Kingston, New Brunswick native Jamie Whitcomb (’11) says the experience she gained in the lab at Acadia University has helped her forge success as a PhD candidate in biochemistry at University of Ottawa.

While her interest in becoming a researcher was sparked in high school, Whitcomb only confirmed her career path after experiencing hands-on research in multiple labs at Acadia.

“I chose Acadia because I wanted a strong science program in a town that wasn't too large,” she says. “In larger universities, research experience for undergrads can be limited. However, at Acadia, I received a lot of opportunities to try it out firsthand. If it weren't for that experience, I'm not sure I would have pursued research at all.”

As she progressed through the chemistry and biology programs at Acadia, Whitcomb chose to focus her thesis on the study of commercial seaweed under the supervision of Dr. David Kristie.

“Dr. Kristie was really invested in helping every student do well,” she recalls. “I can't even count the number of times that my professors took the time to explain something, often more than once, outside of class.”

She says the experiences she had as an undergrad in Wolfville, N.S. helped prepare her for the challenge of post-graduate studies in the nation’s capital.

“I got the opportunity to work in a variety of labs with research interests ranging from botany to photochemistry to genetics,” explains Whitcomb. “I didn't realize it at the time but I was very lucky to have such a well-rounded lab experience. Even though I'm doing different research in a different lab, a lot of the skills I learned in my undergrad translated well.”

Today, Whitcomb is focused on the pathways and processes that underlie cardiac disease. She explains that when the heart becomes stressed due to any number of causes ranging from atherosclerosis, a heart attack, or treatment with chemotherapeutic drugs, the muscle cells of the heart (cardiomyocytes) try to compensate for the stress by getting bigger (hypertrophy) and/or by turning on pro-survival pathways.

“I'm researching how pro-survival pathways in the heart, specifically involving the protein GATA4, are negatively impacted by cardiac stressors to learn more about the progression of heart disease and what can be done to prevent and treat it,” she says.

Her plan is to earn a PhD in Biochemistry from U of O and do continued research in cardiac disease. “I would love to make a real impact on the diagnosis and treatment of a disease that globally, takes more lives than any other,” she says.

Her advice to students considering their first university experience?

“I would highly recommend the science program at Acadia to anyone looking for a well-rounded program with smaller class sizes and supportive professors,” she says. “The nicest thing about Acadia is that if you do find something that you like to do and want to work hard at get better at it, you won't have to look very far to find opportunities.”

Whitcomb introduces Medical Hall of Fame Laureate, Dr. Adolfo J. deBold, in this video. 

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