UNews - Claudia Steinke

Micro-credentials in health and business earn provincial funding support

trevor.kenney — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 21:19:39 +0000

Advanced Education awards $838,750 to support new programs in trauma-informed care and personal financial planning

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has once again been successful in securing funding for the creation of new micro-credentials, earning $838,750 from Advanced Education, part of an $8-million investment in micro-credential programming across the province.

The ULethbridge funding will support the creation of a Trauma-Informed Care Micro-Credential in the Faculty of Health Sciences and a Personal Financial Planner Micro-Credential in the Dhillon School of Business. In all, the Government of Alberta announced recently it would support the development of 69 micro-credential programs at 21 post-secondary institutions across the province. The ULethbridge award is the second highest in the province.

“Continuing education and non-traditional programming have long been a way for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to connect further with our communities and encourage lifelong learning,” says Dr. Erasmus Okine, ULethbridge provost and vice-president (academic). “Through micro-credentials, we can reach even more Albertans who are looking to upgrade their skills to enhance their careers or change course and meet the new demands of an ever-shifting job market.”

The Personal Financial Planning micro-credential, comprising nine short online courses, will allow individuals aspiring to a career in personal financial planning to pursue the prestigious Qualified Associate Financial Planner™ and the Certified Financial Planner® designations offered by FP Canada (pending curriculum approval by FP Canada).

“This is a tremendous opportunity for career switchers, existing students, and individuals with degrees in any discipline to open doors to a rewarding high-demand career helping individuals and families have a more secure financial future,” says Dr. Kerry Godfrey, dean of the Dhillon School of Business.

The Trauma-Informed Care Micro-Credential will feature an approach that emphasizes a different vision for how to care for people not only as health professionals but as human beings. The program consists of seven different learning series where students will acquire a better understanding of the sources from which troubling behaviours occur and diseases spring in the wounded human soul. The learnings will help guide people toward a path of individual and collective healing.

“Our schools are full of children with learning disabilities and mental health issues that are trauma-based but the average teacher never gets a single lecture on trauma. Our health-care system is full of clients with debilitating mental health issues and substance abuse issues that are largely the result of trauma, but the average health provider never gets a single course on trauma,” says Dr. Claudia Steinke (MSc ’01), associate professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences Nursing Program. “Most health-care providers are untrained to offer the support that is necessary for the well-being of the traumatized individual. I believe if we had a more trauma-informed society, we would have a society that is much more compassionate. This micro-credential program will help to fill a current gap that exists in our training of health professionals.”

Micro-credential programs support the Alberta 2030: Building Skills for Jobs strategy by providing students with flexible and innovative learning opportunities to help them develop skills for jobs. The programs will align with priority industry sectors outlined in Alberta’s Recovery Plan, including health, technology, agri-business, aviation, veterinary medicine and software engineering, among others.

“Micro-credentials empower Albertans to develop the job-ready skills they need to be successful and build new careers, while ensuring employers have access to the talent they need to grow their business,” says Minister of Advanced Education, Demetrios Nicolaides. “I’m thrilled we’re able to expand this program in a meaningful way that supports our students, post-secondary institutions, employers and industry to secure Alberta’s future.”

In 2021, the Government of Alberta had its first call for proposals for micro-credentials and ULethbridge received $550,000 to develop micro-credentials for the film and creative industry. The Visual Design Micro-Credential has since been created and includes classes such as digital culture and communication; digital video storytelling; foundations of new media; introduction to web development; mobile media; and visual communications basic. The program is set to launch in January 2023.

Skating therapy making significant difference for those living with Parkinson's disease

trevor.kenney — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 17:09:13 +0000

A ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge research group, led by Dr. Jon Doan (PhD '06), is taking a truly Canadian approach to developing symptom management strategies for people living with Parkinson’s disease – using skating and hockey stickhandling skills as forms of therapy.

Their preliminary results are encouraging enough to embark upon a host of parallel activities, including a biomechanically detailed comparison between skating and walking and the development of a skating exercise intervention tailored to people living with Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Jon Doan uses skating, along with other hockey-related skills such as dynamic stickhandling tasks, as therapy for Parkinson's patients.

