RESEARCH TEAM
Dr. Tamzin Blewett (She/Her) (Principal Investigator)
Canada Research Chair Tier II - Environmental Physiology and Toxicology
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My research is multidisciplinary (e.g., a skill set comprising core techniques in biology, physiology, toxicology, chemistry, biogeochemistry), with a specific focus in areas aligned with the protection of aquatic ecosystems and the biota therein. Much of my research effort has been focused on supporting the development of regulatory tools that not only seek to identify levels of aquatic contaminants that are likely to cause harm, but which set appropriate regulatory limits for our industrial economy. I am passionate about a sustainable future for Canadian waters.
CV 2024 - Associate Professor & CRC Tier II - University of Alberta, Canada 2019 - Assistant Professor - University of Alberta, Canada 2016-2018 - Post-Doctoral Fellow - NSERC Fellowship, University of Alberta, Canada 2015-2016 - Post-Doctoral Fellow - Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada 2011-2015 - PhD - McMaster University, Canada 2009-2011 - MSc - McMaster University, Canada 2004-2009 - BSc - Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada |
Post Doctoral Researchers
Dr. Ivan Cadonic
I completed my BSc at the University of Waterloo, with a specialization in Animal Biology. During my undergrad, I became interested in animal physiology – specifically how regulation of molecular processes impact phenotypes. Under the supervision of Dr. Paul Craig, during my MSc I investigated how epigenetic regulators (microRNAs) were altered during the teleost (rainbow trout) stress response. Investigation of microRNAs continued into my PhD where I looked at the impact of increased ploidy on the immunology and physiology of Chinook salmon. I am interested in how stressors impact an organism’s ability to function, from the molecular to the whole animal. By investigating stressor impacts at multiple levels of organization, we can gain a better understanding of how animals will respond to anthropogenic induced climate change.
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Dr. Dylan Beard 
I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Blewett Lab, looking at the toxicity of metals and byproducts of low-sulphur fuels on Arctic organisms and the fate and effect of these in the wider environment. Through this research, we hope to better understand the potential impacts of human activities on Arctic ecosystems and communities. I have recently completed my PhD at the University of Plymouth in the UK, which focused on contaminants in glacial environments and the potential implications of their presence for humans, flora and fauna in these areas. I also completed a BSc (Dual Hons.) in Geology and Physical Geography, and a MSc in Geoscience Research at Keele University in the UK. My masters research focused on the potential leaching of aluminium and iron from water treatment residuals when used as a soil amendment and the impacts this could have on the broader environment and invertebrates that live within soil.
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Graduate Researchers
Rob Griffin (PhD Candidate)
In May 2019 I completed my BSc at the University of Guelph in Marine and Freshwater Biology. In the final years of my undergraduate degree, I focused my research on the implications of variable environmental oxygen concentrations on the muscle function of Carcinus maenas, and completed a multi-level diversity assessment at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre. Upon starting my graduate research at the University of Alberta in 2020 I have been investigating the role of branchial amino acid uptake in crustaceans, with particular emphasis on the globally invasive green crab. Thus far, my research has shown that contrary to prior belief, branchial uptake of free amino acids is likely a shared trait among all crustacean species with both invasive and Canadian native crustaceans exhibiting species specific transport pathways. In the future, my research will investigate the role of waterborne amino acid uptake in the survivability of C. maenas under changing environmental parameters. Throughout this research we hope to outline how these previously unknown transport pathways may play a key role in the invasive success of C. maenas around the world.
Awards: Society of Experimental Biology Travel Grant (2022) |
Sienna Overduin (PhD Candidate)
After graduating with a BSc from the University of Alberta I began my graduate studies with Dr. Blewett. My PhD work aims to understand how the social context can influence toxicological outcomes. To investigate this topic I use techniques including behavioural, biochemical and physiological analyses to understand the whole body and sub-cellular effects contaminants have and determine if the social context influences these effects. The interplay between toxicology and social behaviour is not well understood but may be critical for understanding how species respond to anthropogenic stressors.
