1. I was born and raised in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada and SJ will always be 'Home.'
2. I started taking ballet when I was 4 years old and I have never looked back. I am a ballerina through and through. I danced at Port City Dance Academy (now The Studio) for 17 years, training under Andrea Scott and now I dance at The Dance Centre here in St. John's, NL where I take ballet, jazz and contemporary classes.
Photo by Jane Rideout, 'Gravity' choreographed by Katy Noftall, On With The Show 2018.
3. Salt water runs through my veins. I feel happiest when standing in front of the ocean.
4. When I was six, I told my parents I wanted to be a palaeontologist. Then I wanted to be a broadway actress for awhile. Then I found high school biology. THEN I found VIRUSES. So when I told my parents I wanted to pursue a career in science they were (1) relieved and (2) not at all surprised. (Ps. I still really like dinosaurs.)
5. I did my BSc at the University of New Brunswick - Saint John and I am their proudest alumna (I wear my sweater all time to prove it). I was even valedictorian when I graduated in May of 2017. I owe a tremendous amount of who I am to UNBSJ and the amazing people I met there.
6. In my 4th year of my undergrad my independent study, supervised by Barb Dowding, was on Ebolavirus (my favourite virus and the second most fatal - up to 90% fatality rates, with untreated rabies being the most fatal, FYI). My honours project, supervised by Dr. James Kieffer, looked at juvenile shortnose sturgeon physiology and the data from that research is part of my first scientific paper which will be published in the next few months!!!
7. Currently, I am working on my MSc in Medicine at Memorial University in St. John's, NL. I am supervised by Dr. Rod Russell and we are studying programmed cell death in liver cells infected with Hepatitis C Virus. I get up every morning to work in a lab and study viruses and I am unbelievably thankful that I get to do what I love every day.
8. I love to travel, although that can be difficult as a full-time grad student who doesn't get summer breaks. My goal is to visit 30 countries before I turn 30. So far, I have visited 12 - Canada (obviously), USA, Cuba, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, England and Scotland. My summer vacation this year will consist of a visit to Saint John and an adventure to the far away land of . . . PEI.
9. I really really like taking photos, although I am by no means a professional. But I frequently make my friends participate in my photo-taking endeavours. (Thanks Kelly and Steve!)
10. My dream job is to be a virologist and run my own lab that has "Wallace Lab, Ebola Research" on the door.
Can you believe I've lived in NL for 333 days already? More NL content coming your way soon.
Ps. I'm heading home to the maritimes in just 16 short days for vacation. See you soon!
H.