B.C. air quality scholarship winners

Ayomide Akande is an international student from Nigeria and a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry at UBC. She completed her BSc at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

She works under the supervision of Dr. Nadine Borduas-Dedekind in the NBD group, and her research involves studying the atmospheric effects of volatile organic compounds using the Vocus proton transfer time-of-flight mass spectrometer. She explores how volatile chemical products, such as fragrances, impact the chemical composition of our atmosphere. She investigates this through kinetic studies, partitioning behaviour analysis, and ambient indoor and outdoor measurements.

Outside academia, Ayomide enjoys long walks, community service, blogging, and socializing with friends. After obtaining her PhD, she aims to create a research team that studies air quality and its effects on health. The goal is to conduct research that can help shape policies for better indoor air quality.

Spencer is a second year MSc student in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC, co-supervised by Dr. Kate Johnson and Dr. Emily Brigham, in Respiratory Evaluation Sciences Program (RESP) and Strategic Approaches to Lung Vitality in the Environment (SALVE) labs. He obtained a BSc in Microbiology at the University of Victoria.

His master’s work explores the population level health effects of outdoor air pollution on the development of asthma and exploring the value of policy interventions in reducing the burden of air pollution on chronic respiratory diseases with health economic approaches. He recently performed a systematic review and meta-analysis in quantifying the relationship between exposure to outdoor air pollution components and the development of adult-onset asthma. He is also performing a cost-effectiveness analysis on the value of a subsidized HEPA air cleaner intervention in British Columbia, to reduce biomass related PM2.5 (residential wood combustion and wildfire) asthma and COPD related health outcomes.

Outside of research, Spencer has a passion for outdoor pursuits, and spends his time backpacking, skiing, surfing, cycling, and climbing.