UNews - radiation

U of L researchers among Venture's Top 50

trevor.kenney — Thu, 25 Jul 2013 22:14:53 +0000

Two ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers from vastly different disciplines have been acknowledged by Alberta Venture Magazine as being among the province's 50 most influential people for 2013.

Drs. David Naylor (Physics and Astronomy) and Robert Sutherland (Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience) made the 2013 list for their achievements in the lab -- outer space, in Naylor's case, and for Sutherland, advocating for the academic community as the President of the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations.

Dr. David Naylor

As an instructor with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's physics department since 1981, David Naylor has taken his lab to the upper echelons of experimental astrophysics. Practically speaking, that means he designs and uses instruments that can measure incredibly small amounts of radiation and light.

His primary project for the last four years has been the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE), a telescope on the Herschel Space Observatory, which was launched in 2009.

The Herschel is winding down its mission as it runs out of liquid helium to cool its instruments, but its 25,000 hours of studying the universe have already led to 250 peer-reviewed articles, a better understanding of the galaxy and spin-off businesses in the Lethbridge area.

Naylor himself was instrumental in establishing Blue Sky Spectroscopy, a private company that has won several contracts from the European and Canadian space agencies and delivered complex instrumentation to leading research teams across the planet. And the SPIRE's legacy is still in its infancy. Astronomers will analyze the prolific telescope's legacy of data for years to come.

Dr. Robert Sutherland

Rob Sutherland's day job is as a professor and chair of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's department of neuroscience, but his public profile this year has come as a result of his role as president of the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations.

CAFA represents academic associations at the province's four research-intensive institutions (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and Athabasca ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ).

They were all hit hard in the provincial budget in March, with cuts to their operating budgets of more than seven per cent. Sutherland was suddenly thrust into the limelight as a defender of tertiary education from both the budget cuts and the mandate letters sent to the institutions from Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk.

You can be sure the battle will continue for years as the provincial government continues its austerity measures and the universities fight to get their funding back up to – and beyond – prior levels.

The complete list of Alberta Venture's 50 most influential people for 2013 is available here.

SPIRE earns international award

trevor.kenney — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 22:20:47 +0000

A ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge physics research team and a Lethbridge-based high tech data processing company are among the collective group of people behind the Herschel Space Telescope's Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) instrument, which has been awarded the prestigious 2013 Sir Arthur Clarke Award for academic study and research.

The award is in recognition of the scientific achievements of the SPIRE instrument, which was designed, built and operated by an international team of astronomers, scientists and engineers.

SPIRE was co-developed by Dr. David Naylor (physics and astronomy) and a team of researchers who led Canada's contribution to the Herschel project on behalf of the Canadian Space Agency.

Blue Sky Spectroscopy, a Lethbridge-based, high tech company, is one of the three international Data Processing and Science Analysis Software centres for the SPIRE instrument. The mission, launched on May 14, 2009 from the Ariane Spaceport in French Guyana, almost immediately began to shed new light on stars and galaxies by measuring a level of light called far-infrared.

Over a four-year mission period, Herschel -- the largest, most powerful infrared telescope ever flown in space -- made extraordinary discoveries across a wide range of topics, from starburst galaxies in the distant Universe to newly forming planetary systems orbiting nearby young stars. SPIRE is one of three devices attached to the Herschel telescope system.

"SPIRE detects heat and chemical signals that are not visible by optical telescopes, and turns that data into the amazing images and information we and other scientists are using to learn more about the life and death of stars and galaxies," says Naylor.

In addition to literally 'clearing up' the images people have been using for two centuries to look into space, Naylor said the Herschel mission is confirming the existence of molecules on earth that originated in space.

"With SPIRE we can look at the big picture, or the very tiny picture, and gain a whole new insight into how stars live and die. The reason the imagery is so clear is that the space observatory sits more than 1.5 million km from earth, far from our atmosphere, which absorbs virtually all radiation at which far-infrared wavelengths travel. Since the universe emits most of its energy at these wavelengths, Herschel provides us with our first comprehensive view of the universe."

