The International Summer Research Studentship in One Health offers an experiential research opportunity in One Health for international undergraduate or DVM students. The Studentship supports opportunities for international undergraduate and DVM students to engage in semi-independent research projects or participate in larger ongoing research projects during the summer.
One international studentship is awarded annually.
Congratulations to Dr. Brian Husband, 2023 Faculty Recipient!
Dr. Brian Husband, Professor | Department of Integrative Biology
“Diversity and origin of feral apple in Ontario: a conduit for interactions between commercial apple production and native ecosystems in Ontario”
Value and Duration
Student Salary Support: $8,500
Operating Support: $1,000
A total of $8,500 is available for student salary support. This is based on a minimum hourly rate of $16 for a maximum total of 497 hours (14.2 weeks). However, student wages must align with the type of work performed, as described in the University of Guelph Student Wage Guidelines. A higher hourly rate or any additional hours over the 497 hours will be paid by the faculty member. In addition to the salary, the faculty advisor will receive $1000 in operating support. Students must be present for a maximum of 35 hours per week during the entire 14.2-week period of the research project. As students will receive 4% vacation pay on their hourly rate, it is expected that they will work full-time (35hrs/week) for the entire 14.2 weeks.
Eligibility Criteria
Priority will be given to faculty who have not previously received an International Summer Research Studentship.
Award Allocation
The International Summer Research Studentship will be allocated through a two-stage process:
Stage 1: Faculty Submit Project Proposals
- Selection of project by One Health Institute Advisory Board
Stage 2: Students Apply
- Selection of international student by faculty members successful in Stage 1
Schedule of Dates
| Date | Action Due |
| Monday, January 23, 2023 | Call for Project Proposals Opens |
| Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 11:59 PM | Project Proposals Due |
| Monday, February 27, 2023 | Successful Proposals Announced |
| Tuesday, February 28, 2023 | Student Application Window Opens |
| Friday, March 24, 2023 at 11:59 PM | Successful students should have received notification |
STAGE 1 – FACULTY
Stage 1 (Project Abstracts – Submitted by Faculty)
How to Apply
Please submit a project proposal.
To complete the application you will need the following information at hand:
- Your name, affiliation and contact information
- Project title
- Proposed start date
- Project proposal description (1/2 page or 250 words)
- The relevance of One Health / a One Health approach to your project
- At least one project objective and a description of why a One Health approach is necessary to achieve it
- A short description of the role for the student in this project
We thank all applicants for their thoughtful proposals, which we are currently evaluating. The successful applicant will be notified on February 27th.
Evaluation Process and Criteria
The Director, One Health Institute, with members of the One Health Institute Advisory Board, will select the projects for funding based on the following criteria:
- Relevance / alignment of the proposed research with One Health
- Clarity and feasibility of the research objectives and experimental plan
- Suitability of the project for DVM and undergraduate summer research students
- Faculty record of research student advising, research productivity and availability of operating funds and infrastructure for the summer research project
STAGE 2 – STUDENTS
Stage 2 (Students)
Students interested in working on a specific summer research project will contact faculty members directly to discuss possible involvement with the project.
How to Apply to a 2023 International Summer Research Studentship:
- Prepare an updated academic resume/curriculum vitae and download unofficial transcript(s)
- Review the available projects. Note that you must be returning as an international undergraduate student at the University of Guelph in the Fall 2023 semester
- Contact the faculty supervisor by email, including your student number, transcript(s), and academic resume/curriculum vitae. Include a statement on why you are interested in research and in their research project
- If you don’t receive a response within a week or so, please feel free to follow up with them by email
Applications must be received by the faculty member by Tuesday March 21, 2023 to be considered. Selections will be made by Friday March 24, 2023.
Evaluation Criteria:
- Academic record (transcripts provided by student), general interest in research and the summer research project
- Willingness to adhere to the terms and conditions of the studentship, particularly the commitment to being present for a maximum of 35 hours per week during the entire 14.2 week period of the research project. As students will receive 4% vacation pay on their hourly rate, it is expected that they will work full-time (35hrs/week) for the entire 14.2 weeks.
- Restrictions stated in the award. Please note that the student must be returning as an international undergraduate student to the University of Guelph in the Fall 2023 semester.
Questions can be directed to One Health Institute Program Manager, Katherine Heyland, at heylandk@uoguelph.ca.
STAGE 3 – SETUP OF STUDENT APPOINTMENT
Award Administration
Once the faculty member chooses a successful candidate, please cc OHI Program Manager, Katherine Heyland (heylandk@uoguelph.ca), on your email to the student confirming the upcoming appointment.