“When we tested people living with PD, we found that they skated safely and skillfully, at significantly greater velocity than their walking and with significantly bigger arm swing,” says Doan. “Most interestingly, when these patients did some walking locomotion after an episode of skating, they also walked significantly faster than they did before the skating session.”

Doan and his group then added more hockey-related activity to their study, having people complete dynamic stickhandling tasks. They then compared fine motor and gross motor trials of subjects from before and after the tasks to track possible improvement. The discovered improvements in upper extremity motor performance following a period of exercise imply that sport-derived exercise programs may provide neurotherapeutic benefit to PD patients. Their findings have been presented at community patient-oriented events and international conferences, and were recently featured amongst the Hot Topics at the 3rd World Parkinson Congress in Montreal.

The study involves on-campus collaboration with Drs. Ian Whishaw (neuroscience), Lesley Brown (kinesiology & physical education), Claudia Steinke (health sciences) and Natalie de Bruin Nutley (kinesiology & physical education), and has been supported by the Emmy Droog Research Award and Alberta Innovates Health Solutions. A number of undergraduate students have also contributed to the research work that began after Doan and his colleagues saw a television spot with actor Michael J. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease.

“He did an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009, during which he spent some time ice skating with Dr. Oz. He talked about how freeing he found the skating activity, so we decided to begin a pilot study to see if ice skating was safe and feasible amongst people living with PD, and to see how skating locomotion differed from walking locomotion,” says Doan.

The group is currently seeking further funding to test the utility of skating as vigorous exercise neurotherapy amongst Canadians living with early, mild or moderate PD. Reebok has agreed in principle to be in-kind partners on a grant proposal, wherein they would customize some of their BOA recreational skates (by featuring a more manipulable closure system and an embedded motion tracking/movement and music feedback system) for study participants.Specifically, the study proposes a 16-week program combining prescribed skating exercises with personally selected music.

“We’re particularly interested in the possible psychosocial benefits of exercise activity in an arena, which is the social epicentre of many Canadian communities, particularly for those patients who live in rural areas,” says Doan. “If we can get PD patients to the rink for therapy, it puts them in the hub of their community with strong potential to surround them with active family and friends.”

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ recognizes faculty excellence

trevor.kenney — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 21:21:16 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge honoured faculty and postdoctoral fellows across campus who received academic research awards of distinction, secured research funding or published their research findings in the last year at Thursday's Celebrating Research Reception in Markin Hall.

The U of L also recognized those who had books published within the last calendar year.

Below is a list of the awards presented.

Research Awards: External

Alberta Science and Technology Leadership Foundation (ASTech) Award: Excellence in Science and Technology Public Awareness
Kristy Burke | Conference & Event Services

American Oil Chemists' Society Timothy L. Mounts Award
Roman Przybylski | Chemistry & Biochemistry

Campus Alberta Innovates Program (CAIP) Chairs
Chris Hopkinson | Geography, Terrestrial Ecosystems Remote Sensing
Greg Pyle | Biological Sciences, Aquatic Health

Canada Research Chairs
Louise Barrett | Psychology, Cognition, Evolution and Behaviour, Tier 1
Stacey Wetmore | Chemistry & Biochemistry, Computational Chemistry, Tier 2

Canadian Insolvency Foundation Lloyd Houlden Research Fellowship
Gordon Hunter | Management

Confederation of Alberta Faculty Association (CAFA) Distinguished Academic Award
Trudy Govier | Philosophy

Pat Clifford Award for Early Career Research in Education
Michelle Hogue | First Nations' Transition Program

Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal
Reginald Bibby | Sociology
Peter McCormick | Political Science
Richard Mrazek | Education

World Council for Curriculum & Instruction Distinguished Leadership Award
Peter Heffernan | Education

Research Awards: Internal

Ingrid Speaker Medal for Distinguished Research, Scholarship, or Performance
Joseph Rasmussen | Biological Sciences

