Meaghan Ward

Experience

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  Kawartha Dairy Ltd

  Jun 1998 - Jun 2004

  Super-Duper Ice Cream Scooper
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  72 Bolton Sports Cafe

  Jun 2004 - Sept 2005

  Waitress
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  The Beer Store

  Jun 2004 - Feb 2006

  Customer Service Representative
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  University of Guelph Rock Climbing Club

  Sept 2005 - Dec 2008

  Volunteer

  Supervising climbers and providing introductory lessons. Responsible for setting routes and training new volunteers. I also taught an introductory climbing class for students and children.

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  Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

  Jan 2006 - Apr 2006

  Research Assistant (Bean counter)

  • Applied trouble shooting skills to developed an efficient protocol for the cooking of bean samples using an automated Mattson Cooker• Responsible for the planting, maintenance, and inoculation of plants using bacteria, fungal, and viral cultures• Performed multiple DNA isolations from leaf disc samples and performed PCR and gel electrophoresis on the DNA obtained

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  National Research Council Canada

  Sept 2006 - Dec 2006

  Research Assistant

  • Assisted in animal studies involving week-old chicks, including the administration of inoculums, dissections, and the collection and plating of secum and liver samples• Used PCR, gel electrophoresis, enzyme digestion, ligation and transformation techniques to search for a stable form of the AR1 bacteriophage Phage Receptor Binding Domain protein• Developed a method for purifying his-tagless TSP protein from P22 Salmonella phage

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  Jacobs University Bremen

  Apr 2007 - Aug 2007

  Research Assistant

  • Used traditional Black Lipid Membrane set up to measure antibiotic passage through the bacterial porin OmpF • Developed microfluidic bilayer system for possible automation of measurement of antibiotic passage through OmpF • Use of voltage protocol to create giant unilamellar vesicles (GUV’s), insertion of hydrophilic proteins into GUV’s

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  White Pegasus Horse Trail Rides

  Feb 2009 - May 2009

  Volunteer

  Volunteered at horse stable. Duties included cleaning stable, grooming horses and leading trail rides.

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  University of Guelph

  Sept 2009 - Aug 2016

  • Interdisciplinary research focused on developing solid-state NMR methods for the study of large membrane proteins in native environments. I have extensive experience in biological sample preparation and sample characterization though biochemical and spectroscopic techniques. This work required extensive methods development and problem solving. Advisors: Dr. Vladimir Ladizhansky & Dr. Leonid Brown • Primary recruiter and coordinator of volunteers for departmental outreach events. Participated as student lab demonstrator for visiting high school physics classes and as a volunteer during the Science Olympics program. Courses: PHYS1010 Introduction to Electricity and Magnetism, PHYS1000 Introduction to Mechanics, PHYS1080 Physics for Biological Sciences, PHYS3230 Quantum Mechanics• Responsible for supervising and assisting groups of undergraduate students in a lab setting, creating and delivering tutorials and quizzes, as well as marking assignments and exams. In addition, I developed lab book guidelines for general use and acted as a substitute lecturer in several courses. • Developed sample preparation protocols and complex solid-state NMR experiments to advance proton-detected experiments for the study of large membrane proteins in lipid environments. Advisors: Dr. Vladimir Ladizhansky & Dr. Leonid Brown

  • PhD student

    Jan 2012 - Aug 2016

  • Volunteer and Coordinator with Departmental Outreach Program

    Jan 2009 - Jan 2016

  • Teaching Assiant

    Jan 2008 - Jan 2016

  • Master's student

    Sept 2009 - Aug 2011
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  University of Guelph and Utrecht University

  Jan 2011 - Jan 2018

  Student Mentoring and Training

  • Provided ongoing support, mentorship, and training for new graduate students, including research advice (both experimental and analytical), introduction to new and established laboratory techniques, social integration into the laboratories, lab and committee meeting preparation, manuscript and grant application editing, and exam preparation coaching.

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  Utrecht University

  Nov 2016 - Apr 2018

  • Coordinated multiple users to distribute instrument time at a national facility, evaluated industrial and academic proposals, and assisted external users in experiment design and execution• Contact person for incoming collaborators, responsible for evaluating needs and connecting researchers • In close collaboration with the University Medical Centre Utrecht, used solid-state and solution NMR to study the structure and assembly of liquid-liquid phase separated vesicles. Advisor: Dr. Marc Baldus

  • Scientific Supervisor/NMR Facility Manager

    Nov 2017 - Apr 2018

  • Postdoctoral Researcher

    Nov 2016 - Apr 2018
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  MDPI

  Apr 2019 - Aug 2019

  Freelance English Editor

  •Working under strict deadlines, I was responsible for editing journal articles written by authors world-wide on a wide range of topics with a high level of accuracy for clarity and grammatical, formatting, and spelling correctness

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  ClimateActionWR

  Jun 2019 - Sept 2019

  Street Team Volunteer

  Street Team volunteers attend events in Waterloo Region (Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo, and the surrounding Townships) to collect feedback and ideas from event participants on how we can take action on climate change and engage the community in the development of the region's long-term climate action plan (80% greenhouse gas reduction by 2050!).

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  University of Waterloo

  Sept 2019 - now

  • Provided operational and managerial leadership and support for all undergraduate laboratory courses (typically a team of 5-6 full time staff, 2-3 coop students, numerous TAs), as well as strategic leadership in managing laboratory operating expenses, including equipment and personnel budgets totaling approximately $500 000 • Proposed, developed and managed department-driven renovation and organization projects• Successfully developed and implemented course and curriculum updates to facilitate new lab formats, create a stronger lab program, and to improve teaching and scheduling efficiency • Facilitated the development and implementation of new first year labs which focus on experimental skills, data analysis, and critical thinking. This included the training and coordination of a large number of graduate students, staff, and faculty• Introduced digital data collection and analysis and report writing and submission to all courses in order to reduce waste, enhance student learning, and increase efficiency in plagiarism monitoring and grading • Collected and analyzed multiple forms of user experience data in new courses in order to determine the success of the implemented changes and facilitate continuous improvement• In response to pandemic restrictions, consulted with departmental leadership on critical scheduling, safety, and resource decisions pertaining to the move to remote and blended learning. Arranged for the set-up of a network of new computers in the teaching labs with remote access available for students performing experiments remotely• Developed on-line learning modules which cover topics such as uncertainty, data analysis, and graphing. These modules have a broad applicability in scope, and are currently being used in the majority of lab courses offered. These can be accessed here https://open.science.uwaterloo.ca/9• Hiring manager, responsible for the recruitment and onboarding and training of staff, TAs, and coop students Show less

  • Lecturer in Physics

    Nov 2022 - now

  • Deputy Lab Director, Department of Physics and Astronomy

    Sept 2019 - Oct 2022