How a McGill undergrad’s summer research project became a paper in a prestigious journal

When then-McGill undergraduate Maya Willard-Stepan cold-emailed a professor asking to help with their research, she didn’t expect the project to end up in the Nature-partner journal npj Urban Sustainability.

“I really wanted to get involved in research early,” said Willard-Stepan, who had come to McGill from a small town on Vancouver Island.

Climate change could result in contaminant spread in the High Arctic, McGill study finds

Warming temperatures and increased precipitation in the Canadian High Arctic are mobilizing new pathways for subsurface contaminants to spread from more than 2,500 contaminated sites associated with industrial and military sites across the region.

Ancient mammoth tooth offers clues about Ice Age life in northeastern Canada

A worn-down mammoth tooth discovered nearly 150 years ago on an island in Nunavut offers new insights into where and how the Ice Age giants lived and died.

Experts: Social prescribing

As part of a new partnership with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (MSO), member doctors of Médecins francophones du Canada can now prescribe tickets to live performances.  

Homecoming 2025: Water, Climate Change, and the Future

As part of last weekend’s Homecoming festivities, Interim Dean of Science Alanna Watt hosted an engaging and timely event on Friday morning entitled “Water, Climate Change, and the Future,” which highlighted the importance of freshwater science research in the face of a changing climate. 

Experts: Hurricane Melissa

Hurricane Melissa, now a Category Five tropical cyclone, has made landfall in Jamaica. It is the strongest storm to hit the island country in at least 150 years and the most powerful recorded anywhere in 2025. It has caused severe flooding and mass evacuations across Jamaica and along the storm’s projected path, which includes Cuba and the Bahamas. 

McGill experts are available to comment on this topic: 

Fast Radio Burst Conference hosted at McGill for the first time

Physics researchers Amanda Cook and Alice Curtin organize FRB2025, celebrating the 10th anniversary of a major finding in the field Doris Hua, Faculty of Science Communications Assistant

When astrophysicists Amanda Cook and Alice Curtin were attending the Fast Radio Burst (FR

Nineteen new or renewed Canada Research Chairs awarded to McGill

Federal investment boosts McGill’s research leadership with over $13 million for Canada Research Chairs 

Today, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, announced over $198 million in federal funding through the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program, including more than $13 million to support 19 Chairs—nine new and ten renewed—at McGill.  

McGill team pinpoints where a type of cell death begins

A team at McGill University studying ferroptosis, a form of cell death, have discovered that the process begins deep inside the cell, a finding that could lead to new treatments for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

Biology’s Mahnaz Mansoori wins President’s Award for Administrative and Support Staff

Phytotron Manager Mahnaz Mansoori (pictured above, left, with Biology Department Chair Prof. Gregor Fussmann) was one of nine McGill staff members honoured with the President’s Award for Administrative and Support Staff at last week's afternoon convocation ceremony. These annual awards recognize the talent, dedication, and hard work of staff members who have made outstanding contributions to the University’s mission. 

McGill research flags Montreal snow dump, inactive landfills as major methane polluters

Montreal’s methane emissions are unevenly distributed across the island, with the highest concentrations in the city’s east end, McGill researchers have found. The worst polluters include the city’s largest snow dump, which emits methane at levels comparable to the city's current and former landfills, and natural gas leaks.  

Experts: Pedestrian Safety Month

Fall is a dangerous season for pedestrians, with a rise in road accidents linked to reduced visibility and shorter daylight hours. According to the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), October and November consistently see spikes in pedestrian injuries and fatalities, with a notable increase in deaths in recent years.

To draw attention to this problem, the SAAQ marks Pedestrian Safety Month each October, as do authorities in several other jurisdictions.

Millions of buildings at risk from sea level rise, McGill-led study finds

Sea level rise could put more than 100 million buildings across the Global South at risk of regular flooding if fossil fuel emissions are not curbed quickly, according to a new McGill-led study published in npj Urban Sustainability.

McGill physicists manoeuvre DNA molecules using electrical fields

Researchers in McGill’s Department of Physics have developed a new device that can trap and study DNA molecules without touching or damaging them. The device, which uses carefully tuned electric fields, offers scientists unprecedented control over how DNA behaves in real time, creating the opportunity for faster, more precise molecular analysis that could improve diagnostics, genome mapping and the study of disease-related molecules.

Expert: Ocean floor temperature increases

The 2025 Ocean State Report from the Copernicus Marine Service, a European Union ocean monitoring organization, has found that sea floor temperatures off the coast of Nova Scotia have risen at twice the rate of surface temperatures over 30 years.