Jennifer Sunday has a passion for marine biology,
conservation advocacy, and science education. Her upbringing in a world
of both fine arts and sciences has lead her to seek connections between
traditional disciplines throughout her early career. She has organized
venues for interdisciplinary discourse at both UBC and SFU, including
the design of an undergraduate course, the creation of a
cross-disciplinary lecture series on climate change, and various
meetings and symposia which combine disciplinary streams within the
biological sciences. She is also an enthusiastic teacher, and has been
a sessional instructor for a large undergraduate course at SFU. Beyond
academics, Jennifer’s passion for conservation advocacy has
brought her into various leadership roles, in which she has lead peers
and student groups in raising awareness and action on conservation
issues.
Jennifer's academic research focuses on evolution
and ecology in marine ecosystems, and the potential for populations to
adapt to environmental change. She seeks to answer big questions
pertaining to past and future climate change, and the response of
species left in the wake. Her dissertation work focuses on a North
Pacific sea star as a model species. Already, she has developed
collaborative projects beyond her doctoral work, including projects on
the biological effects of ocean acidification, and how species’
range distributions relate to their thermal tolerance.
Jennifer serves on various committees and
societies within her field. She takes an active role in shaping the
graduate experience at her own university by sitting on the
Departmental Graduate Studies Committee, and being an active organizer
for the SFU Biology Graduate Caucus. Nationally, she has been an
organizing member for the Canadian Society of Evolution and Ecology,
and internationally, served two years on the student committee for the
Western Society of Naturalists.
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