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Board of Governors Research Chair

Igor Kovalchuk | Biological Sciences
Olga Kovalchuk | Biological Sciences
David Naylor | Physics & Astronomy
Sergio Pellis | Neuroscience

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Scholars
Janice Rahn | Education
Peter Visentin | Music
Judith Whitehead | Anthropology

Research Grants: External

Alberta Advisory Committee for Educational Studies Grant
Noella Piquette | Education
Jennifer Thannhauser | Education

Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development
Wei Xu | Geography

Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research Grant
(2) Claudia Malacrida | Sociology

Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Mary Kavanagh | Art
Taras Polataiko | Art
Janice Rahn/Michael Campbell | Education/Art Co-Principal Investigators

Alberta Gaming Research Institute Grant
Yale Belanger | Native American Studies
Cheryl Currie | Public Health
Gabriela Novotna | Addictions Counselling
Claudia Steinke | Nursing

Alberta Inflammatory Bowel Disease Grant
Sameer Despande | Management

Alberta Innovates Health Solutions Grant
Gerlinde Metz | Neuroscience, Co-Director

Alberta Innovates Health Solutions Sustainability Funds
Roy Golsteyn | Biological Sciences
Aaron Gruber | Neuroscience
David Naylor | Physics & Astronomy
Paul Vasey | Psychology
Ute Wieden-Kothe | Chemistry & Biochemistry

Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN) Grant
Shawn Bubel | Geography
Glenda Bonifacio | Women & Gender Studies
Jon Doan | Kinesiology & Physical Education
Leanne Elias | New Media
Carmen Mombourquette | Education
Monique Sedgwick | Nursing
David Slomp | Education
(2) Carol Williams | Women & Gender Studies

Alzheimer Society of Canada Grant
Shannon Spenceley | Nursing

American Cancer Society Grant
Raphael Lencucha | Public Health

ATB Financial
Gordon Hunter/Dan Kazakoff | Management

Canada Council for the Arts Grant
Mary Kavanagh | Art
Maria Ng | English

Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Grant
Olga Kovalchuk | Biological Sciences
Olga Kovalchuk | Biological Sciences, Co-applicant

Canada Centre for Remote Sensing
Nadia Rochdi/Karl Staenz | Alberta Terrestrial Imaging Centre/Geography

Canada Foundation for Innovation Leaders Opportunity Fund Grant
Aaron Gruber | Neuroscience
Paul Hazendonk | Chemistry & Biochemistry
Andrew Iwaniuk | Neuroscience
Hans-Joachim Wieden | Chemistry & Biochemistry

CIHR Emerging Team Grant
Gabriela Novotna | Health Sciences

CIHR Café Scientifique Grant
Penny D'Agnone | Office of Research & Innovation Services

CIHR Operating Grant
Sameer Deshpande | Management, Co-applicant
Judith Kulig | Nursing

CIHR Research Planning Grant
Sameer Desphande | Management, Co-applicant

Canadian Space Agency Contract
Karl Staenz | Geography
(2) David Naylor | Physics & Astronomy

Canadian Wildlife Federation
Richard Mrazek | Education

Department of Defense Contract
Albert Cross | Neuroscience

European Union FP7 Grant
David Naylor | Physics & Astronomy, Co-applicant

Grand Challenges in Global Health Grant
Gerlinde Metz | Neuroscience, Co-applicant

Health Canada Grant
Judith Kulig | Health Sciences, Co-applicant

Heritage Canada Grant for Aid to Scholarly Publication
Peter Heffernan | Education

Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction Grant
Judith Kulig | Health Sciences

Max Bell Foundation Award
Noella Piquette | Education, Co-applicant

Monieson Centre, Queen's Business School
Gordon Hunter | Management

National Science Foundation
Jennifer Mather | Psychology, Collaborating Consultant

NSERC Collaborative Research & Training Experience (CREATE) Grant
Robert Sutherland | Neuroscience

