INTRODUCTION.

My name is Nicole, and I am in my last year of my degree in Chemical Biology, with a Psychology minor. Upon entering post-secondary education at Thompson Rivers University, I knew I wanted to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree, with no specialization in mind. After taking the required chemistry classes and laboratories, I became enthralled with analytical chemistry and chose a Chemical Biology major as it best suited my educational pursuits. Psychology adds an interesting perspective to research, and while the two don’t mesh for my research interests, my psychology courses have provided me with invaluable knowledge, with an emphasis on ethical standards and empathy.  

My interests are primarily in cannabis research, as recent growth and legislation in the field has facilitated the need for accurate testing. Through my research, I have been able to detect cannabidiol (CBD) concentrations in multiple cannabis flower bud samples, and have been able to develop a reliable and accurate method using liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and capillary electrophoresis (CE). This research is going to be presented at multiple conferences, including American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS), International Conference on Analytical Sciences and Spectroscopy (ICASS) and Western Canada Undergraduate Chemistry Conference (WCUCC), as well as the TRU Science Undergraduate Poster Exhibition of Research (SUPER) and TRU Undergraduate Research Conference. After obtaining copious research experience, it has only encouraged me to further expand my research, by applying to graduate studies.

This experience has allowed me to become the Donkor research group leader, which gave me the opportunity to oversee daily running of the lab. Additionally, I am able to train group members on instruments and procedures. This has given me leadership skills I would not have been able to acquire elsewhere. Below is a collection of my research pursuits showcasing my knowledge.  

THE STANDARDS.

To demonstrate my understanding of the research process, I have provided research related courses, including directed studies in Chemistry. I have successfully completed these courses during my undergraduate studies, and included examples of several research proposals. I wrote both proposals, but for the second proposal I had a co-researcher on the project. The research proposal for CHEM4480 was written as a requirement for the course and was written with the guidance of my supervisor. I chose to include the lab project outline as it showcases my ability to plan a research project, gather literature evidence and plan research days.

Research program:

  • Research Assistant to Dr. Kingsley Donkor, December 2023 – February 2024

Courses Taken:

  • PSYC2110: Introduction to Research Methods
  • BIOL3000: Biometrics
  • CHEM4480: Directed Studies in Chemistry
PSYC2110 Course DescriptionDownload
BIOL3000 Course Description Download
CHEM4480 Course Description Download
Research Proposal for Directed Studies in Chemistry (CHEM4480)Download

Lab Project Outline for CHEM3170
Download

To demonstrate my ability to evaluate existing research, I have included several papers I authored and co-authored for various classes throughout my undergraduate studies. All of these papers either evaluated multiple literature sources, or evaluated a single literature source. I have highlighted my contributions in co-authored papers in yellow. Below each file I have highlighted areas within the paper that contribute to my evaluation skills.

Research Paper for BIOL3520Download

This paper took multiple literature sources and evaluated existing research to construct my own theoretical experiment, seen on pages 3-8.

Research Paper for PSYC2110Download

This paper analyzed multiple existing literature sources to construct my own theoretical experiment, seen mostly on pages 3-5.

Research paper for BIOL3131Download

Pages 2-5 uses existing literature research to communicate previous, current and ongoing findings on CRISPR-Cas9.

Literature Review for CHEM3140Download

A literature review of one article where I dissected the research goals and methods, as well as critiqued the methods.

Research Report for BIOL3131Download

This paper used existing research to investigate the addiction process. This can be seen throughout the paper, but primarily on pages 2-4.

In this section, I have included multiple research papers I both authored and co-authored. This evidence has research methods that were followed from literature sources or altered to fit the research being conducted. I have highlighted my contributions in yellow, and below each file has a short description of areas I believe best fit the evidence.

Research Report for Directed Studies in Chemistry (CHEM4480)Download

Pages 4-8 include background and method information, including literature citations, and the method employed during the research process.

Research report for BIOL3530 LabDownload

Pages 3-5 have background and method information. Pages 4-7, while authored by Matthew, was done in collaboration with me and I did participate in the method selection, method outline and performing the method during the lab.

Research Report for CHEM3170 LabDownload

Pages 3-5 include background and method information from existing literature sources and the method employed during the research.

TCPS2 Ethics Certificate Download

This certificate was awarded to me after successful completion of the TCPS2 Ethics course, which provided me with knowledge and skills for research methods involving humans.

To demonstrate by ability to analyze and draw conclusions, I have included papers I authored and co-authored, which include sections with results and discussion. These papers all used data analysis through Excel to generate graphs and mathematically strengthen my results. I have highlighted my contributions in yellow, and below each file included page numbers for the evidence.

Research Report for Directed Studies in Chemistry (CHEM4480)Download

See pages 10-16 for evidence.

Research report for BIOL3520 Lab Download

Sections in yellow denotes my work. See pages 8-14 for results. While I did not write the results section, results were analyzed by both myself and my partner.

Research Paper for PSYC2110 Download

See pages 5-7 for results and discussion.

The research I conducted for directed studies will be presented at the following conferences:

  • TRU UGR at the TRU Library, March 25-28, 2024. Applied for poster presentation.
  • TRU SUPER Conference in TRU Science, April 4th, 2024.
  • WCUCC in Saskatoon, May 7-10, 2024. Applied for both oral and poster presentations.
  • ICASS in Niagara Falls, June 26-28, 2024. Applied for poster presentation.

In collaboration with my peers, parts of my directed studies research will be presented at the ASMS Conference in Anaheim, June 2-6, 2024, in absentia. Dr. Kingsley Donkor, will be presenting this research as poster. It has been peer reviewed.

Additionally, I competed in the TRU In A Nutshell competition, on March 20th, 2024. I have included a photo of myself at the event, my ID badge and my presentation slide used for the competition.

ASMS Poster Acceptance Email Download
Research Poster for TRU, WCUCC and ICASS Conferences Download
My poster for the TRU UGR Conference, March 26th Download
Presentatation used for In A Nutshell Competition Download
Photo of me (far right) at the In a Nutshell Competition, March 20th Download
Presenter pass for In a Nutshell Competition, March 20th Download

REFLECTIVE ESSAY.

Reflective essay Download

Background image by Hardae for Pixabay (free for use).