The 53rd Southern Ontario Undergraduate Student Chemistry Conference took place at the University of Guelph on March 31st, 2025 with significant Department of Chemistry participation, according to Professor Andy Dicks, Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies. "Over 25 students attended SOUSCC from the St. George campus and communicated their research findings as oral or poster presentations.”
According to their website, SOUSCC is an annual gathering of undergraduate chemistry, biochemistry and related area students in Ontario. This event showcases research conducted by undergraduate researchers, while providing an opportunity for students to discuss their research, network and form new collaborations among attendees.
Dicks said that most of the students presenting were enrolled in CHM 395Y (Research Project in Chemistry) and CHM 499Y (Introduction to Chemistry Research). Others discussed work undertaken in Summer 2024 as a funded scholarship awardee.
"SOUSCC--affectionately known as ‘Soosk’--is a first chance for many undergraduates to present research they have done with a faculty member to individuals outside our department.”
Among the UofT students at the conference, three students were honoured for the exceptional quality of their work.
Chloe Baloh, who worked on a CHM 395Y project with Professor Don Weaver, received the Oral Presentation Prize for Biomedical & Medicinal Chemistry. Nicolas Karbaliotis, who worked with Professor Aaron Wheeler, received a poster presentation prize, as did Aaron Zeng, whose supervisor was Professor Dwight Seferos. Both Nicolas and Aaron were CHM 499Y students this year.
“I am fortunate that I was given a project that I enjoy and I have always found presenting to be a fun experience,” Baloh said. "Many people engage in the work as Alzheimer’s disease is a big part of many people’s lives and drug targets for the disease are a hot topic in the scientific community.”
Asked for her reaction to winning the Oral Presentation Prize at SOUSCC, she said, “The best part was telling my lab group. The Weaver group is incredibly supportive and has taught me so much--to represent them well is really rewarding.”
She said that seeing research ongoing in other chemical subdisciplines made the conference exciting, especially presentations by fellow U of T chemistry students. “It was wonderful to see my close friends talk about their research so passionately. It brought me a lot of pride to be a student at U of T and really reminded me of how far we have come as undergraduates! Seeing the people I took first year chemistry with present original research was just extraordinary.”
Baloh hopes to go on to graduate school and eventually get a PhD. “I will be working with Dr. Weaver over the summer on a project that is more synthetic heavy—which I am hoping will give me a better idea about what type of chemistry I want to pursue.”
“With my neuroscience major I initially intended to go into drug discovery for neurological disorders, but I found that I am interested in many other applications of synthesis. I’m hoping to get experience in as many fields as I can!”
She recommends SOUSCC to any U of T Chemistry student considering future attendance. “I can’t recommend it enough. It a fantastic way to improve presentation skills, and it is a fun experience to have with your peers.”
Prof. Dicks agreed, advising students to give some advance thought to attending next year.
“The 54th edition of SOUSCC will be held at our very own UTM in Spring 2026,” he said. “Congratulations to Aaron, Nicolas and Chloe for their efforts!”
It was wonderful to see my close friends talk about their research so passionately. It brought me a lot of pride to be a student at U of T and really reminded me of how far we have come as undergraduates! --Chloe Baloh
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