NEWS RELEASE
UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO
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Laura Bumbulis, who hails from Cambridge, Ontario, has been named Co-op Student of the Year for the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Mathematics.
Bumbulis hadn't completed much science-related work since taking Grade 11 biology. That changed in 2021 as Bumbulis played a key role in improving efficiency at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) during her co-op work term.
As a bioinformatics analyst, Bumbulis worked with the Pancreatic Cancer Translational Research Initiative (PanCuRx). The goal of the program is to investigate mechanisms of tumour growth and identify genetic and biologic markers that can guide precision medicine for a specifically aggressive type of cancer called pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
The people that I've had a chance to work with through my co-op terms, a lot of them are just really passionate about helping make the world a better place," says Bumbulis, "Even just reading the news over the last couple of years. It's made me realize that being able to help people is something that's going to be key for any job that I pursue in the future."
Bumbulis analyzed the usage of a tool the organization uses for sample tumour analysis. The tool was later removed from the pipeline, which helped save the organization critical time. She learned how to analyze cancer genome sequencing of tumour samples from patients with pancreatic cancer.
As part of her position, Bumbulis examined mutational signatures related to UV exposure, cigarette smoking and certain biological processes. Identifying these signatures helps to determine how cancer develops.
She also worked individually to revamp the algorithm that identified these mutational signatures and adapted it to new signatures that were recently discovered.
"That was a really gratifying project to be part of because it was on the cutting edge of cancer research and had the potential to directly impact patients' health outcomes," says Bumbulis.
The following five women who performed exceptionally on their work terms were also announced as Co-op Students of the Year during the Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) March 21 virtual ceremony:
Ingrid Kaffka - Faculty of Arts
Sarah Odinotski - Faculty of Engineering
Emma Schuster - Faculty of Environment
Madison McBay - Faculty of Health
Camille Huo - Faculty of Science
"To announce six outstanding women as our students of the year during the month when International Women's Day falls is particularly special," says Associate Provost of Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE), Norah McRae. "In another challenging year, these bright women stood out, whether it be virtually or in-person. As a result, they will excel in the future workforce and in representing Waterloo."
Sarah Odinotski- Nanotechnology Engineering
During her Spring 2021 work term, Sarah Odinotski worked in-person with Dr. Mahla Poudineh in Waterloo's Faculty of Engineering to develop a hydrogel-based microneedle biosensor for pH measurement.
Odinotski optimized the microneedle fabrication process and demonstrated that her sensor could measure the clinically relevant pH ranges.
Emma Schuster - Environment, Resources and Sustainability
In her Winter 2021 work term, Emma Schuster excelled as a social media coordinator working remotely for Habitat for Humanity Ontario Gateway North (OGN), an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity Canada.
Thanks to Schuster, Habitat for Humanity, OGN now has significant data and a full year of social media posts that help raise awareness for the organization. Schuster completed extensive research to help develop a Territorial Acknowledgement for OGN.
Madison McBay- Health studies
In Spring 2021, Madison McBay became a senior president and co-founder of TAMVOES, an organization where she has worked for several co-op terms.
McBay managed the development of an iOS app for TAMVOES. Through increased accessibility and awareness of the platform, the app resulted in a 200 per cent growth in global users. The iOS app follows the web application McBay worked on in 2019 as a co-op student. The app allows users to gain access to health information on the go.
Camille Huo – Pharmacy
Amid rising numbers of cases in a devastating second and third wave of COVID-19, a Waterloo Pharmacy student played a part in pandemic recovery.
As COVID raged throughout Ontario, Camille Huo, a second-year Pharmacy student, helped coordinate the vital rollout of COVID vaccines during her Winter 2021 co-op term.
During her work term at Toronto East Pharmasave at Michael Garron Hospital, Huo helped schedule the important vaccine rollout while simultaneously managing dose inventory.
Ingrid Kaffka – English Rhetoric, Media and professional communication
As Red Canari's first-ever co-op student, Ingrid Kaffka made an impression on the startup cybersecurity organization.
While working remotely, Kaffka played the lead role in securing funding from the Government of Canada to support the company's entry into the United Kingdom market. As part of the project, Kaffka created a 20-page proposal to help the company secure a $30,000 grant for the expansion.
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