Trainee: Justine Beghin, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Supervisor: Dr. Vanessa Meier-Stephenson
Project: “Targeting Hepatitis B Virus by pretending to be Hepatitis D Virus”
CFID Undergraduate Summer Research Award
These awards were established in 2012 to attract bright young minds with outstanding academic records to the field of infectious diseases, microbiology, and infection control, and to fulfill the CFID mission of supporting research in infectious diseases. Each award is funded for $5,000 for a 10-12 week research term. Adjudication is by a selection committee and will be competitive based on academic achievement, research potential or experience, and mentor acceptance. Student awardees are required to submit a summary report within 4 weeks of the termination of their project, and are encouraged to submit a poster or oral presentation about their work at the AMMI Canada/CACMID annual meeting.
Eligibility requirements:
- Students must be enrolled in a Canadian University in their 2nd year or higher
- Commitment to 10-12 weeks of research either as a summer research project, an elective research term, or a co-op work-term
- Minimum GPA of B+ (3.33 or 76%)
- Preference will be given to sponsoring research faculty who are members of CFID partnered professional associations (eg. AMMI Canada, CACMID, etc.)
- Research area must be relevant to the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of infectious diseases
- Priority is given to current focused research areas identified by CFID (e.g. water safety, antimicrobial resistance, rapid diagnostics, infection prevention strategies, antimicrobial stewardship, etc.)
Application:
Applications are due no later than January 31, 2025.
2023 CFID Undergraduate Summer Research Award – Justine Beghin
2022 CFID Undergraduate Summer Research Award – Subin Park
Trainee: Subin Park, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Supervisor: Dr. Valerie Waters
2021 CFID Undergraduate Summer Research Award Project
“Examining the HIV risks and associated factors among male clients of female sex workers (FSW) in Dnipro, Ukraine”
- Student – Amaanat Gill
- Supervisor – Dr. Lyle McKinnon
Read research proposal
2021 CFID Undergraduate Summer Research Award Project
“An Assessment of Empiric Management Practices of Common Infections in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients — A Retrospective Cohort Study”
- Student – Zain Ahmad
- Supervisor – Dr. Shahid Husain
Read research proposal
2020 CFID Undergraduate Summer Research Award Project
“Evaluating the efficacy of PslG hydrolase antibiotic combination therapy in the eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms”
- Student – Jonathon Chung
- Supervisor – Dr. Valerie Waters, Dr. Yvonne Yau
Read research proposal
2019 CFID Undergraduate Summer Research Award Project
“Putative neuroprotective agents for cerebral malaria”
- Student: Urvi Rai (University of Alberta)
- Supervisor: Dr. Michael Hawkes
Read research proposal
2018 CFID Undergraduate Summer Research Award Projects
“Frailty and Immune Response to Influenza Vaccine in Older Adults”
- Student – Nathalie Loeb, Year 3, Bachelor of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON
- Supervisor – Dr. Janet E. McElhaney MD, FRCPC, FACP, Professor, Northern Ontario School of Medicine & Health Sciences North Research Institute, Sudbury, ON
Read research proposal
“Can sCD127 secretion in response to IL-7 be predicted by a single nucleotide polymorphism?”
- Student – Kaitlyn Rourke, Year 3, Biomedical Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON
- Supervisor – Dr. Johnathan B. Angel MD, FRCPC, Professor & Head, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Ottawa & Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON
Read research proposal
2017 CFID Undergraduate Summer Research Award Project
Whole Genome Sequencing of Mumps Virus from an Adult Outbreak in Brisith Columbia
- Student – Thenuga Sasitharan, Year 4, Medical Laboratory Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
- Supervisor – Dr. Agatha Jassem PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia and BCCDC Public Health Laboratory
2016 CFID Undergraduate Summer Research Award Project
Understanding poor vaccine responses: transcriptomics of vaccine failure
- Student – Kathleen Miller, Year 3, Microbiology & Immunology, Dalhousie University
- Supervisor – Dr. Lisa Barrett, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, QE II Health Sciences Centre, Dalhousie University
2015 CFID Undergraduate Summer Research Award Projects
Designing and testing the efficacy of a RSV phosphoprotein mimetic on the inhibition of RSV replication and infection
- Student – Christopher Chiang, Honours Life Science Program, McMaster University
- Supervisor – Dr. James Mahony, St Joseph Hospital, McMaster University
Parasitologic correlates of genomic differences in Plasmodium ovale wallikeri and Plasmodium ovale curtisi
- Student – Melissa Phuong, Honours Bachelor Health Sciences Program, McMaster University
- Supervisor – Dr. Andrea K. Boggild, University of Toronto
2014 CFID Undergraduate Summer Research Award Projects
Pandemic waves-mortality in the Canadian expeditionary forces, 1918
- Student – Alex Rewegan, McMaster University (Anthropology)
- Supervisor – Ann Herring PhD, Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, McMaster University
The prevalence of STEC and stx+ wells and microbial source tracking of faecal contamination in rural Southern Ontario drinking water wells
- Student – Sophie Felleiter, Queen’s University (Life Sciences)
- Supervisor – Anna Majury PhD, PHO, and Gerald Evans MD, Department of Medicine, Queen’s University
The role of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and and the lung microbiome in Pseudomonas eradication in cystic fibrosis
- Student – Lauren Smith, McMaster University (Honours Integrated Science Program)
- Supervisor – Valerie Waters MD, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto
2013 CFID Undergraduate Summer Research Award Projects
Exploring the overexpression of a central regulator of Aspergillus fumigatus asexual sporulation, brlA, as a way to reduce virulence through reduced vegetative growth
- Student – Mohamad Rabbani, McGill University (Bachelors Program)
- Supervisor – Don Sheppard MD, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, McGill University
A Listeria monocytogenes-based Vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus
- Student – Zach Liang, Developmental Biology, Faculty of Science, University of British Columbia (Bachelors Program)
- Supervisor – Tobias Kollman MD, PHD, Division of Infectious and Immunological Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Child and Family Research Institute; BC Children’s Hospital
Read abbreviated project report
Predictors of Influenza vaccine failure and impact of influenza immunization on severity of illness and outcomes among hospitalized Canadian adults
- Student – Tara Riddell, Dalhousie University (MD Program)
- Supervisor – Shelly McNeil MD, Canadian Center for Vaccinology, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia
2012 CFID Undergraduate Summer Research Award Projects
Conventional compared to biofilm antimicrobial susceptibility testing for Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolates from cystic fibrosis patients (submitted for publication).
- Student – Kitty Wu (Cells Systems Biology, University of Toronto)
- Supervisor – Dr. Valerie Waters, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Hospital for Sick Children
Accepted for publication in Antimicrobial Agents Chemotherapy, January 2, 2013
Deficits in cell-mediated immune recovery among HIV+ individuals on effective antiretroviral therapy
- Student – Parmvir Parmar (Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa)
- Supervisor – Dr. Jonathan B. Angel, Division of Infectious Diseases, Ottawa Hospital-General Campus
Read abbreviated project report
Invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae in Canada 2012: Serotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility and virulence assessment
- Student – Alyssa Golden (Molecular Biotechnology (Honours), University of Manitoba)
- Supervisor – Dr. George Zhanel, Department of Clinical Microbiology, Health Sciences Centre