UVic Faculty of Science

06/01/2026

Introducing...the School of Molecular Life Sciences! 🧬

The Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology is renaming to the School of Molecular Life Sciences!

The new name better aligns with the department’s current research and training activities and strengths, aligns with the national and international trend of integrating molecular terminology into names and clearly distinguishes the unit from Biology and Chemistry. It will also help foster interdisciplinary partnerships and strengthen our brand and external visibility.

The name will officially come into effect on Sept. 1, but don’t be surprised if you start to see it in use over the summer!

05/27/2026

Two UVic Science postdoctoral fellows are helping to move forward conservation work in the Salish Sea as Salish Sea Fellows.

Audrey Looby and Kelsie Murchy, both post-docs in the Juanes Lab at UVic, were recently announced as members of the third cohort of Salish Sea Fellows with the Salish Sea Institute.

🐟 Looby is a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow who focuses on acoustic attentuation through coastal habitats. She is a co-lead of FishSounds .net and studies other topics related to ecosystem restoration, fish-habitat interactions and community ecology.

As a Salish Sea Fellow, Looby will develop a portal website for the Salish Sea Institute that will be a hub for information and resources about the Salish Sea.

🎤 Murchy focuses her research on underwater sounds, their contribution to the marine soundscape and the impacts of anthropogenic noise on key marine species. Her current research examines Arctic cod, which are a key forage fish in the Arctic that produce a 'grunt' sound during spawning.

As a Salish Sea Fellow, Murchy will be using hydrophones to monitor noise generated by commercial vessels at anchoring sites on both sides of the international border. The data will be used to evaluate the potential impact of this noise source to Southern Resident killer whales and other surrounding marine wildlife.

🔗 Learn more about this year's Salish Sea Fellows: https://ow.ly/bERI50Z4xng

05/27/2026

Come tour the RV John Strickland at Fisherman's Wharf during World Ocean Day events on May 31!

The Strickland is the University of Victoria's research vessel, and has been a core part of our biology and earth and ocean sciences departments for the last 50+ years.

Climb aboard, tour the vessel and learn a little more about ocean research at UVic!

📆 Sunday, May 31
⏰ 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
📍 Fisherman's Wharf

🔗 Learn more about World Oceans Day activities at Fisherman's Wharf: https://ow.ly/g27o50Z4xbR
🔗 Learn about the history of the Strickland: https://ow.ly/l13650Z4xbQ

05/22/2026

UVic microbiologist Caroline Cameron is officially a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

While the recognition was announced last summer, the official ceremony occurred in early May at the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Forum.

Cameron is a world leader in the study of syphilis, an infectious disease with profound implications for reproductive health. In recognition of her contributions to advancing global health, she has received numerous prestigious national and international awards, including the American STD Association Investigator Award, NIH MERIT Award, Genome BC Scientific Excellence Award, and a CIHR Canada Research Chair.

Cameron serves the global health community through leadership roles in non-profit organizations dedicated to reducing sexually transmitted infections and enhancing reproductive health. She is deeply committed to cultivating future reproductive health leaders by mentoring early-career professionals around the world.

05/14/2026

What happens when we bring together local anglers and UVic scientists? We gain new insights into the food chain in the Salish Sea!

Since 2017, the Adult Salmon Diet Program has been analyzing the stomach contents of Chinook salmon caught by recreational anglers on Vancouver Island. Recently, PhD student Wesley Greentree used the data collected by the program to dive into what Chinook salmon eat in the Salish Sea.

➡️ Year-round, Pacific herring are the most important prey species for adult Chinook salmon in the Salish Sea.
➡️ Anchovy were important to the salmon diet near Howe Sound, and Pacific sand lance were important near Victoria and Sidney.
➡️ Chinook salmon consumed a higher diversity of prey in the winter as compared to the summer.
➡️ In the winter, crustaceans became a more important food source near Sooke, while lanternfish were more important near Campbell River and Victoria.

Projects like the Adult Salmon Diet Program provide critical information for fisheries scientists, and a better understanding of the regional differences in the marine food web in the Salish Sea can support decisions like designating protected areas.

🔗 Learn more about the program and research: https://ow.ly/1Qu750YZKSY

UVic, PSF scientists and recreational anglers in BC explore the diet of Chinook salmon, helping understand the food chain in the Salish Sea.

05/14/2026

You know it's summer when the ice cream comes out! 🍦

Every year, we kick off the summer by inviting all the undergraduate students who are working in research labs over the summer to come hang out and eat ice cream.

It's a great opportunity for our student researchers to get to know who else is on campus!

We promise that they also spend lots of time doing research (and we'll prove it as the summer goes on!)

05/12/2026

Another year of Science Rendezvous Victoria is in the books, and we had an absolute blast.

Families from across the region learned about the math of bubbles, made concrete, launched bottle rockets, practiced their lab skills, peered through microscopes, and so much more.

We had a lot of fun, and we hope you did too! See you again next year!

05/08/2026

Last week, we celebrated four UVic Science faculty members who received 2025 REACH Awards.🎊

They were recognized for their outstanding achievement at UVic and their contributions to research and learning.

🏆 Magdalena Bazalova-Carter (PHYS): Silver Medal for Excellence in Research
🏆 Dennis H**e (CHEM): Research Impact Award
🏆 Greg Owens (BIOL): Early Career Award for Excellence in Research
🏆 Heather Buckley (CHEM/CIVL): Excellence in Graduate Student Supervision and Mentorship AND Provost's Award for Advocacy and Activism in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

🔗 Learn more about the recipients: https://ow.ly/25Lp50YWEra

05/07/2026

What happens when you have both a Staph infection and Influenza A?

That's what honours student Maya Saini (.saini) spent the year trying to figure out.

Maya took home third place at Honours Fest this year.

04/26/2026

There's no better time than International Astronomy Day to learn about how supercomputers are helping scientists solve a stellar mystery—revealing how material from the interior of red giant stars makes its way to the surface as stars evolve.

👉 Read the full story: https://ow.ly/fO5050YPJzA