Myriam Lessard is a 2024 Canada Student Merit Award winner. She achieved this award for obtaining the highest standing of her class in the fourth and final year of her degree. Here is a brief biography of the winner.
Myriam Lessard is a hardworking, optimistic student with a passion for learning and understanding the world. After completing a DEC in Natural Sciences at Cégep de l'Outaouais in June 2022, she began an Honors Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at Université de Montréal in September 2022.
Throughout her academic pathway, Myriam has received multiple prestigious awards, including two Chemistry Department Centennial Excellence Scholarships in 2022 and 2023 awarded to the top three undergraduate students, the Chemistry Department Lionel-Lemay Prestige Scholarship in 2024 awarded to the graduating student with the highest academic record, and the Lucien-Piché Foundation Scholarship in partnership with the Ordre des chimistes du Québec in 2024, in recognition of her excellence at the provincial level.
Beyond academics, Myriam is highly engaged in research. She has completed two summer internships, for which she both obtained an Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Her first internship, conducted in 2023 in analytical chemistry under Prof Jean-François Masson’s supervision, focused on the optimisation of gold and silver nanocubes’ synthesis for biosensor applications. Her second internship, conducted in Prof. Christian Pellerin’s Materials Chemistry laboratory in 2024, explored molecular glass stability and electrospun nanofibers. Myriam has presented her results at several departmental and provincial conferences, earning poster awards, and her findings are expected to be included in upcoming publications. Additionally, Myriam is involved in extracurricular activities. Notably, she is currently leading the Chemistry Department Student Journal, which aims to share departmental news and research.
Myriam will begin a PhD in Materials Chemistry under Prof Pellerin’s supervision in September 2025 and aspires to a career in research, while also promoting science education on social media to make science and chemistry more accessible to the public.
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