• 15 Sep, 2025
• Dr. Janine Gray

Paradigm Shift in Biomedical Sciences Education: Dr. Janine Gray’s Vision for Smarter, Kinder Health Care as a leader at the University of Niagara Falls Canada

Magazica: Dear viewers and listeners, we have with us today a person whose efforts unobtrusively shape the future of medicine: Dr. Janine Gray is the Associate Dean of the Honours Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences program. She holds a PhD in Zoology.

With a career that spans two continents, Dr. Gray has not only taught and guided numerous students but also initiated programs that combine science, empathy, and international sensitivity. From creating immersive wildlife ecology experiences to fostering student-driven learning in Canada, her journey is one of curiosity, determination, and purpose.

Her story reminds us that science is not just about texts and labs, it’s about individuals, possibilities, and the transformative power of education. Dr. Janine Gray, welcome to Magazica.

Janine Gray: Thank you very much. I’m very pleased to be here. And that was an awesome introduction, thank you.

Magazica: It’s our pleasure and honour to have you here. So, let’s start at the beginning. Curiosity and career, let’s talk about a turning point. Your biomedical science education began long ago, before you were a professional. Were you a science kid at a young age, or do you recall any personal experience that led you to realize this was not merely a course, but your vocation?

Janine Gray: Growing up, I wouldn’t say I was a science kid. I grew up in South Africa, and science wasn’t a huge deal then, especially for women. I had a very traditional father, and when I chose science and math as my high school courses, he actually went in and changed those choices to cookery and needlework.

Of course, I changed them back, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. What really got me started was a great biology teacher who showed me how interesting and fun biology could be. Mrs. Richardson, who is now Dr. Richardson, was fantastic. She made our classes engaging and enjoyable. It was a very formative time.

Magazica: Yes, and we can thank Mother Nature that you didn’t stick with cookery and needlework. Having an excellent teacher with pedagogical mastery makes all the difference. Biomedical sciences may intimidate many, myself included. I come from HR, which is more on the soft and business side of education, and my undergrad is in sociology. So, how do you make complex scientific material accessible and relatable to students’ everyday lives, especially in Canada?

Janine Gray: I think it’s all about how the material is delivered. That’s something I discovered through my biology teacher. Any topic in science, even if it seems boring or intimidating, can be made interesting if it’s presented in the right way and brought down to the students’ level.

Biomedical sciences are all about the human body, how it works, and what can go wrong. When we get sick or face diseases, understanding those processes becomes very relevant. So, when teaching, I bring in real-life examples. For instance, when you get thirsty, what’s happening in your body? Explaining these everyday phenomena makes the material more understandable, fun, and relatable for students.

Magazica: I couldn’t agree more, especially as a teacher myself. Let’s extend that into our next topic: the power of mentorship. How is the biomedical program at UNF different in terms of empowering students? What makes it special?

Janine Gray: I love the way we run the biomedical sciences program. I’ve been an academic advisor and taught at other institutions, more traditional ones with two semesters a year, each lasting twelve weeks. I often saw students struggle with the workload.

What we’ve done at UNF is a bit different. We have four terms a year, but we teach in only three of them. That allows us to spread out the courses, making the workload more manageable. Students still complete around ten courses in the academic year, but the pacing helps them absorb the material better and reduces stress.

Magazica: By spreading the coursework out a little, students can really focus.

Janine Gray: They can focus more on fewer courses. Many of our students are aiming for careers where high grades are essential. You can’t get into medical school unless you meet a certain academic threshold. So, having fewer courses allows them to concentrate and achieve those grades more easily than if they were juggling five courses per term. On average, we offer about three courses per term, which supports a more focused approach.

Magazica: That sounds like a very pro-student approach.

Janine Gray: It’s not just about how much they learn, but how deeply they can engage with the material.

Magazica: Right, and alongside that, you’re ensuring they receive strong evaluation scores that will support their academic and professional journey. That’s definitely a student-first philosophy.

Janine Gray: Yes, our approach is very student-oriented. It’s about teaching in a way that aligns with how students learn best. If they’re enjoying what they’re learning, they’ll perform much better than if they’re disengaged.

