Shoshanah Jacobs

The path that has brought me to the University of Guelph was full of interesting stops along the way. I completed a BSc in Biology with a specialisation in marine biology and studied harbour seal population dynamics and interactions with industry for my honours and Master’s theses at the University of New Brunswick, Saint John. Then I went to Nunavut for my PhD research to work on seabirds. My time in the North sparked my interest in expedition logistics and after I graduated from an Ontario university with a PhD in Arctic seabird ecophysiology, I began my career as a polar expedition leader, spending a lot of time in both the North and the South polar regions. Working in Antarctica inspired me to share my experiences with others and led me to discover my passion for teaching. I worked as a freelance lecturer, teaching about climate change, natural history, and even human history! On my travels and guided by my research, I began to explore the theories of knowledge transfer from biology to other disciplines and the pedagogical methods associated with effective transfer. Now in the Department of Integrative Biology, I’m developing multiple research pathways to support students in learning about scientific inquiry.