Janay MacNaughton

By David Hutton

Fresh off of the defence of her PhD and having just completed the Saskatchewan half-marathon Janay MacNaughton isn’t looking to slow down.

The young U of S physicist, now doctor, whose research into the conductivity in DNA using the synchrotron earned her a profile in Maclean’s in 2004, has received two prestigious fellowships and is leaving the U of S in June for Japan then is off to Stanford University in the fall.

MacNaughton, who researched under Alex Moewes, U of S Canada Research Chair in Materials Science with Synchrotron Radiation, as part of the U of S “beam team” will travel to Japan on a Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) fellowship where she will receive an orientation on Japanese culture and research systems and pursue further synchrotron-related research under the guidance of host researchers.  

There, she will work under Nobuhiro Kosugi at the Institute for Molecular Science in Okazaki studying modeling radiation damage in biomaterials.  Using theoretical techniques developed by Kosugi she will use calculations to predict structural changes that may occur in biomaterials when damaged with radiation.

“Going to Japan will allow me to experience a very unique culture, share ideas, and participate in research in a new location,” says MacNaughton.  “I have never been to Japan and have started to eat sushi to prepare!”

Returning from Japan, MacNaughton will go directly to Stanford University on an NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Canada) post-doctoral fellowship where she will work under Anders Nilson researching x-ray and electron spectroscopies.

Although MacNaughton’s future is up in the air, returning to the U of S is certainly a possibility.

“I am undecided regarding my plans after Stanford. Since Saskatoon is the centre of synchrotron activity in Canada, it is likely that I will be involved with the CLS and the U of S in the future.”

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