Terms and Conditions
The recipient of the International Summer Research Studentship must:
- Be available to work on the research project for 14.2 weeks full-time (i.e. 35 hours/week) between May 1 and August 31 of the calendar year in which the award is granted
- Be a full-time University of Guelph international student in good standing who is registered in Phase 1 or 2 of the DVM program, or after 2nd or 3rd year of a related University of Guelph undergraduate program and returning in the fall
- Participate in the summer Career Opportunities and Research Exploration (CORE) program. Advisors are requested to be flexible in research work hours to allow students to participate in this program
- Participate in the CPHAZ One Health Poster Day in the fall semester of the year in which the award is granted
- Complete a survey evaluating the research experience and the mentor’s performance
Faculty advisors must:
- Be available to supervise the summer research student for the entire 14.2-week period (or longer is the student is employed for a longer period)
- Provide an advisory and mentoring role to motivate and guide the student and to foster an interest in research
- Complete a survey evaluating the student’s performance and the efficacy of the program at completion
International Summer Research Studentship in One Health
2023
Diversity and origin of feral apple in Ontario: a conduit for interactions between commercial apple production and native ecosystems in Ontario
About the Project:
Developing a robust and sustainable food system requires efficient methods of food production and distribution. It also requires awareness and mitigation of the impacts of agricultural practices on native ecosystems and biodiversity. Domestic apple is among the top three fruit species produced, globally and is important to Ontario’s economy. Importantly, it has established outside of cultivation as feral apples, which can interact with adjacent native biodiversity. However little is known of their abundance, origin and impacts on native apple species and commercial apple production. As part of an ongoing research program on the role of feral apples, YOU (the student!) will join a research team that will work with local communities to expand our map of the distribution, genetic diversity, and parentage of feral apples on the landscape and relate that to past use of domestic apple within several regions in Ontario. You will also assist with an investigation of hybridization between feral apple and the native crabapple. This work is an important step toward understanding the value, impacts and management of feral apples in Ontario and beyond.
About the Professor:
Dr. Brian Husband is the principle investigator of the Plant Population and Evolution Research Lab in the Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph. Paul Kron is his research associate. With the help of students in the lab, we have been studying domestic apples and their interactions with native Sweet Crabapples for several years now.
Most recently, we have been focusing on the genetic composition of feral apple populations, trying to better understand the diversity in the feral apple population in Ontario. We have a special interest in learning how the feral apples are related to cultivated varieties (cultivars), especially heritage cultivars.
Many of these older cultivars have disappeared from our awareness and our grocery stores, and in some cases, may have vanished altogether. Yet, they may have left a distinct imprint in the feral apples of Ontario.
2022
One Health of Fungal Disease
About the Project:
Fungal diseases greatly impact the world around us, including our environment, food system, and health. Beginning with the food we eat, the application of fungicides to protect cereal crops from devastating fungal diseases can lead to resistance among plant pathogens. Moreover, fungicidal applications can also cause resistance within environmental pathogens, which are transmitted to humans, causing devastating disease. For example, Fusarium head blight (FHB), a globally-impactful fungal disease of cereal crops that leads to a reduction in grain quality and contamination with dangerous mycotoxins, is often averted with the annual application of azoles. Subsequently, such applications increase exposure of environmental microbes, including the human fungal pathogen, Cryptococcus neoformans, to the fungicide and promote antifungal resistance. For C. neoformans, inhalation of spores from the environment can lead to fatal meningitis if left untreated or in the presence of antifungal resistant strains. Using a One Health approach, my research program bridges together environmental, animal, and human health to uncover new prevention and treatment strategies against disease in the grower’s field to reduce fungicide use. Our approach limits the evolution of resistance amongst environmental pathogens, and ensures that our current medical antifungal therapies remain effective. We achieve these goals using state-of-the-art mass spectrometry instrumentation, advanced bioinformatics platforms, an array of biochemical, molecular, microbiological, and immunological techniques, as well as established interdisciplinary collaborations.
About the Professor:
Dr. Jennifer Geddes-McAlister started her appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph in July 2018. She is an expert in mass spectrometry-based proteomics following a Alexander von Humboldt post-doctoral fellowship at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (Germany). Her research program embraces a One Health approach to define the relationship between host and pathogen during infection to uncover new strategies for overcoming resistance in both medically- and agriculturally-relevant diseases.
About the Student:
Jiaxi Lu is a third-year BSc student in Crop, Horticulture, and Turfgrass Science (CHATs). Jiaxi is particularly interested in exploring the relationship between environmental, plant, and human health in order to discover new preventative measures and treatment approaches against fungal disease in the grower’s field through a One Health approach.
Jiaxi has experience working with academic institutions (plant pathogens) and non-governmental organizations (breeding and field management) in Canada and China on research and business projects.
