UNews - Bonnie Lee

New EDI Scholars to build capacity for equity, diversity and inclusion at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge

trevor.kenney — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 16:16:20 +0000

Now in its fourth year, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Scholars program at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge continues to grow, welcoming three new scholars for 2024-25.

Drs. Bonnie Lee and Anastasia Stuart-Edwards, along with doctoral candidate Tara Million, have been named EDI Scholars, and will undertake projects aimed at advancing the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s EDI goals. When complete, these scholars will share their findings with the broader campus community.

“We are thrilled to introduce our newest cohort of EDI champions,” says Hernando (Nando) Ortega Arango, project manager, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. “Congratulations to our 2024-25 EDI Scholars and thank you to all applicants. This was a highly competitive selection process, and we look forward to collaborating with this exceptional group to enhance EDI capacity.”

Since its inception in 2021, the EDI Scholars program has named 13 scholars, including this year’s additions. In 2023-24, the program expanded its application process to increase EDI efforts across various faculties, departments and backgrounds. The projects for 2024-25 reflect this diversity, with participation from the Dhillon School of Business and the Faculties of Arts & Science and Health Sciences.

“Championing EDI initiatives is a collective responsibility, and everyone can contribute to fostering inclusion and belonging,” says Ortega. “Through the work of the EDI Scholars, we hope to reach diverse audiences and strengthen the impact of EDI efforts across campus.”

2024-25 EDI Scholars

Dr. Bonnie Lee

Dr. Bonnie Lee (Faculty of Health Sciences — addictions counselling) will launch the Student-generated Quick Cases: EDI Dilemmas from Students’ Lived Experience project. This competition invites upper-level and graduate health sciences students to create “Hollywood-style” vignettes based on their personal experiences with EDI dilemmas. The goal is to generate real-life scenarios for discussion and role-play, helping students explore various perspectives and compiling a valuable resource for future educational use.

“EDI issues are more complex than meet the eye,” says Lee. “It’s always instructive to consider these dilemmas from the standpoints of the various actors involved. We want to understand why people take the positions they do and get a deeper sense of what they feel inside.”

Tara Million

Tara Million (Faculty of Arts & Science — Indigenous studies) will expand her research on Indigenous law by drawing on Blackfoot, Cree and Métis legal orders to begin Indigenizing conflict resolution policies and procedures at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

“I am very honoured to have been selected as an EDI Scholar,” says Million. “My research project draws on the premises that Canada is a multi-juridical country where Indigenous laws exist alongside Canadian common and civil law and that the Numbered Treaties express a range of Indigenous legal orders. It’s extremely important to me as an Indigenous faculty member that my research helps to create a theoretical and physical space where the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ can function under the umbrella of Indigenous legal orders, as well as within provincial and federal laws.”

Dr. Anastasia Stuart-Edwards

Dr. Anastasia Stuart-Edwards (Dhillon School of Business) will study incivility within academic settings by exploring the experiences of faculty members with diverse backgrounds and focusing on the prevalence, perception and personal and organizational strategies that can mitigate its harmful effects. Ultimately, Stuart-Edwards hopes her research will inform policies and practices that enhance organizational behaviour and well-being in educational institutions.

“Receiving this award is a significant milestone for me as it underscores the importance of addressing incivility within academic environments,” says Stuart-Edwards, who invites faculty members throughout Canadian academia to participate in her survey. “Through my research, I aim to uncover the prevalence and impact of selective incivility, particularly among faculty members with traditionally stigmatized attributes, and to develop effective strategies for fostering more respectful and inclusive academic settings.”

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge celebrates International Clinical Trials Day

caroline.zentner — Tue, 23 May 2023 17:55:25 +0000

Back in 1747, James Lind, a surgeon, started a clinical trial with sailors sick with scurvy aboard a Royal Navy ship. He gave them a variety of dietary supplements and saw a remarkable recovery in those who were treated with citrus fruits. Lind’s work not only saved the lives of sailors, but laid the foundation for modern clinical trials.

