Featuring the Articles and Artworks of this year’s contributors The 2025-2026 The Abstract Editorial Team is pleased to present our … More
Tag: MSURJ
The first-ever ‘The Abstract’ Magazine! – Fall Edition (Part 1)
Featuring the Articles and Artworks of this year’s contributors The 2025-2026 The Abstract Editorial Team is pleased to present our … More
MSURJ Author Profiles 2026
Want to meet the undergraduates behind the upcoming MSURJ issue? Check out the profiles below…
The pharma heroine: Frances Kelsey and the thalidomide tragedy
Cover Image: Lilly Guilbeault, January 2026 By: Sagit Yessim, Contributing Writer If you have ever taken CHEM 211, then chances … More
MMR vaccine hesitancy – mindset and misinformation
Cover Image: Ella Yang, February 2026 By: Isla Stiff, Contributing Writer Resurgence of Measles within Canada Measles is a highly contagious … More
Empire in the bloodstream: The Opium Wars and their after-effects
Cover Image: Painting by Nikita de Jonge, January 2026 Article by: Parmida Talebi, Contributing Writer In the early nineteenth century, British … More
Parasitoidism acquaints a wasp with strange bedfellows
Virus particles used as gene delivery vectors by parasitoid wasps—and people? Cover image: Signe Dixon, February 2026 By: Jacob Van … More
The epigenetics of exercise: Strengthening your muscles and your mind
Cover Image: Liadan Lawson, February 2026 By: Becca Carballal, Contributing Writer Finals season is fast approaching, and with it are … More
Where is the St. Lawrence headed?
Cover image: May Wang, February 2026 By: Quinny Boyle, Contributing Writer Stretching from Lake Ontario, past Montreal, and out to … More
Origins of the nervous system as told by sea sponges and comb jellies
Cover Image and Figures: Auden Akinc, February 2026 By: Jacob Van Oorschot, Contributing Writer Who branched off first: comb jellies … More
MSURJ Author Profiles 2025
Want to meet the undergraduates behind the upcoming MSURJ issue? Check out the profiles below…
AI spy with my little eye: The future role of artificial intelligence in medical diagnostics
Many healthcare workers are afraid of being replaced by AI in the workforce–but as far as we know, there’s no reason for medical practitioners to worry.
So, vampires would get bloodborne diseases, no?
Lately, I’ve been concerned for the health of vampires. While I may not bear the curse of eternal life, I clearly have a bit of extra time on my hands. But seriously, vampires’ strictly-blood diet has me worried, due to all the blood-borne diseases they would be exposed to.
Memory beyond the brain: How non-neuronal cells are capable of remembering
Memory has long been a central focus of neuroscience and psychology, with extensive research exploring how information is encoded, stored, and received by the brain. A groundbreaking new study had introduced the possibility that memory processes may also be occuring outside the brain.
Beyond the fall: Embracing life after breast cancer
In the relentless pursuit of a cure, we have made incredible strides in cancer diagnosis and treatment– turning what was a seemingly insurmountable challenge into a journey of resilience and hope. With these new highly sophisticated, individualized treatments extending the average life expectancy and survival rate for people with cancer, it is time for our narrative to shift from survival to the full restoration of life and well-being.
Micro-allies in our gut help us fight cancer
Cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized oncology over the last three decades, but a serious problem remains: more than half of treated patients do not respond to the therapy. Recent research, including work at McGill, reveals that manipulating the microorganisms living in our gut could help improve treatment outcomes.
Can animals think about thinking?
An overview of metacognitive studies in non-human animals. This may make you feel guilty about killing that insect crawling on your wall at 1A.M.…
Flu season and the future of influenza in a post-COVID world
With every winter comes flu season. What does that mean? Between larger pandemic outbreaks like the 1917 Spanish flu and a few others since, we run into seasonal epidemics of the disease. Influenza is far from a steady presence in our lives throughout the year; in Canada, seasonal influenza is a phenomenon that ramps up every November, peaks in the winter, and all but disappears come summertime. What causes this cycle, and, following the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, how will it be altered in future years?