Magazica: What you’re describing really reflects your mentoring philosophy within the Biomed program. There’s clearly a strong emphasis on soft skills as well. You mentioned teamwork, communication, and flexibility. Why do you think these human skills are just as critical as technical skills in health sciences?

Janine Gray: It’s all about preparing for real life and future careers. No matter where you work, you’ll need to collaborate with others. Teamwork is essential, and learning how to work in a group from the start helps build that foundation. It also fosters peer-to-peer communication skills. Most of our students will enter careers where they’ll need to communicate with a wide range of audiences, patients, families, and the public.

Often, they’ll be presenting information to people who don’t have a science background. So, it’s important to teach them how to adapt their communication style depending on the audience.

One day they might be speaking with a researcher, and the next with someone from the general public. They need to know how to pitch their message in a way that’s understandable to everyone.

Magazica: That’s something I’ve realized over the past year. We celebrated our first anniversary on July 1st, and throughout this journey, we’ve had doctors, professionals, and serious academicians like yourself join our platform. What’s remarkable is how you all explain your fields of expertise in such an accessible way.

We represent the common people of Canada; most of us don’t have a medical background. We’re simply beneficiaries of the system, the labor, and the research you contribute. Yet, when you speak to us, it’s clear and engaging. It’s fascinating that you’ve structured your program to prepare students to speak to different audiences, sometimes even on the same day.

Do you train students specifically for that adaptability, or is it built into the curriculum and program design?

Janine Gray: It’s a bit of both. When I teach subjects like biology, some students come in with a bit of background, but I always tell them that science is like learning a new language. You have to learn the terminology. We begin by teaching them how to understand and use scientific terms, while also acknowledging that not everyone speaks at that level.

We also have several communication courses in development. These are designed to help students learn how to communicate with different audiences. It’s not just about how we teach, it’s also about what we teach.

Magazica: From an industry perspective, we often talk about the three major business philosophies, North American, Asian, and European. Across all of them, communication is emerging as the most essential skill. I’m fascinated to hear that you offer dedicated communication courses for your students. That’s so… what’s the word? Upmarket and visionary. Both.

Janine Gray: Actually, we have more than one course. We’re working closely with a doctor who graduated from one of our Caribbean schools, Saba University School of Medicine. He emphasized that communication skills are vital between doctors and patients, and between doctors and families.

So, we’ve introduced a communication course this term to begin developing those skills. Then, in their final year, students can take clinical skills courses that focus specifically on communicating with patients, families, and other audiences.

Magazica: Technology is changing the face of medicine. How do you prepare students to navigate and contribute to this evolving landscape, where health science is rapidly merging with innovation?

Janine Gray: You said it perfectly. It’s changing fast. And it’s not just about computers or digital tools; it’s also transforming the science itself. What we aim to do is integrate technology as much as possible and teach students not to fear it, but to embrace it.

More importantly, we want to instill adaptability. Technology evolves constantly. What students learn today may be obsolete tomorrow. So, we focus on giving them the skills and mindset to adapt to new technologies and learn how to use them effectively.

One of the exciting things we’re implementing is virtual reality. We’re going to use VR to teach anatomy and physiology. We’re currently building a virtual reality room – a large, open space where students can gather in groups and interact with a 3D human body. They’ll be able to explore different body systems in a highly visual and immersive way.

It’s almost hands-on. They can manipulate parts of the body virtually, and they’re learning in a format that feels natural to them. Today’s students are constantly on their devices, many are gamers, and are already familiar with VR. So, we’re meeting them where they are.

Magazica: When students can visualize the position of the heart in relation to the liver or pancreas, it gives them a real-life understanding of anatomy.

Janine Gray: Exactly. I once had the opportunity to experience a beating heart in virtual reality. I could see the valves opening and closing, and the chambers contracting. I can explain that in a lecture, but seeing it is something else entirely. It’s transformative, I love it. Students retain the information far better than they would from a PowerPoint presentation or static diagrams. Their memory retention increases significantly.

Magazica: Let us talk about the One Health Approach. For someone who’s never heard of it, could you explain it simply and share why it matters?

Janine Gray: Absolutely. I’ll start with the CDC’s definition. One Health recognizes that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and the environment. Everything is interconnected.