Today, clinical trials — a type of clinical research that involves voluntary human participants or their blood and tissues — involve interventions such as treatments, procedures, devices or changes to lifestyle. They are used to determine the safety and effectiveness of the intervention. International Clinical Trials Day on May 20 provides the opportunity to recognize the achievements of the clinical research community.

“Clinical trials are essential to the advancement of human health and well-being,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, vice-president research. “Clinical trials help us develop new treatments such as drugs and vaccines, as well as medical devices and procedures. ULethbridge researchers who conduct clinical trials help improve the quality of life for many people.”

While many pre-clinical research trials are conducted at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, many researchers work with human participants.

For example, Dr. Darren Christensen, a Faculty of Health Science professor with expertise in addictions, and a team of researchers are investigating the potential for naltrexone, a drug usually prescribed for people with alcohol or opioid abuse disorders, to treat disordered gambling.

“The results we gather in this study will give us important scientific evidence for an application to Health Canada to introduce the first regulated drug treatment for gambling disorders,” says Christensen.

Dr.Jon Doan and his team conduct research with people living with Parkinson Disease.

In the Department of Kinesiology & Physical Education, Dr. Jon Doan (PhD ’06) and his team have long examined the ability of people living with Parkinson Disease (PD) to retain their skating skills.

“Paradoxically, many people living with PD maintain their skating skills,” says Doan. “A recent clinical trial from our lab combined an ice-skating intervention with stickhandling a hockey puck or ringette ring and found that people living with PD had significantly improved functions in their upper extremities with the intervention.”

Dr. Bonnie Lee, a professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Addiction Studies program, conducted a clinical trial in the provincial health system using Congruence Couple Therapy (CCT), a counselling model that treats the person with addiction and their partner together rather than separately. The results showed that CCT produces significantly better outcomes for clients with alcohol and gambling problems compared to individual treatment.

In the Department of Neuroscience, Dr. Robbin Gibb (BASc (BSc '77, MSc '01, PhD '04)and her team developed the Building Brains Together program to promote play-based activities for children and enhance adult capability around child development. The goal of the program is to improve executive function (EF) and resilience in both children and their families. Originally targeted at preschoolers, the team has recently developed an EF skill-building play program for adolescents that is now being tested in Lethbridge classrooms.

Chase Petruska, second row right, established the Lethbridge Powersoccer Program as a way to help relieve stress for individuals with physical disabilities.

Also in neuroscience, Chase Petruska, a student in Dr. Gerlinde Metz’s lab, is working with individuals with physical disabilities to better understand their personal stresses and mental well-being. This research aims to find areas where individuals with physical disabilities lack proper support and attempt to build resilience via a powerchair soccer intervention.

These are just a few of the many activities where ULethbridge researchers are using clinical trials to make important advances in their fields of study, enhancing the health and well-being of society.

Anyone interested in learning more about clinical trials can visit the Alberta Clinical Research Consortium or Be the Cure.

The Office of Research and Innovation Services also supports the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s research community in the pursuit of external grants and funding and helps them conduct their work with the highest academic, scientific and ethical standards.

New model of couple counselling helps with addictions

caroline.zentner — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 17:39:42 +0000

The demand for mental health services, including addiction treatment, spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic as people faced multiple stressors which have been linked to worsening mental health, an increase in substance use and couple conflict.

Given the increase in demand for services for addiction with the opioid crisis and the COVID fallout, Dr. Bonnie Lee, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Addictions Counselling Program, and her development of an innovative therapy model focusing on improving couple relationships is especially timely. Congruence Couple Therapy (CCT) has shown transformative effects in clinical settings with clients addicted to gambling and/or alcohol. The Couples Counselling team and program in Addiction Services Edmonton (Alberta Health Services) where CCT is used has been shortlisted for a Health Quality Council of Alberta 2023 Patient Experience Award. The awards recognize initiatives that improve health-care access and services. Recipients will be announced next spring.