NSERC Discovery Grant
Louise Barrett | Psychology
Sarah Boon | Geography
Howard Cheng | Mathematics & Computer Science
Saurya Das | Physics & Astronomy
Jon Doan | Kinesiology & Physical Education
Cam Goater | Biological Sciences
Bruce McNaughton | Neuroscience
Jackie Rice | Mathematics & Computer Science
Elizabeth Schultz | Biological Sciences
Robert Sutherland | Neuroscience
Soroosh Yazdani | Mathematics & Computer Science

NSERC Research Tools and Instruments Grant
Amir Akbary | Mathematics & Computer Science
Paul Hazendonk | Chemistry & Biochemistry

Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences
Shahadat Hossain | Mathematics & Computer Science

SSHRC Aid to Scholarly Journals Grant
Peter Heffernan | Education
Edward Jurkowski | Music

SSHRC Insight Development Grant
Abdie Kazemipur | Sociology, Co-applicant

SSHRC Insight Grant
Harold Jansen | Political Science
Heidi MacDonald | History
Noella Piquette | Education, Co-applicant
Paul Vasey | Psychology

SSHRC Partnership Grant
Yale Belanger | Native American Studies, Co-applicant
Henning Bjornlund | Economics, Co-applicant
Glenda Bonifacio | Women & Gender Studies, Co-applicant
Abdie Kazemipur | Sociology, Co-applicant
Richard Mueller | Economics, Co-applicant
Ivan Townshend | Geography, Co-applicant
Wei Xu | Geography, Co-applicant

SSHRC Public Outreach Grant
Debra Basil | Management

TECTERRA
Wei Xu/Karl Staenz | Geography

Research Grants: Internal

Emmy Droog Research Awards in Health Sciences Grant
Cheryl Currie | Public Health
Ruth Grant Kalischuk | Nursing

Interdisciplinary Research Development Fund Grant
Leanne Elias | New Media
Team: John Usher (Management), Janice Rahn (Education), Michael Campbell (Art) and Cheryl Meheden (Management)
Roy Golsteyn | Biological Sciences
Team: Olga Kovalchuk (Biological Sciences) and David Naylor (Physics & Astronomy)
Josephine Mills | Art
Team: Louise Barrett (Psychology), Lisa Doolittle (Theatre & Drama), Emily Luce (New Media), Bruce MacKay (Liberal Education Program) and Tiffany Muller Myrdahl (Women & Gender Studies)
Nicole Rosen | Modern Languages
Team: Inge Genee (Modern Languages), Robbin Gibb (Neuroscience), Claudia Gonzalez (Kinesiology & Physical Education), Fangfang Li (Psychology) and Noella Piquette (Education)
Carol Williams | Women & Gender Studies
Team: Glenda Bonifacio (Women & Gender Studies), Bonnie Lee (Health Sciences), Linda ManyGuns (Native American Studies) and Patrick Wilson (Anthropology)

Parkland Institute Faculty Research Grant
Claudia Malacrida | Sociology

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Community of Research Excellence Development Opportunities (CREDO) Grant
Jerimy Cunningham | Anthropology
Claudia Malacrida | Sociology
Janay Nugent | History
Amy Shaw | History

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Internal
Artistic/Creative Grant
Michael Campbell | Art
Dagmar Dahl | Art
Mary Kavanagh | Art

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Internal SSHRC Grant
Michelle Hogue | First Nations' Transition Program
Janay Nugent | History
Kent Peacock | Philosophy
Amy Shaw | History

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Research Dissemination Grant
Glenda Bonifacio | Women & Gender Studies
Inge Genee | Modern Languages
Catherine Kingfisher | Anthropology
Janice Newberry | Anthropology
Hillary Rodrigues/John Harding | Religious Studies
Arlan Schultz | Music
Amy Shaw | History

