{"id":549192,"date":"2026-03-20T15:01:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T15:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/549192\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T15:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T15:01:10","slug":"students-share-research-at-national-indigenous-stem-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/549192\/","title":{"rendered":"Students share research at national Indigenous STEM conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nine University of Winnipeg students have returned from a whirlwind trip to the 2026 AISES in Canada National Gathering<\/a> in Toronto March 5\u20137.<\/p>\n

Abby Alexander, Brandon Wittmeier, Denielle Peron, Flora Easter, Leena Tetrault, Maya Tighe, Paige Gordon, Tyrone Reimer, and Logan Asham attended the National Gathering, which this year carried the theme, \u201cIlluminating Indigenous Futures.\u201d Many of the students also presented original research.<\/p>\n

AISES in Canada is a non-profit organization focused on increasing Indigenous representation in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) studies and careers. It supports both undergraduate and graduate students through programs, scholarships, and events, culminating each year in a National Gathering where students and professionals from across Canada create long-lasting connections.<\/p>\n

UWinnipeg is home to one of 11 post-secondary chapters of .caISES<\/a>, the Canadian Indigenous Science and Engineering Society. The group meets monthly to take part in cultural activities and community events, attend leadership summits, and participate in conferences. UWinnipeg\u2019s .caISES chapter is especially active, winning awards in 2020<\/a> and 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n

UWinnipeg students won\u2019t have to travel far next year. Conference organizers announced that Winnipeg will host the 2027 AISES in Canada National Gathering February 25\u201327.<\/p>\n

Making connections, sharing research<\/p>\n

It was Maya Tighe\u2019s first time attending a National Gathering.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted the opportunity to learn about Indigenous students and their research projects,\u201d said Tighe, a graduate student<\/a> in her first year of the Master of Science in Bioscience, Technology and Public Policy<\/a> program. \u201cIt seemed like a good chance to meet like-minded students and make connections that I would otherwise not have known about.\u201d<\/p>\n

By bringing together students and professionals, National Gatherings give students a glimpse of future career opportunities.<\/p>\n

The environment is so positive and welcoming, and it\u2019s amazing to connect with and learn from other Indigenous scholars.<\/p>\n

Leena Tetrault<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favourite part was going around to the booths and speaking with all the industry people, learning about their stories and experiences,\u201d Tighe said. \u201cSeeing how these companies are supporting Indigenous students was enlightening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abby Alexander, a fourth-year Indigenous Studies<\/a> major, was attending her third National Gathering.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity for student researchers to present, learn about other research projects, and connect with community, which is so important for us as Indigenous people,\u201d Alexander said.<\/p>\n

She especially enjoyed the feeling of being immersed in a community stretching across Canada and the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach person at this gathering has such knowledge and expertise that any conversation is so eye-opening and allows you to learn so much,\u201d said Alexander, who presented on medicinal and food plants in boreal forests. She undertook the research as part of the Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw \u012athiniwak<\/a> project.<\/p>\n

Leena Tetrault, a fourth-year Biochemistry<\/a> student, attended last year\u2019s National Gathering and knew she wanted to go again.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe environment is so positive and welcoming, and it\u2019s amazing to connect with and learn from other Indigenous scholars,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Tetrault presented research on parasites in aquatic snails.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was such an amazing experience,\u201d she said. \u201cI emphasized how Western science lacks lots of ethical consideration for research on invertebrates, and that using Indigenous knowledges and worldviews can help us conduct this research in a more respectful and reciprocal way. Other scholars told me after my presentation how much they enjoyed the talk and appreciated what I had shared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Denielle Peron, a third-year Psychology<\/a> major from Pine Creek First Nation, brought her passion for Indigenous women\u2019s healthcare to her first National Gathering. She encountered valuable research from Saskatchewan that compared ER wait times for Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also wanted to explore my career opportunities and network with other students, which led to meeting amazing new friends,\u201d Peron said.<\/p>\n

One researcher Peron met at the conference expressed interest in collaborating on future work, and is interested using her research in their master\u2019s thesis.<\/p>\n

Peron presented a literature review on the relationships between trauma-related disorders and POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome).<\/p>\n

\u201cI discussed hormonal similarities between PTSD and POTS and how further research should be conducted to determine if there is a correlation between the development of POTS after getting PTSD,\u201d Peron said.<\/p>\n

The students also squeezed in some fun on the trip, visiting the Eaton Centre, CN Tower, Ripley\u2019s Aquarium, Union Station, the Hockey Hall of Fame, and even Niagara Falls, as well as local coffeeshops and bookstores.<\/p>\n

The students received travel support from UWinnipeg Foundation<\/a> donor Ken Rosenberg, the UWinnipeg Research Office<\/a>, Research Manitoba<\/a>, and Guidewire<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nine University of Winnipeg students have returned from a whirlwind trip to the 2026 AISES in Canada National…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,213677,48,213678,28019,32918,832,213679,22073],"class_list":["post-549192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-caises","tag-canada","tag-department-of-biochemistry","tag-faculty-of-science","tag-indigenous","tag-stem","tag-student-success","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}