Faculty of Science

Meghan Nemeth is graduating with an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science. Meghan has been a consistent leader in the community at McMaster and has engaged with students on multiple fronts. As a dedicated volunteer for the McMaster Department of Biology Greenhouse she has provided leadership for outreach events for local schools, McMaster students, and faculty, while sharing her love for horticulture and the environment. Meghan has also dedicated her last two years to coordinating and empowering students to find their academic spark through the Peer Mentorship Program for the School of Earth, Environment, and Society Student Association.

Outside of school she has a passion for education and youth advocacy as she spent months online as a virtual tutor for primary students, teaching environmental science, ecology, and visual arts. She hopes to continue her professional career in the environmental industry and share her passion for community engagement. 

Amal is a graduating BSc (Honours) student from the Life Sciences program. As Co-President of the McMaster Life Science Society, Co-Founder of the McMaster Dermatology Society, and student representative for the School of Interdisciplinary Science (SIS) Council, she spearheads the advancement of academic and social experiences for over 3000 students. Amal has developed a network of national research collaborators, with pivotal roles in over 10 original projects. This includes work alongside Dr. Sonia Anand and Dr. Russel de Souza investigating vaccine accessibility and immunogenicity amongst Indigenous communities. Her impactful research spans across cardiovascular disease, gestational diabetes, COVID-19, abdominal obesity, developmental pediatrics, and more.

Amal’s phenomenal aptitude for teaching is exhibited through her impact as an SIS Teaching Assistant and United for Literacy tutor. As a black belt in Taekwondo, she volunteered as a martial arts instructor at the YMCA. Amal’s undergraduate experience personifies intellectual curiosity, heartfelt generosity, and enthusiastic scholarship. 

Taren is graduating from the Integrated Science program (HBsc) concentrating in physics. In her time at McMaster, Taren was first the VP External and then the President of the Integrated Science Society, representing the program and supporting the student body. She is also the Operations team lead and manager of the McMaster Interdisciplinary Satellite Team and promoted the successful NEUDOSE satellite launch. Taren’s work as a teaching assistant, upper-year mentor, and welcome-week representative highlights her mentorship and leadership. Her passion for interdisciplinary research is demonstrated through her involvement with the Origins of Life Laboratory where she completed her thesis. She also worked on the Toxic Allure research project investigating historical white lead cosmetics since her first year.

She believes in improving science accessibility, literacy, and advocacy through science communication. Taren plans to attend the Earth-Life Science Institute Graduate Course at the Tokyo Institute of Technology this fall. 

As a varsity athlete throughout her undergraduate experience, Arianne Soriano has found inspiration to create and take part in positive avenues within the McMaster communities. From 2020-23, Arianne took on a role as an Archway Mentor to support the well-being and transition for first year students during the midst of a global pandemic.

Within her kinesiology program, Arianne was a Welcome Week Rep and student Strength & Conditioning Varsity Coach.

A member of the Women’s Basketball team, Arianne also served as the 2022-23 President of the Varsity Leadership Committee, where one of the initiatives included organizing a mental health awareness week. As well, she founded the first Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month event within Athletics & Recreation.

After completing her degree in Honours Science Kinesiology at McMaster, Arianne will be continuing her education and passion for health care by pursuing an accelerated program in Honours Science Nursing at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Sharonna Greenberg, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB), believes that each student deserves support for their own learning style. She creates the conditions in which understanding and inspiration are possible. This helps her cultivate a curiosity-driven culture of questioning. Her innovations and course designs are based on the idea that continuous feedback is needed to improve student understanding of subject matter and teacher understanding of students.  

While consulting extensively with stakeholders, she redesigned the lab portion of the course for Structure and Reactivity of Organic Molecules into an innovative and meaningful experience. “I loved how flexible assessments were with oral reports, presentations and written textbook reports,” writes one student. “The labs were really well structured overall and it made the transition to second year easier, especially as we become more independent and adventurous.” 

Together with colleagues, Dr. Greenberg helped establish the Test Archive & Analysis System (TAAS), which allows instructors to create more predictable assessments, thereby aligning teaching with assessments. She then adapted TAAS to create a digital tool for students so that they do not waste time on questions that are too hard or too easy and, at the same time, are implicitly coached into more effective study habits. 

She is applauded by her colleagues for “the type of engaging student experience that I know myself and many of our colleagues strive to achieve. She is at ease, and clearly enjoys her rapport with her students.”  

Jessica Schneider has always had a passion for utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to solving global health concerns. During the summer of 2021, Jessica was awarded the David Braley Centre for Antibiotic Discovery Summer Research Award which allowed to her to conduct research to investigate the underlying genetic pathways associated with anti-microbial resistance in human fungal pathogens.  Her love for scientific research and immunology was further explored during her time at the Schroeder Allergy and Immunology Research Institute where she studied the underlying immunological mechanism of food allergic sensitization as well as immunotherapies used to treat allergic diseases.  

Jessica was also a Student Engagement Ambassador at McMaster University, where she was able to increase McMaster’s community engagement and raised funds to support campus initiatives. She also has always had a passion for mentorship and cultivating the minds of others. As a teaching assistant for Science 1A03 and as the Vice-president of Academics for the Life Science Society, she was able to foster a welcoming environment for all science students at McMaster and facilitate the growth of her team and students.     

Jessica Schneider is a graduate from the Honours Life Science Program at McMaster University and will be pursuing her Doctor of Dental Surgery at the University of Toronto in Fall 2023. 

Julia Azzi is an enthusiastic ambassador of and community-builder in McMaster’s Faculty of Science.  