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Research Fund Grant
Vishaal Baulkaran/Ebenezer Asem | Finance
Sarah Boon | Geography
Shawn Bubel | Geography
Michael Campbell | Art
Arundhati Dasgupta | Physics & Astronomy
Larry Flanagan | Biological Sciences
Claudia Gonzales/Fangfang Li | Kinesiology & Physical Education/Psychology
Ute Wieden-Kothe | Chemistry & Biochemistry
Jason Laurendeau | Sociology
Raphael Lencucha | Public Health
Hua Li | Mathematics & Computer Science
Heidi MacDonald | History
Kimberly Mair | Sociology
Steve Patitsas/Saurya Das | Physics & Astronomy
Adriana Predoi-Cross | Physics & Astronomy
Drew Rendall | Psychology
Shelley Scott | Theatre & Drama
David Siminovitch/Tony Montina | Physics & Astronomy
D. Andrew Stewart | Music
Mark Walton | Physics & Astronomy
John Zhang | Mathematics & Computer Science

Post-Doctoral Fellow Awards Alberta Innovates Health Solutions Postgraduate Fellowship
Ben Clark | Neuroscience
Corinne Montes-Rodriquez | Neuroscience
Jake Ormond | Neuroscience
Ivan Skelin | Neuroscience
Aaron Wilber | Neuroscience

Canadian Space Agency Space Science Enhancement Award Postdoctoral Fellowship
Matthijs Van Der Wiel | Physics & Astronomy

CIHR Fellowship
Hendrik Steenland | Neuroscience

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellowship (Short-Term) for North American and European Researchers
Noelle Gunst | Psychology

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Research Support Allowance (Short-Term) for North American and European Researchers
Noelle Gunst | Psychology

Book Awards 2013 recipients

M. Gordon Hunter & Dan Kazakoff (authors): Small Business: Journey to Success

Shawn Bubel, James McMurchy & Duncan Lloyd (authors): Record In Stone: Familiar Projectile Points From Alberta

Jean-Baptiste Leca, Michael A. Huffman & Paul Vasey (editors): The Monkeys of Smokey Mountain

Sarah Glassford & Amy Shaw (editors): A Sisterhood of Suffering and Service: Women and Girls of Canada and Newfoundland during the First World War

Geoffrey Hale (author): So Near Yet So Far: The Public and Hidden Worlds of Canada-U.S. Relations

Aaron Taylor (editor): Theorizing Film Acting

Marc R. Roussel (author): A Life Scientist's Guide to Physical Chemistry

Glena Tibe Bonifacio (editor): Feminism and Migration: Cross-cultural Engagements

Robert J. Williams, Robert T. Wood & Jonathan Parke (editors): The Routledge International Handbook of Internet Gambling

Arundhati Dasgupta (editor): Recent Research in Quantum Gravity

John S. Harding (editor): Studying Buddhism in Practice

Yale D. Belanger (editor): First Nations Gaming in Canada

Yongjian Bao & Wenlong Yuan (authors): The Contrarian Way of Crisis Management

Keith Roscoe & Rick Mrazek (authors): Developing Scientific Literacy: Ideas and Strategies for Planning, Assessment, and Instruction

Blythe Shepard & Lorna Martin (authors): Supervision of Counselling and Psychotherapy: A Handbook for Canadian Certified Supervisors and Applicants

Margaret A. Winzer & Kas Mazurek (editors): International Practices in Special Education: Debates and Challenges

Judith C. Kulig & Allison M. Williams (editors): Health in Rural Canada

Olga Kovalchuk & Igor Kovalchuk (authors) Epigenetics in Health and Disease

A healthy collaboration

trevor.kenney — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:51:05 +0000

The inspiration to house the faculties of Management and Health Sciences in Markin Hall has already begun to generate important inquiry through cross-disciplinary collaboration. It has brought together great thinkers and masters of knowledge to tackle some of society's most complex issues.

Dr. Helen Kelley, associate professor of Information Systems in the Faculty of Management, and Dr. Claudia Steinke, assistant professor in both Management and Health Sciences, have launched a well-timed research project that, once complete, may have far-reaching significance in the health-care industry.

Kelley, whose research broadens out into areas such as e-health and change management, says she has always had an interest in health care and how change occurs.