The data and crisp images come from a device about as big as a large microwave oven that took more than 15 years and $100 million to develop – and has to function at a chilly -270C. Herschel operated until the end of its scientific mission on Apr. 29, 2013.

A multi-year data analysis period is now taking place.

The award was collected on behalf of the team by Tanya Lim, of the UK-based STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.

"A lot of people from both science and engineering disciplines have dedicated up to 15 years of their lives of making SPIRE a scientific success," says Lim. "It is wonderful that we can all share in this award and we are very grateful for receiving it."

The UK team is led by Naylor's colleague Matt Griffin, of Cardiff ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, Wales.

"Building and operating SPIRE has taken many years of effort by a lot of very talented people in our multi-national team. They are rightly proud of the scientific success of Herschel and SPIRE, and they are delighted to win this award."

The Sir Arthur Clarke awards are presented annually in recognition of notable or outstanding achievements in, or contributions to, all space activities. They are organized by the Arthur C Clarke Foundation and the British Interplanetary Society, and this year were presented during the conference dinner at the UK Space Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

The full list of 2013 winners are available on the British Interplanetary Society website.

This is the second Sir Arthur Clarke Award for the SPIRE team, with Matt Griffin receiving the award for individual achievement in 2010.

Herschel Mission Operating Phase Wrapping Up

trevor.kenney — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 15:54:37 +0000

A pioneering space imaging mission that sent a scientific instrument co-developed by a U of L researcher on a 1.5 million kilometre trip to deep space aboard the Herschel Space Observatory might be nearing its conclusion, but that doesn't mean the end of the project for the research team.

Dr. David Naylor (Physics and Astronomy) and his team of researchers lead Canada's contribution to the Herschel project on behalf of the Canadian Space Agency.

The instrument, called the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver ("SPIRE"), is one of three devices attached to the Herschel telescope system.

http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/herschel/default.asp

The helium-filled 'gas tank' cooling Herschel's equipment is expected to run dry over the next few weeks – an expected process.

As the coolant diminishes, equipment will stop working, but data transmission will continue until the bus-sized telescope parks itself in a permanent orbit around the sun.

What follows is a five-year post operation phase, where the data obtained during the mission are used to develop improved calibration algorithms to allow the most information to be extracted from the images. Eventually the data will be reprocessed and placed in an archive that will have legacy value.

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Herschel_to_finish_observing_soon

The mission, launched on May 14, 2009 from the Ariane Spaceport in French Guyana, almost immediately began to shed new light on stars and galaxies by measuring a level of light called far-infrared.

Infrared light is invisible to the human eye, but travels well across the universe. Star forming regions emit light at these wavelengths and Herschel can detect it, capturing a wealth of detail such as heat signatures and chemical composition that help astronomers clearly see, for the first time, stars and whole galaxies that have previously remained hidden or only poorly understood.

"SPIRE picks up heat and chemical signals that are not visible by optical telescopes, and turns that data into the amazing images and information we and other scientists are using to learn more about the life and death of stars and galaxies," Naylor said.

In addition to literally 'clearing up' the images people have been using for two centuries to look into space, Naylor said the Herschel mission is confirming the existence of molecules on earth that originated in space.

"With SPIRE we can look at the big picture, or the very tiny picture, and gain a whole new insight into how stars live and die. The reason the imagery is so clear is that the space observatory sits more than 1.5 million km from earth, far from our atmosphere which absorbs virtually all radiation at which far-infrared wavelengths. Since the universe emits most of its energy at these wavelengths, Herschel provides us with our first comprehensive view of the universe."

The data and crisp images come from a device about as big as a large microwave oven that took more than 15 years and $100 million to develop – and has to function at a chilly -270C.

