From left to right, student Brooke Samuel observes classmate Janelle Scott breathing into flow tube to record her respiratory volumes, as Madison Morton watches the LabScribe recording of airflow and lung volume. (Submitted photo)

By paNOW Staff

ANIMAL BODY SYSTEMS

USask biology program expands at P.A. campus

Mar 21, 2023 | 3:00 PM

Some big steps and new journeys will soon take place at the University of Saskatchewan thanks to the recent purchase of laboratory equipment.

In a press release, the school announced Tuesday that its Prince Albert campus is expanding its biology program to include the course BIOL 224 – Animal Body Systems.

The lab work in the course requires students to use the equipment purchased to monitor body responses to different activities, including exercise and a simulated diving experience.

“Students learn better with hands-on experience – putting something in their hands they can manipulate, or using a microscope they can look down and interpret,” said biology professor Dr. Tracy Marchant

“It was critical to us (the department) that we continue with these lab-based experiences, the practical experiences,” she said.

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The course is already being offered at the Saskatoon campus of USask, led by instructor Sherri Fisher.

The Prince Albert course is being led by Joanne Marchand, who has been a lab instructor in the city since 1989.

“Physiology can very much be a ‘bookish-type’ subject, and the equipment can make it real to students,” she said. “When they can record their own heart rates when they can see what happens when they exercise, it makes it real for them.”

Currently, there are 11 students in BIOL 224 in Prince Albert and students are required to use the new computer equipment to study the effects of environmental effects on pulse and conduct electrocardiograms (ECGs) to study electrical activity around muscles.

“They’re looking at living organisms in the lab,” Marchand said. “Human, animal, it’s wonderful. It’s not simulations, it’s real — that’s the big deal.”

Biology department head Dr. Christopher Todd (PhD) said purchasing the new equipment was an important investment in expanding the biology program in Prince Albert.

“Having the facilities and the people that can deliver those courses is important. The equipment is an important part of it, and the people are an important part of it,” he said. “The demand is there, and when those elements come together, it’s an exciting opportunity to pursue.”

The USask biology department applied to and accessed the Tuition Bridge Funding Program to purchase the new equipment through the USask Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic, with support from the College of Arts and Science.

While eventually, students will continue their studies at the Saskatoon campus, expanding the biology program will allow students to stay and study a bit longer in Prince Albert.

“Some students are less comfortable with moving to a bigger city and would like to remain here at least longer if they can,” Marchand said. “Having a lot of correspondence with students over the decades, they say how they were grateful that they started here because for some people, it just gives that little extra time.”

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @princealbertnow