A chance encounter at a conference with Associate Professor Adam Ford brought Dr. Melanie Dickie to UBC Okanagan, continuing on a path that would eventually be a gold medal journey.

“It was a bit of serendipity, a bit of curiosity and a lot of shared values when I first met Dr. Ford in 2019. It was one of those classic hallway conversations—brief but energizing—where you realize someone else is thinking about the same big questions you are. We were both interested in how science can move the needle in real-world decision making.”

Dr. Dickie, who received her doctorate in biology after conducting years of research with UBCO’s Wildlife Restoration Ecology Lab, is UBCO’s 2025 winner of the Governor General Gold Medal for Academic Excellence. The gold medal is awarded annually to the student with the highest academic standing graduating from a master’s or doctoral program.

Originally working with the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, Dr. Dickie had become familiar with Dr. Ford’s work through social media, where their professional interests overlapped in land use, conservation policy and the role of Indigenous leadership in ecological stewardship.

But after that chance conversation, she made the leap to UBCO to tackle “applied, gritty, make-a-difference kind of science.”

“It wasn’t just that the research fit, it was that the lab culture encouraged asking hard questions, working collaboratively and staying rooted in real-world effects,” she adds. “My time at UBCO has been transformational. Working with Dr. Ford and the lab has sharpened my thinking, expanded my skill set and pushed me to a new level as a researcher. It’s been one of those rare experiences where my gut feeling that something is ‘the right fit’ actually turns out to be true.”

Dr. Dickie, who was named a UBCO researcher of the year in 2023, is now back at the monitoring institute but has fond memories—including making Taylor Swift friendship bracelets with fellow researchers while camping—of hard work, driven research, lengthy Zoom calls and lasting friendships that add to the special honour of earning the gold medal. Her ongoing research will continue to cross paths with the Wildlife Restoration Ecology Lab and she will remain connected to the team.

“My time at UBCO helped me grow, and that’s changed how I approach my work—and how our team works together. I’m excited to be continuing to collaborate with Dr. Ford. We’re still focused on what first brought us together: using strong ecological theory to inform applied research that directly supports transparent, data-driven decisions—especially in landscapes where people and wildlife intersect every day.”

Dr. Tal Avgar is a quantitative wildlife ecologist who recently joined the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science as a grant-tenured faculty member in the Department of Biology. His research focuses on pressing issues such as woodland caribou recovery, and the empowerment of Indigenous-led conservation efforts. We connected with Dr. Avgar to learn more about his unique role, research interests, and vision for the future of wildlife science.

Welcome to the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science! Tell us about your role in the Faculty.

I am an assistant professor in the Biology department, but my position is unique as my appointment is 100% research-based.

While I have enjoyed teaching in the past at Utah State University, where I developed and taught an undergraduate ‘Introduction to Ecology’ course and graduate ‘Foundations in Ecology’ and ‘Animal Space-Use Ecology’ courses, my focus at UBC Okanagan will be solely on research and graduate student training.

You have a wealth of experience as a Quantitative Wildlife Ecologist, in both academia and the private sector. Can you tell us a bit about your background?

My background is primarily academic.

I have a BSc in Biology and Geology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, where I also completed my MSc research studying the foraging behaviour of seed-eating ants. I moved to Canada to pursue my PhD at the University of Guelph in Ontario, focusing on woodland caribou research. I subsequently served as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, studying various wildlife species, before joining the faculty at Utah State University. After four years as an assistant professor, supervising nine graduate students, my family and I decided it was time to return to Canada. I accepted an opportunity with the Wildlife Science Centre, which is part of Biodiversity Pathways, a non-profit organization providing research services to federal, provincial, and territorial governments, and communities.

What can you tell us about the Wildlife Science Centre, and what inspired you to take on this role?

The Wildlife Science Centre is essentially a team of highly devoted and incredibly skilled researchers providing a service no other organization, be it academic, governmental, for-profit, or political or ideological, can provide. That service is value-neutral, highly informed and cutting-edge scientific answers to a variety of questions and challenges faced by wildlife managers. With support from some incredibly dedicated individuals in Biodiversity Pathways and UBC Okanagan, my role in the organization has quickly evolved into what it is now – a grant tenure professor in the Biology department at UBC Okanagan, and a senior scientific advisor to the Wildlife Science Centre. I now get to enjoy both worlds, and I am loving it!

Was there a defining moment when you knew you wanted to become a wildlife scientist? What led you to work in this field?

I do not think I ever consciously decided to become a wildlife scientist. I pursued my MSc in ecology because during my undergraduate studies, I worked part-time as a research assistant on a couple of ecological studies, and I found it incredibly enjoyable. It took me almost three years to complete my MSc research, and by the end, I had not even considered pursuing a PhD, let alone a career in academia. Then my thesis was published in a prestigious journal, and I was looking for an opportunity to leave my home country. One thing led to another, and I soon found myself embarking on a PhD in Canada.

Why study caribou, moose, and wolves? Because there was funding for studying these critters here in Canada. Before coming to Canada, I had never seen a moose or a wolf, not to mention a caribou, and I had no aspiration to study any particular species or system. In fact, I still don’t have a specific preference; I’m primarily driven by the intellectual challenge rather than the type of organism I study. However, having the great outdoors as my lab adds some significant bonus points!

Can you expand on some of your research interests? What have been some of the challenges you’ve faced?

My research focuses on what we can, and cannot, learn from animal positional data. For example, GPS tags can frequently and accurately tell us where a specific individual is, but what can they tell us about how many individuals are out there? Motion-triggered cameras can tell us whether and when a given species uses our camera sites, but what can they tell us about why? What might we learn about the viability of a population by monitoring the space-use behaviours of individuals? Can we predict future animal distribution and abundance? It turns out that such questions are incredibly challenging to answer, but the reward is much more than winning an academic argument – it has profound implications for how we manage and conserve wildlife.

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time, and what do you hope to accomplish during your time at UBCO?

I hope, with all my heart, that in five years’ time, I will be exactly where I am now – trying to answer exciting scientific questions while training the next generation of Canadian wildlife scientists. I hope to continue working for and with Indigenous communities, and being part of an inspiring team of collaborators who are researching science that truly makes a difference. One of my favourite aspects of being a university professor is mentoring emerging scientists. I genuinely hope I can contribute to UBC Okanagan’s rise as a national and international leader in the training of top-tier wildlife scientists and the making of top-tier wildlife science.