Celebrating an extraordinary life through a memorial scholarship

February 8, 2021 by Peter Boisseau - A&S News

Dr. Christine Hone-Buske made an unforgettable impression on the friends, educators and students she encountered during her time at the University of Toronto. Her combination of intelligence, humour and charisma earned her the respect and appreciation of her fellow scientists and researchers.

Christine completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at U of T and received her PhD for studies in Behavioural Neuroscience from Cell & Systems Biology in 2013.

Christine’s mother Carmen “Nair” Buske marvelled at her daughter’s stamina and drive. “She was working three jobs and commuting to UTM every day and still graduated with honours,” says Carmen. “And she didn’t even need to do her Masters, she went straight to her PhD.”

In the words of a students who had Christine as a Teaching Assistant (TA), she was a “lovely TA! Christine was fun and friendly and very approachable, and we always felt we were in good hands during labs.” Her gifts as a mentor are evident in the feedback, with young scientists-in-training sharing that “the way she interacts with students is amazing. Very helpful!”

Christine Hone-Buske jumping in front of University College wearing a graduation gown and holding her diploma.
Christine completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at U of T and received her PhD for studies in Behavioural Neuroscience from Cell & Systems Biology in 2013. Although Christine left neuroscience research after only 10 years, her work appeared in 13 publications and was cited 456 times. Christine had also majored in economics at U of T.

As a student, teaching assistant and researcher at U of T, as well as an entrepreneur and advocate for women in technology, Christine is remembered as a brilliant researcher and exceptional communicator whose curiosity, warmth and enthusiasm was infectious.

“She had a wonderful, happy personality, always very friendly and helpful with everyone,” says her thesis supervisor Dr. Robert Gerlai, Distinguished Professor of Behavioural Neuroscience at the Department of Psychology, UTM.

“She never had any issues with anyone and no one had any issue with her. She was very unusual in that regard. She was universally liked.”

Fluent in nine languages — English, Dutch, Portuguese, German, Hunsrück, Spanish, French, Greek and Latin — Christine made new friends easily wherever she travelled, says Gerlai, who accompanied her to a conference in Brazil after her work as a student researcher was internationally recognized.

“I still remember her talking to everyone — from other researchers to taxi drivers — and she was so nice; everyone just responded,” says Gerlai.

“When Dutch people came over to her, she was perfect chit chatting in Dutch. And then she could immediately switch to English or Portuguese perfectly. It was amazing to see she could literally communicate with anyone. And everyone just loved her. That was typical of Christine.”

Carmen recalls her daughter’s vivacious spirit: “When she laughed you could hear it in the whole house,” says Carmen. From an early age, Christine demonstrated the ability to not only excel at everything she set her mind to but the drive and ambition to reach her goals.

She first met Gerlai after she tracked him down in Hawaii where he was doing research and emailed him before he’d even arrived at UTM to take up a new position there.

That was the beginning of a 10-year collaboration, first as an undergraduate working in Gerlai’s lab and then eventually as a PhD student doing original research in behavioral neuroscience.

Christine Hone-Buske showing off graduation gown and hood.
As a student, teaching assistant and researcher at U of T, as well as an entrepreneur and advocate for women in technology, Christine is remembered as a brilliant researcher and exceptional communicator whose curiosity, warmth and enthusiasm was infectious.

“Christine was a wonderful match for me, because what I always promote in my lab is independence and taking ownership over one’s studies,” says Gerlai, adding that Christine not only made advances in neurobiology and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder by studying zebrafish but also developed software applications to extract the results of the analysis.

Although Christine left neuroscience research after only 10 years, her work appeared in 13 publications and was cited 456 times.

Christine had also majored in economics at U of T and in 2013, she left Gerlai’s lab to embark on a full-time career in publishing, marketing and business development, becoming a guest lecturer at the University of Vienna School of Business for several years.

“I had worked as a researcher and simultaneously ran my own businesses. On this journey, my interests developed from neuroscience to using big data and technology,” Christine wrote on her LinkedIn page.

“I continued to flex my entrepreneurial muscles by growing my successful rental business in Toronto, while working in London and at times helping small and medium sized businesses with strategy and marketing,” wrote Christine.

A polymath, Christine also did translation work and voice-overs for commercials for brands such as Dove and Clear (Unilever). She had myriad pursuits and interests, including video production and capturing drone aerial footage. Eventually, she joined Papers, a tech start-up based in London with an app for collecting and curating research. There she was affectionately known by colleagues as “Papers Genius Forever.” In this role, she helped Papers transition after they were acquired by Springer SBM, and then merged with MacMillan Group to become Springer Nature. She also worked with Elsevier on their Mendeley mobile platform, once again contributing her expertise at the intersection of technology and scientific knowledge.

She championed women in technology and spoke extensively at conferences and universities, including Stanford University, the University of California San Francisco, the University of British Columbia and U of T. Carmen says her daughter’s website bench2business.com is a testament to Christine’s successes in science, mentorship, entrepreneurship and communicating with others.

Gerlai and Christine stayed in touch after she left the lab, and she often asked him for advice on everything from academics to business and life, he says.

Christine Hone-Buske poses in front of U of T step and repeat.
Christine championed women in technology and spoke extensively at conferences and universities, including Stanford University, the University of California San Francisco, the University of British Columbia and U of T.

“Here was someone who spoke many languages, who knew animal behaviour and neuroscience, majored in economics and also wrote computer code,” says Gerlai. “She was a very interesting person.”

On May 22, 2019, Christine passed away in Amsterdam. Family, friends and colleagues will remember Dr. Christine Hone-Buske for her loyalty and strength of character.

In the words of her colleagues at Crossref, an online scholarly research organization, “Christine taught us a lot, through her work, with her attitude to life, and in the manner that she dealt with this terrible illness. We thank her for giving us so many great memories and we will never forget her.”

In the face of this devastating loss, Christine’s mother Carmen wants to expand her daughter’s legacy of empathy, positivity and compassion.  

To honour the memory of an extraordinary and cherished woman, Carmen established the Dr. Christine Hone-Buske Scholarship for Outstanding Publication by a PhD Student in the Faculty of Arts & Science’s Department of Cell & Systems Biology. This award recognizes outstanding research by PhD students and will help support those who embody Christine’s love of science and intrepid spirit.

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