UNews - Rob Sutherland

Alzheimer’s research at U of L gets significant funding boost

caroline.zentner — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 18:55:29 +0000

Dr. Athan Zovoilis, Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, will continue his groundbreaking research into the molecular mechanisms involved in Alzheimer’s disease thanks to a grant of $918,000 over five years from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Zovoilis, director of the Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre (SAGSC), and Dr. Majid Mohajerani, co-investigator who holds the Dr. Bryan Kolb Professorship/Chair in Neuroscience, are both members of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN). They will combine their expertise in genome sciences and neurodegeneration to help solve the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Dr. Athan Zovoilis

“The funding landscape is quite competitive and this support from CIHR is a great success for CCBN and SAGSC,” says Zovoilis. “With no reliable cure for AD and an aging population, Canada is in great need of interdisciplinary, cutting-edge research on the disease and this funding could help us contribute to the development of new treatments.”

“This award demonstrates the exceptional research being done at the U of L,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, U of L vice-president (research). “With more than 747,000 Canadians suffering from dementia, research like this is both important and urgent as we work toward medical breakthroughs to slow or cure the disease.”

“This grant reflects the quality of the research and synergistic environment at CCBN and its ability through SAGSC to fuse behavioural neuroscience and genome sciences,” says Dr. Rob Sutherland, director of CCBN.

In earlier work, Zovoilis and his team found a new molecular mechanism involved in Alzheimer’s disease in mice and confirmed the same mechanism is at work in people with the disease. They used high throughput sequencing techniques that study the DNA readout of brain cells to identify a class of biomolecules, called SINE RNAs, that are produced in different patterns in AD patients versus healthy individuals.

Dr. Majid Mohajerani

Despite having made tremendous strides in understanding AD, many of the underlying molecular processes in the development of AD are still unknown. Mohajerani, an expert in neural dynamics and memory systems, uses cutting-edge optical imaging devices, biosensors and advanced behavioural methods to get a better understanding of how memory becomes impaired in AD. Combined with Zovoilis’ expertise in bioinformatics and genome sciences, the team hopes to determine how the increased processing of SINE RNAs is connected to AD by studying the relationship in real time using a mouse model.

“It makes sense to join forces because of our interconnected research and complementary scientific and technical expertise,” says Mohajerani.

“It is fundamentally important to understand these early molecular changes in the brain as they may provide a target for therapeutic interventions early in the progression of the disease before significant and irreversible brain damage occurs,” says Zovoilis.

The Research Support Fund supports a portion of the costs associated with managing the research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, such as salaries for staff who provide administration support, training costs for workplace health and safety, maintenance of libraries and laboratories, and administrative costs associated with obtaining patents for inventions.

Annual Brain Awareness Week highlights U of L neuroscience research

caroline.zentner — Fri, 06 Mar 2015 18:44:43 +0000

Everyone is invited to learn more about the world-renowned brain research being done at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) during Brain Awareness Week, March 9 to 14.

Dr. Robbin Gibb, a U of L professor of neuroscience, will present this year’s public talk, addressing the importance of brain development in the preschool years. Gibb will discuss research into training the preschool brain for success in school and beyond through simple play activities. This free lecture is scheduled for Tuesday, March 10 at 7 p.m. at the Yates Memorial Centre.

Dr. Robbin Gibb will discuss brain development in the early years during her public talk.

On Saturday, March 14, the CCBN will host an open house from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visitors are invited to step inside to find out more about the cutting edge research being done and the discoveries being made in southern Alberta. The open house includes tours of the labs, the chance to meet CCBN scientists and an activity room for children to engage in educational brain-related activities.

“We encourage people of all ages to participate in this year’s Brain Awareness Week,” says Dr. Artur Luczak, a professor and neuroscience researcher at the CCBN and one of the organizers of Brain Awareness Week. “Research being done here in Lethbridge covers a wide range of neuroscience topics, including memory, stroke, brain diseases, how the brain has evolved in different species, and brain development over the lifespan.”

Brain Awareness Week (BAW) activities are organized by the Lethbridge Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience. BAW is a global campaign to increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research.

Coinciding with BAW is a public talk on the evening of Wednesday, March 11 by Jay Ingram, former host of CBC Radio’s Quirks and Quarks and Discovery Channel Canada’s Daily Planet, titled The Alzheimer’s Mystery. Beginning at 7 p.m. at The Galt Museum, Ingram will talk about the research being done in Alberta to understand Alzheimer’s disease. The CCBN’s Dr. Rob Sutherland is an invited guest and will be available for the public discussion.

