INTRODUCTION.

My name is Matthew Hanks and I am a fourth year chemical biology honours student. I have always been very interested in science and research.  Throughout elementary school and high school I conducted several different small research projects and presented them at local science fairs. My research interests include environmental sustainablility and medicine.

My passion for research led me to become a volunteer researcher for the Rae Fawcett Breast Health Clinic in Kamloops during the summer after my first year at Thompson Rivers University. The study I helped with, focused on timely access to breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.  From there, I pursued many research projects at TRU.  During the summer of 2022, I assisted in a bioremediation research project at TRU.  The goal of the bioremediation research was to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of a bacterial consortium for degrading hydrocarbons like diesel and crude oil. During the Winter 2023 Semester, I completed a Directed Studies in Biology under the supervision of Dr. Cheeptham. This self-directed research project investigated the evolutionary similarity of Streptomyces that live in different habitats around the world and how this relates to the conservation of specific genes that are responsible for biofilm formation. From May 2023 to September 2023, I worked on a research project through the Undergraduate Research Experience Awards Program (UREAP).  This research focused on the identification and quantification of major carotenoids in Mysis diluviana by capillary electrophoresis. I am currently continuing this for my Chemical Biology Honours project.

Throughout my research journey I have had the opportunity to learn many new things and meet knowledgeable people. I am excited to pursue many more research projects and continue to learn. Below is a collection that showcases my research knowledge.


THE STANDARDS.


In this section, I have listed courses I succesfully completed during my undergraduate studies related to research and two research proposals with myself as the sole author:

  • BIOL 4480: Directed Study in Biology
    • Directed studies provides the student with experience in either carrying out an original laboratory or field-based research project in biology or in thoroughly researching a particular topic and synthesizing all of the available information into a review article. The course will help to develop the discipline, independence, and specific lab, field, and/or library skills needed to carry out investigations into biological research questions. The student will also gain experience in writing a formal scientific report and in presenting their work in public (usually a poster presentation). Specific results of the study are not as important as the student’s initiative, effort, and creativity in carrying out the project and the quality of written report and public presentation.
  • CHBI 3980: Introduction to Research
    • This course is available to 3rd year students contemplating entry into the Honours program or undertaking a Directed Studies research project in their 4th year. The seminar focuses on formulation of a research hypothesis and production of a research proposal in preparation for application to do an Honours or Directed Study research project.
  • CHEM 3140: Applied Analytical Chemistry
    • This course will focus on analytical method development and applications focused on real samples. Students will build on their instrumental knowledge from CHEM 3100, and learn about sampling and sample handling, extraction, determination, and quality control, as well as how to chose what steps are appropriate given sample and analyte information.
  • STAT 1200: Introduction to Statistics
    • Students are introduced to statistical reasoning in this course. Students will learn to interpret quantities relating to descriptive statistics; correlation; regression; probability; and probability distributions including the binomial and normal. Students will learn different facets of sampling and experimental design. Students will learn to make appropriate inferences from confidence intervals and hypothesis tests including analysis of variance.
  • CHEM 2100: Introductory Analytical Chemistry
    • This course introduces principles of analytical chemistry and their practical application to solution samples. Topics include statistical methods of data analysis, quantitative principles of chemical equilibrium, and fundamental concepts of complexometric, electrochemical, chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods of analysis, and atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The laboratory component consists of experiments designed to enable students to work with instrumentation used in many commercial and research laboratories.

In this section, I have listed two literature reviews completed during my courses as well as my Honours Proposal and Directed Studies Report which included literature review. For my honours proposal please refer to pages 2 to 4 and for my Directed Studies Report please refer to pages 3 to 5.

In this section, I have listed my UREAP final report and my CHEM 3170 final report as evidence of applying the research methods.

In this section, I have included my final Biol 3520 Laboratory report and Directed Studies Report. I was a co-author for the BIOL 3520 Report and the sole author of the Directed Studies Report.

In this section, I have included my BIOL 3520 paper presentation which was a 10 minute solo powerpoint presentation completed in class. I have also included my Honours Update presentation which was a solo presentation completed as a part of my honours thesis. This was presented to faculty and students. Finally, I have included my Directed Studies poster which was presented at the TRU Undergraduate Research Conference and Science Undergraduate Poster Exhbition of Research conference.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY.