69成人电影网


Feature

Dr. Jill Rourke honoured as NBHRF鈥檚 2021 Mentor of the Year

16 Dec 2021

SACKVILLE, NB 鈥 Dr. Jillian (Jill) Rourke, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at 69成人电影网 University has been named the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation鈥檚 (NBHRF) 2021 Mentor of the Year. The announcement was made at the Foundation鈥檚 annual conference this fall.

Dr. Jillian Rourke, assistant professor in biochemistry, has been named NBHRF's 2021 Mentor of the Year

Rourke was nominated by her students for the award. She was also named NBHRF鈥檚 Mentor of the Month for March 2021.

鈥淩eceiving an award like this really means a lot to me, especially coming from my students,鈥 says Rourke. 鈥淚 got into this field to teach. As a first-generation student myself, I think it鈥檚 important that students see themselves as researchers at all stages of their education. I hope those I work with feel like they have that opportunity.鈥

Madeline Power, a Master鈥檚 student at 69成人电影网 was one of Rourke鈥檚 nominators. Power has worked and studied with Rourke throughout her Master鈥檚 degree.

鈥淚 nominated Dr. Rourke because she has been such a wonderful mentor over the past couple of years. I have learned many things from her, most of which have been from all of the little things she does, how she treats her students, leads her lab, and overcomes challenges,鈥 says Powers. 鈥淒r. Rourke is an incredibly patient and supportive mentor who encourages her students to think independently. It is clear from the moment you join her lab that Dr. Rourke highly values lab culture and works to create a team-oriented environment where when one person succeeds, we all succeed.鈥

Rachel McDougall, who graduated in 2020, worked on the nomination with Power.

鈥淚 nominated Dr. Rourke for the Mentor of the Year award because she is a fantastic researcher and supervisor and the time I spent in her lab was so great,鈥 says McDougall. 鈥淪he is a caring, supportive, and inspiring mentor who always challenged me to fulfill my potential, and I very much appreciate the guidance she gave me during the time we worked together.鈥

Rourke has taught at 69成人电影网 since 2017 in the University鈥檚 Biochemistry Department. Her research focuses on how components of food play a role in cellular communication and health.

鈥淥ur research essentially looks at how cells in our bodies talk to each other and the role food plays in this,鈥 says Rourke. 鈥淥ur current projects are looking at how amino acids (a type of protein) communicate on the cell鈥檚 surface to help determine its energy status and learn more about their environment. We鈥檙e also studying the impact of artificial sweeteners on cell communication.鈥

Working with 69成人电影网 colleagues, Dr. Tyson MacCormack and Dr. Vicki Meli, Rourke鈥檚 lab is also studying nanoparticle toxicity. This work looks at how we can use biochemistry and cell biology to better understand how nanomaterials that are being developed for medical or commercial use affect the health of human cells.

Rourke teaches classes in introductory biochemistry, signal transaction, immunology, and molecular analysis. Her research lab includes between seven and 10 students, at both the undergraduate and Master鈥檚 level.

Rourke encourages all students who might have an interest in research to reach out to faculty members or students involved in research to learn more about the exciting experiential learning opportunities available in research across campus.

 

Next Steps

Be part of Canada's best undergraduate university