People - Migicovsky Lab

Zoë Migicovsky

Dr. Migicovsky (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in Biology and Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Agri-Food and Sustainable Agriculture at Acadia University. She draws on a decade of experience with perennial fruit crops to study variation in plant diversity at both a trait and genomic level. Of particular interest are consumer perception related traits such as fruit quality, nutritional content, and appearance. In addition to cultivated agricultural plants, her work examines variation in crop wild relatives for use as rootstocks, breeding, and conservation.

To view her publications visit her Google Scholar page. She can be reached at zoe.migicovsky[at]acadiau[dot]ca

Mckenna Batstone

Honours (2024-2025), Previously Research Topics (Winter 2024)

Mckenna Batstone (she/her) is a third year undergraduate student at Acadia University. She is majoring in biology and women’s and gender studies. After completing fieldwork during her exchange semester in Australia, she is excited to be doing research at Acadia. She is currently working on inventorying Malus (apples) found in botanical gardens across Canada as a part of a conservation and climate adaptation strategy for Canadian apples. Away from class, Mckenna enjoys playing and coaching hockey, watching soccer, reading, and walking her dog, Zoey.

Emily Dawe

Research Topics (2024)

Emily Dawe (she/her) is a fourth-year undergraduate student at Acadia University. She is majoring in biology with a minor in sociology. After her work terms doing river restoration and soil testing in Annapolis Valley’s vineyards and orchards, she is excited to try her hand at growing new crosses of grapevine. Emily will be measuring primary vegetative growth traits in eight grapevine crosses with a focus on tendril development. Away from class, Emily enjoys community theatre, nature walks, and soaking in the sun with a good book.

Kylie DeViller

Co-op Student (Summer and Fall 2024)

Kylie DeViller (she/her) is a fourth year Bachelor of Computer Science student at Acadia University with interests in data analysis. During the summer, she worked on image analysis to examine the variation in shape and size of apples. She is currently working a co-op work term during the fall continuing this project, but also working on strawberry aroma and the various data and computational needs of the lab. Kylie comes from the Yarmouth area of Nova Scotia and is an avid curler.

Clay Elzinga

Masters Student in Biology (2024-2026)

Clay Elzinga (he/him) is in his first year of study for a Master of Biology at Acadia University after completing a BSc at Brock University. His research is focused on genome-assisted breeding of the Rosaceae fruit including apples and strawberries, and a GWAS of their aroma compounds. He has previous research experience with apples at the Vineland plant development lab. Clay is from the Niagara region of Ontario and enjoys outdoor activities like biking, hiking and camping.

Jenna Floyd

Data Analytics Research Assistant (Fall 2024 - Winter 2025)

Jenna (she/her) recently graduated from Acadia University with a Bachelor of Science with Co-op. Although she majored in Psychology and Computer Science she has decided to explore the study of Biology through data analysis. She is currently analyzing gene and trait data from apple trees to improve resistance to climate change. Outside of the lab she can be found reading or playing video games.

Riley Lemieux

Research Topics (Fall 2024)

Riley Lemieux (he/him) is a 4th year biology student at Acadia. He is currently working in the lab as a research topics student conducting image analysis on Honeycrisp apple trees and measuring the growth patterns of tree rings to better understand the impact that rootstocks have on wood anatomy. Outside the lab Riley enjoys running, hiking and playing sports.

Carmen Peng

Research Skills (Fall 2024)

Carmen Peng (she/her) is a second-year biology and math student at Acadia University. She loves nature. Having grown up in the Annapolis Valley, she wants to continue exploring and contribute to agriculture development. She is very excited to work in the Migicovsky lab, allowing her to pursue research in data analysis and plant development. This fall, she is doing a morphometric analysis on apple leaves to see how the shape and size differ across the leaves. Outside of lab, Carmen loves eating berries and apples, hiking, and playing piano.

Alison Purcell

Master’s Student and KC Irving Environmental Science Centre Research Associate, Tissue Culture Technician (2023-2024)

Alison (she/her) has previously worked in the lab (2023-2024) as a Tissue Culture Technician in partnership with Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia (CTCNS) focused on somatic embryogenesis and cryopreservation of Balsam fir genetic lines. She is an Acadia University biology alumni and has been working in government, industry, and academic research roles focused on agronomy, plant breeding, and extension before joining the Migicovsky lab. Alison is in the first year of her Master of Science degree in Biology to remediate virus in unique strawberry germplasm using tissue culture, evaluating morphological trait differences and plant performance among infected, remediated and nuclear plant stocks. Alison’s interests outside of the lab include gardening, growing houseplants and collecting vintage.

Terrell Roulston

Research Assistant (Fall 2024 - Winter 2025)

Terrell (he/him) is a research assistant and community ecologist, working on Malus and Vaccinum crop wild relative research. Using GBIF records he aims to investigate how climate change will affect the distribution of suitable habitat for these important CWR. He comes from the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at UBC where during his Masters he researched the effects of honey bees (Apis mellifera) on the functioning of plant-pollinator networks. An Annapolis Valley native, in his spare time you can find him on his bike or uploading to iNat.

Lachlann Simms