Awards: Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship (2021, 2022) CPB Student Research Grant through Canadian Society for Zoologists (2022) Company of Biologists Travel Grant through Society of Experimental Biology (2022) J Gordin Kaplan Graduate Student Award (2022) Dr. Richard E (Dick) Peter Memorial Scholarship (2022) ICBF 2022 Student Travel Award (2022) Best MSc Student Platform Presentation (3rd) at the RE Peter Biology Conference (2022) Best PhD Student Platform Presentation (2nd) RE Peter Biology Conference (2023) Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Graduate Student Teaching Award (2023) GPS Graduate Student Elevation Award (2024) CEW Travel Grant (2024) Martin J Paetz Memorial Grad Award (2024) Donald M Ross Scholarship (2024) |
Connor Stewart (PhD Candidate)
I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Alberta in 2020, with a BSc in Biological Sciences with specialization in Integrative Physiology. My undergraduate research in the Blewett lab investigated the toxic effects of ultraviolet filters, the active ingredients in sunscreens, to the aquatic invertebrate Daphnia magna. For my PhD I will be investigating the implications of anthropogenic nickel contamination on multiple aquatic and marine species in arctic and subarctic waters. Rich nickel reserves found in the Arctic are being increasingly utilized, leading to increased environmental nickel load due to mining and smelting operations in the area. The implications of such nickel contamination need to be further investigated as the unique hydrogeochemistry of Arctic waters may alter nickel toxicity, preventing accurate extrapolation of existing risk assessment from other waters. The multi-species approach my research is taking will help develop our understanding of nickel toxicity in Arctic waters, with the ultimate goal of utilizing these findings to help develop our understanding of the risk nickel poses to waters in unique arctic environments.
Awards: NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master’s Program (2021) Walter H Johns Graduate Fellowship (2021) Steve and Elaine Antoniuk Graduate Scholarship in Arctic Research in Biological Sciences (2022) Department of Biological Sciences Graduate Student Teaching Award (2022) Martin J Paetz Memorial Graduate Award in Fisheries Management (2022, 2023) Dr. Richard E (Dick) Peter Memorial Graduate Scholarship (2023) Donald M Ross Scholarship (2023) Jennifer Robinson Memorial Scholarship (2024) Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship (2024) |
Jenelle McCuaig (PhD Student)
I received my Bachelor of Science degree with Specialization in Integrative Physiology from the University of Alberta in 2022. During my undergraduate research in the Blewett Lab, I studied the effects of copper toxicity on the invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenas), incorporating both behavioral and physiological aspects. I completed my Master of Science degree in Biological Sciences in the Blewett Lab as well, studying the toxicity of the naphthenic acids isolated from oil sands process-affected water in collaboration with Environment and Climate Change Canada. I used Daphnia magna as a model organism to assess how their growth and reproduction was affected over four generations to better understand the long-term effects of naphthenic acids exposure.
For my PhD research, I am investigating the impact of wildfires on aquatic organisms, including invertebrate and vertebrate species. This work is in collaboration with Dr. Craig Franklin’s Eco-Laboratory at The University of Queensland. In particular, I am focussing on ash input into the aquatic environment and the resultant physiological responses of the different species. I will use a comparative approach, exploring the similarities and differences between Canadian wildfire ash and Australian bushfire ash, using species relevant to each ecosystem. This research will enhance our understanding of wildfire impacts, beyond terrestrial impacts, by considering aquatic environments and may help to inform conservation strategies in regions continually affected by wildfires. Awards: NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master’s Program (2022) Linda Michaluk Scholarship (2022) Women in STEM Scholarship (2023) Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Graduate Student Teaching Award (2023) The Company of Biologists Traveling Fellowship (2023) Canada Graduate Scholarships - Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement (2023) The Company of Biologists Travel Grant Centenary Year (2023) Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship (2023) University of Alberta Images of Research Competition 3rd Place Winner (2024) CEW Student Outreach Competition 3rd Place Winner (2024) |
Fleur Issac (MSc Candidate)
(Co-supervised with Dr. Jeffry Farner)
I graduated from the University of Alberta in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science, where I majored in biological sciences and minored in economics. I interned at the Wishart lab in 2021 during my undergraduate program, where I worked on optimizing metabolite assays that were incorporated into a handheld biosensor device to screen for colorectal cancer. I am currently an M.Sc. candidate in the Physiology, Cell & Developmental Biology program, working under the Blewett lab and the Farner lab. My thesis project involves studying the toxicological and physiological effects of acute and chronic exposure to suspensions of copper nanoparticles, found in pesticides, on freshwater daphnia species, Daphnia magna. Awards: CEW Student Travel Award (2023) Departmental Graduate Student Teaching Award (2024) Best Platform Presentation, SETAC-PNC (2024) Kayla Lottin (MSc Candidate)
I completed my Chemical Technology Diploma from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in 2021 and my Bachelor of Science majoring in Chemistry and minoring in Biological Sciences in 2024. My work at NAIT involved quantifying the amount of nicotine in e-cigarette cartridges using flame ionization gas chromatography (GC-FID). During my undergraduate research in the Blewett lab, I focussed on the effects of hydraulic fracturing wastewater (FPW) on brain and behavior development in Danio rerio. For my Masters, I will focus on how physicochemical properties influence metal toxicity in Daphnia magna. Understanding how these properties alter toxicity will help develop our understanding in less known, unique environments like the Arctic.
