Visiting Uppsala University

Traveling for research

One of my favourite aspects of research is the expectation of travel. Last year, I was awarded a Mitacs Globalink Research award with the purpose of conducting a non-thesis related research project in Sweden. I went to Uppsala University to work with the Backström Group, whom I had been collaborating with remotely on another project since 2020.
For multiple reasons, I decided to start my trip in January. Seeing as I am from Canada, you would think that I am used to darkness and snow. However, like most Canadians, I live as far south as possible, hugging the US-Canadian border. When I arrived in Uppsala, there was just 6.5 h of daylight everyday, whereas I had been getting nearly 9 h of daylight in Canada. The lack of sunlight wasn’t just a problem for my sun-loving soul. You see, the experiment I was to conduct in Uppsala required that I grow plants. In January. In Sweden.

My experiment intended to explore the influence of host plant quality on the migratory ability of the painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui). This involved raising caterpillars on plants of differing quality. Luckily for me, Uppsala University has excellent facilities, and amazing staff, and I was able to use growth chambers to grow the plants.

I learned a lot while in Sweden, and I hope to have results to share with you soon!

Adventure cat

Did I mention that I brought my cat with me? Like many millennials, I am overly attached to my pet. Milo did not enjoy the trans-Atlantic flight, but he enjoyed playing in the snow and watching the deer in the backyard of our cabin by the lake.