KJD Explore

Research, fieldwork & lab Experience.

Data Organization

Advisor: Dr. Jane Waterman

University of Manitoba

September 2019-December 2019

Volunteer work - 90 hours


- Organized and formatted data on 13 years worth of research on Cape Squirrels in a single Excel spreadsheet.

- Looked for discrepancies and errors within each individual animal and fixed or highlighted the issues.

Teaching Experience.

 Early Childhood Educator II

Pre-school, Infants, School-aged children summer program.

Garderie Les P'tits Brisous

February 2012-December 2019

Presentation Experience.

Volunteer Experience.

Narwhal Research

Advisors: Dr. Courtney Shuert, Dr. Marianne MarcouxDr. Jane Waterman

DFO & University of Manitoba

September 2021-Current

Honours Thesis: Using aerial photogrammetry to access the body condition of narwhals in Tremblay Sound, Nunavut


- Successfully defended my honours thesis in April 2023. Currently working on publishing the manuscript. 

Using aerial photogrammetry to access the body condition of narwhals in Tremblay Sound, Nunavut

2023 UM Undergraduate Research Showcase

Poster presentation

October 2023


Using aerial photogrammetry to access the body condition of narwhals in Tremblay Sound, Nunavut

Fisheries and Oceans Canada 2023 Student Seminar Day

Oral presentation

May 2023


Using aerial photogrammetry to access the body condition of narwhals in Tremblay Sound, Nunavut

Honours Thesis Symposium

Honours defense

April 2023 


Churchill Research Centre Project

Ocean Wise National Summit

Speakers: Kirsten Desorcy & Kaitlin Richard

March 2021

Ocean Bridge Ambassador Program

Ocean Wise

February 2020-March 2021

480 hours of volunteer work


"Ocean Bridge connects Canadian youth from coast to coast empowering them to make a difference towards ocean conservation. Each year 40 -160 youth (ages 18-30) form a national team engaged in co-creating and delivering service projects for their home communities and two immersive expeditions to address Ocean Health and Ocean Literacy in Canada. Ocean Bridge is comprised of three key elements to support youth as they adopt a culture of service for our ocean: Community & Capacity Building, Ocean Health Extended Service, and Ocean Literacy Extended Service" (Ocean Wise)


My Projects:

- #Covid19pickupthattrash Challenge

- Exploring Manitoba Lakes

- Ocean Bridge Learning Journey on Lake Superior

- Churchill Northern Studies Centre Marine Tank Project

BCI in Polar Bears

Advisor: Dr. Jane Waterman

University of Manitoba

May - August 2022

Undergraduate Summer Research Award


- Used ImageJ to take body measurements on images of polar bears 

- Organized data in spreadsheets

- Compared two different BCI methods

Teaching assistant (TA)

BIOL 2200 (The Invertebrates) - two sections

University of Manitoba

Supervisor: Dr. Joy Stacey

September 2022 - December 2022 & September 2023 - December 2023


- Assisting professor in weekly laboratories
- Answering course related questions, providing academic support and encouragement to students- Grading weekly quizzes and exams

Fieldwork in Churchill & Wapusk National Park

Advisor: Dr. James Roth

University of Manitoba

June 2022

14-day trip to Churchill & Wapusk National Park, Manitoba to conduct fieldwork associated with the Arctic Ecology field course


- Data collection using a variety of methods including: goose nest searches using line-transect methods, snowshoe hare pellet counts using plots, fox den surveys, and small mammal (lemmings, voles & red squirrels) live captures using the mark-recapture method
- Data entry
- Live mammal handling
- Wildlife identification
- Setting up and removing small mammal traps
- Trap checks
- Using equipment such as: traps, All-terrain vehicles, GPS, laser rangefinders, binoculars, and kestrel
- Fox and American marten dissections
- Sterilization and cleaning of equipment
- Writing a final report of our findings 

Teaching assistant (TA)

BIOL 2210 (The Chordates) - two sections

University of Manitoba

Supervisor: Dr. Joy Stacey

January 2023 - April 2023 & January 2024 - April 2024


- Assisting professor in weekly laboratories- Answering course related questions, providing academic support and encouragement to students- Grading exams

Research Technician

Advisor: Dr. James Roth

May-August 2023

Churchill (6 weeks) & Winnipeg, Manitoba

- Data entry
- Live mammal handling (red squirrels)

- Setting up and removing live traps
- Trap checks every 4 hours
- Using equipment such as: traps, All-terrain vehicles, GPS, collar tracking systems, pit tags

Laboratory Technician

Advisor: Dr. James Roth

September 2023 - December 2023

University of Manitoba

- muscle sample preparation for stable isotope analysis

- canine extractions for aging

- skull preparations

- storage organization

- cleaning, maintenance and sterilization of equipment