Recipient of the Presidents’ Alumni Award from the Univervsity of Victoria, Dr. Jennie Christensen is the CEO and founder of TrichAnalytics Inc., a leading global laboratory whose methods have revolutionized wildlife biomonitoring and represent a major leap forward in environmental sustainability. One of her most notable studies overturned the longstanding theory that lead poisoning doomed the crew of the 1845 Franklin Expedition, instead pointing to a severe zinc deficiency as the likely cause. 

“From the age of six, I struggled with trichotillomania—a compulsive hair-pulling disorder linked to OCD. It shaped my childhood and my self-perception in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time. But during my PhD at UVic, I discovered something unexpected: the incredible science of hair. The more I learned, the more my perspective shifted. Now, I can confidently say I’m probably the only hair-obsessed toxicologist analyzing hair today.” 

Click here to read more about Dr. Jennie Christensen.

Full list of recipients can be found here.