Dr. Helen Kelley, left and Dr. Claudia Steinke work in different faculties but their collaborative work may lead to inspired solutions down the road.

"Certainly, how you manage change and create cultures within the health-care environment is very important. Leadership is key, as is developing cultures that align with the vision that is being established by decision makers here in Alberta."

Kelley says establishing a vision requires buy-in from an entire organization. The very nature of health care sets it apart in many ways from other organizations, not only because of its sheer size and breadth, but also because of the nature of caring for individuals, life-and-death situations and the fast-paced environment.

Steinke's background as an emergency room nurse drew her to the project.

"My experience evolved as a result of being both a recipient and a provider of health-care services in the emergency department. My interests are in applying a service management perspective to the design of service in health care. I focus on the structure, process and outcomes of designing for service excellence in health care."

Steinke says the bottom line is to impact and improve the quality of health-care services being delivered to people, and that begins with improving the quality of the working environment for staff.

"Employees will deliver excellent service to clients when the organization provides them with the resources necessary to deliver excellent service – and when the organization treats them as it would want them to treat customers. Currently, this is not happening in many of the organizations in health care for various reasons."

Educators across Canada and the United States are recognizing the need to offer health-care providers management knowledge, Kelley says. And "having the two disciplines housed in the same building provides more opportunity for those conversations and discussions to start to percolate and bloom."

Kelley and Steinke agree both disciplines need to work together to influence the efficiency and effectiveness of the health-care system.

"The problems in health care are not going to be solved if we continue to work in silos," Steinke explains. "We need a joining of the minds from a number of fields – we need to prepare our students to become leaders and managers in health care who think differently, innovatively, act responsibly and have a broader mindset. We need to foster a culture that thrives on service excellence and we have an opportunity here to promote this within our undergraduate and graduate programs."

Bach excels with scientific approach

trevor.kenney — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 18:22:30 +0000

Megan Bach understands she has an opportunity to make a difference, whether it is on the ice as a member of the Pronghorns women's hockey team, or in the classroom as a 4.0 student aspiring to medical school and a future in neurology. It's probably why she's so mindful of the people who made a difference in her life, and is so willing to give back to the community in their honour.

Bach was named the Canada West women's hockey top student-athlete following the conclusion of the 2010-2011 season. It's an award that comes as no surprise to her coach and is testament to Bach's attitude.

Horns women’s hockey forward Megan Bach is as comfortable on the ice as she is in the chem lab.

"Megan brings excitement and hard work to whatever she puts her mind to," says Pronghorns head coach Chandy Kaip. "She goes above and beyond her coaches' and professors' expectations as a student-athlete. She fits the mold of the ideal student-athlete."

The Champion, Alta. product is in her fourth year of studies at the
U of L, majoring in biochemistry. A fan of the sciences all through high school, Bach was keen on a future as an optometrist. That was until an introductory neuroscience class got her hooked on the brain.

"I really enjoy learning about the brain, it fascinates me," she says. "Learning about the different diseases and how damage to different parts of the brain results in different behaviours really intrigues me."

Bach came to the U of L intent on being a student first. She only decided to try and further her hockey career after she left high school and realized she still longed to play the game. In typical fashion, she won a spot with the Horns by displaying her work ethic.

Bach is a defensive specialist and penalty killer.

"I've always been a defensive forward, I'm not much of a goal scorer but I enjoy the penalty kill, it's simple to me," she says. "The penalty kill makes sense and I just work hard to get the job done."

It sounds familiar to the approach she takes to her schoolwork, an attitude learned from her parents.

"Starting at a young age, they taught me how important school was and to have a good work ethic," says Bach. "It just became habit for me, and it turned into a case where I really enjoyed pushing myself to do the best I possibly could."

It's not always easy to excel in the classroom with the demands of playing a varsity sport chewing up your time but Bach actually finds it easier to get her schoolwork done during the busy Canada West season.

"Time management is the key, and any time I'm away from the rink, I'm doing homework and studying for exams. It's tough but I know that's what I want to do so I'm able to buckle down and focus on it," she says. "It's funny once hockey is done, I have so much more time, I need to try and change gears and manage my time differently. It can be difficult getting into a routine."

