Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS) is a non-profit organization incorporated under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act. EFeMS is spearheaded by African women for African women and is working to decrease the STEM gender disparity in Africa by providing opportunities for mentorship, funding, and professional development. As the Executive Director, I lead a team of 9 executives and volunteers to head initiatives to help women gain STEM-based skills and resources while also… Show more Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS) is a non-profit organization incorporated under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act. EFeMS is spearheaded by African women for African women and is working to decrease the STEM gender disparity in Africa by providing opportunities for mentorship, funding, and professional development. As the Executive Director, I lead a team of 9 executives and volunteers to head initiatives to help women gain STEM-based skills and resources while also promoting mentorship in the community. www.empoweringfems.com Show less

As a postdoctoral researcher in the Gunning Lab, my research focuses on contributing to the oncology drug discovery pipeline by:- Designing and chemically synthesizing small molecule drug leads for rare cancers- Applying SAR approaches for hit-to-lead generation of small molecule inhibitors- Investigating new therapeutic targets with chemical probes

Supervisor: Dr. Robert BenMy research includes:- Synthesizing and characterizing small molecule carbohydrates- Evaluating small molecules as ice recrystallization inhibitors using the appropriate assays- Testing synthetic molecules as cryoprotectants for the cryopreservation of erythrocytes and hematopoietic stem cells at the Canadian Blood Services- Evaluating the cytotoxicity of synthetic compounds in erythrocytes and hepatic cells using established assays

Help prepare students for the organic chemistry section of the MCAT by providing high-level teaching; prepare and follow lesson plans for 3-hour classes;

Assisted students in understanding organic chemistry concepts at various undergraduate levels; devised alternative methods of teaching based on student learning styles

Research included:- Carbohydrate synthesis of various sugar phosphonate derivatives as potential covalent inhibitors of the enzyme beta-phosphoglucomutase- Purification and identification of synthetic products via column chromatography, mass spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy - Expression and isolation of beta-phosphoglucomutase enzyme with unique chemical modifications to the protein structure- Kinetic evaluation of modified enzymes with substrate and… Show more Research included:- Carbohydrate synthesis of various sugar phosphonate derivatives as potential covalent inhibitors of the enzyme beta-phosphoglucomutase- Purification and identification of synthetic products via column chromatography, mass spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy - Expression and isolation of beta-phosphoglucomutase enzyme with unique chemical modifications to the protein structure- Kinetic evaluation of modified enzymes with substrate and potential inhibitors Show less

Supervised students and ensured students worked safely according to WHMIS standards; marked & graded lab reports; helped students with experiment related questions; Attended weekly training sessions

Organized and compressed external data into readable spreadsheets and graphs; Evaluated, critiqued and provided corrections to proposals considered for the 2014 Chemical Management Plan Funding; Gathered and provided information on various regulations of toxic chemicals

Synthesized glycoproteins using solid-phase peptide synthesis; purified carbohydrate and protein derivatives using various purification methods including column chromatography, crystallization, high-performance liquid chromatography; composed and modified chemical procedures based on literature research

Used analytical techniques to measure the content of soluble dietary fibre known as B-glucan in oats; Collected and compressed data into a readable form; analyzed data and wrote weekly reports on findings