Understanding how the student brain works

trevor.kenney — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 20:39:52 +0000

“When we hear “brain-based research,” we tend to think primarily in terms of brain injuries or diseases such as stroke and alzheimer’s, but what is the connection between neuroscience and inclusive education?

As ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty of Education’s Dr. Nancy Grigg explains, “The solid body of research that exists to support the use of various educational strategies is now being enhanced by neuroscience research, contributing unique and important knowledge of how best to enhance student learning."

Dan Vanden Dungen, a longtime educator in the Horizon School Division, is learning how neurological theory can make a huge difference in today's classrooms.

Dan Vanden Dungen (BA ’90, BEd ’92) will be among the first cohort of the Inclusive Education and Neuroscience MEd program to graduate in 2014. Initially, he struggled with how neurological theory would translate to the classroom. In retrospect, he says that knowing how the brain works matters because it allows educators to better identify changes that can be made.

“A key understanding from neuroscience is the building of neural pathways to enhance learning for all students in an inclusive environment,” says program instructor Sue Bengry. “In essence, it’s about understanding how the student’s brain works and tailoring the instruction to relate to that functionality.”

“It’s a less subjective way of working,” explains Vanden Dungen, “I believe it’s made me more empathetic, tolerant and resourceful.”

Working in the Horizon School Division for almost twenty years now, Vanden Dungen has worked with a broad spectrum of children, many from local and migratory Mennonite religious communities. More recently, his work as a classroom support teacher has also included students whose primary language is Low German, at the Horizon Mennonite Alternative Program.

“Inclusion is challenging,” he says. “It’s not the way most of us were taught to teach.”

With its cohort model, the structure of the MEd program has provided him with some unexpected connections.

“My cohorts have been an amazing support,” he says. “Being with the same group for three years has been essential to my success in the program. It’s also meant that I have a network of ‘inclusion professionals’ outside of my school and division.”

As we enter a new era of advancement in brain research, neuroscience is helping to inform learning specialists.

It’s becoming easier for researchers to access and interpret information originating in the brain.

“The basis for variations in learning, behaviour regulation and thinking are now being understood and described as ‘variations in brain processes,’” says Dr. Rob Sutherland of the U of L Department of Neuroscience in the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience. Accordingly, he predicts that “future innovations in education will depend upon understanding and applying what neuroscience has discovered about the developing brain.”

A classroom support teacher can take this specialized knowledge and incorporate it into a customized plan of action that consciously shapes a student’s learning.

“It’s important to provide a solid rationale for your recommendations,” says Vanden Dungen. “To do this, we need to become critical consumers of scientific data and the neuroscience courses help lay that foundation.”

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.

Hotchkiss leaves legacy gift

trevor.kenney — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:20:26 +0000

Just as his life left an everlasting, positive impact on Calgarians, Albertans and beyond, the late Dr. Harley Hotchkiss's (LLD '07) $1 million gift to support brain research will leave a permanent legacy at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

The gift will move forward important research at the U of L's Canadian Centre for Behavioral Neuroscience (CCBN). A permanent endowment that will carry Dr. Hotchkiss's name will support research conducted by the CCBN's world-leading researchers.

"My father was proud of his association with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, through the Canadian Centre for Behavioral Neuroscience, for several reasons," says Brenda Mackie, Hotchkiss's daughter. " He had a lifelong love of learning, and he understood that solid medical research leads to better patient outcomes and a healthier population. He strongly believed in giving back to the community."

Hotchkiss is well known for the many contributions he made in the area of brain research. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute was named in his honour.

"He was proud of the vision of collaboration between the Universities of Lethbridge, Calgary and Alberta. This gift to the U of L is a testament to his respect and admiration for the research being conducted there," says Mackie.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President Mike Mahon says Dr. Hotchkiss's extraordinary gift will advance the important work being conducted by CCBN researchers in the areas of brain injury, Alzheimer's Disease, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, stroke and many others.

"We are honoured to receive this very significant gift," says Mahon. "U of L researchers have contributed greatly to understanding the brain. These discoveries are making a real difference in people's lives and will be the base of significant future findings and treatments."

In addition to direct support for research, the endowment will also support a speaker series carrying Dr. Hotchkiss's name, which will bring prominent speakers to Alberta and provide enhanced learning and interaction opportunities with students and researchers.

"Over the years, Harley Hotchkiss has been a very significant supporter of neuroscience research and education in Alberta, and at the CCBN in particular," says Dr. Rob Sutherland, Chair of the Department of Neuroscience at the U of L. "As researchers look to diversify support for basic research, gifts such as this from the Hotchkiss family become essential in enabling us to conduct the basic brain research and training that will bring about new discoveries that will lead to tomorrow's treatments for brain diseases."

