Tokarz, Danielle
HBSc, 2008
Danielle completed an H.B.Sc. degree in 2008 at UTM, specializing in chemistry. Her honours chemistry research project with Dr. Ulrich Fekl (chemistry) included working with Dr. Virginijus Barzda (physics) on an interdisciplinary project to study the nonlinear optical properties of thin films embedded with platinum-containing complexes. Danielle loved the project so much that she stayed on to complete a Ph.D. in 2014 at UTM under the joint supervision of Dr. Barzda and Dr. Fekl where she studied the nonlinear optical properties of carotenoid and chlorophyll molecules as potential dyes for nonlinear optical microscopy. Danielle then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in 2015 under the supervision of Dr. Brian C. Wilson at the University Health Network where she investigated diseased human tissues using a technique that she helped to develop in Dr. Barzda’s lab, polarization-sensitive harmonic generation microscopy. In 2015, Danielle moved to Boston, Massachusetts to take up an NSERC postdoctoral fellowship under the supervision of Dr. Charles P. Lin at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. There Danielle developed a novel harmonic generation microscope for intravital imaging of bone in mice calvaria. In 2017, Danielle joined the Department of Chemistry at Saint Mary’s University as an Assistant Professor. She is currently an Associate Professor in the department, and has an active interdisciplinary research group which straddles the fields of chemistry, physics, biology and engineering.
What advice would give to undergraduate women who are interested in pursuing a career in STEM?
My advice to undergraduate women who are interested in pursuing a career in STEM would be: Follow your interests, it will lead you to somewhere amazing.