Despite the demands on her time, Bach still finds a way to lend her hand in a volunteer capacity. She's especially thankful to a power-skating coach who helped her improve her skills. Ironically, it is U of L Health Sciences professor, Dr. Claudia Steinke, who Bach now assists in running skating sessions for aspiring young players.

"She makes everyone of her students feel special and it's the little things that make a world of difference in a person's life. I can only hope to become half the person she is," says Bach. "I really looked up to her, so when she asked me to help her out with camps, I was happy to do it. It's really exciting to see the growth in girls' hockey and it's fun to get to know some of the girls through the camps that we've done. Seeing them progress and improve is really exciting and rewarding too. What's neat is they come to our games and make signs for us and cheer us on and that's always a lot of fun."

Another Horns' supporter, mathematics professor, Dr. Dennis Connolly, has also impressed upon Bach the opportunities she has before her.

"He's talked to me about doing volunteer work overseas and it's planted a seed in my head," she says. "I'd love to go over and help in whatever way I can. I like to give back to the community because it has always been there for me growing up."

GET THE FACTS

• Bach is scheduled to finish her degree in December 2012, taking extra time because of scheduling conflicts between hockey and courses that require lab work.

• Bach gives credit to her professors for building the Horns' schedule into some of the deadlines she faces for course work. She's also thankful of the Horns' coaching staff and her teammates for their support.

• Bach's family runs a grain farm near Champion. She has a younger sister (13-year-old Christie) who also plays hockey and may one day follow in her footsteps. "She's better than me, getting hat tricks all over the place, it's exciting to watch her," says Bach.

• Bach attended Vulcan County Central High School and played midget hockey in Okotoks, all the while living in Champion. It forced her to implement time-management strategies at a young age in order to excel in her studies.

For a look at the March issue of the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

2010 faculty research awards

trevor.kenney — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:36:52 +0000

External SSHRC Grants
(Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council)

Paul Vasey and Martin Lalumiere (Aid to Research Workshops and Conferences in Canada) $23,663
Claudia Malacrida is a co-applicant on a $1 million CURA through the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta

Independent Foundational Grants

Fangfang Li $4,800
Duane Rockerbie $4,000
Ed Wasiak $3,000
David Gregory $11,780
Malla Stavroula $11,500

CREDO Applications
(Community of Research Excellence Development Opportunities)

Kiki Benzon
Robin Bright
Lynn Kennedy
Kevin McGeough
Janice Newberry
Claudia Steinke/Helen Kelley
Wei Xu

CIHR
(Canadian Institutes of Health Research)

Ute Kothe
Igor Kovalchuk
Gerlinde Metz
Paul Vasey
H.-J. Wieden
Kelley Williams-Whitt

AGRI
(Alberta Gaming Research Institute)

Noella Piquette-Tomei, $10,000
Robert Williams, $44,000

Alberta Innovates-Health Solutions
(formerly AHFMR)

Igor Kovalchuk

ARDN
(Alberta Rural Development Network)

Noella Piquette Tomei
Steve Ferzacca

NIH
(National Institutes of Health)

Bruce McNaughton (2 grants awarded by NIH to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Arizona were successfully transferred to the U of L)

Alberta Cancer Research Institute

Roy Golsteyn

Sport Science Association of Alberta

Jennifer Copeland

Alberta Family Wellness Initiative
(Norlien Foundation)

Noella Piquette-Tomei

NSERC CREATE Grant

Phil Teillet, Physics $1.5 Million over 6 years

NSERC Discovery Grants
(Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada)

