Science LEAD Fund.
With your support, we pledge to deliver research opportunities, high impact learning experiences, and integrative outreach programs. Your support will inspire the next generation of young scientists by providing students amazing opportunities to lead, engage, apply and discover.
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Because of Science at UWindsor | |
We are celebrating our illustrious alumni with a series called 'Because of Science at UWindsor.' We are highlighting the stories of alumni as they share how their experiences as a student in the Faculty of Science at UWindsor contributed to their successes. | |
Family ties draw student from Taiwan to Windsor
By pursuing her academic dreams at UWindsor, Tiffany Huang became a third-generation science student.
The fourth-year undergraduate is currently studying biology and psychology. Her father, William Huang, studied the same double major in the 1990s. But she says her academic legacy story starts with her grandfather, Fore-lien Huang, who finished a biology doctorate in the 1970s.
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Biology and psychology major Tiffany Huang represents the third generation of her family to study at the University of Windsor. | |
Faculty attracting attention | |
Biomedical science professor Jeff Dason is the Faculty of Science research chair. | |
Research Chair to support exploration of neural disorder
The Faculty of Science has named Jeff Dason as its 2024-2026 research chair.
“I’m thrilled to receive this chair, as it will allow me to further expand my research program,” says Dr. Dason.
DailyNews: Research chair to support exploration of neural disorder
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Chelsea Salter received the Governor General’s Gold Medal during Fall 2024 Convocation ceremonies. | |
Governor General's Gold Medal recipient
The Governor General’s Gold Medal for exceptional academic achievement at the graduate level was presented to Chelsea Salter, a Master of Science graduate in environmental science for demonstrating outstanding academic excellence and research contributions, making significant impacts in her field.
DailyNews: Governor Generals Gold Medal
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Advocacy earns honour for anti-racism activist
Science undergraduate Lladaneyah Gayle, whose anti-racism work earned her a 2024 Lincoln M. Alexander Award as part of the annual Lieutenant Governors’ Legacy Awards Ceremony, says, “I love to help people. Philanthropy is my passion.”
DailyNews: Advocacy earns honour for anti-racism activist
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Science major Lladaneyah Gayle was honoured by Ontario lieutenant governor Edith Dumont for her anti-racism work. | |
Dean of science Claudio Verani (centre) congratulates twin sisters Jenny and Ally Noble on their second straight win of the Board of Governors In-Course Medal. | |
Sisters double up on science medals
For the second year in a row, Ally and Jenny Noble have tied for the Board of Governors In-Course Medal for the Faculty of Science.
DailyNews: Sisters double up on science medals
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Researchers head out on a boat to explore ecosystems along the Detroit River. | |
Federal funding to support efforts to restore freshwater ecosystem
A federal investment of $76 million to support 50 partner-led projects will empower local groups, including UWindsor researchers, to reverse the degradations from historic pollution in the Great Lakes and connecting waterways.
DailyNews: Federal funding to support efforts to restore freshwater ecosystem
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Team to track instances of avial flu in Windsor-Essex birds
So far there have been relatively few instances of humans contracting avian influenza, but that is no reason for complacency, says chemistry professor Kenneth Ng.
He is the project lead on a team of scientists exploring the diversity of influenza virus subtypes infecting wild bird populations in Windsor-Essex.
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Professors Mike McKay, Kenneth Ng, and Dan Mennill are leading an investigation into avian flu infections in local wild birds.
DailyNews: Team to track instances of avian flu in Windsor-Essex birds
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A pair of eider ducks is seen landing on a rocky shore. Photo by Alysha Riquier. | |
Study of arctic ecology to take lead from Inuit communities
Biology professor Christina Semeniuk, whose predictive ecology lab at the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research has done significant work with seabirds in the past, is supporting Inuit communities in gathering knowledge about the ducks and how they are affected by a warming climate.
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New devices aimed at accelerating pharmaceutical innovation
Utilizing robotics and ingenuity, UWindsor researchers have developed a one-of-a-kind instrument and a series of cutting-edge patent pending devices that could aid the pharmaceutical industry by enabling the formulation and production of more efficient drugs.
DailyNews: New devices aimed at accelerating pharmaceutical innovation
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Researchers Ethan Douglas, Nick Vukotic, Anton Dmitrienko, and Joy-Lynn Kobti have developed. | |
Celebrating a project to improve treatment of a childhood cancer are UWindsor researchers Dorota Lubanska and Alioune Ngom with Childcan officials Suzanne Elliott, Sarah Dimitropoulos, and Lorraine Jewell. | |
Treatment of childhood neuroblastoma target of research project
Using a combination of cutting-edge tools from biology and computer science, a Faculty of Science led research project will explore ways to improve treatment outcomes for the extracranial childhood cancer neuroblastoma.
DailyNews: Treatment of childhood neuroblastoma target of research project
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Team to explore efficacy of blood cancer treatment
A team of community researchers is looking into health disparities influencing patient outcomes for those undergoing bone marrow transplant as a treatment for multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
DailyNews: Team to explore efficacy of blood cancer treatment
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Representatives of the Katelyn Bedard Bone Marrow Association Andrew Kidd, Andrea Baker, and Melba Bedard congratulate UWindsor researchers Anna Kozarova and Dora Cavallo-Medved on a grant to study cancer treatments. | |
Lisa Porter, Laurice Arayan, Caroline Hamm, Bre-Anne Fifield, and Rasna Gupta celebrate the support of the WE-Spark Health Institute for a project exploring a new treatment regime for breast cancer. | |
Research partnership aims to enhance outcomes for breast cancer patients
A team of researchers is collaborating with Windsor Regional Hospital oncologists on a pilot project to improve treatment outcomes for hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer patients, a group that represents a significant portion of breast cancer diagnoses.
DailyNews: Research partnership aims to enhance outcomes for breast cancer patients
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Submarine enables shark researchers to do deep dive into subject
Two UWindsor researchers never imagined their research would lead them deep underwater where they could observe Greenland sharks up close in the wild from the comfort of a submarine
DailyNews: Submarine enables shark researchers to do deep dive into subject
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Professor Nigel Hussey and doctoral student Eric Ste-Marie followed Greenland sharks into the arctic depths off the coast of Norway. | |
MSc candidate shedding light on the impacts of warmer winters on Lake Erie
Neve Hudson, a master of science student at the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, is exploring how climate change and warmer winters have impacted Lake Erie’s algal community.
DailyNews: MSc candidate shedding light on the impacts of warmer winters on Lake Erie
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Grad student Neve Hudson will sample Lake Erie waters in the winter, providing valuable insight into the effects of climate change. | | |
Public-Private Sector Collaboration | |
Freshwater ecology course promotes science diplomacy across the Americas
Freshwater ecology students from the University of Windsor have gone global.
A diverse delegation — field course participants from this term’s fourth-year course in stream ecology, Indigenous youth and staff from the National Urban Park Hub, and graduate students — travelled to Mexico in August to visit the Santiago River watershed and the campus of the Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara.
DailyNews: Freshwater ecology course promotes science diplomacy across the Americas
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Students take samples from the Santiago River watershed in Mexico as part of a tri-national project on stream ecosystem assessment. | |
Faculty of Science
University of Windsor
401 Sunset Ave.
Windsor, ON N9B 3P4
519-253-3000 Extension: 3009
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