Undergraduate Stella Chen is back in the McFarLab, this time with the support of a highly-competitive Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship from the American Society of Plant Biologists “Assessing Arabidopsis cell wall mutants for intracellular aggregations via confocal and transmission electron microscopy”. The award provides Sella with a research stipend, plus an ASPB membership and a stipend to present her summer research at Plant Biology 2026.
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Eskandar defends his MSc
Today, Eskandar Mohammad successfully defended his MSc PhD thesis. Eski’s project examined the interplay between pectin status and cell expansion by characterising a novel Arabidopsis mutant with serious cell expansion defects. Congratulations, Eskandar!
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Heather at the CSMB meeting
This week Heather is 68th Annual Conference of the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences (CSMB) in conjunction with the 4th Biennial Conference for Proteostasis Researchers in Canada, Eh (PRinCE), hosted by the University of Ottawa.
Heather will give a plenary talk on May 27 to accept the CSMB New Investigator Award.
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Science Rendezvous is back at UofT
Today is Science Rendezvous! Everyone is welcome at the UofT St. George campus in downtown Toronto to see demonstrations, participate in hands-on activities, and learn about the scientific research going on at UofT. There will be activities for all ages, from primary school children to adults. The Department of Cell & Systems Biology will have a table with lots of hands-on activities. Heather will lead microscope demos and sticker printing so that everyone can see some plant cell walls.
Update: the day was a huge success with loads of visitors to campus! Thanks to all of the volunteers and visitors who participated!
These activities will also be available at UofT Alumni Day.
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Rowan wins NSERC CGS-D
PhD student Rowan Brookman has been awarded a prestigious NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship at the doctoral level. Congratulations, Rowan!
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Welcome Summer Undergrads
2 new BSc students join the lab today:
Kie Kan Nie and Olivia Boyle have take up work-study positions.
Stella Chen will rejoin the lab later in the summer with the support of her ASPB-SURF award.
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CSB Research Day
Today is our annual Department of Cell & Systems Biology Research Day. McFarLab PhD student Yu Zhu will give a plenary talk about his research on how protein ubiquitination modulates root growth and cell wall stress responses in Arabidopsis.
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Heather visiting UMass Amherst
Today, Heather is the seminar speaker at the Plant Biology Graduate Program Seminar Series at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
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Heather visiting U de Montreal and the IRBV
Today, Heather is the seminar speaker at the Department of Biological Sciences, Université de Montréal & Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale (IRBV) in Montréal.
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CSB Undergraduate Research Day