The University of Guelph & McMaster University | Undergraduate Summer Research Studentship in One Health
The U of G | McMaster Undergraduate Summer Research Studentship in One Health offers an experiential research opportunity in One Health for an undergraduate or DVM student. The Studentship supports opportunities for undergraduate and DVM students to engage in a semi-independent research project or participate in a larger ongoing research project during the summer. The summer student will conduct research at the University of Guelph and also spend a minimum of ten days of the summer work term with the research team at McMaster University.
One studentship is awarded annually.
TO APPLY, YOU WILL NEED TO PROVIDE…
To complete this application you will need to provide:
- Your name, affiliation and contact information
- Your proposed McMaster collaborator’s name, affiliation and contact information
- A 1-page letter from your proposed McMaster collaborator on university letterhead stating that they (1) are aware of this application; (2) have an active collaboration with you, or plan to have one in place by May 1, 2024 **include a 2-sentence overview of this collaboration, including why it is necessary and what each researcher brings to the collaboration**; (3) should the application be successful, commit to training the U of G summer student for a minimum of 10 days during the summer work term at their research space.
- A brief description of your graduate / undergraduate student research supervision
- Project title
- The core problem(s) your project will address
- At least one project objective, a description of why a One Health approach is necessary to achieve the objective, how the achievement of each objective is enhanced/enabled by collaboration with a faculty member at McMaster University
- A short description of the role for the student in this project
Faculty members who are successful in Stage 1 may advertise for a student during Stage 2 (“Selection of Students by Faculty Members successful in Stage 1”).
Value and Duration
Student Salary Support: $9,500
A total of $9,500 is available for student salary support during the summer term. This is based on a minimum hourly rate of $16.55. Student wages must align with the type of work performed, as described in the University of Guelph Student Wage Guidelines. As students will receive 4% vacation pay on their hourly rate, it is expected that they will work full-time (35hrs/week) for the duration of their appointment.
Eligibility Criteria
Faculty applicants must have an active collaboration arranged prior to the start of the summer work term with a faculty member at McMaster University. The collaborator at McMaster University must be willing to allow the student to spend some time in their research laboratory over the summer. Documentation of this agreement must be submitted by the faculty applicant.
Applications will only be considered if the student will engage in One Health research.
Priority will be given to:
- Early career/pre-tenure researchers who can clearly demonstrate shared research activities arising from this collaboration
- A faculty member who has not previously received an award administered by the One Health Institute
A maximum of one project per faculty member will be approved.
Award Allocation
The U of G | McMaster Undergraduate Summer Research Studentship in One Health will be allocated through a two-stage process:
Stage 1: Faculty Submit Project Proposals
- Selection of projects by the Director, One Health Institute
Stage 2: Students Apply
- Selection of student by faculty member successful in Stage 1
Schedule of Dates
| Date | Action Due |
| Monday, December 18, 2023 | Call for Project Proposals Opens |
| Monday, January 15, 2024 | Project Proposals Due |
| Thursday, January 25, 2024 | Successful Proposal Announced |
| Friday, January 26, 2024 | Faculty member recipient advertises opportunity |
| Friday, March 8, 2024 | Final date that offers can go out to students. Note that offers can be made/accepted anytime between January 26th and March 8th, 2024 |
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
- Record of student supervision (max. 200 words): Briefly describe your previous graduate / undergraduate student research supervision
- Project title
- Project proposal description (1/2 page or 250 words)
- At least one project objective, a description of why a One Health approach is necessary to achieve this objective, how the achievement of at least one objective is enhanced/enabled by collaboration with a faculty member at McMaster University
- A short description of the role for the student in this project
- Your McMaster University collaborator’s name, affiliation and contact information
- A letter (maximum of 1 page) from your proposed McMaster University collaborator on university letterhead stating that they:
- are aware of this application;
- have an active collaboration with you, or plan to have one in place by May 1, 2023 **include a 2-sentence overview of this collaboration, including why it is necessary and what each researcher brings to the collaboration**;
- should the application be successful, commit to training the University of Guelph summer student for a minimum of 10 days during the summer work term at their research space.
*NOTE: you will be required to upload this letter as part of your application.*
Evaluation Process and Criteria
The Director, One Health Institute will select the project 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
- Availability of operating funds and infrastructure for the summer research project
STAGE 2 – STUDENTS
Stage 2 (Students)
Students interested in working on this summer research project will contact the faculty member directly.
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 student recipient of the U of G | McMaster Undergraduate Summer Research Studentship in One Health 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 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 or equivalent program on campus. 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
UofG & McMaster Projects
Development of a platform for vectorized expression of secretory IgA at mucosal surfaces for protection against emerging and re-emerging viral diseases of the respiratory tract
About the Professor:
Dr. Sarah Wootton is a molecular virologist; her lab engineers viral therapies to prevent, treat or cure illnesses, including infectious diseases, cancer, and monogenic disorders of the lung.
One of Dr. Wootton’s core research projects involves adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors, which deliver genetic material to cells. In her research program, Dr. Wootton uses AAV vectors to deliver genes that mediate protection from pathogens of human health concern – those that pose a significant threat to public health, requiring rapid countermeasures.
As part of her summer research opportunity through the U of G McMaster award, Arielle Gillies will work with Dr. Wootton to optimize an AAV vectored immunoprophylaxis (VIP) platform, to facilitate an improved vaccine and therapeutic strategy for respiratory pathogens. Antibody engineering, essential for this work, will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Matthew Miller’s lab at McMaster University.
About the Student:
Arielle Gillies is a Molecular Biology and Genetics BSc Honours graduate. During the 2023-2024 Summer semester, Arielle is working in Dr. Sarah Wootton’s lab. Dr. Wootton, Associate Professor in the Department of Pathobiology (OVC) and the University of Guelph faculty recipient of the U of G | McMaster USRS 2023 award, to improve vaccine therapies for respiratory pathogens. Antibody engineering, essential for this work, will be conducted in collaboration with Matthew Miller’s lab. Dr. Miller, Director, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, Canada Research Chair in Viral Pandemics and Associate Professor at McMaster University, will host Arielle for ten days during the summer semester.
“I’m looking forward to this research opportunity, and I’m so excited to work with Dr. Wootton and Dr. Miller,” says Arielle, “I’m thinking about what I want to study in grad school, so it’s great that I can explore One Health!”
Last updated: November 7, 2023
