CFUW Dr. Alice E. Wilson Awards 2021-2022

2021-2022

Total Value: $20,000

Two awards at the masters level and two for doctoral level study.  The value of each award is $5,000.

Dr. Alice E. Wilson, CFUW member, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the first woman to hold a professional position at the Geological Survey of Canada won the 1926 CFUW Travelling Fellowship.

Awarded to mature students returning to graduate studies in any field after at least three years.

2021-2022 Winners: 

PRIYA PATEL

GENEVIÈVE DEGRÉ-TIMMONS

STEPHANIE SHOULDICE

VERONICA VUONG

 

 

 

Priya Patel - Wilson Award WinnerWilson Awards winner: PRIYA PATEL

  • B.Eng. Environmental Engineering, 2016, University of Guelph
  • M.Sc. Geography, 2020-2022, University of Toronto, Mississauga 

Air pollutants impact the health of millions of people around the world. Priya’s research is focused on understanding where these pollutants are, and who is breathing them.

Her research work at the University of Toronto will use satellite measurements of air quality to understand how pollutants are distributed throughout cities. Her work will allow municipalities to understand which areas of the city and which population groups are the most heavily impacted by air pollutants.

In addition to her thesis work, Priya is also working as a researcher with the City of Toronto in Ontario, Canada to understand how COVID-19 has impacted air quality across the city.

 

Geneviève Degré-Timmons - Wilson Award WinnerWilson Awards winner: GENEVIÈVE DEGRÉ-TIMMONS

  • B.Sc. Biology, 2014, Université du Québec à Rimouski
  • Graduate Diploma in Geomatics, 2016, Université Laval
  • M.Sc. Forest Sciences, 2021-2023, Université Laval

Prevailing theory predicts that boreal caribou will avoid recently burned areas due to limited foraging opportunities and high predation risk. However, growing evidence suggests fire has less impact on caribou demography than anthropogenic disturbance, and that caribou response varies regionally.

Geneviève’s research will examine caribou response to post-fire habitat changes in the Northwest Territories. Understanding changes in caribou demography and behavior resulting from the effects of global warming is fundamental to conservation, management, and policy.

 

 

Stephanie Shouldice - Wilson Award WinnerWilson Awards winner: STEPHANIE SHOULDICE

  • Bachelor of Environmental Studies, 2012, University of Waterloo 
  • Master of Environmental Studies, 2015, University of Waterloo 
  • Ph.D. Social Science, 2020-2024, Royal Roads University 

To conserve water, communities can reuse treated wastewater for activities like toilet flushing, irrigation and drinking. But people are disgusted by the idea of using water that once touched human feces.

Drawing from social psychology and communications literatures, Stephanie is investigating how communication tools and messages can be designed to address automatic, emotional disgust responses to water reuse project proposals. This barrier must be managed for water reuse to become a viable water supply solution.

 

 

Veronica Vuong - Wilson Award WinnerWilson Awards winner: VERONICA VUONG

  • B.Mus. Music Education (Hons), 2015, University of Toronto
  • M.A. Music and Health Science & Collaborative Program in Neuroscience, 2016, University of Toronto
  • Ph.D. Medical Science & Collaborative Program in Neuroscience, 2021-2025, University of Toronto

Dementia affects women more than men. Due to a lack of pharmacological progress, alternative interventions have become increasingly urgent. Musical memory in persons with dementia are relatively spared compared to other types of memory, suggesting that music may serve as a modality that can access intact memory networks.

Veronica aims to determine the effects of long-known music listening with recall of autobiographical memories on cognitive measures and to investigate underlying neural mechanisms via neuroimaging methods.