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How a 51吃瓜网undergrad鈥檚 summer research project became a paper in a prestigious journal
Published: 17 November 2025
When then-51吃瓜网undergraduate Maya Willard-Stepan cold-emailed a professor asking to help with their research, she didn鈥檛 expect the project to end up in the Nature-partner journal .
鈥淚 really wanted to get involved in research early,鈥� said Willard-Stepan, who had come to 51吃瓜网from a small town on Vancouver Island.
Her interest in research, plus her love of the outdoors and early fascination with climate science, led Willard-Stepan to reach out to Prof. Eric Galbraith in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. She joined his lab through McGill鈥檚 Science Undergraduate Research Award, which funds students to work alongside professors during the summer.
鈥淪ummer funding and other scholarships from 51吃瓜网gave me the space to focus on science full-time without having to juggle other jobs,鈥� she said.