Throughout February and March 2026, several AWP projects were featured by AWP graduate students and APBI/visiting undergraduate students in four exciting, local academic events, 3MT, LFS GSC, UBC PAW’s AWC, and UBC MURC, with some students recognized for their achievements!
From top to bottom/left to right: Elizabeth Russell, Maya Bodnar, and Meghan Lok
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Land and Food Systems Heat occurred on February 26th. This academic competition challenges participants to explain the breadth and significance of their thesis in three minutes using only one slide, engaging a non-specialist audience.
Representing multiple AWP research areas, PhD candidate Elizabeth Russell shared about dairy calf growth through weaning, PhD student Maya Bodnar shared about mice welfare with handling techniques, and MSc student Meghan Lok shared about animal sheltering/protection staff mental wellbeing. Elizabeth Russell won second place, as well as the People’s Choice award! She advanced all the way to the UBC-wide final round on March 12th.
The Land and Food Systems (LFS) Graduate Student Conference (GSC) is an annual, student-organized event featuring work across multiple disciplines, and it occurred this year on March 5th.
Overall, six AWP projects were featured. MSc student Amalia Urloiu showcased an oral presentation (“Public Perspectives of Dairy Cow Housing”), and three undergraduates, Tanesha Chakraborti (“Motivations Behind Feeding Feral Rabbits: Insights from Visitors of Jericho Beach”), Asmi Aggarwal (“The Bridge from Human to Animal Welfare”), and Nicole Vile (“The Role of Pet Professionals on Dog Training”), presented posters.
From left to right: Meghan Lok, Maya Bodnar, Amalia Urloiu
From left to right/top to bottom: Maya Bodnar, Tanesha Chakraborti, Asmi Aggarwal, Amalia Urloiu, Meghan Lok, Nicole Vile
The UBC Pre-Veterinary and Animal Welfare (PAW) Club puts on an annual Animal Welfare Conference to highlight local research. This year, on March 20th, the theme was “Animal Conservation and Sustainability in a Changing World”. MSc student Oceania Kreutzer was featured as a guest speaker and spoke about her current research on feral rabbits as well as her academic journey.
The Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference (MURC) is a conference for UBC undergraduate students to present their research to fellow students, family, and friends, and it occurred on March 21st. Tanesha Chakraborti presented a poster here as well.