It’s not just about human health. It’s also about how diseases can be transferred between animals and humans, and how the environment plays a critical role in disease presence. For example, tick populations are low in winter but surge in summer. That environmental shift directly affects disease transmission.

To prevent or control disease spread, we need to consider all these factors. That means bringing together experts from human medicine, veterinary medicine, and environmental science, not just doctors and vets, but also researchers, microbiologists, and others.

The goal is to reduce environmental impacts that contribute to disease, and to collaborate across disciplines to prevent outbreaks. COVID-19 is a prime example. It spread rapidly, and we weren’t prepared. But the response involved not just medical professionals and vaccine researchers, but also experts in animal health and environmental science.

We learned that even domestic animals, like cats, could contract and transmit COVID. So, understanding these cross-sector impacts is vital. We may not be able to stop every outbreak, but we can work together to limit its spread and prepare better for the future.

Magazica: That means One Health is such a holistic concept, looking at well-being not only for the human species, but also for the ecosystems we live in. That’s… wow. Please, go on.

Janine Gray: Our populations are growing, and we’re moving into geographical areas where animals already live. That brings us into closer contact with wild and domestic animals, increasing the likelihood of disease transfer. So, working on ways to prevent that is essential.

In the past, we didn’t mix much globally, travel between continents was rare. Now, we move easily across borders, transporting animals and people everywhere. That makes it even more important to focus on these three interconnected aspects, human health, animal health, and environmental health, more than ever before.

Magazica: True. It’s the globalization of everything. We travel to different countries, try their cuisine, live in their ecosystems for a few days or weeks, and then return home.

Janine Gray: I think One Health is the lens we need to adopt. Whether we’re talking about human medicine or animal medicine, it has to be approached through the One Health framework.

Magazica: And COVID was, I think, the most recent and one of the greatest wake-up calls.

Janine Gray: It was.

Magazica: Now, let’s shift a bit toward mentoring and teaching. Let’s talk about resilience in academia. Teaching and leading in a high-stakes field can be draining. What habits keep you centered and organized?

Janine Gray: It can be draining, absolutely. But I think what we’re doing at UNF is different, and in some ways, better. Of course, I’m biased, but we’re genuinely excited about our approach. We’re bringing in faculty who are eager to teach differently, to innovate. That energy is contagious.

I have team meetings twice a month, and I always leave feeling energized because my faculty are excited about what they’re doing. We recently had a retreat focused on incorporating AI into education. Instead of fearing it, which many of us do, we explored how to embrace it. We discussed ways to use it effectively and how to teach students to use it responsibly. That kind of enthusiasm among faculty is what keeps me going.

Magazica: This semester, I gave my students a small case study, just 5% of their course grade. I told them to use ChatGPT or any AI platform, but they had to include two things: first, the platform they used and whether it was free or paid; second, the prompt they used to extract the answer.

Janine Gray: That’s great. And it’s important to remember that not everything AI produces is accurate. It has biases, and students need to be aware of that. The old method of cutting and pasting isn’t the right way to use it.

We need to teach them to reassess and review the information. They should verify the sources and ensure they’re credible. Some sources can be fabricated, and students need to learn how to spot that.

Magazica: That’s so true. After that assignment, I spent an hour and seventeen minutes with the class reviewing the AI-generated answers. I reminded them: it’s artificial intelligence. You, my friends, are human intelligence; you have better deductive power.

Janine Gray: Exactly.

Magazica: AI can give you information, but you have to determine whether it’s contextually accurate and usable. It’s fascinating to hear that you’re thinking this way. Many of my colleagues are still afraid of AI. I tell them, you can’t avoid it, so make the best of it.

Janine Gray: They’re going to use it, no matter what. So let’s teach them to use it effectively.

Magazica: That’s the right word, effectively. So nice of you to share that. Thank you. Let’s talk about breaking barriers. Have you ever had moments when you had to bend the rules to win a battle or drive change in education or healthcare? Leadership often demands that. How did you do it, or how did it feel when you uplifted something for the better?

Janine Gray: At heart, I’m not really a rule breaker. I mean, I was when I was younger, but in the world I’m in now, it’s a bit more challenging. Still, I try to find ways to work around limitations or drive change. It’s important to speak up.

One example I’ve already mentioned is our term system. By giving students additional terms and allowing them to focus more deeply, we’re addressing one of the biggest challenges I saw at other institutions: student burnout.

Students were overwhelmed and unable to achieve what they wanted because the workload was simply too much. Reducing that load, even slightly, has made a big difference. So, while I may not be a rule breaker, I do recognize when something is better, and I advocate for it.

Magazica: Trust me, I earned one master’s degree in the UK and another at UofT. I wish I’d had that kind of semester system during my student life.

Janine Gray: Exactly. You’d think that with four terms instead of two semesters, and each term being ten weeks of instruction plus a week or two for assessment, students would be getting less. But in fact, we offer four hours of instruction per week, plus three-hour labs for certain courses. That adds up to 40 hours of instruction over ten weeks, more than the traditional 12-week semester with three hours per week.

Magazica: We’re just concentrating on it a little more, and in a more efficient and effective way.

Janine Gray: Exactly.

Magazica: A message to our everyday listeners: most of our readers and viewers aren’t scientists, but they care deeply about their families and their health. What’s something you’ve learned through your research that could make their lives a little easier?

Janine Gray: There’s a lot I’ve learned. One of the biggest things is watching our first cohort grow. As a brand-new university, we’re seeing students come in, develop, and share their experiences. We meet regularly with student representatives, take their feedback seriously, and try to implement changes based on what they tell us.

Listening is key. We’re learning from them just as much as they’re learning from us. Their voices matter.

Another thing I’d share is the value of our pre-med pathway. It offers a direct route into our Caribbean medical schools, which can be a daunting process for many students. By streamlining that path, we remove a lot of the stress and guesswork, allowing students to focus more on their studies. Another thing I’d share is the value of our Pre-Med Pathway. It offers a direct route into our partner Caribbean medical schools.

Magazica: So, looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of biomedical sciences? Do you have any new projects or ideas that fire you up at the University of Niagara Falls Canada?

Janine Gray: That’s a tough question. I love what we’re doing, and I love that it’s constantly evolving. We’re always learning, not just from students, but also from the rapid changes in technology. We have regular meetings with professionals from the health care sector through our Program Advisory Committee. These industry experts review our curriculum and give us feedback on whether we’re on the right track or need to make adjustments.

That interaction helps us keep our program current, not just in terms of technology and content, but also in the skills we’re teaching. Staying up to date is essential.

Magazica: As we near the end of our conversation, we like to ask everyone in a leadership position this final question. As a leader, mentor, and experienced researcher, how would you like your legacy to be remembered?

Janine Gray: You know, I’m quite a humble person most of the time. But for me, it all goes back to my biology teacher. It’s about inspiring students, making sure they love what they’re learning.

I’ll share a story about my daughter. She came to one of my lectures on “Bring Your Child to Work Day” when she was in grade nine. Before that, I used to struggle to get her interested in biology. I’d tell her, “Study it, it’s fun, enjoy it.”

That day, she asked how long the lecture would be. I said, “An hour and a half.” She replied, “Oh, that’s as long as a movie.” So I told her, “Sit at the back, and if you get bored, you can go to the coffee shop next door and wait for me.”

But she stayed for the entire lecture. At the end, she came bouncing up to me and said, “Mom, that was wonderful! I loved it!” We were talking about lungs and gills, not exactly the most thrilling topic, but she found it fascinating. That’s what I want for my students.

That’s the legacy I hope to leave: that students love learning. It’s not about mastering a specific topic, it’s about embracing the joy of learning itself.

Over the years, I’ve taught a wide range of courses. I’m a zoologist by training, but I’ve taught sports science students, hairdressers, psychology students, you name it. I just love learning new things, and I want my students to feel the same way. To embrace every learning opportunity and take it further.

And now, my daughter is going to become a teacher. She’s going to teach biology. What more could I ask for?

Magazica: If that’s what you pass on to your students, that they learn to love the subject and love teaching, then that’s a legacy worth celebrating.

Janine Gray: It’s what we want in life, right?

Magazica: So lovely to hear. I should add that your experience as a researcher and educator is vast. You’ve taught such a diverse spectrum of students. And I couldn’t help but notice the picture behind you that says, “Innovation flows here.” Your teaching must be incredibly innovative to resonate with such a wide range of learners.

Janine Gray: Thank you. I try to be.