When Winnipeg is basking in hot summer sunshine, most runners tend to limit their exercise by taking shorter routes or choosing to jog in the early hours of the morning or late in the evening.
But not fourth-year Honours Biology student Melody Hutton.
In 31°C heat at Assiniboine Park, Melody hit the pavement to run 50 kilometres over nearly eight hours to reach the finish line with her team at the 2024 Run the Peg 100 marathon fundraiser.
“Looking back now, I’m surprised I agreed to it,” says Melody. “Ultra-marathons aren’t easy for anyone. I’m glad I did it at a young age and got the chance to practice some mental toughness.”
Melody and the rest of her running team helped raise awareness and money in support of N’Dinawemak Resident’s Place, a 24/7 low-barrier space for individuals experiencing homelessness downtown that offers showers, food and sleeping options to those in need.
Beyond her athletic prowess, Melody is also a dedicated volunteer who serves in a variety of roles on campus. Over the course of her undergraduate career, Melody has worked as a mentor for the STEM Peer Mentorship program (SPMP) helping new university students gain their footing and assists Dr. Jennifer Jeffrey as a laboratory demonstrator for the third-year biology courses Comparative Animal Physiology I and II. She is also a fourth-year representative serving on the executive committee for the University of Winnipeg Biology Student Association where she helps fellow members with coursework and getting involved in teaching assistant (TA) positions and research.
“I’ve greatly enjoyed being involved in so many groups on campus,” says Melody. “Taking part in studies, getting hands-on teaching experience as a TA, tutoring other students, and working with many talented researchers, professors, and post-doctoral students as part of my lab work has helped me build lasting connections to individuals who work in the industry that I want to be a part of after graduating this spring.”
Much of Melody’s work in the laboratory and vivarium focuses on the study of medaka, a freshwater fish species. As a member of Dr. Caleb Hasler’s Fish Biology and Conservation lab since 2023, Melody has used her scientific talent to better understand how minnow brain morphology and gene expression in both the brain and gills change when placed in high C02 environments, as well as how maternal stress can affect lake trout and walleye populations.
“A great deal of fish-related research worldwide focuses on marine (saltwater) species, but climate change also affects freshwater species, with no current model to predict how acidification will impact such environments in the future,” says Melody. “The research I’ve been a part of will help us recognize how high CO2 impacts the brain, gills, and behaviour of a freshwater fish, which we hope increases our ability to understand the impacts of the looming environmental crisis on native Canadian freshwater fish.”
In recognition of her success in the laboratory and commitment to volunteering on campus, Melody was selected as one of two UWinnipeg students to receive the Sir William Stephenson Scholarship. Established in 1984 in memory of Sir William Stephenson, the legendary aviator, spy, and businessman, two scholarships are awarded annually to students who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement, superior leadership qualities on or off campus, with the potential to make valuable contributions to Canada in the future.
“It’s been a very rewarding experience receiving such a distinguished scholarship,” says Melody. “Sir William Stephenson’s reputation for innovation, courage and leadership are legitimately inspiring and I am proud to represent what this award stands for.”
Looking to the future, Melody is headed to the University of Manitoba for a fast-track MSc-PhD Program to complete her doctorate in biology.
“As an undergrad, I’ve participated in fieldwork through an Ontario field course at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) and through helping fellow lab members from Dr. Hasler’s lab in their research projects within Manitoba. However, in the next half of my academic career I’ll get the chance to travel much more,” says Melody. “In June I’ll be heading to British Columbia with my colleagues to study the impacts of water salinity on spiny dogfish shark hearts and am hoping to extend this in the coming summers to fieldwork in Australia as part of my doctoral work.”
After finishing her PhD, Melody hopes to begin teaching as a biology professor in a university setting.
