SFU Science

09/04/2026

September is here, bringing the fall weather with it! 🍂 There will be NO Starry Nights tonight, September 4, on account of the clouds. ☁️ Happy Academic New Year to all those starting a new term, and we hope to see you next week, with our friends at Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - Vancouver.

09/03/2026

Biomedical Physiology major Valmay Varga completed co-op terms at the Obesity Medicine and Diabetes Institute and the Miller Lab at UBC's Michael Smith Laboratories, two very different opportunities where she had the opportunity to develop lots of transferrable skills.

At the Obesity Medicine and Diabetes Institute she took part in various tasks associated with enrolling new patients into the program and hosting and presenting at group medical sessions. "Overall this experience enhanced my patience and understanding regarding the psychological aspect behind complex medical conditions such as diabetes and co-morbidities, as well as hone my workplace and patient communication skills," she says.

At Miller Lab she assisted a graduate student with research which included animal work, immunostaining, fluorescence microscopy, and data analysis in R studio on RNA sequencing data and Xenium Spatial Transcriptomic data. "This experience blossomed my love and respect for the world of biomedical research, driving me to become interested in pursuing a masters thesis following my graduation."

"My advice for incoming co-op students is to reach out and get to know your professors, make connections at events, and be confident in your abilities because even as a student, you still have lots to offer. Also, stay curious, find the drive to keep learning, and find something that you're genuinely passionate about and be open to attending various events and conferences about that subject.

Learn more about Co-op opportunities at SFU Science: https://ow.ly/rYsq50ZJ2qw

09/02/2026

After taking some time off due to forest fire evacuations, SFU Biological Sciences professor Isabelle Côté and the Fraser Riverkeeper team are passing through Metro Vancouver on their way to Richmond this Friday! The swim relay team was last seen in Maple Ridge today. Follow along with their journey: fraserriverkeeper.ca/expedition2026

SFU Biological Sciences professor Isabelle Côté is embarking on a new adventure, starting today! Over the next 30 days she will swim 1,375 km from the Fraser River headwaters to the Pacific Ocean with Fraser Riverkeeper to raise awareness about watershed conservation. Learn more about their journey: https://ow.ly/URnP50ZxeiU

08/31/2026

Registration is open for the Cascadia Symposium on Statistics in Sports at SFU Harbour Centre, September 12, 2026. Keep up to date with current research on sports analytics with invited talks, posters and a panel discussion from statisticians and quantitative analysts from sports teams, media and universities. Student tickets available. https://ow.ly/p9AG50ZHvla

08/28/2026

We hope you caught a glimpse of last nights' lunar eclipse between the clouds! Unfortunately those clouds are still piling up, and there will be no Starry Nights Online tonight, August 28. Looking forward to more clear Fridays to keep the Star Party going, with our friends at the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - Vancouver

08/26/2026

We're counting down the days until Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kurtryk heads to the International Space Station as part of NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 mission. He will spend approximately six months on the ISS conducting scientific experiments, including collecting data for SFU Aerospace Physiology Laboratory's CARDIOBREATH experiment.

Learn more:
Crew-13 mission https://ow.ly/Vszp50ZFVnE
CARDIOBREATH: https://ow.ly/rsIG50ZFVnF

08/26/2026

SFU Biological Sciences and environmental sciences major Caio Conradt completed an undergraduate research term with professor David Green studying the impact of human activity on the ecology and life history of spotted towhees.

His work included finding and monitoring nests, banding and measuring nestlings and tagging adults, sometimes with radiotransmitters to learn how birds respond to the pressures of urban development, how that might change their habitat use, survival, breeding success, and physiological condition.

"“It is so gratifying to be part of a work that has real potential to make an impact on shaping policy, informing urban planning and park management, and increasing public education on the incredible wildlife we have around us, even in urban centres," he says.

"Doing field work in urban parks has a special factor to it, which is the constant interaction with the public! Making science and nature accessible and informing people about the beautiful species they have in their local parks give me hope for conservation because it was clear that people's interests were sparked by learning about the animals around them."

Learn more about undergraduate research at SFU Science: https://ow.ly/qpi850ZFrxE

08/25/2026

Strengthening health systems, improving health outcomes and informing policy are among the areas of impact supported by SFU-led projects receiving more than $4.2 million through the Spring 2026 Canadian Institutes of Health Research Project Grant competition.

The funded projects span a range of health challenges, from understanding early brain development and rare neurological disease to evaluating treatments for opioid use disorder and the role of harm reduction services amid the ongoing toxic drug crisis.

Congratulations to Kanna Hayashi and Bohdan Nosyk from Faculty of Health Sciences and Lisa Julian and David Vocadlo from SFU Science on being named among the successful recipients.

Learn more about the researchers and their work in the comments.

08/21/2026

After another hot summer week, there is rain in the forecast! But that means there will be no Starry Nights tonight, August 21. We hope to see you next week, and our friends at the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - Vancouver

08/18/2026

SFU Department of Physics professor Matthias Danninger and team are heading to the bottom of the ocean to help piece together how the universe works. P-ONE is a network of underwater sensors that they hope will eventually form one of the largest and most powerful neutrino detectors in the world. Take a peek behind the scenes scenes at recent sensor tests at False Creek: https://ow.ly/iebC50ZB77l