Northern Research Day 2022
March 22 -23
Conference Registration
If you plan to attend online or in-person please register here
Conference Schedule
To view the conference schedule please click here
General Information
What is Northern Research Day?
The goal of Northern Research Day is to provide a friendly environment for graduate students to exchange ideas and provide a stress-free forum to practice presenting your research. Most of all, our mission is to bring together students from a diverse range of disciplines and backgrounds, to stimulate conversation and connect to a new network of peers. We hope to promote discussion and help us work together to think about the most complex issues facing the North. We also invite speakers who have experience in Northern research to share their stories, advice, and perspectives on important Northern issues. Format of Northern Research Day 2022
This year due to Covid - 19 we are planning a hybrid conference. Oral presenters will have the option to present remotely over zoom or to present in person at the UAlberta North house on campus. All presentations will also be streamed over zoom and on a screen at the UAlberta North house to ensure the availability of full participation both online and virtually. Poster presentations will be in person at the UAlberta North house and a copy of the poster will be made available online. |
How to attend
Online
|
In-person
|
We are very excited to announce our 2022 Speakers
Keynote Speaker: Norma Kassi, 10am (MT) March 22nd

Norma was raised and educated in Old Crow, the most northerly community in the Yukon. She is a citizen of the Vuntut Gwich’in First Nation (People of the Lakes) and a member of the Wolf Clan. It was in Old Crow flats where Norma gained her depth of traditional, scientific and ecological knowledge. Her grandfather, mother and the land were the bearers of this invaluable, ancient knowledge, which was passed on to Norma at a very young age.
In 1985, Norma was elected into Yukon’s Legislative Assembly as Member for Vuntut Gwich’in First Nation, a position she held until 1992. During this time, Norma was selected by the Elders of the Gwich’in Nation to act as a spokesperson on behalf of the Gwich’in people for the preservation of the Porcupine Caribou Herd.
Norma traveled extensively throughout the world educating many people about the critical and inseparable relationship of the Gwich’in people and the Porcupine Caribou Herd, and the devastating effects of the proposed industrial development. Today Norma still finds herself educating people about the critical and inseparable relationship between the Gwich’in and the land.
In 1991 Norma was awarded the National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation and Achievement Award, and the Goldman Prize in 2002, one of the world’s highest profile awards for Conservation. In 2016 Norma was honored to receive the biennial Cathleen Kneen Award from Food Secure Canada, recognizing her vision, leadership and commitment to grassroots activism in building a more just and ecological food system.
While Norma’s work is global, she has never lost focus on her community and other Yukon First Nations communities. In 2007, she co-founded the Arctic Institute of Community-Based Research, (initially called the Arctic Health Research Network-Yukon) with long time northerner and researcher Jody Butler Walker. The goal of AICBR is to promote community-based northern led research aimed at improving the lives of Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples of the north and promoting the health of their environments.
In 2016, Norma joined the Canadian Mountain Network as a co-Research Director and last year became Adjunct Professor at McGill University. In addition to her role at CMN, Norma also serves as Senior Advisor to the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, which advocates for Indigenous-led land use planning, Guardians programs, and the creation of Indigenous Protected Areas.
Panel and Discussion
Meaningful Collaborations with Local Communities and Nations
2pm (MT) March 22nd
2pm (MT) March 22nd
Dr. Heidi Swanson
Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at Waterloo University and University Research Chair in Fresh Water Ecology. To Learn More visit the Swanson Lab |
Dr. Brenda Parlee
Professor in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sci - Resource Economics & Environmental Sociology at the University of Alberta to learn more please visit Brenda Parlee Website |
Dr. Sean Lessard
Associate professor in the Faculty of Education - Secondary Education Department. For more information please visit: Sean Lessard |
Research Presenters - Oral Presentations
Please refer to our conference schedule for presentation times

William T. D. Wadsworth, PhD
Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology /Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta
Presenting: Footprints in the forest: Using archaeology and remote sensing to document the forced removal of ACFN from Wood Buffalo National Park
Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology /Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta
Presenting: Footprints in the forest: Using archaeology and remote sensing to document the forced removal of ACFN from Wood Buffalo National Park

Rebecca Bourgeois, PhD
Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta
Presenting: Welcoming belongings home: the first steps in a community-driven archival and repatriation project
Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta
Presenting: Welcoming belongings home: the first steps in a community-driven archival and repatriation project

Juliette Bedard, Bachelors
Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta
Presenting: Repatriation of Indigenous human remains in Alberta: a critique
Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta
Presenting: Repatriation of Indigenous human remains in Alberta: a critique

Jennifer Laughton, PhD
Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta
Presenting: One [tooth type] to rule them all… Reassessing the use of local and legacy collections for research during the pandemic
Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta
Presenting: One [tooth type] to rule them all… Reassessing the use of local and legacy collections for research during the pandemic

Kasia Staniszewska, PhD
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta
Presenting: Why are mercury concentrations so high in the Yukon River? A snapshot of river chemistry across the basin
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta
Presenting: Why are mercury concentrations so high in the Yukon River? A snapshot of river chemistry across the basin

Tahya Weiss-Gibbons, MSc
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Alberta
Presenting: Impact of runoff forcing on ocean model simulations in the Pan-Arctic region
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Alberta
Presenting: Impact of runoff forcing on ocean model simulations in the Pan-Arctic region

Jerico Fiestas Flores, PhD
Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, Faculty of ALES, University of Alberta
Presenting: A Dynamic Economic Analysis of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) treatment alternatives in Alberta
Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, Faculty of ALES, University of Alberta
Presenting: A Dynamic Economic Analysis of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) treatment alternatives in Alberta

Chuanshuai Fu, MSc
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Modelling the Atlantic Water along its poleward pathway into and through the Arctic Ocean
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Modelling the Atlantic Water along its poleward pathway into and through the Arctic Ocean

