Summer Adventures on (and off) Campus!

The summer has just been flying by! I can't believe it's already the end of June!

Genna making a material to administer
drugs to the eye through contact lenses.

Once again I'm working in Dr. Heather Sheardown's lab for the summer, although not the same project as last year. If you're wondering what I was working on last year, check out a blog I wrote about my lab adventures in Keeping an Eye on Things! 

This year I'm investigating silicone contact lenses for drug delivery to the eye. We know that these contact lenses release the drug at a certain rate, but we don't know why. Is it a factor of the drug being trapped in the material, or is it because the drug is binding to the monomers in the polymer chain? That's what I'm researching this summer. Basically, I get to make a bunch of different materials (with different drugs and in different compositions) and test the amount of drug they’ll release in water. After a lot of complicated equations and statistical analysis I can determine which composition is ideal for drug delivery.

I'm so excited to be working in this area of research because I think the possible applications of these lenses are astounding. Imagine getting an eye infection or eye surgery and instead of having to put annoying drops in your eye, you can just wear your contacts and the problem solves itself!

Enough about work; let's talk about all the fun stuff going on around campus over the summer! As you can imagine all this rain has brought out the best of nature. Now, this may be terrifying news for you allergy sufferers, but for those of us who love going for hikes through Cootes Paradise it's amazing! There's nothing more relaxing than taking a leisurely stroll through the park with some good friends.  If you want to hear more about my exciting summer adventures, I've recently been featured in a video, Mac Eng: Reel Talk with Genna!

There are some other exciting things going on in Mac Eng as well. Last week, the Faculty of Engineering released a mini-documentary Women in Engineering: Our Global Future, that was shown to the delegates at the G(irls) 20 Summit in Russia. It highlights women in engineering and their potential career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math, known as “STEM”. Dr. Sheardown is interviewed and provide some compelling facts and insights about the pressing need for women in these fields. See if you can spot my cameo appearance :)

Anywhoo, I guess I should get back to work. These contact lenses won't make themselves!

Cheers!
~ Genna