January 2009

From Left to Right - Back Row: Gaolathe Rantong, Joey Carter, Harrison Wright.

Front Row: Johannah Profit, Christina Lord, Dr. Arunika Gunawardena, Anna Elliott, Kendra Sauerteig

Mom's lab by Anisha Rajaselvam 19 June 2009

Mom's lab by Anisha Rajaselvam

Anna Elliot

Anna has been working in the Gunawardena lab for over two years on projects investigating the roles of calcium, ethylene and cytoskeleton during PCD. Of particular interest to her is the topic of her undergraduate thesis – establishing calcium as a key player during developmental PCD in the lace plant. During her time at the lab, Anna has received the Sarah Lawson Botanical Summer Research Scholarship and the Canadian Botanical Association oral prize for her presentation at the Atlantic Undergraduate Biology Conference.

After graduating from Dalhousie with a BSc with first class honours in Biology, Anna decided to go to India for a term to volunteer at a hospital in Tamil Nadu. She also spent an additional two months backpacking through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. She returned as a member of the lab between her worldly travels to continue enthusiastically investigating the involvement of calcium and ethylene in programmed cell death. Anna is currently a first year medical student at Dalhousie and hopes to continue spending time in the lab in the future.

Kendra Sauerteig

Kendra is a fifth year Biology student at Dalhousie University. Kendra received the Sarah Lawson Botanical Research Scholarship to work in the Gunawardena Lab this summer. Her research involves studying lace plant cytoskeletal features using various staining methods visualized via a fluorescent microscope. Kendra's summer work will help with her Honour’s thesis this school year.

Johannah Profit

Johannah is a fourth year student at Dalhousie University with a kean interest in plants and the environment. Her honours research involves the use of the calcium inhibitor EGTA in learning about PCD and perforation formation in the lace plant. Johannah aims to finish her undergraduate studies working in the Gunawardena lab and hopes to use this research experience to do further graduate studies.