{"id":11912,"date":"2019-06-21T09:00:34","date_gmt":"2019-06-21T15:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/canadianglycomics.ca\/?p=11912"},"modified":"2019-06-21T10:07:30","modified_gmt":"2019-06-21T16:07:30","slug":"indigenous-diversity-in-science-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianglycomics.ca\/fr\/indigenous-diversity-in-science-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous diversity in science research"},"content":{"rendered":"

GlycoNet\nInvestigator Dr. J\u00f6erg Bohlmann\nand his mentee Olivia Baptiste bring inclusiveness to the forefront<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
GlycoNet Investigator Dr. J\u00f6erg Bohlmann and his mentee Olivia Baptiste. (Photo: supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Ali Chou<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\na member of Soda Creek Indian Band in British Columbia, Olivia Baptiste grew up\nas an athlete. She learned about science in high school, but never pictured\nherself to set foot inside a research laboratory. It wasn\u2019t until 2015 that an\nopportunity ignited her passion for science research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\ngrade ten, Baptiste participated in the Verna J. Kirkness Science and\nEngineering Education Program<\/a>, where she explored living on the University\nof British Columbia (UBC) campus for a week while shadowing a scientist from\nthe Faculty of Forestry. Throughout the week, Baptiste completed mini projects\nusing wood products and learned to identify different types of trees from a lab\nfield trip. Since then, she was determined to pursue research.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baptiste, now a second-year undergraduate student at the UBC, is conducting research within a GlycoNet project with Network Investigator\u00a0Dr. J\u00f6erg Bohlmann<\/a>\u00a0from the Michael Smith Laboratories. Her project, in collaboration with a postdoctoral fellow at the\u00a0Withers Lab<\/a>, focuses on the production of a carbohydrate-decorated plant metabolite, which serves as a drug candidate to treat diabetes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From\nforestry to carbohydrate biochemistry, Baptiste\u2019s journey into research may\nseem smooth. However, coming from an Indigenous origin and as a\nfirst-generation university student in her family, she recalls several\nroadblocks when she first thought about pursuing research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The underlying\nchallenge <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrowing\nup, there hasn\u2019t been much encouragement nor awareness for scientific research\nin my community,\u201d says Baptiste. \u201cAt the university, I started noticing the\nlack of diversity in science. I haven\u2019t met many Indigenous students in\nresearch, and it was intimidating to step into research on my own without a\nrole model to look up to.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\n2016, Indigenous people amount to 4.9 per cent of the Canadian population.\nAmong all Indigenous population, only 7 per cent pursued post-secondary degree\nin science and technology. Beyond post-secondary education, even fewer were employed\nin professional, scientific, and technical services. The historical reasons for\nthis are complex, and the present reality is heavily underrepresented\nIndigenous people in science. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More diversity in\nscience<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As\nBaptiste\u2019s mentor, Bohlmann is aware of the underrepresentation of Indigenous\nstudents and the need for increasing diversity in science. From a researcher\u2019s\nperspective, he stresses that this issue, if not properly addressed, may limit\nthe scientific community to drive innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cScientific\nresearch generates knowledge that improves our society,\u201d says Bohlmann. \u201cBut\nwhen we exclude contributions from certain parts of the community, it pushes us\nfurther away from improving society because none of the fractions can assume the\nvoices of others completely.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mentoring with\nlistening ear and guiding hand<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The\ntwo main reasons why Indigenous students are a minority in science are inadequate\nawareness and difficulty in identifying role models. For Baptiste, working\ntogether with Bohlmann has been rewarding, and his mentorship impacted\npositively her overall experience in research. With support and guidance,\nBaptiste\u2019s confidence has boosted significantly. \u201cAs a minority group member, I\nwouldn\u2019t be able to commit to research if I didn\u2019t have my mentor (Bohlmann)\nalongside,\u201d says Baptiste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to fostering mentoring relationship\nwith his mentee, Bohlmann acknowledges diversity and supports various opportunities\nfor Indigenous students. Baptiste initially came to the Bohlmann lab through\nthe UBC Indigenous\nUndergraduate Research Mentorship Program<\/a>, and\nsubsequently received the NSERC USRA<\/a> award to\nspend four months in the Bohlmann lab. For\nthe past four years, the Bohlmann lab has been engaging Indigenous youth in\nlearning about science through mentorship programs and outreach activities.\nEvery year, two Indigenous high school students spend a week in the life of a\nscientist in the Bohlmann Lab to dig deeper into the biochemistry of forest\ntrees and medicinal plants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEarly\nexposure to laboratory research will help high school students explore the\noption of post-secondary education, as well as creates awareness of possible\ncareer directions,\u201d explains Bohlmann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embracing diversity\nwith an open mind<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Encouraging\nmore diversity in science starts from promoting awareness to the public. At the\nsame time, it is important that the science community bears an open mind to\nembrace diverse culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA\ncommon mistake for scientists is that we may assume there is only one way of\ngenerating knowledge\u2014through modern scientific method,\u201d says Bohlmann. \u201cWe\nforget that some of the present power of science builds upon a foundation of\ntraditional knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While\nsome people perceive Western practice and traditional knowledge as two\nnon-converging schools of thoughts, Baptiste and Bohlmann say that the synergy\nof both knowledge systems will add immerse value to advancing science and\nsociety. Like collaborative projects, the integration of one knowledge with\nanother brings together varied skill sets, diverse techniques of discovery, and\nindividuals with unique problem-solving capabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cultural\ndiversity is a boon for science. For collaborations to succeed, the scientific\ncommunity needs to embrace diversity and make the most of cultural differences.\nIt is not only about unlocking the excitement from the minority groups, but\nalso about forming connections across lines of difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baptiste,\nwhen reflecting on her path into research, admits that it was bumpy. It took\nher a long way to find confidence in pursuing research because she was\nintimidated by the underrepresentation of Indigenous students in science. Now,\nas a biology major, her passion and perseverance have made her a role model.\nBack in the Soda Creek Indian Band, Baptiste continues to share her stories\nwith her community members, hoping to make connections and inspire more\nIndigenous youth in learning about science research.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GlycoNet Investigator Dr. J\u00f6erg Bohlmann and his mentee Olivia Baptiste bring inclusiveness to the forefront<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11913,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","wpbf-post"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t