Gary Yang
Gary Yang grew up in the vibrant city-centre of Taipei, Taiwan, where the urban jungle first sparked his interest in learning how human activities drive large-scale changes in the natural environment. Gary spent much of his life in Massachusetts, United States, and his concern for human-driven biodiversity loss and marine range shifts led him to pursue a BSc degree in Marine Biology at the University of Victoria. During his undergraduate studies, he carried out a research project investigating the resilience potential of tidepool sculpin (Oligocottus maculosus) in the face of climate change at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre.
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As an MSc student in the Brown Lab at Simon Fraser University, Gary is investigating the toxicity of a tire wear contaminant associated with road runoff, known as N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N’-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine-quinone (6PPD-quinone) in juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). His research uses a combination of lab-controlled 6PPD-Q exposures and a novel in situ flow-through experimental approach that is applied during heavy rainfall events. By teasing out the link between recurrent die-offs of Pacific coho salmon and 6PPD-Q contamination in urban runoff, he hopes to provide valuable insights that can be used to inform science-based conservation and recovery initiatives for this very important species at risk.