For new grad Patricia Stewart, convocation is a checkpoint amid a smooth transition from her undergraduate directly into a master’s degree at the Department of Chemistry.
Stewart, who earned her honours bachelor of science as a member of University College, was recently awarded the Chemical Institute of Canada Toronto Section Silver Medal, given to the top A&S student enrolled in their final year of a chemical science-related program.
In the fall, Stewart will be continuing the research she’s been doing the past couple years in Professor Mark Nitz’s lab as she pursues her master’s degree.
Why did you decide to study chemistry at U of T?
I'm a unique case because I knew from ninth grade I wanted to come to U of T for life science. I can't exactly remember how that came up, but ever since elementary school I have loved science. In high school, when I started taking chemistry, biology and physics, I thought, ‘Oh, this is what I want to do.’ In grade 12, I had good chemistry and biology teachers who encouraged that. And then when I came here, I realized I wanted to do chemistry.
How did you start working with Professor Mark Nitz in his lab?
I’ve always been interested in biological chemistry. His work was the closest to what I wanted to do. I get to do organic chemistry and synthesize new molecules. And then I'll take them to the biology application.
I put Mark's name down as my first choice for the summer after second year to be my supervisor, but he didn't have enough space. He reached out and said, ‘Hey do you want to do a third-year thesis in the fall?’ and I said, ‘Yes, let's go.’ And since then, that’s where I’ve been.
What can you tell me about your research?
The goal is to figure out if we can use an enzyme — a protein that already does a reaction, some kind of transformation of one chemical to another — and modify it to do what we want it to do. And what we want it to do is label sugars. There's an enzyme that puts a little tag on sugars like glucose, galactose, lactose and all these other types. We want it to be able to put on a slightly bigger tag that is modifiable so it maybe fluoresces or would bind to something that would let us analyze the sugars using this labeling method.
You took part in the Research Opportunities Program. What was that like?
That was my introduction to research. I did that with Andy Dicks and Barb Morra. Another student and I were optimizing a reaction and trying to make something that could be done in a four-hour undergraduate lab. We even had a chance to present at the Southern Ontario Undergraduate Student Chemistry Conference.
It was just really cool, and I feel privileged to have done it. It was right after my first year so I hadn't done the actual lab experience because of the COVID lockdowns. During my first reaction I had a professor standing over my shoulder walking me through it, which was unexpectedly rewarding. It really ignited my interest in doing more research.
You also worked as a second-year peer mentor. What sort of advice do you give the second-year students?
A lot of it has to do with learning strategies. Stay on top of your work. It’s not enough to just pay attention in class — before the exam, you have to go through and review everything. I really loved active recall and space repetition. Those are buzzwords, but I think they actually work.
What were some of the extracurricular highlights of your undergrad?
Outside chemistry, one thing I stayed consistent with was doing intramural ultimate frisbee. It was only once a week, but I did it every semester and it was just a lot of fun. It's one of those sports that's really accessible. It's co-ed and everyone's super positive.
I'm also on the New Dragons dragon boat team. That one mostly runs during the summer. And then throughout the year, we go to the gym and workout together. We just started our season. The highlight for me would be going to Nationals last year and our women's boat qualifying for internationals this year in Italy.