MSURJ Author Profiles 2024
Want to meet the undergraduates behind the upcoming MSURJ issue? Check out the profiles below…
MSURJ Author Profiles 2023
Want to meet the undergraduates behind the upcoming MSURJ issue? Check out the profiles below and attend the MSURJ Launch on … More
MSURJ Author Profiles 2022
Want to meet the undergraduates behind the upcoming MSURJ issue? Check out the profiles below and attend the MSURJ Launch … More
First language shapes later processing patterns in the brain
By Leanne Louie Whether you still speak it or not, your first language dictates the way your brain processes … More
Meet MSURJ: Sebastian
Hello MSURJ enthusiasts! My name is Sebastian Andric and I am a Junior Editor on the MSURJ team. I am … More
Meet MSURJ: Meng
Hello, hello! I’m Meng, one of the co-Editors-in-Chief for the 2015-2016 school year. I am a graduating pharmacology student minoring … More
We’ve been featured!
MSURJ, currently in its 11th year of print, was recently featured by the McGill Tribune as one of the best scientific publications … More
Meet MSURJ: Alex
Hello everyone! I’m a U2 Computer Science student, and have recently joined MSURJ as an editor. I have research … More
Meet MSURJ: Aditya
Aditya Mohan is a youth leader in STEM from Ottawa, Ontario who has always been keenly interested in science and … More
Undergraduate Research 101 with MSURJ: A Fond Recap
Just this past week, on a somewhat blustery but clear night, our research journal team did something groundbreaking—we did a … More
Meet MSURJ: Sapan
I was born and raised in Northern New Jersey, and am a third-year student pursuing an Honours Anatomy and Cell … More
Meet MSURJ: Tatiana
Hello readers! My name is Tatiana Alejandra Sanchez, and I am in the fourth year of my undergraduate studies at … More
Meet MSURJ: Adam
Hello friends! My name’s Adam and I’m the Managing Editor for Outreach on MSURJ! I’m studying biochemistry and will be … More
…And we’re back!
We’ve been busy revamping both our website and the abstract blog, but we’re back in business and ready to launch … More
Infinity Series I: Finite area with infinite perimeter
This is the first entry of the “Infinity Series”, which will introduce you to the peculiar world of infinity. Today, … More
Black holes and dinosaurs
So the last topic was on the idea of infinity (remember that we have to be careful about infinity – … More
What is infinity?
To read more by Shunsuke: http://msurjblog.com/author/shunsukekatayama/ “I love you to infinity”, “I love you to infinity plus one”, “I love you … More
Welcome Back!
Welcome back, McGillians! If you’re anything like us, you’ve promised yourself that you’ll really buckle down and study more this … More
Q&A with freezing-rain researcher Sophie Splawinski
Sophie Splawinski is an MSURJ contributor studying in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at McGill. Her research into … More
Happy studying, and see you next year!
Hello, readers! This is our final post of the semester. We hope that finals are going well! To help you … More
On choosing the perfect project
By Mason Sun When I started to search for an area of research right for me, it felt like trying … More
Mouth-to-mouse resuscitation: A first-hand overview of rescue in research settings
By Blair Jia One time, I almost kissed a mouse. It was the summer before my senior year in high school. … More
La Mathematica dell’Arte
Meet our third series blogger, Shunsuke, a U2 student majoring in math, and minoring in physics. He will be posting … More
Breaking memories
This is the first post in a twice-monthly series. Hello fellow scientists! Have you ever wondered what the life of … More
The chemical conundrum
The Abstract will feature every-other-weekly posts from three undergraduate students who are doing research at McGill. This is the first post … More
Why I want to do, what I want to do
By Natalie Gottlieb As you are sitting down and taking a few minutes to read this, there is a countless … More
Ask MSURJ: What do you wear to a lab interview?
Members of the editorial board answer questions about life in the lab, research, and everything in between. Farah: Dress shirt, dress … More