by Isabelle Marincic
Hello Lab Blog! My name is Izzy, and I’ve just joined the PVL as an MSc student in May 2025. I am so excited to be a part of this amazing group of scientists. I technically began working for Professor Moores in January as an RA, so I have been with the group for around 6 months. Within these first few months, I’ve begun working on projects related mainly to astrobiology (my favourite subject), including biological methane production on Mars and the feasibility of bacteria inhabiting Martian penitentes. I have also begun TA’ing which has been a new and exciting experience that I honestly have really enjoyed. On top of all of this, I am currently writing my first paper with the lab that will hopefully be submitted by the end of the summer!
The reason for sharing all of this is not only to introduce myself, but to lead into the main topic of this blog post. I am an athletically motivated individual, and I strongly believe in a work-life balance. While I deeply enjoy academics and am grateful to be in the position I am, I always make sure to have an outlet that is separate from academia. After the long days of writing and reading papers, all I want to do is get on my feet and go do something that uses mainly my body rather than my brain. Ever since I was young, I’ve always been really athletic. I played soccer, volleyball, ran track and field and cross country, and just enjoyed being active in general. Now that I am a busy adult, finding time to be active is difficult, but it makes my quality of life so much better that I make sure to find time most days of the week to do something that moves my body. For a few years now I have been into weightlifting, which I aim to do three days a week. When I am not lifting in the gym, I am in the climbing gym 3x a week! I have been climbing for just over two years, and I am so thankful I found this sport. Climbing is fun and relaxing but also has such a strong community that I really enjoy being a part of. I have been able to meet so many people and make so many friends because of this sport, and it is extremely important to me to have spaces to meet people as it becomes increasingly difficult as an adult to do so as I get older. Human connection is something I seriously value in my life, and I can foster this through the athletic activities I participate in.
For some reason, people in the climbing community constantly recruit their non-climbing friends to join climbing. I am one of those people. Since joining PVL I was repeatedly asking my lab-mates to come climbing with me. Some of them were eager to climb, while others I eventually wore down <3. This marked the first official PVL climbing outing. Those from the group able to make it out to Basecamp in downtown Toronto got to experience a fun evening of climbing, specifically bouldering! Bouldering is a style of climbing that does not involve ropes or harnesses where routes are set around 15 ft off the ground at their highest point. Mats cover the floor to break your fall, but proper falling technique is still a must-know before getting on the wall! Routes are organized by level of difficulty and use a V-grading system. Often, V0 is the easiest climb, with climbs getting progressively more difficult as the number increases. My lab mates absolutely rocked (pun intended) at our climbing session! While climbing obviously involves strength and endurance, it is 100% a mental sport as well. I have had to overcome mental blocks when attempting a problem which has only made me a stronger climber, and a more confident person.
Getting to enjoy my favourite sport with my new lab mates was a really fulfilling experience as it allowed me to share something I love, and I had the opportunity to build stronger relationships with people I work alongside every day! Please enjoy the group picture from the evening above :)