The gift to the U of L is consistent with the encouragement Dr. Hotchkiss gave others about being involved in their communities. In his 2007 Honorary Degree address at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge convocation ceremonies, he stated, "At the end of the road you will look back on how you lived your life and how you treated others. Be a contributor, and wherever you can, leave things a little better."

Education begins with respect

trevor.kenney — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:04:10 +0000

A year after opening a dialogue on diversity and respect, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty Association's Gender, Equity and Diversity Caucus is looking to build upon that momentum with the 2nd Annual Respect & Diversity Awareness Week.

Running Mar. 5-9 at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, this year's theme for the weeklong conversation is "Respect and learning go hand in hand".

"Last year was great for an inaugural event," says Dr. Carly Adams, Chair of the Gender, Equity and Diversity Caucus. "We thought how it was taken up by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community was wonderful. It's a conversation that needs to be ongoing."

Events such as a Talking About Teaching panel discussion through the Centre for the Advancement of Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CAETL) spurred the campus community into thinking about how we interact with one another, in classrooms, meeting rooms and even as we walk through the hallways.

"As a faculty member who attended these talks, I thought about the issues raised and then took them into my classroom," says Adams. "I hope that others took the things they heard and tried to adapt new strategies in the ways they dealt with students or fellow faculty."

If anything, the week created an environment where issues of inclusion and respect can be discussed. It also established an awareness of the caucus and took its work to another level. In early February, the caucus played a role in the Discover Diversity conference hosted by the City of Lethbridge and co-sponsored by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

"I was really pleased we were able to be a part of that because not only did we have an opportunity to talk about the caucus but also the respect and diversity week and some of the other initiatives we're involved in," says Adams. "It led to an even wider discussion about workplace diversity and respect beyond our campus."

This year's awareness week will feature a few new additions, including an Ignite! event on Wednesday, Mar. 7 at 5 p.m. in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library (10th floor). Described as a fun, informative, rapid-fire session, participants are tasked to speak to 20 pictures or slides of their choice, all in a five-minute window of time, as they wax eloquent about diversity and/or gender.

"We're really excited about this event," says Adams. "We have a number of faculty lined up to take part, as well as people from the Lethbridge Public Interest Research Group (LPIRG) and the Students' Union. In total it's about 12 to 15 people, and it should create a really lively discussion from all the different perspectives across campus."

The line up of speakers includes Dr. Kevin McGeough (Geography), Yale Belanger (Native American Studies), Dan Johnson (Environmental Science), Carol Williams (Women and Gender Studies), Phil Jones (CAETL/Health Sciences), Marinus Swanepoel (Library), LPRIG, Shelia McManus (History), Rob Sutherland (CCBN/ULFA) and Tanya Harnett (Native American Studies/Fine Arts).

Other events for the week include a film screening of MissRepresentation, a documentary exploring how the media's misrepresentation of women has led to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence. The Gender, Equity, and Diversity Caucus is joining the YWCA, Womanspace, Campus Women's Centre and LPIRG in sponsoring the film screening that takes place Thursday, Mar. 8 at 7 p.m. in Galileo's Gallery and coincides with International Women's Day.

On Friday, Mar. 9, Craig Milner from the Faculty of Management will present Student Diversity Rocks: Developing High Performance Teams in the Classroom (1 p.m., M1040).

"He's discussing diversity in teams, and how we might leverage some of the different experiences of our students in the classroom to create different conversations in groups," says Adams of the one-hour workshop.
While the week concludes with Milner's presentation, the conversation does not, and will be picked up a week later when the Department of Women & Gender Studies, with assistance from Adams' group, will present Why Women and Gender Studies? A Multigenerational Roundtable and Conversation, Friday, Mar. 16 at 2 p.m. in the Students' Union Ballroom.

"Last year, we came away thinking it was a very positive week and worth continuing," says Adams. "We invite everyone to come out for these events and I hope that this will give these important issues even more exposure."

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty Association's Gender, Equity and Diversity Caucus consists of: Andrea Amelinckx, Andrea Glover, Dr. Hester Jiskoot, Dr. Kevin McGeough, Dr. Noella Piquette, Dr. John Sheriff, Dr. Robert Sutherland, Jennifer Thannhauser and Dr. Carly Adams (Chair).

This story first appeared in the March 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - Rob Sutherland

Alzheimer’s research at U of L gets significant funding boost

Related Topics

Annual Brain Awareness Week highlights U of L neuroscience research

Related Topics

Understanding how the student brain works

Related Topics

U of L researchers among Venture's Top 50

Related Topics

Hotchkiss leaves legacy gift

Related Topics

Education begins with respect

Related Topics