The Department of Biology at University of Toronto Mississauga is proud to announce that Sherry Du won theA.P. Sandrasagra Memorial Scholarship. This award is given to an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto Mississauga enrolled in their final year of a natural science program and who intends to pursue graduate study in the natural sciences.
Asked what it means for her to win this award, Sherry said that:
It is an honor to be chosen for the A. P. Sandrasagra Memorial Scholarship. Thinking back to the start of my fourth year, I had no idea what I wanted to do after graduation. It wasn’t until I created a research proposal for Dr. Shannon McCauley’s Freshwater Ecology class that research seemed like a possible avenue. As a shy individual, I had to muster up a lot of courage to reach out, but I am glad I did. This award means a lot to me because I have learned that you cannot make progress without getting a little out of your comfort zone. However, I would not be the student I am today without the faculty at UTM. Therefore, I am extremely grateful to Dr. Shannon McCauley and Dr. Rosalind Murray for their warm support, guidance, and advice throughout my first independent research project in freshwater ecology. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Peter Kotanen and Dr. Krystal Nunes for cultivating my ecological interests through their engaging instruction. Overall, if my experience has shown me one thing, it's that you truly never know where you will end up.
Sherry Du is a fifth-year undergraduate student specializing in Biology and minoring in Biomedical communications. Growing up near Lake Ontario, her concern for the environment began after participating in community litter clean-ups. Currently, she is interested in investigating how pollutants (i.e., road salts) can alter species interactions and distributions in freshwater systems.
What are your plans for the future?
"Upon completion of my studies, I am very excited to be joining Dr. Rosalind Murray’s lab as a Master’s student this Fall. Her research on road salts resonates with me because this important tool can have unintended consequences on many freshwater organisms. By studying the effects of road salt pollution, I hope to provide policymakers with the best available evidence to help conserve Canada’s unique biodiversity." said Sherry Du.
Prof. Shannon McCauleymet Sherry Du as a student in her class Freshwater Ecology (BIO333) during fall 2020. "She quickly stood out for her exceptional academic performance and intellectual curiosity. In my course, Sherry gave one of the best proposals I’ve heard in nearly 10 years of teaching this class. It was innovative and demonstrated a deep understanding of the scientific process and of cutting edge questions in ecology. I readily agreed to serve as a mentor for her research in BIO481. I’m thrilled Sherry will continue on in ecology in graduate school as she shows tremendous promise and I am eager to see what she accomplishes next."
Prof. Rosalind Murray mentioned that "Sherry has been a wonderful scientist and colleague to have in the field and lab during her Honour’s thesis project.
Her enthusiasm, insight and commitment to her project have been inspirational. I was thrilled when Sherry reached out to continue working together and she was recently admitted to the MSc program in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at U of T."