Also gratifying are the unique research collaborations that Naylor sees happening in the future. "Approximately one-third of the time available to researchers is guaranteed to those involved in key projects, and our time is included in that. We see the data here in Lethbridge before anyone else does. Scientists will be seeking our help in analyzing their data and the U of L group will be an important Canadian and international resource."

With an estimated output of up to 7,000 hours per year of data, there should be enough information to keep researchers busy for years – and some of that data flows through Blue Sky Spectroscopy, a Lethbridge-based, high tech spinoff company founded by Naylor in 2003, and now privately owned and operated.

Blue Sky is one of the three international Data Processing and Science Analysis Software centres for the SPIRE instrument. Data are downloaded daily from the spacecraft and stored on the Blue Sky servers.

Its highly qualified staff, all with postgraduate degrees, specialize in custom hardware and software spectroscopic solutions. Customers include NASA, ESA, and CSA, and many leading research institutes such as Harvard, Berkeley, Chicago, Max Planck and Cardiff, NIST, Centre d'Etudes Atomique, Paris, Institute National d'Optique, Canada to name a few.

What's next?

According to Naylor, more research that refines his current SPIRE device to make it suitable for yet another space mission currently under review by the Japanese, European and Canadian Space Agencies.

The project – SPICA, which stands for Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics – is a next-generation version of the SPIRE device, and would perform a similar function on a space telescope planned to launch in 2022.

Learn more about the SPICA project, here: http://research.uleth.ca/spica/index.php

Naylor said Herschel has been an overwhelming success, but its sensitivity is limited by its 'warm' telescope. "At a temperature of -80K (-193C) this may sound cold, but it limits the achievable sensitivity. By cooling a telescope to -6K (-267C) would increase the sensitivity by an astonishing factor of 100, allowing it to explore a volume of space 1000x greater than Herschel".

Building on the success of Herschel, the Japanese Space Agency JAXA is developing such a cooled telescope. ESA has joined forces with JAXA; in return for ESA providing the telescope and a ground station, European scientists will build one of the flight instruments.

Based on the Herschel experience, an imaging FTS similar to the ones Naylor's group has been building for over two decades has been selected and Naylor has been invited to join the international team that will build the instrument known as SAFARI.

The instrument is similar to one that the U of L team has recently commissioned on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, the world's largest submillimetre telescope located atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/JCMT/

The space-based project, SPICA – which stands for Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics – is a next-generation version of the SPIRE device, and would perform a similar function on a space telescope planned to launch in 2022.

In Alberta, a recent and significant collaboration has also been launched with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary, where the U of L and the U of C and Athabasca ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ have formed the Institute for Space Imaging Science (ISIS) to work together on projects that take space research further than Herschel technology, whether on the ground or in the atmosphere.

"By nature, physics researchers don't get too excited, but to see these images and know that we're looking at them in a whole new way, and further that we'll be able to share this information with the public so they can learn about the origins of the universe, is truly exciting," Naylor said.

He estimates that more than 200 papers have already been produced using data from the Herschel mission, and approximately half of those have Canadian co-authors.

The geographical distribution of SPIRE science within Canada is broad with authors affiliated with the following universities/institutions: UBC, Calgary, CFHT, HIA/UVic, Laval, Lethbridge, McMaster, Toronto, Waterloo. As well, a large group of researchers, including more than 30 post docs, undergrad and grad students have conducted research using SPIRE data.

An example of the type of imaging and discoveries made possible by the Herschel Space Observatory can be found here:

Comet 'Demolition Derby' Creates New Information About Solar System Origin

Compelling new images from the Herschel Space Telescope – parked more than 1.5 million kilometres from earth and facing into deep space -- are showing researchers what the formation of our solar system must have looked like at its early stages: a violent, comet-laden disk of debris where thousands of 1 km wide chunks of ice collide and spin around a young star.

http://oshi.esa.int/#list=/images.html?q=pillars;detail=image.html?id=89

The images are made possible in part by technology created by ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers, and designed and built by an international consortium of space agencies, universities and research institutes.

http://www.uleth.ca/notice/display.html?b=300&s=17611

U of L inks international agreements

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:59:31 +0000

Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine – The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge today expanded its linkages in the Ukraine by signing agreements with two research universities.