Awards: NSERC CGSM |
Dustin Doty (MSc Candidate)
Throughout my undergraduate degree, I had the privilege of participating in various research projects. Notably, I collaborated with Dr. Paul LaPointe on the development of augmented reality (AR) smartphone apps for radiology students, and I also worked alongside Dr. Keith Tierney to investigate how different stressors impact sensory experiences and memory. After receiving my BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Alberta in 2023, I decided to keep the thrill of physiology alive and join the Blewett lab in pursuit of an MSc.
My current research seeks to characterize the physiological capacity and tolerances of one of Canada’s greatest adversaries, the invasive European Green Crab (Carcinus maenas). Their procreative ability instills fear in any regulatory agency as almost 200,000 baby crabs, or larvae can be released in a single clutch. The survival of these larvae is crucial for this species’ success and persistence, consequently, I seek to determine the water parameters they can plausibly survive in. We aim to investigate this across 3 different populations to explore how the European Green Crab has physiologically changed after they so graciously ‘invaded’ from Europe. Awards: University of Alberta Graduate Recruitment Scholarship (2023) Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship (2023) NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master’s Program (2023) Best MSc Student Platform Presentation (1st) at the RE Peter Biology Conference (2024) Walter H. Johns Memorial Graduate Fellowship (2024) D Alan Birdsall Memorial Scholarship (2024) Dr. Richard E (Dick) Peter Memorial Graduate Scholarship (2024) FGSR Travel Award (2024) Sidney Martin (MSc Candidate)
In the spring of 2024, I completed my BSc at the University of Alberta, in which I specialized in integrative physiology. Over the final two years of my undergraduate program, I participated in research in the Blewett lab with the primary focus being the investigation of standard methods in toxicology using Daphnia magna and ultraviolet filter exposures. This research sparked my interest in the environmental relevance of the techniques we use in data generation for policy in environmental protection, which lead me to the subject for my MSc in Biology! My research will be focused on how parasitic infections impact outcomes of both the host and parasite when exposed to a toxicant. Specifically, we will observe how copper toxicity and bioaccumulation changes in pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) and small mouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) when infected with a cestode parasite (Proteocephalus ambloplitis). This will enhance our knowledge of how toxicants interact with organisms in natural environments, rather than the ‘ideal’ conditions commonly found in the lab. Awards: Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship (2024) NSERC CGSM |
Co-Supervised Graduate Researchers
Brittany Sauter (PhD Student) Co-Supervised w/Dr. Lisa Stein |
Sofia Panzetta (MSc Candidate) Co-Supervised w/Dr. Stephanie Green |
In April 2021 I obtained my BSc Specialization degree from the University of Alberta in Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology; however, my focus throughout my degree was environmental microbiology. During my undergraduate research courses (399 & 499) I joined Dr. Lisa Stein's lab focusing on aquaponics systems and how microorganisms can adapt to optimize plant and fish growth while creating negligible nitrous oxide emissions.
I joined Dr. Stein and Dr. Blewett for my MSc in Microbiology and Biotechnology in January of 2021. With my goal of understanding how the gill microbiome of Carcinus maenas may be providing an advantage compared to the native crab species on the west coast of Canada. Understanding the relationship between microorganisms and animals is something that has not been explored to date in Carcinus maenas; however, in other species has shown to have an interaction. Recognizing how communities of microorganisms can be potentially assisting Carcinus maenas providing the upper hand in new environments is the main goal of my thesis. |
I completed my BSc at the University of Alberta with a double major in Biology and Psychology. Throughout my undergraduate program, I completed multiple undergraduate research courses (BIOL 298, 398, 498) with Dr. Stephanie Green, focusing on reef fish habitat selection in the Florida Keys. In my final year, I completed a 499 project with both Dr. Green and Dr. Blewett focusing on the invasive European Green Crab (Carcinus maenas) stomach contents and disease prevalence. This project sparked my interest in marine invasive species leading me to join their labs to pursue my MSc.
