Welcome to the Lab Terrell!!

I’ve known Terrell Roulston for a long time (18 years, I think). We come from the same rural corner of Nova Scotia (I’m from Canning, and Terrell is from nearby Sheffield Mills – often referred to as BC : Back of Canning). This is a bit of a silly regional joke, but one that seems appropriate to establish some background.

When someone from the area is getting into insects… I usually hear about it from friends and family at home, so I knew that Terrell had been doing some entomological research! Then, a couple years later, a mutual friend happened to run into Terrell on a train in Portland. Through one of those small-world conversations, they realized the hometown connection – and that we work in a similar research space. Then the connections kept popping up, and I started keeping a closer eye on the work Terrell was doing. I have really enjoyed seeing the thoughtful and impactful work he’s been contributing to, and increasingly leading. It has been exciting to watch his growth as a scientist and to see the wide array of questions he has been tackling.

Over the past few years, Terrell and I had the opportunity to collaborate on a really fun project focused on opportunities and threats associated with the conservation of native Malus species. Working together confirmed what I had strongly suspected: Terrell is not only an excellent researcher, but also a genuinely collaborative and curious colleague, and a wonderful human being. Throughout that project, we spent a lot of time talking about science, future directions, and the possibility of finding ways to work together more formally down the road.

As it turns out, that opportunity has arrived. I’m thrilled to share that Terrell has joined the lab with the support of one of Canada’s most competitive graduate scholarship – the NSERC CGRS-D! Yahoo!

Outside of research, Terrell has a wide range of interests that reflect his curiosity and love of learning. Whether he’s thinking about nature education (bee walks), out on his bike (Terrell rode across Canada in 2024) – he brings the same energy and thoughtfulness that make him such a great scientist. Those qualities also align remarkably well with the culture of our lab and, set him up nicely to tackle the kinds of interdisciplinary questions we enjoy asking.

Terrell and I are still working through the specifics of his graduate project, but one thing is certain: it has gotta involve pollinators and agriculture: two topics that are central to many of the challenges and opportunities facing our food systems. Terrell is also really into quantitative methods – which I find very exciting, as this is an area where I love to learn from others. There is a lot of exciting work ahead, and I am genuinely looking forward to the collaborations, discussions, and discoveries that will emerge over the next few years. Terrell, I’m honoured and humbled that you’ve chosen to join the lab. Welcome aboard. I can’t wait to see where this next stage of your academic journey takes you.