On behalf of the U of L, Vice-President (Research) Dan Weeks signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ (IFNMU) to collaborate on research studies in occupational and environmental exposures to ionizing radiation. These studies will include the effects of industrial pollutants.

On Tuesday, Weeks signed an MOU with the R.E. Kavetsky, Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the National Research Centre for Radiation Medicine of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine (RCRM) to study the epigenetic effects on the workers at the Chernobyl power plants including cancer occurrences.

Epigenetics is the study of how an individual gene can go wrong or not work properly over a person's lifetime, and in in response to environmental conditions or other factors. (Epigenetics means beyond genetics in Latin).

Weeks also signed an MOU with the Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Oil and Gas (IFNTUOG). This MOU focuses on collaborative efforts in the areas of remote sensing, geomatics, water quality monitoring and water resource management. This collaboration includes the possible exchange of faculty and graduate students in these fields.

Weeks is currently participating in a mission in Ukraine led by the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) aimed at formalizing linkages between Canada and Ukraine, and their post-secondary sectors. The trip includes Canadian ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Presidents, Vice-Presidents and Deans representing Universities from across Canada.

Ukraine connections solidified

trevor.kenney — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 17:36:19 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has formalized linkages with two Ukrainian research institutions to perform collaborative research in the area of occupational and environmental effects of ionizing radiation.

Earlier today, Vice-President (Research) Dan Weeks signed, on behalf of the U of L, a memorandum of understanding with the R.E. Kavetsky Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the National Research Centre for Radiation Medicine of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine (RCRM).

Research performed under the agreement will include studying the epigenetic effects* of ionizing radiation on the workers at the Chernobyl power plants, including resultant cancer occurrences.

In addition to research linkages, future collaborations could also include the exchange of faculty and students between the three institutions.

Weeks is currently participating in a mission in Ukraine led by the Canadian Bureau for International Education aimed at formalizing linkages between Canada and Ukraine, and their post-secondary sectors. The trip includes Canadian ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Presidents, Vice-Presidents and Deans representing Universities from across Canada.

The U of L is a demonstrated leader in epigenetic research. Last week, U of L researcher Dr. Olga Kovalchuk was the recipient of a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Chair dedicated to examining the effects occupational radiation exposure has on men and women working in nuclear industries. Learn more here.

* Epigenetics (which means 'beyond genetics' in Latin) is the study of how individual genes and components of individual genes can change in response to environmental conditions or other factors. In addition to the hard-wired traits in DNA, epigenetic changes can occur in response to a change in lifestyle or other trigger (in this case, radiation exposure) and can be passed from one generation to another.

Kovalchuk earns CIHR Chair

trevor.kenney — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:55:14 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researcher Dr. Olga Kovalchuk is the recipient of a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Chair dedicated to examining the effects occupational radiation exposure has on men and women working in nuclear industries.

Canada is home to one of the highest concentrations of nuclear activity in the world. Nearly 40,000 people work in Canada's nuclear industry, while 800,000 individuals work in nuclear sectors worldwide. The number of females working in these industries has increased over time, making this project much more critical.

The Chair, which falls under CIHR's Gender, Work and Health program, will examine whether men and women are affected differently in nuclear work environments, which includes the nuclear power industry, healthcare and research departments.

Dr. Kovalchuk's work will examine whether females are equally protected in these environments. Established radiation protection guidelines are historically based on how the male's body is affected.

"I will collaborate with researchers in Russia and we will analyze their nuclear industry cohort. The knowledge can be applied in Canada and all over the world," says Kovalchuk, whose work was inspired by her experience as a high school student in the Ukraine in 1986, while living only 600 kilometres from Chernobyl, the site of the worst nuclear accident in history.

