Posted on Nov. 7: Outstanding graduate student awarded Governor General’s Academic Medal

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/kamunde_colour.jpg” caption=”Collins Kamunde”]A strong thesis and a productive PhD program, rich with published papers and important findings in the area of copper metabolism, have earned Collins Kamunde the 2002 Governor General's Academic Medal. The medal is awarded to the graduate student who achieves the highest academic standing in his/her graduate degree program.

Kamunde came to McMaster in 1998 to complete his doctorate under the supervision of biology professor and fish physiologist Chris Wood. Already the holder of a BA and M.Sc. in veterinary science and veterinary anatomy, Kamunde had a strong background in animal research and academic preparation upon arriving at McMaster. He is on study leave from his position as an assistant professor in the veterinary anatomy department at the University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Kamunde finished his doctoral program at McMaster in under four years, contributing significant new findings to his chosen area of research. His work examined copper metabolism and toxicity in fish with particular emphasis on the interactions between waterborne and dietary uptake pathways.

Kamunde's investigations showed that two routes (branchial and gastrointestinal) of copper uptake by fish are responsible for maintaining copper levels and that they interact in establishing a copper balance in fish. In his research, Kamunde found that branchial copper uptake increased with elevated waterborne or dietary copper providing an unexpected link between uptake of copper by gills and diet. He also discovered an important association between sodium and copper uptake.

“His thesis research raises serious questions about how one establishes water quality guidelines for copper. Collins' thesis research suggests that additional factors such as dietary copper load, dietary sodium content, and whether the gills had undergone prior copper acclimation also influence the copper-binding capacity of the gill,” Elizabeth Weretilnyk, chair of the Biology Graduate Studies Committee, wrote in nominating him for the award.

His doctoral thesis, titled “Interactions of Dietary & Waterborne Copper in Rainbow Trout, Oncorhyncus mykiss,” contains six papers, now all published or in press, and Kamunde has made several presentations at scholarly meetings in Canada and abroad. In fact, of his 13 contributions already published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, he is listed as the first author on eight.