Julia served as the 2021-2022 Vice President Academic for the McMaster Science Society (MSS). Julia and her team more than doubled the number of participants in the MSS mentorship program, expanded the tutoring service outreach, and established the annual Science Census survey. Julia acted as a primary point of contact between students and faculty members on 7 committees. 

Through her roles as an MSS Mentor, McMaster Schulich Squad Captain, and Co-op Student Mentor, she has mentored students and designed events to make them feel at home at McMaster. She has also provided insights to prospective and incoming students at events such as May@Mac, Welcome Week, and What To Do In Level II. Additionally, she has supported undergraduate students as an MSS Undergraduate Peer Tutor and a Teaching Assistant.  

This year, Julia is graduating from McMaster’s Medical and Biological Physics Co-op program and will begin her graduate studies in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia. 

Dr. Tunnicliffe is one of Canada’s most accomplished, most influential and best-known marine biologists. A McMaster graduate and current professor emeritus and Canada Research Chair in Deep Ocean Research at the University of Victoria, her revolutionary research into the ecosystems of hydrothermal vents has exerted a significant influence on her scientific field and other fields like conservation, DNA sequencing and even interplanetary exploration. 

Verena Tunnicliffe grew up in Deep River, Ontario before coming to McMaster for her undergraduate degree. In her second year, she took a job supporting a research project in the Bay of Fundy, introducing her to the kind of field work that would become her passion. She completed her M.Phil. and Ph.D. at Yale University. 

During her postdoc at the Institute of Ocean Sciences on Vancouver Island, she discovered an out-of-use deep-sea submersible, which Dr. Tunnicliffe used to develop multiple novel strategies for underwater research. In 1983, she encountered another ship on one of her exploration missions. That ship was dredging the ocean floor around hydrothermal vents. When the crew dredged up – in Verena’s words – “smelly, wormy stuff,” they offered it to Verena who they knew was a marine biologist. 

The smelly, wormy stuff from Juan de Fuca Ridge turned out to be one of the greatest biological discoveries of the last century. It provided clues to how life could have originated on Earth. It provided insight into microbial communities. It revealed previously unknown metabolic processes.  

Tunnicliffe is also an Officer of the Order of Canada (2021), a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada since 1991 and a fellow of the Explorers Club (2007). She has earned the National Research Council of Canada’s Steacie Prize (1992), the British Columbia Research Council Prize (1993), the Vancouver Aquarium Newman Award for Conservation & Research (2015) and the University of Victoria Turpin Gold Medal for Career Achievements (2016). 

Fred Moyes has an illustrious career in both the academic and musical worlds, locally and abroad. Moyes taught as a lecturer and professor around the world but made a significant impact teaching anatomy in the Physical Education and Kinesiology programs at McMaster University (1969 – 1994). Throughout his academic career, Moyes maintained an active and accomplished career as a musician. His passion and enthusiasm for teaching and the arts positively impacted thousands of students and those he crossed paths within his communities across the globe. 

Teaching anatomy brought Moyes to Africa (Ahmadu Bello University), Scotland (Cramond College and Glasgow University), England (Bedford College) and returned to Canada as a professor at McMaster University. It’s here that Moyes developed and produced an anatomy mini-text for his large anatomy course accompanied by weekly computer testing. His method of testing was recognized for its innovation and is widely used by students today. 

His musical career as a singer/songwriter and composer is not to be overlooked by his academic career. Moyes entered the Royal Air Force (RAF) at 18 years old, serving from 1951 – 1953, entertaining his fellow airmen and locals, playing accordion, singing, collaborating, and as a concert soloist.  He has an extensive relationship with the CBC, signing on to CBC Metro Morning in 1976, producing weekly satirical songs about Canadian politics, and later including social commentary. While at McMaster he composed and published a school song, “My Mac.” Composing and performing Scottish Country Dance Music has brought Moyes to Scotland, Germany, Japan, China, the USA and across Canada. Moyes has successfully recorded and published much of his musical work, both Scottish and satirical: “To be a wind” with Japanese musicians (2010), “Transatlantic Ties” (2005), “What you hear is what you get” (2002), “The very (ir)reverend Fred Moyes” (1978), and “Fred Moyes Sings Satire” (1977). 

Moyes has earned the McMaster University Teaching Award in both 1981 and 1989 and The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society Scroll of Honour. He is the winner of The Scots Magazine International Song Contest and served as president to the Robert Burns Society of Hamilton (1988 – 1993). 

Annette S. Lee is an astrophysicist, artist and the Director of the Native Skywatchers research and programming initiative. She has over three decades of experience in education as a teacher, university instructor, teacher educator, program administrator, professional visual artist and researcher. 

Designed by Lee, the Native Skywatchers initiative seeks to remember and revitalize indigenous star and earth knowledge. The overarching goal is to communicate the knowledge that indigenous people traditionally practiced a sustainable way of living and sustainable engineering through a living and participatory relationship with the above and below, sky and earth. The initiative aims to improve current inequities in education for native young people, to inspire increased cultural pride and promote community wellness. 

Dr. Lee’s work as a visual artist lives at the nexus of art, science and culture. She received an MFA from Yale School of Art with a focus on painting and a thesis show entitled “Star Medicine.” Dr. Lee co-curated an exhibit at the National Museum of Science and Technology-Ingenium called “One Sky-Many Astronomies.” Currently she is lead curator and indigenous design advisor for an indigenous astronomy traveling exhibit, “One Sky-Many Worlds: Indigenous Voices in Astronomy.” 

Currently Annette is an Associate Professor of Astronomy & Physics at St. Cloud State University (SCSU), Director of the SCSU Planetarium, and Honorary/Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) in the Centre for Astrophysics, Distinguished Lecturer-Archaeological Institute of America (IAI)-Webster Lectureship and an American Astronomical Society (AAS) Shapley Lecturer.