By Jay Robb (he/him), communications manager
McMaster undergraduate student Rhyana Martin is spending her summer in research labs exploring how to reduce the cost and environmental impact of life-saving medical radioisotopes.
Martin is one of 15 McMaster science and engineering undergraduate students who were selected for the fourth annual Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL)-McMaster Undergraduate Student Research Experience. The students are spending 16 weeks working on research projects alongside McMaster faculty and CNL scientists at Canada’s nuclear university and the country’s premier nuclear science and technology research centre.
Developing and testing recycling procedures for the enriched starting materials used to create Lanthanum-133 and Scandium-44 is Martin’s summer-long research project.
“The goal is to make these emerging medical isotopes more economically viable and environmentally sustainable,” says Martin, who’s heading into her fourth year in the Faculty of Science’s Honours Integrated Science – Chemical Biology program.
Along with working in Karin Michaelsen Nielsen’s lab at McMaster, Martin will spend two weeks continuing her research in Randy Perron’s lab at CNL’s Chalk River Laboratories in the Ottawa Valley. Nielson had previously supervised Martin’s independent project into the potential utility of the bromine-76 isotope in immune-positron emission tomography. When she’s not in Perron’s lab, Martin will join her classmates for tours and guest lectures during their two-week residency.
This year’s CNL Undergraduate Student Research Experience was a record-breaker, with more than 200 student applicants and 25 nuclear research proposals from CNL scientists and McMaster faculty.
The collaboration with McMaster was among the first for CNL’s academic partnership program, which has grown to include Ontario Tech University, the University of Ottawa, Queen’s, the University of Regina, the University of Saskatchewan, the University of New Brunswick, Waterloo and Western.
“Together with our partners, CNL is developing future talent and creating meaningful research programs with Canadian universities, colleges and technical organizations to support our growth as Canada’s national nuclear laboratories and the highly qualified people needed for the workforce of the future,” says Gina Strati, Director of CNL’s Academic Partnerships.
A workforce assessment commissioned by the Canadian Nuclear Association forecasts growing labour shortages driven by an aging workforce and new nuclear projects across the country. According to the association, shortages will begin around 2030 and intensify into the early 2040s. Between 20 and 31 per cent of the current nuclear workforce is expected to reach retirement age between 2030 and 2035.
“In just a few years, this program has become an incredible launch point for students interested in gaining research experience and pursuing careers in nuclear science and engineering,” says Karin Stephenson, McMaster’s Director of Nuclear Research and Education Support. “By working directly with experts at McMaster and CNL, this year’s cohort will have the opportunity to lead impactful research projects, while building the skills, connections and confidence they need to become Canada’s future nuclear industry leaders.”
Research wasn’t on Martin’s radar when she arrived at McMaster in 2023 .“I initially wanted to focus on taking courses that would help me in my pre-med journey but the first-year research projects that I did through the Integrated Science program really got me interested in exploring other avenues in academia. Having the opportunity to be part of so many research projects, and especially work in nuclear research, has been incredible.”
Martin says the CNL Undergraduate Student Research Experience allows her to continue that work while making new connections. “I’m looking forward to meeting the scientists and staff at CNL. Doing hands-on nuclear research training for two weeks at Chalk River is such a unique opportunity for an undergrad.”
With more than 120 laboratories on a 3,700-hectare campus, Chalk River Laboratories is Canada’s largest nuclear research facility and a global leader in nuclear health, safety and security, energy and the environment.
McMaster is Canada’s nuclear university and home to the country’s most powerful research reactor. For decades, McMaster researchers have made discoveries in clean energy, medicine and materials. McMaster has just introduced a four-year Bachelor of Nuclear Engineering in response to student and industry demand.
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