Bishop's Undergraduate Research Highlighted at a Prestigious Conference

Gemma Camara is a third-year Neuroscience student minoring in Environmental studies. At the beginning of the month, she participated in the Neurodegenerative Diseases: Biology and Therapeuthics meeting. This event, organized by the Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory (CSHL), facilitates communication and networking at the academic and industry level. During the meeting, Gemma presented her first ever poster entitled The relationship between cognitive scores and detection of specific odours in the elderly. CHSL is a leading international center for research and education, and presenting at their meetings is a considerable achievement for anyone in the field! This event also gave her the opportunity to connect with other researchers.

During the first night’s social event, Dr. Aaron Gliter asked me if I had applied to Stanford. I never thought to push myself to be a part of any of the “Ivy Leagues” before, but his question made me think about the limitations I’ve set for myself. The sky’s the limit, and there are tons of great Universities looking to take on smart ambitious students who are hardworking and who put themselves out there.

This quote was taken from an interview with Gemma featured on the CHSL Blog. We invite you to read the full interview online.

Gemma is a promising student researcher interested in olfactory function and post-concussion effects on the brain. For her current research project, she is working under the supervision of Dr. Rona Graham at Université de Sherbrooke, and Dr. Jonathan Carriere from the BU Department of Psychology. Gemma is also involved in BU school life as the current Environmental Sustainability Representative, former Leader of the Environmental club and former co-lead of the Running club.

Bishop’s University has helped me become the person I am today. The community helps foster growth, for those seeking it. I have always set ambitious goals for myself, I was never told “no, that’s unfeasible” but rather redirected. Both Bishop’s and Sherbrooke University have enabled me to enter the field as a student researcher. I can’t speak of research without talking about Dr. Graham, who is the reason I am writing the manuscript for our research today, and still in hopes of being published one day. My research project has allowed me to put into practice what I have learnt at Bishop’s. The Psychology department has many great professors that have gone the extra mile to adapt their teaching methods. Notably, Dr. Jasmeen Sidhu and Dr. Courtney Plante, two of the many professors who have continuously taken a modern approach to their teaching methods. I could not possibly mention all the mentors we have at Bishop’s, it is a community, and everyone contributes differently. Whichever University I attend; Bishop’s will always be home in heart.Gemma Camara