Q&A with Emma Adamson-De Luca: AIMA Laboratories, McMaster BioPharm & more 🔬

Hi everyone! My name is Emma (she/her) and I am a fourth-year undergraduate student at McMaster University. I am pursuing a Bachelor of Health Sciences in the Biology and Pharmacology Co-op program (BioPharm). I started my degree in the general Health Sciences program and applied to BioPharm in the winter semester of second year, as it is a third-year entry specialization. In second year, I took some time to reflect on my interests, learning style and what I wanted to take away from my degree. I was fascinated by cell biology and how compounds that are found in nature or made in a lab can act on microscopic signaling pathways in the exact manner necessary to alleviate symptoms of disease. I knew that I was an analytical thinker and enjoyed research-based, independent learning. I have also worked part-time throughout my degree and wanted to gain work experience in the health sciences sector. With all of this in mind, BioPharm seemed like a perfect fit: the course selection aligned with my academic interests (we take Pharmacology courses exclusive to BioPharm that follow a research-oriented, problem-based learning style) and the program includes 12 months of co-op placements.

In my professional career, I am unsure if I will land in academia or industry, but I aspire to help improve reproductive health and overall well being for women and gender diverse individuals. At its essence, pharmacology is about problem-solving; after chronic underfunding towards research for female-dominant diseases (check out this interactive report published in Nature), there are countless problems that remain unsolved. 

In my free time, you’ll probably find me at a coffee shop or reading (mostly historical fiction and medical history) ☕️📚

In 2022, I completed an 8-month paid co-op term at AIMA Laboratories, a start-up company based in Hamilton. AIMA is working on a diagnostic tool for endometriosis. Endometriosis is characterized by severe chronic pelvic pain and period pain and is a common cause of infertility. This condition affects approximately 1 in 10 people with a uterus, or nearly 200 million people worldwide. Even though endometriosis is insanely common, getting a diagnosis is an uphill battle for those affected: people often visit several doctors, experience misdiagnoses, and have their symptoms dismissed. It can take up to 10 years to get a diagnosis. This will be the first at-home blood test for endometriosis that will offer people experiencing pelvic pain or period pain clarity on the cause of their symptoms. 

As a co-op student with AIMA Laboratories, I worked very closely with the company’s co-founders on everything from research and development to marketing to grant writing. Working at a start-up company was unique in that you often have to wear many hats to make sure all the work gets done! On a day-to-day basis, I had access to office space at The Forge and learned about the innovation happening in the Hamilton community by chatting with founders of other start-ups. Some highlights of my position were the experiential learning events I participated in. Our team had the opportunity to attend the Collision Conference, “one of the world’s biggest tech conferences” and the McMaster Innovation Showcase. I also delivered a (successful) pitch presentation for the 2022 Femovate program, through which the design agency Guidea offers user experience (UX) mentorship to Female Technology (FemTech) companies around the world. I am honored to have been awarded the McMaster Co-op Student of the Year distinction and to have received an honourable mention from Cooperative Education and Work-Integrated Learning, Canada for my work at AIMA Laboratories. I am incredibly grateful for the unwavering support of my supervisor and the overwhelming response from my peers and the McMaster community!

This was not a posted position; I secured this position through my professional network. About one year before my first co-op term, during the winter semester of my second year, I was searching for research opportunities as many science students do :) I cold emailed researchers within the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department and then the department research coordinator who circulated my resume to department faculty. Dr. Jocelyn Wessels reached out to me, and I joined the Foster/Wessels endometriosis research group as a research assistant. I worked part-time on projects including analysis of data from a pan-Canadian survey of people with endometriosis; manuscript drafting, and preparation of documentation for a clinical trial. Turns out that Drs. Wessels and Foster decided to start a company (you guessed it… AIMA Laboratories) which was born out of 10 years of research at McMaster University. The position was built around the needs of the company and my interests. I interviewed for this position, but the process was informal since I had previously worked with Drs. Foster and Wessels.

I entered undergrad with the perception that a health sciences degree would ultimately lead to a career in medicine or academia. In my position at AIMA Laboratories, I was introduced to the biotechnology sector for the first time, where the science and business worlds collide, and research is harnessed to solve real world problems. I decided to explore industry further in my final co-op term as a Project Coordinator Intern at FUSE Health Inc. FUSE Health is a healthcare communications and marketing agency based in Toronto that is ‘inspiring mobilization’ by improving communications between healthcare practitioners, pharmaceutical clients and patients. In my past research and co-op experience, I have quickly come to understand the importance of making science accessible, and I am excited to be exploring this avenue further with the incredible FUSE Health team this summer.

To learn more about AIMA Laboratories, visit their website and follow them on Instagram and LinkedIn. If you or someone you know is interested in taking the at-home test for endometriosis when available, you can sign up for their newsletter to receive updates.

If you want to get in touch, feel free to contact me directly via LinkedIn or email ([email protected]) :) 

If you are a first or second-year McMaster student in a Science or Health Sciences program, I would highly encourage you to consider adding co-op to your degree. Visit the Science Career and Co-operative Education (SCCE) page for more information. If you are studying at a different university or not in a co-op program, there are still opportunities to participate in work-integrated learning! Check out Experiential and Work-Integrated Learning Ontario for more information.

My motto is: if you do not ask, you will not receive. As students, I feel like I always hear rhetoric surrounding what isn’t possible… how there are no jobs available, no funding, or no time in our schedules for more responsibilities. 

Spoiler alert… opportunities do exist, but you have to actively seek them out, communicate your expectations, and advocate for your own success!! Are you interested in working at a specific company, but don’t see any public job postings? Email them or message the recruiter on LinkedIn. Are you fascinated by a professor’s research, but they don’t have a lab website? Email them anyways! Have you been offered an unpaid summer position? Research funding opportunities available and share them with your employer.

The worst case scenario is that nothing changes which, really, isn’t bad at all. The best case scenario is you land that internship or make a connection that will jumpstart your career.