My current project once again focuses on C. maenas, this time looking into the consumption rates and feeding behaviours under varying temperatures in hopes of better understanding their impact under warming climate regimes on the Pacific Coast. My primary objectives are to determine how C. maenas prey consumption rates vary with body size, prey size, and water temperature and to assess the effects of prey nutritional value and predator handling time on prey selection under varying temperatures. |
Current Undergraduate Students:
Adrienne Poulin (499)
Marina Kargintseva (499)
Jacqueline Kirby (499)
Sydney Davidson-Yee (499)
Aswitha Sarabanakumar (499)
Undergraduate Volunteers:
Jennifer Chen
Lab Alumni
Postdoctoral Fellows:
Dr. Patrick Gauthier (2020-2021)
PhD Thesis Students:
Aaron Boyd (2018-2024)
MSc Thesis Students:
Ivy Luu (2020-2022)
Hannah Lowes (2021 -2023)
Jenelle McCuaig (2022-2024)
BSc Honours (499, 498, 399, 398)
2023-2024
Sidney Martin (399) - NSERC USRA (summer 2024)
Kayla Lottin (499) co-supervised with Dr. Zach Hall - NSERC USRA (summer 2024)
Ally Legge (399)
Mathias Segura Castillo (399)
Keelie Phillips (499)
Adrienne Poulin (298)
2022-2023
Emma Carry (498)
Caroline MacDonald (399)
Grace Mamo (499) - NSERC USRA (summer 2023)
Sidney Martin (499) - NSERC USRA (summer 2023)
Dustin Doty - NSERC USRA (summer 2023)
Kayla Lottin (399) co-supervised with Dr. Zach Hall- NSERC USRA (summer 2023)
Ally Legge (398, 498)
2021-2022
Jenelle McCuaig (499) - NSERC USRA (summer 2022)
Nina Laurence (499)
Kazeem Abolaji (499)
Emilie Petryshen (399)
Michelle Makila (399)
2020-2021:
Jenelle McCuaig (399) - NSERC USRA (summer 2021)
Gurvinder Dhaliwal (399)
Alejandro Escobar-Lopez (499)
2019-2020:
Sunil Myers (499)
Hannah Lowes (499) - NSERC USRA (summer 2020)
Connor Stewart (499)
Adrienne Poulin (499)
Marina Kargintseva (499)
Jacqueline Kirby (499)
Sydney Davidson-Yee (499)
Aswitha Sarabanakumar (499)
Undergraduate Volunteers:
Jennifer Chen
Lab Alumni
Postdoctoral Fellows:
Dr. Patrick Gauthier (2020-2021)
PhD Thesis Students:
Aaron Boyd (2018-2024)
MSc Thesis Students:
Ivy Luu (2020-2022)
Hannah Lowes (2021 -2023)
Jenelle McCuaig (2022-2024)
BSc Honours (499, 498, 399, 398)
2023-2024
Sidney Martin (399) - NSERC USRA (summer 2024)
Kayla Lottin (499) co-supervised with Dr. Zach Hall - NSERC USRA (summer 2024)
Ally Legge (399)
Mathias Segura Castillo (399)
Keelie Phillips (499)
Adrienne Poulin (298)
2022-2023
Emma Carry (498)
Caroline MacDonald (399)
Grace Mamo (499) - NSERC USRA (summer 2023)
Sidney Martin (499) - NSERC USRA (summer 2023)
Dustin Doty - NSERC USRA (summer 2023)
Kayla Lottin (399) co-supervised with Dr. Zach Hall- NSERC USRA (summer 2023)
Ally Legge (398, 498)
2021-2022
Jenelle McCuaig (499) - NSERC USRA (summer 2022)
Nina Laurence (499)
Kazeem Abolaji (499)
Emilie Petryshen (399)
Michelle Makila (399)
2020-2021:
Jenelle McCuaig (399) - NSERC USRA (summer 2021)
Gurvinder Dhaliwal (399)
Alejandro Escobar-Lopez (499)
2019-2020:
Sunil Myers (499)
Hannah Lowes (499) - NSERC USRA (summer 2020)
Connor Stewart (499)