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Based at Ontario Tech University in the Faculty of Science, the CLEAR group conducts aquatic ecology research in a variety of systems including ponds, wetlands, rivers, lakes, and even wastewater systems. We also study the biotechnological applications of algae. Please explore the website to learn more or contact Andrea Kirkwood directly.
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LAB NEWS & CONTRIBUTIONS
28-04-2026 New Paper Alert - Multidecadal trends and shifts in phytoplankton communities before, during, and post delisting of an Area of Concern in Lake Huron. CLEAR lab alumna Dr. Alana Tyner recently published a second paper from her PhD research in the Journal of Great Lakes Research. A link to the open-access paper is here.
20-04-2026 New Paper Alert - Characterizing phytoplankton taxonomic and trait-based composition as a function of water quality, ecoregion, and fishing pressure at the landscape-scale. PhD candidate Sarah Rijkenberg has published her first, first-author paper in the journal Limnologica. A link to the open-access paper is here.
09-04-2026 Big congratulations to Dr. Tomás de Melo for successfully passing his PhD oral examination. Tomas's thesis is entitled "Investigating the dynamics and drivers of human viral pathogens using wastewater-based epidemiology". Tomas has a postdoctoral fellowship lined up in Dr. Denina Simmons' lab that will focus on the development of analytical chemistry approaches to monitoring opioids in wastewater.
07-04-2026 Big congratulations to CLEAR group scholarship winners! PhD candidates Flavia Breje and Ashley Gedge have been awarded Ontario Graduate Scholarships and undergraduate student Purva Puri has been awarded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Undergraduate Student Research Award.
05-03-2026 New Paper Alert - Incongruent changes in water quality over 20 years reveals different roles for land-use and climate across the Lake Scugog watershed. CLEAR group member Dr. Tyler Harrow-Lyle recently published this paper in the Canadian Water Resources Journal. A link to the paper is here.
02-03-2026 Andrea Kirkwood interviewed by The Pointer to discuss the potential impacts of federal job cuts to environmental monitoring and protection. The article link is here.
08-12-2025 Congratulations to Alana Tyner for successfully defending her PhD thesis. Alana recently published her first paper from her thesis research entitled: Nearly 50 years of water quality monitoring shows improvements and remaining challenges for a delisted Great Lakes Area of Concern. A link to the article is here.
03-11-2025 Based on her collaborative research and conservation advocacy in Ontario, Andrea Kirkwood was presented with a 2025 Latornell Leadership Award. Andrea attended the Latornell Conservation Symposium in Woodbridge, Ontario to receive the award.
28-04-2026 New Paper Alert - Multidecadal trends and shifts in phytoplankton communities before, during, and post delisting of an Area of Concern in Lake Huron. CLEAR lab alumna Dr. Alana Tyner recently published a second paper from her PhD research in the Journal of Great Lakes Research. A link to the open-access paper is here.
20-04-2026 New Paper Alert - Characterizing phytoplankton taxonomic and trait-based composition as a function of water quality, ecoregion, and fishing pressure at the landscape-scale. PhD candidate Sarah Rijkenberg has published her first, first-author paper in the journal Limnologica. A link to the open-access paper is here.
09-04-2026 Big congratulations to Dr. Tomás de Melo for successfully passing his PhD oral examination. Tomas's thesis is entitled "Investigating the dynamics and drivers of human viral pathogens using wastewater-based epidemiology". Tomas has a postdoctoral fellowship lined up in Dr. Denina Simmons' lab that will focus on the development of analytical chemistry approaches to monitoring opioids in wastewater.
07-04-2026 Big congratulations to CLEAR group scholarship winners! PhD candidates Flavia Breje and Ashley Gedge have been awarded Ontario Graduate Scholarships and undergraduate student Purva Puri has been awarded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Undergraduate Student Research Award.
05-03-2026 New Paper Alert - Incongruent changes in water quality over 20 years reveals different roles for land-use and climate across the Lake Scugog watershed. CLEAR group member Dr. Tyler Harrow-Lyle recently published this paper in the Canadian Water Resources Journal. A link to the paper is here.
02-03-2026 Andrea Kirkwood interviewed by The Pointer to discuss the potential impacts of federal job cuts to environmental monitoring and protection. The article link is here.
08-12-2025 Congratulations to Alana Tyner for successfully defending her PhD thesis. Alana recently published her first paper from her thesis research entitled: Nearly 50 years of water quality monitoring shows improvements and remaining challenges for a delisted Great Lakes Area of Concern. A link to the article is here.
03-11-2025 Based on her collaborative research and conservation advocacy in Ontario, Andrea Kirkwood was presented with a 2025 Latornell Leadership Award. Andrea attended the Latornell Conservation Symposium in Woodbridge, Ontario to receive the award.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Matters
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA) is the foundation of our group's core values and professional practice. We actively work to make our research sites and labs safe spaces that accept and support everyone with empathy and kindness.
Students of any gender identity, racialized group, or sexual orientation can feel free and safe to come to Dr. Kirkwood in confidence regarding any type of personal harassment.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA) is the foundation of our group's core values and professional practice. We actively work to make our research sites and labs safe spaces that accept and support everyone with empathy and kindness.
Students of any gender identity, racialized group, or sexual orientation can feel free and safe to come to Dr. Kirkwood in confidence regarding any type of personal harassment.
Image by H. A. Brazeau, used with permission. Click on image for purchasing information.
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The CLEAR group at Ontario Tech University acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. The lands we are situated on are covered under the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississauga, a branch of the great Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to a number of Indigenous nations and people who have cared for Turtle Island, also known as North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples. We are thankful to be welcomed on these lands in friendship. Most importantly, we remember the history of poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call these lands home. This history is something we are all affected by as treaty people in Canada. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.
