Undergraduates shared a year of research, and a new Innovation Stream made its debut.
More than 150 UM undergraduates shared their research and creative work at the 2026 Undergraduate Research Showcase on October 22, competing for $7,550 in cash prizes across five categories.
Projects ranged from a microbial approach to mining to a study of how novice slackliners keep their balance.
This year’s Showcase added a third competition stream. Alongside oral presentations and research posters, the new Innovation Stream invited students to present research with real-world or commercial potential. Its first winner, Juan Sebastian Sanchez Correa, proposed a microbial solution for next-generation mining.
“It is important to recognize the innovative power that research done by UM’s undergraduates has across all aspects of scholarly activity,” said Dr. Hans-Joachim Wieden, Professor, Associate Vice-President Partnership, Knowledge Mobilisation and Innovation, Microbiology. “Innovation and research are closely intertwined, and this should be reflected in the Undergraduate Research Showcase.”
Dr. Wieden said that at UM, research and innovation aren’t limited to specific disciplines or career stages.
“It happens everywhere and anytime,” he said. “We see tremendous potential every day at IDEA START, but it is often overlooked as an opportunity or a potential career path.”
He also had advice for students thinking about getting involved.
“Research and entrepreneurship skills are transferable skills that not only position you on the path to a specific career in or outside the university, but also provide tremendous networking opportunities and build skills that will benefit you at every point in your journey,” he said.
Applied Sciences
Poster format
1st: Karthika Babu, Cloning of the dehalogenase dhlA from Xanthobacter flavus and expression in Escherichia coli
Research Supervisor: Dr. Nediljko Budisa, Faculty of Science
2nd: Tali Nudler, Making Protein Measurements Comparable Across Experiments to Support Rare Disease Research
Research Supervisor: Dr. Rene Zahedi, Max Rady College of Medicine
3rd (tied): Alexandr Yermakov, Smart Shelf For Real-time Food Spoilage Detection
Research Supervisor: Dr. Chyngyz Erkinbaev, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences
3rd (tied): Nathaniel Betts, Effects of Upstream Surface Roughness on Separated and Reattaching Flow over a Wall-Mounted Fence
Research Supervisor: Dr. Mark Tachie, Price Faculty of Engineering
Oral format
1st: Kate Bowen, Resolving the Conditional Mechanism of Trimethylamine N-oxide on Duplex and Quadruplex DNA
Research Supervisor: Dr. Mazdak Khajehpour, Faculty of Science
Creative Works
Poster format
1st: Owen Tintor, Pixelframe Housing: A prestressed segmental concrete frame for affordable housing
Research Supervisor: Dr. Inge Donovan, Faculty of Architecture
Health Sciences
Poster format
1st: Hargun Uppal, Investigating Age-Related Comorbidity Biomarkers in Postmenopausal Female Sex Workers Living with HIV
Research Supervisor: Dr. Julie Lajoie, Max Rady College of Medicine
2nd: Bianca Regenio, Investigating the Role of Wood Smoke Exposure on Lung Physiology
Research Supervisor: Dr. Xinhui Wu, Max Rady College of Medicine
3rd: Gabriela Rzeszutek, Undocumented Orthopoxvirus Surveillance Among at Risk Populations in Nairobi, Kenya
Research Supervisor: Dr. Jason Kindrachuk, Max Rady College of Medicine
Oral format
1st: Julian Chuckry, Where would you focus? Attention and balance in novice slackliners
Research Supervisor: Dr. Steven Passmore, Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management
2nd: Isaac Hildebrandt, SSRIs and Placental Development: Fluoxetine’s Impact on Trophoblast Organoids
Research Supervisor: Dr. Lei Xing, Faculty of Science
Natural Sciences
Poster format
1st: Sarah Gledson, Programmed Pyrolysis: A New Way of Identifying Microplastics
Research Supervisor: Dr. Ricardo Silva, Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources
2nd: Mehru Sinclair, From Sturgeon to Walleye: Community-Based Monitoring with Intention
Research Supervisor: Dr. Alistair Brown, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences
3rd: Oreoluwa Anifowose, Relationship between adhesion G protein coupled-receptor L1 (ADGRL1) and agouti-related protein (AgRP) in mouse hypothalamic neurons
Research Supervisor: Dr. Tooru Mizuno, Max Rady College of Medicine
Oral format
1st: Sydney Kay, Targeting TIGIT: De Novo Minibinders and Redesigning Native Nectin Ligands
Research Supervisor: Dr. Zev Ripstein, Faculty of Science
Social Sciences and Humanities
Poster format
1st: Celina Mendez, Parents’ Experiences of a Self-Directed Digital Parenting and Mental Health Program Across Symptom Severity Groups (Qualitative Findings from the LightBEAM Study)
Research Supervisor: Dr. Leslie Roos, Faculty of Arts
2nd: Nishita Das, No Mother Alone: Building Community-Based Peer Support for Perinatal Depression in Manitoba
Research Supervisor: Dr. Kristin Reynolds, Faculty of Science
3rd: Anna Bruinooge, Mental Health Interventions for Family Members of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Scoping Review
Research Supervisor: Dr. Leslie Roos, Faculty of Arts
Oral format
1st: Madison Beale, The Queer Potential of Marcien Lemay and Etienne Gaboury’s Louis Riel Monument
Research Supervisor: Dr. Braden Scott, School of Art
2nd: Marty Fleishaker, Beyond the Headlines: A Critical Analysis of the Media’s Representations of Indigenous Workers in Canada
Research Supervisor: Dr. Adam King, Faculty of Arts
Innovation Stream
1st: Juan Sebastian Sanchez Correa, Waste or wealth? A microbial solution for next-generation mining
Research Supervisor: Dr. Marike Palmer, Faculty of Science
Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to every student who shared their work and every judge who volunteered their time to make this year’s Showcase a success.
The Undergraduate Research Showcase is hosted annually by the Office of the Vice-President (Research and International).
Research at the University of Manitoba is partially supported by funding from the Government of Canada Research Support Fund.
For nearly 150 years, UM has transformed lives through groundbreaking research and homegrown innovation. We push the boundaries of knowledge and do the hard work here in Manitoba to move our community and the world forward. With a spirit of determination and discovery, we are shaping a better future for our province and beyond.
Fall 2026 convocation ceremonies are right around the corner. Follow these tips to ensure a smooth, memorable celebration.
Travelling with digital devices can introduce risks that many researchers may not fully consider.
Celebrate our graduates achievements at the October convocation ceremonies.
Making space for education grounded in Indigenous knowledge systems.
