Graham and Ranim represented the Lab the 40th Congress of the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS) in Frankfurt, Germany. There was lots of inspiring talks in fundamental and comparative physiology, and the Scott Lab’s research was very well received. Great science was mixed with some fun opportunities for sightseeing, and of course some delicious schnitzel!
Congratulations to Caileigh Tomas on a successful defense of her MSc today! Caileigh conducted great research on the role of the microbiome in high-altitude adaptation, she wrote an excellent thesis, and her oral defence was outstanding. Great job Caileigh!!
Kayla and Zainab are taking some exciting next steps in our work on the world’s highest dwelling animal, the Punta de Vacas leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis vaccarum) (See “Studying the World’s Highest Dwelling Animal!” from May 2024). We had a fantastic trip to Mendoza Argentina to collaborate with Paola Sassi and her research group at the Argentinian Institute for Arid Zone Research (IADIZA) to examine how these impressive animals cope with chronic hypoxia. Great science, great new friends, excellent wine, and delicious asado!
The Scott Lab had a great time at the 2025 Canadian Society of Zoologists conference in Waterloo! The excellent zoological research in Canada was on full display, with lots of great talks and posters from across the country. The lab was well represented with excellent talks by Derek, Caileigh, and Ranim, and great posters by Jess and Patrick. Well done Scott Lab!
A big congrats to Ranim, who also won the George F. Holeton Prize for the most outstanding student poster in Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry. Way to go Ranim!
Congratulations to the Scott Lab’s fantastic undergrad thesis students – Ben, Jessica, Mei Le, and Robin – for their excellent thesis presentations in the 2025 McMaster Biology Undergraduate Symposium! Awesome job everyone!
The Scott Lab was well represented at the 37th annual Ontario Biology Day conference at Carleton University! Thesis students Jessica Yemen, Robin Brown, and Ben Winchester presented their thesis research among undergrad students from across the province. Congrats on jobs well done!
Extra congrats to Jessica for winning the Canadian Society of Zoologists Best Poster award! Well done Jess!!
Research in the Scott Lab was well received at this year’s International Hypoxia Symposium in Lake Louise! It was an excellent and inspiring meeting filled with great research on hypoxia from physiological, molecular and cellular, comparative, and clinical perspectives. Thanks to the organizers, Rob Roach and Peter Hackett, for a great event and for running the meeting for so many years!
Congratulations to Caileigh Tomas for winning a best oral presentation award at the Faculty of Science’s annual Graduate Research Symposium! Click below to check out the article about Caileigh’s award by Jay Robb.
Congratulations to Kayla Garvey for successfully defending her MSc today! Kayla’s excellent thesis made several new and interesting findings, and her oral defence was excellent. Well done Kayla!!
Ranim, Till, Derek, and Graham are taking part in an exciting research expedition to Chile to study the world’s highest dwelling animal, the Punta de Vacas leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis vaccarum). This amazing species can be found throughout the Andean mountains, recorded as high as 6739 m elevation on the summit of Llullaillaco volcano in the Puna de Atacama, where food is scarce and the air is extremely cold and low in oxygen. How they can live in such a hostile place is a complete mystery!
The Scott Lab is helping figure out how this species can live at such high altitudes. Working with our great Chilean hosts – Pablo Sabat and his student Francisco (Pancho) Del Basto – along with collaborators Jay Storz, Naim Bautista, Zac Cheviron, Jeff Good, Grant McClelland, Marcial Quiroga-Carmona, and others, the project is sure to make many exciting discoveries in the future. Stay tuned!
Scott Lab @ McMaster