Lauren Thompson, PhD
Department of Renewable Resources, Faculty of ALES, University of Alberta
Presenting: Methylmercury in thawing peatlands on a trophic gradient in boreal Western Canada
Department of Renewable Resources, Faculty of ALES, University of Alberta
Presenting: Methylmercury in thawing peatlands on a trophic gradient in boreal Western Canada

Christopher Schulze, PhD
Faculty of ALES, University of Alberta
Abstract Title: Effects of Warming, Wildfire, and Permafrost Thaw on Carbon Dioxide Fluxes from Boreal Peat Landscapes in northwestern Canada
Faculty of ALES, University of Alberta
Abstract Title: Effects of Warming, Wildfire, and Permafrost Thaw on Carbon Dioxide Fluxes from Boreal Peat Landscapes in northwestern Canada

Dilrukshi Kombala Liyanage, MSc
Department of Agricultural, Food, and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of ALES, University of Alberta
Presenting: Genome wide association study for Canadian short-season soybean cultivars for plant physiological parameters under drought stress
Department of Agricultural, Food, and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of ALES, University of Alberta
Presenting: Genome wide association study for Canadian short-season soybean cultivars for plant physiological parameters under drought stress

Peter Anto Johnson, MSc
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta
Presenting: Treading on thin ice: biological, socioeconomic, and environmental effects of the pandemic in the Arctic
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta
Presenting: Treading on thin ice: biological, socioeconomic, and environmental effects of the pandemic in the Arctic

Marina Lazic, PhD
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Environmentally friendly polymer detection using fluorescence proteins
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Environmentally friendly polymer detection using fluorescence proteins

Amro M. Soliman, PhD
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Isolation of Skin Leukocytes Uncovers Phagocyte Immune Responses During Induction and Resolution of inflammation in Aeromonas veronii Cutaneous infection
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Isolation of Skin Leukocytes Uncovers Phagocyte Immune Responses During Induction and Resolution of inflammation in Aeromonas veronii Cutaneous infection

Scott Cocker, PhD
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Faunal remains from Late Pleistocene fossil arctic ground squirrel (Urocitellus parryii) middens, Yukon Territory, Canada
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Faunal remains from Late Pleistocene fossil arctic ground squirrel (Urocitellus parryii) middens, Yukon Territory, Canada

Kali McDougall, Bachelor
Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Science, University of Victoria
Presenting: Synoptic drivers of Northern Alberta river flow and ice-jam flooding in the Peace-Athabasca Delta
Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Science, University of Victoria
Presenting: Synoptic drivers of Northern Alberta river flow and ice-jam flooding in the Peace-Athabasca Delta

Marina Taskovic, PhD
Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Examining microbial functional responses to permafrost thaw slump activity from streams on the Peel Plateau, NT
Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Examining microbial functional responses to permafrost thaw slump activity from streams on the Peel Plateau, NT

Rebecca M. Hicks, Bachelor
Department of History, Classics, and Religion, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta
Presenting: Southern vision as ideology in publicity campaigns concerning the Port Radium 'Radium Rush' (1929-1932)
Department of History, Classics, and Religion, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta
Presenting: Southern vision as ideology in publicity campaigns concerning the Port Radium 'Radium Rush' (1929-1932)

Sara Chitsaz, MSc
Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, Faculty of ALES, University of Alberta
Presenting: Fort Nelson First Nation-owned Tu Deh-Kah Geothermal Project: A case study of community perceptions & support
Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, Faculty of ALES, University of Alberta
Presenting: Fort Nelson First Nation-owned Tu Deh-Kah Geothermal Project: A case study of community perceptions & support

Rachel Cassie, MSc
School of Public Health (Epidemiology stream), Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Alberta
Presenting: : Using community-driven research to develop initiatives that foster cultural continuity and social connection among youth in the Hamlet of Pangnirtung, Nunavut
School of Public Health (Epidemiology stream), Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Alberta
Presenting: : Using community-driven research to develop initiatives that foster cultural continuity and social connection among youth in the Hamlet of Pangnirtung, Nunavut
Research Presenters - Poster Presentations

Ming Cao, Undergraduate
Department of Renewable Resources, Faculty of Agricultural, Life, and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta
Presenting: Wildfire had little effect on stream dissolved organic carbon during drought
Department of Renewable Resources, Faculty of Agricultural, Life, and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta
Presenting: Wildfire had little effect on stream dissolved organic carbon during drought

Mariah Casmey, MSc
Department of Renewable Resources, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta
Presenting: Mismatch in Adaptations: Will boreal plant species genetic adaptations of spring phenology to local climates be disrupted by climate change?
Department of Renewable Resources, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta
Presenting: Mismatch in Adaptations: Will boreal plant species genetic adaptations of spring phenology to local climates be disrupted by climate change?

Garrett Rawleigh, MSc
Department of Renewable Resources, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Winter foraging site selection by the Ronald Lake Wood Bison Herd
Department of Renewable Resources, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Winter foraging site selection by the Ronald Lake Wood Bison Herd

Alex Lanti-Traikovski, MSc
Department of Renewable Resources, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Factors influencing post-fire regeneration in peatland-adjacent forests
Department of Renewable Resources, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Factors influencing post-fire regeneration in peatland-adjacent forests

Michelle Knaggs, PhD
Department of Renewable Resources, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Do boreal peatlands reduce the effects of drought on adjacent upland tree growth?
Department of Renewable Resources, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta
Presenting: Do boreal peatlands reduce the effects of drought on adjacent upland tree growth?
NRD Sponsors and Grants
Northern Research Day 2022 would not have been possible without the generous funding support from our sponsors. We thank them greatly for their contributions to this event!