Robert Laird, Biological Sciences (Developing and testing the evolutionary reliability theory of senescence) $24,000
Rene Boere, Chemistry & Biochemistry (Redox-generated free radicals: basic science to nanomaterials) $40,000
Paul Hayes, Chemistry & Biochemistry (Organometallic complexes of new pincer ligands: Structure, reactivity and catalysis) $61,000
Steven Mosimann, Chemistry & Biochemistry (Structure and function of PTP like inositol polyphosphatases) $31,000
Nathan Ng, Mathematics & Computer Science (Prime numbers and L-functions) $15,000
Aaron Gruber, Neuroscience (Dopamine modulation of neural dynamics and behavioral flexibility) $27,000
Brian Kolb, Neuroscience (Brain plasticity and behaviour) $105,000
Artur Luczak, Neuroscience (Neuronal population patterns - studying interactions among hundreds of neurons) $26,000
Deborah Saucier, Neuroscience (Neural and hormonal bases of sex differences in spatial ability) $42,000)
Masami Tatsuno, Neuroscience (Quiescent dependent memory consolidation: memory-trace replay during REM sleep) $23,000
David Euston, Psychology (Neural mechanisms of decision making in frontal cortex) $23,000
Martin Lalumiere, Psychology (The nature and functions of genital sexual arousal) $27,000
Paul Vasey, Psychology (The comparative biopsychology of non-conceptive sexuality) $30,000

NSERC Equipment Grants

Aaron Gruber, Neuroscience $96,373
Rene Boere, Chemistry $22,024

* We are unable to post SSHRC winners at this time as SSHRC has not officially announced its award recipients. They will be published once they are made available.

Improving health care through service

trevor.kenney — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:11:40 +0000

Working part time as an ER nurse, Dr. Claudia Steinke (MSc '01), assistant professor for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Faculties of Health Sciences and Management, sees firsthand the strengths and weaknesses of our health care system. Through her professional and personal experience, Steinke became less than enchanted with the delivery of service in health care.

"I decided to apply a service management perspective to the design of services in health care when I realized that the system isn't designed to provide an exceptional service experience to people. I view the design of health services from a structural, process and outcome perspective, and at the organizational level, there is a lack of attention placed on developing the structures needed to provide for high levels of service quality in health care.

Dr. Claudia Steinke is passionate about designing health care services that are individualized, humanistic and forward thinking.

This in turn affects the process (i.e. individual actions) by which services are delivered," says Steinke.

"The whole mentality and culture in health care needs to change," says Steinke, whose award-winning dissertation explored staff and patient perceptions of the service experience in emergency rooms. "Even the physical design of an emergency room makes a considerable difference to the service experiences of patients and staff. In addition, there are studies that show the impact of the built environment on the health outcomes of patients. For example, studies show that patients who have a bed overlooking a window have shorter lengths of stay, require less analgesic, and are less irritable," explains Steinke.

Steinke is a member of several different research teams within various organizations, educational institutions and committees, including the Government of Alberta; the Vancouver Board of Trade; the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Victoria, Faculty of Business; the Vancouver Island Health Authority; Cohos Evamy integratedesign; and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. She has gained a reputation for research excellence, winning an Academy of Management Award in 2009 for her paper on "Empowering Patients through Service Design."

"My research lies at the intersection of five main fields of study: service management, organization theory and design, human resource management, architecture and health care. My focus is largely on designing for climate for service in health care. This starts with the leadership and designing high quality structures for staff because in order for service excellence to be delivered to the end-user (patients), service deliverers (nurses, physicians, etc.) must receive the support of those who serve them," says Steinke. "In my teaching, I teach students to focus on their presence at work, to attend to the built environment and, to anticipate the needs of patients and their families before they ask because those are tangible things that can set the stage for a great service experience."

Steinke is passionate about designing health care services that are individualized, humanistic and forward thinking. She believes the physical design of the service setting plays an important role in this. Integrating her management and health sciences background, Steinke believes her research can influence the quality of services in health care. The 'service' aspect of health care is an area that is poorly understood, insufficiently explored and deserves a much higher presence. "I hope my research brings to light a new way of looking at things. There are many things we can do to improve the system and the quality of services being delivered, but we have to go beyond the boundaries of health care. By integrating different fields, industries, and sectors, we can find innovative solutions to some of the problems we that we currently face in the system," says Steinke.

UNews - Claudia Steinke

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