Biology

I grew up in Nova Scotia with two brothers where the beautiful landscapes of the Annapolis Valley and Bay of Fundy coastline nurtured my love of the living world. In 1999, after taking time after high school to travel Europe, I came to the Macdonald Campus of McGill University with a strong interest in ethnobotany (indigenous plant use) to pursue a B.Sc. in botany. An interest in how plants interact with and respond to their environment led me to study plant-insect interactions at McGill, and in 2007 I earned my M.Sc. for work on changes in gene expression in plants as a defense against caterpillar herbivores. I am an insufferable mycophile (a passionate lover of fungi), and I dedicated myself to learning about this breathtaking kingdom of underappreciated organisms since high school. This led to an opportunity to teach the course Biology of Fungi at McGill University from 2006 to 2008. I began teaching at John Abbott in the fall of 2008 and I remain thrilled to be a part of such a vibrant, knowledgeable, and friendly college and department. Students are always welcome to stop by my office to chat about fungi, plants, evolution, genetics, or strange and exciting music.

I became interested in pursuing Biology largely due to some excellent teachers. I did my undergraduate work at Simon Fraser University and then my graduate studies in Developmental Biology at McGill.

Before moving into teaching, I worked several years at the Biotechnology Reasearch Institute on the molecular genetics of yeast. Since then I have been happily teaching at Champlain Regional College and at John Abbott College

I was born and raised in the English Townships. I completed my first college diploma in social sciences. Luckily, the program required that students take two biology courses. I realized immediately that I wanted to study life sciences and spent a third year in college in order to complete a second DEC in science. At McGill, I completed a B.Sc. -Honors in Immunology- which is a nice mix of anatomy, physiology, cell biology, microbiology and molecular biology. Then I signed up for graduate school and studied the effect of certain chemokines on the maturation and activation of B lymphocytes. I was granted a M.Sc. in experimental medicine. I decided to become a biology teacher so I completed a B.Ed. I taught science in high school for two years before joining the John Abbott College faculty in 2006.Today I teach the very same biology course that prompted me to switch from social science to life sciences when I was in CÉGEP. As well, I teach anatomy and physiology for technical programs and the pre-university science program. My teaching practice is guided by the principles of active learning and universal design in hopes that my instruction continuously becomes more accessible and engaging to students, so that they can take part in meaningful learning and become life-long, independent learners.

JP was born and bred in Nova Scotia. He did his undergraduate degree at University of Western Ontario, and completed his honours degree and PhD at Dalhousie University in Marine Biology and Oceanography respectively. His Doctoral work involved determination of primary production efficiency in phytoplankton using fluorescence measurements. His field program was in the South-Eastern Bering Sea where these measurements can be used to assess oceanic health. It is important to investigate these relationships in order to understand the dynamic nature of plant abundance in global fishing areas. Before moving to Montreal and joining John Abbott in 2006, he conducted research as a post-doctoral fellow at the Institut de Genetique et de Biologie Moleculaire et Cellulaire (University of Louis Pasteur) in Strasbourg, France (2003-2005) where he studied gene expression patterns that regulate development of the zebra fish. At John Abbott he has developed a Marine Science course in Belize, had a stint as Departmental Chair, and continues to encourage the engaged learning of Biology in our JAC community.

Sharon returned to school as a mature student and graduated from John Abbott in 1987. From McGill University she received her B. Sc. (Microbiology, 1991) and M. Sc. (Parasitology, 1994). She subsequently did extensive research investigating means of controlling growth of C. botulinum, the causative agent of botulism. She taught at JAC from 1995 - 1997, then at Marianopolis College from 1997-2001 and returned to her Alma Mater in the fall of 2001.

Sharon was Honours Science Program Co-ordinator for four years, and in this capacity, as well as in other informal community building activities, coordinated enthusiastic members of the JAC family to raise thousands of dollars to help people in Haiti, Pakistan and Mexico. Funds generated from her Pennies for Poultry initiative paid for the construction and stocking of three chicken coops in Kenya and contributed to the purchase of a cow to supplement the income of a children’s home.

One of her favourite activities as a teacher has been coordinating The Lab Project, which she initiated in 1997. This popular activity, which operates thanks to the participation of many research laboratories, exposes students for a few days to the life of the research scientist and helps establish the vital connection between theory and practice. More than 800 students have been able to benefit from this experience. In 2008, Sharon developed the Macdonald Mentoring Project, which exposes students, on a weekly basis, to research performed at McGill’s Macdonald Campus.

Her leisure activities include making soap and volunteering for activities that promote Fair Trade.