This Chair will provide an exciting opportunity to develop an international collaborative network. The network will have research representation from Canada, USA, Russia and key knowledge-users including Defence Research and Development Canada, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Health Canada and the Nuclear Information and Resource (NIRS - USA).

"The Chair will be an initiative that will have a global impact and will position Canada as a global leader in radiation and environmental health research and radiation protection research," says Kovalchuk.

The CIHR award is for $800,000 over five years.

Vice-President (Research) Dr. Dan Weeks says this funding exemplifies the important contribution that U of L researchers are making in improving the quality of life of Canadians.

"This type of research is representative of the impact U of L faculty members continue to make for the benefit of Canadians. Dr. Kovalchuk's work will benefit tremendously a segment of the workforce that faces particular risks," says Weeks. "The impact the U of L is making in health related areas grows every year."

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is the Government of Canada's health research investment agency. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health-care system.

RSS change a positive move

trevor.kenney — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 19:07:47 +0000

They say with change there is growth, and with growth there is opportunity.

The recent amalgamation of Risk and Safety Services (RSS) with Security Services elicits some exciting changes as RSS grows its portfolio.

As part of the changes, RSS is pleased to welcome Lorna Selinger, who is assuming the position of Biosafety Officer. Selinger graduated from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan with a bachelor of science degree in agriculture. She started her career with Eli Lilly and has held positions with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan, the province of Saskatchewan, Agrium and most recently with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Selinger brings to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ a wealth of knowledge and significant experience in microbiology. She was highly involved in the design, implementation and training plans for compliance with containment Level 2/2+standards outlined in Containment, Biosafety and Biosecurity Guidelines as required by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

As the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's academic and research programs have expanded, the need to grow the biosafety program became evident. Selinger will be taking over the portfolio from Bruce McMullen, who diligently managed biosafety for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ since the early 1990s.

RSS also announced that Carolin Cattoi-Demkiw, who has successfully managed the radiation safety, chemical safety and laboratory safety program for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge since 2005, has been appointed Manager, Safety. Reporting to the director of Risk and Safety Services, Carolin is responsible for the supervision of the safety officers. She also assumes the management and oversight of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's safety program, which includes occupational health & safety, radiation, laser, chemical and laboratory safety as well as biosafety.

Golsteyn on cutting edge of cancer research

trevor.kenney — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 16:46:18 +0000

Roy Golsteyn is an associate professor of biology and an Alberta Ingenuity faculty member at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. He is an example of the growing numbers of faculty who conduct world-class research while maintaining a teaching schedule that brings that research into the classroom.

He directs the Cancer Cell Laboratory where his team studies the problem of how cancer cells escape a cancer treatment. The majority of cancer patients in Canada will receive some form of treatment, such as chemotherapy or radiation, and unfortunately these treatments are not as successful as we would like them to be.

To improve them, we need to understand all the steps that occur after a treatment. Golsteyn's research team has developed a new experimental system that uses microscopes and special biological tools to study how cancer cells react to treatments. They have found that after a treatment, cancer cells will divide one more time, a "double-or-nothing" gamble called checkpoint adaptation that may produce cells that are resistant to future treatments.

Golsteyn's laboratory studies checkpoint adaptation in collaboration with biotechnology companies and the pharmaceutical industry, with the goal of helping doctors improve treatments for cancer patients.

Looking deep into space

trevor.kenney — Wed, 02 May 2012 22:29:26 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge will host the first and only SPIRE (Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver) consortium meeting to be held in Canada on May 3-4 in Banff, Alta.

SPIRE is a dishwasher-sized case loaded with technology created by U of L researchers and designed and built by an international consortium of space agencies, universities and research institutes. It is one of three instruments on the Herschel space telescope, which was launched in 2009 and is orbiting 1.5 million km from the earth.

