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.
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.