Bio
Elyn is a PhD candidate in the Johnson Lab, formerly co-supervised by Dr. Dana Devine in the Centre for Blood Research. She completed her BSc at Carleton University in Ottawa, with a combined honours in Neuroscience and Biology. Originally interested in vascular contributions to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, Elyn pivoted her studies in 2021 to focus on understanding blood components circulating in the vasculature through a more clinically-relevant lens: transfusion medicine. Her current research is centered around identifying and understanding sources of “bag-to-bag” variability in blood products, with a focus on characterizing products from blood donors with diabetes. As Canadian Blood Services is one of few blood services worldwide where most individuals with diabetes can donate blood, we are in a unique position to generate quality-related data that can inform other blood services about implications of expanding donor eligibility criteria, especially with the rising prevalence of diabetes. In her free time, you can either find Elyn outside exploring all that British Columbia has to offer (on rollerblades, on her mountain bike/road bike, in hiking boots, or in her kayak), cooking with her friends, at the yoga studio, or playing hockey.