Samantha (Sam) Yee

Affiliation

Undergraduate Student (HBSc)
Biomedical Science, minor in Indigenous studies (2018-2022)
Email: syee019@uottawa.ca

Research interests

Epidemiology and public health
Environment and one health
Mercury
Indigenous health
Decolonizing research methodologies

Bio

I started working with Dr. Chan in 2020 as a UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program) student in the third year of my undergraduate degree at uOttawa. What drew me to the research at the Chan Lab was its interdisciplinarity - that I could work on a project where both of my primary fields of interest (science and Indigenous studies) intersected. Under the mentorship of Chan Lab alumnus Dr. Kristin Eccles, I helped with data extraction/analysis for a literature review that aims to develop methylmercury to total mercury conversion ratios in various tissues of wildlife species commonly consumed by First Nations and Inuit. After UROP, I continued my work on the methylmercury database project as a Research Assistant in summer 2021, funded by the Women in Science and Engineering Scholarship from the uOttawa Faculty of Science, and I've also had the chance to present a poster of my work at the 18th annual Ottawa-Carleton Institute of Biology Symposium. When I'm not working or studying, you'll probably find me watching movies, reading, or participating in student government!

Pronouns: she/her

Research project

Creation of a master database of mercury and methylmercury levels in top country foods contributing to Hg exposure among Indigenous communities in Canada