Beyond the Bench: Science Pathway Panel

Abdullah is a Master’s student in Neuroscience, where he studies the intersections of cannabis use, stress, trauma, and mental health with the Hellemans Research Group. His path to graduate school has been anything but linear, taking him from undergraduate courses and laboratory work in Neuroscience here at Carleton University to becoming an Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT) from the University of Ottawa, and teaching STEM to youth and adult learners at secondary schools across the city. Throughout these experiences, he has developed a deep appreciation for mentorship, making science accessible, and the value of exploring different paths to discover what meaningful work looks like for each of us.

Alisha is in her second year of completing a postdoctoral fellowship with the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Transformation in STEM (EDIT-STEM) project, supervised by Dr. Rowan Thomson and Dr. Sonia Chiasson. Her research focuses on developing a novel psychometric scale (EDI-Ready survey) measuring STEM academic professionals’ readiness to engage in EDI initiatives, working very closely with Neuroscientists on the project, Dr. Kim Hellemans, Dr. Natalina Salmaso, and Dr. Robyn McQuaid. Prior to this role, Alisha completed her BSc Honours in Chemistry and BEd at Queen’s University. Her passion for education and research led her to complete her PhD in Chemistry with a specific focus on Chemistry Education Research at the University of Ottawa. Given her passion to teach chemistry, Alisha taught a grade 12 chemistry class during the pandemic, TA’d many first- and second-year chemistry courses at the University of Ottawa, and later on taught an introductory chemistry course at Algonquin College. While waiting to defend her PhD thesis, she started working at Carleton as a contract instructor for the Chemistry for Engineers course, which led to connections to the SSSC. During my temporary position as an SSSC administrator, she was introduced to Dr. Rowan Thomson, who offered her the current postdoctoral position!

Biography to be provided at a later date.

I am Dr. Ethan Hermer, and I am the Professional Programs Officer in the Office of the Dean of Science. I currently research, design, and shepherd new academic programs through the internal and external quality control processes to ensure Carleton offers innovative programs that serve its community. I have completed a PhD in Biology, specifically cognitive ecology, where I used my knowledge of ecology, evolution, behaviour, and advanced statistics to better understand why wild animals differed in their learning and memory abilities. Before that, I had completed my BSc in Biology, where I switched my minor twice, bounced between government co-ops focused on health, agriculture, and toxicology, worked some odd jobs, volunteered here and there, and played some music. On the surface, it doesn’t make much sense, and even when it does make sense, it’s only a little. However, I’m happy to talk about how I got to where I am and hopefully it can help you too.