As the lead Canadian researcher for the Canadian Space Agency's contribution to the Herschel Space Observatory, U of L researcher Dr. David Naylor (physics and astronomy) has played a key role in the development of SPIRE.

Dr. David Naylor will welcome 50 esteemed researchers to the first SPIRE consortium meeting.

Functioning at a chilly -270C, SPIRE observes the universe at very long wavelengths, those well beyond the limit of human vision. Radiation emitted at these wavelengths is able to travel relatively unimpeded through even the densest regions of space, allowing astronomers to view back in time to the formation of the first galaxies.

Recent discoveries from Herschel are showing the far reaches of space in greater detail than ever before, including what the formation of our solar system must have looked like at its early stages: a violent, comet-laden disk of debris where thousands of 1 km-wide chunks of ice collide and spin around a young star.

More than 50 researchers from around the world will gather to update their colleagues on the Herschel mission, share data and discuss the outcomes of their research to date.

Dr. Steve MacLean, president of the Canadian Space Agency and former astronaut, will give the opening address.

For more information about the research team and the Banff meeting, visit research.uleth.ca/spire

5 questions with . . . Dr. Roy Golsteyn

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:38:56 +0000

Roy Golsteyn is an associate professor of biology and an Alberta Ingenuity faculty member at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Dr. Roy Golsteyn directs the Cancer Cell Laboratory where his team studies the problem of how cancer cells escape a cancer treatment.

What first piqued your interest in your research discipline?

I actually recall clearly when I first became interested in cancer research. I was a research fellow at the Institute Curie. At that time, a medical research laboratory had published the results of a clinical trial in which a new anti-cancer drug was tested. The trial was deemed to be successful, and yet upon studying the results I was stunned to learn that many of the patients in the clinical trial succumbed to the disease. It was then that I realized just how difficult the disease is, and that doctors and patients need better treatments.

How is your research applicable in "the real world"?

I am a basic research scientist who studies cancer cells. In my laboratory, our goal is to contribute to the cure. Cancer is a major disease that touches many people, including indirectly our family and friends. We sometimes collaborate with biotechnology companies and with the pharmaceutical industry, in which case we focus on real world problems such as improving existing cancer drugs.

What is the greatest honour you have received in your career?

The greatest honour is leading research projects that are funded by charitable donations. People generously give their money without asking precisely how it will be used. We try to meet this honour by doing the best research that we can and by sharing our knowledge as quickly as possible.

How important are students to your research endeavours?

Students are the lifeblood of research. When we train them, we quickly see the weak points in our own knowledge. When they become autonomous, they think of questions that we had not yet even imagined and thus they push at the old barriers in science. Finally, the best students have incredible energy and an open mind, something that we seem to lose as we get older. We need students in research.

If you had unlimited funds, which areas of research would you invest?

Very simple. Rather than funding an area of research, I would fund scientists who are very motivated and propose a well thought-out question. Motivated people get things done, so it seems natural to help them go to work. Our best ideas come from the imagination, not from instructions. Our knowledge about how cancer cells divide came from someone who studied cell division in sea urchin eggs. It was not expensive research, but it was amongst the most valuable and that made it an excellent investment.

Each month, the Legend will present 5 Questions With . . . one of our researchers. For a look at the entire catalog of 5 Questions With . . . features, check out the Office of Research and Innovation Services website at www.uleth.ca/research/research_profiles. If you'd like to be profiled, contact Penny Pickles at pickpj@uleth.ca

This story first appeared in the February 2012 edition of The Legend. To view the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - radiation

U of L researchers among Venture's Top 50

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SPIRE earns international award

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Herschel Mission Operating Phase Wrapping Up

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U of L inks international agreements

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Ukraine connections solidified

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Kovalchuk earns CIHR Chair

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RSS change a positive move

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Golsteyn on cutting edge of cancer research

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Looking deep into space

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5 questions with . . . Dr. Roy Golsteyn

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