People

Trish Schulte, Principle Investigator
BSc, MSc: UBC, PhD: Stanford

CV   Google Scholar page

Trish received her BSc (hon) and MSc in Zoology from the University of British Columbia and her PhD in Biology from Stanford University at Hopkins Marine Station. She then took up a position as an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Waterloo, moving to the Department of Zoology at UBC in 2001, where she is now a Full Professor. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Her work has been recognized by the American Fisheries Society with an Award of Excellence in fish physiology (2016). She is a past president of the Canadian Society of Zoologists and an editor with the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Madison Earhart, PostDoctoral Researcher
BSc: MSState, MSc: U Manitoba, PhD: UBC

Twitter  Instagram Google Scholar Page

Madison is a PhD student focused on the conservation of fish. During her masters, Madison studied the development of the stress response in larval Lake Sturgeon, a threatened species native to Manitoba. Now in her PhD, Madison is investigating how developmental environments influence genomic, transcriptomic and epigenetic responses as well as physiology and behaviour of fish. Specifically, Madison is interested in the effects of domestication through hatchery-rearing, in multiple species of fish including Rainbow Trout, White Sturgeon and Coho Salmon. The goals of Madison’s Phd are 1) to identify the underlying genetic mechanisms driving the differences between domesticated and wild fish and 2) to make beneficial changes to hatcheries to ensure the success of released fish.

Tessa Blanchard, Lab Manager
BSc: UOttawa, MSc: UofGuelph, PhD: UBC

Twitter Google Scholar Page

Tessa is a developmental physiologist. She completed her MSc at the University of Guelph in Dr. Pat Wright’s lab where she studied how the plastic respiratory system of amphibious fishes improves their performance out of water. For her PhD thesis, she is interested in understanding how fishes utilize plasticity from a physiological, transcriptomic and epigenomic perspective to cope with variable temperatures during early development.  Furthermore, her research aims to address the long-term effects of early exposure to variable temperatures on adult thermal tolerance and life-history traits.

Adam Harman, PhD Student 
BSc: Dalhousie University, MSc: McMaster University

Adam is PhD student studying natural differences in the thermal tolerance of common killifish along the east coast of North America. During his MSc in Dr. Joanna Wilson’s lab at McMaster University, Adam studied plastic changes in the thermal preference of lake and round whitefish in response to elevated embryonic incubation temperatures. He is most interested in how fish and other aquatic species will respond to global increases in water temperature caused by anthropogenic climate change.

 

Rachel Eisenberg, PhD Student
BSc: UBCO; MSc : Memorial University

 

Emma Flatt, PhD Student
BSc, MSc: University of Guelph

 

Carley Winter, MSc Student
BSc: UBC

After graduating with my degree in Biology, I sought to explore opportunities in various fields, from marine mammal rehabilitation to conservational fieldwork. My interests then led me to an environmental research and toxicology lab where I performed standardized and specialized tests working with various larval fish and invertebrates. Since conducting toxicity evaluations, I was excited to join UBC’s Road Salt and Pacific Salmon Success Project to investigate the impact road salt contamination may have on the physiology of salmonids. We are exploring if pulses of salinity have implications on the hatching and development of Rainbow trout (O.mykiss), Coho Salmon (O.kisutch), and Chum Salmon (O. keta) by examining enzymatic gill activity, yolk sac absorption, whole body ions, and various other parameters. 

 

Clare Kilgour, MSc Student
BSc: