This scholarship honours the memory and ensures an enduring legacy of a terrific colleague and friend, and a fantastic teacher, inspirational mentor and extraordinary role model for many students – Dr. John Amaral. John was a professor in the Biology Department for 17 years (2002-2019). John fought a courageous battle with cancer for three years, passing away on November 28, 2019.
While at VIU, John taught the second-year core course in Biochemistry and third-year courses in his research specialties and passions of Microbial Ecology and Applied Microbiology. The Dr. John Amaral Memorial Fund was established in February, 2020 to support an annual scholarship in the Biology Department. The Dr. John Amaral Memorial Scholarship recognizes a third-year B.Sc. (Biology) student who shows outstanding academic achievement and independent research potential in the microbiological sciences.