“There is a long tradition of dealing with addiction as an individual problem that impacts family members,” says Lee. “Treatment typically focuses on that individual as the principal and identified patient. This Congruence Couple Therapy (CCT) model flipped a light switch from having the spotlight on the lone individual to making visible the larger, interactive relational context that contributes to addiction.”

Many factors contribute to the development of an addiction. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which include emotional, physical and sexual abuse or neglect, can lead an individual to repeat dysfunctional patterns learned in childhood in their current relationship. These patterns produce chronic stress that can predispose an individual to addictive behaviours. CCT is unique in that it is integrative and brings to light past dysfunctional communication, coping and perceptions that are played out in close relationships in the present.

“What you do in the present is linked to what you learned in the past,” says Lee.

Another unique facet of CCT is that both partners are seen together as part of the recovery process, while the traditional treatment approach for addiction is for each partner to receive individual recovery supports.

CCT was used in a randomized trial at two outpatient addiction clinics in Alberta Health Services from 2016 to 2018. Counsellors first received intensive training in CCT and then participated in a randomized trial where some clients received CCT and others received treatment as usual. The majority of clients in the trial, 95 per cent, showed alcohol use disorder, with five per cent having a gambling disorder. For some clients, additional mental health concerns, such as depression, were involved.

“In CCT, gambling and alcohol use are not viewed as the primary problem in treatment, but as a symptom of an underlying system dysfunction,” says Lee. “The consequences of adverse childhood experiences are most exposed in intimate relationships, making it a prime site of intervention.”

The results of the trials showed CCT was very well-received by both clients and counsellors. Feedback from clients who received CCT mentioned their increased awareness and greater understanding of themselves, their addictions, their partners, family of origin and emotions. Clients also learned to express their feelings, needs and requests, with significantly improved couple adjustment. CCT reduced symptoms of alcohol use and gambling, as well as accompanying mental health issues such as depression, post-traumatic stress and reduced life stress. As well, the treatment-as-usual individual approach significantly reduced symptoms of alcohol and substance use and life stress, but other outcomes did not show significant improvement. Further research is needed to confirm these promising findings.

The impressive client results experienced by addiction counsellors using CCT led a counselling team to adopt the innovative model of therapy in their routine service.

“Prior to involvement with the CCT study, Addiction Services Edmonton (ASE) had separate programming for addiction clients and their partners, but as a result of the outstanding outcomes we have had with Dr. Lee's model, as well as the evidence based on Dr. Lee's research, we have continued to offer couples counselling as a core routine service as it is aligned with the goal of family centered care. Offering couples counselling has enhanced treatment plans for addicted clients and their partners, and the healthy waitlist for this service speaks to the overall effectiveness and transformative quality of this work, now increasingly recognized by other staff.”

Lee hopes to see the offering of a four-course graduate certificate program in couple and family counselling at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in the near future.

Michael Chan Prize in Asian Studies goes to religious studies major

caroline.zentner — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 18:39:59 +0000

Jessica Knoop-Lentz (BA ’19) was inspired to write about Buddhist ecology and her efforts netted her this year’s Michael Chan Prize in Asian Studies worth $1,000.

“I was very excited and incredibly grateful. Since I’ve been on maternity leave, it was a very welcome gift,” says Knoop-Lentz, who is mother to a six-month-old baby boy. “This was by no means the result of my efforts alone. I was several months pregnant, planning my wedding and doing my honours thesis all at the same time. I had amazing support from friends and family, so me winning this prize is also a celebration of them.”

Knoop-Lentz majored in religious studies and minored in Asian studies and anthropology, subject areas that were far from her original starting point.

“When I was at Lethbridge College, I took Introduction to World Religions and Buddhism,” she says. “When I was writing my papers and going to class, it came so naturally. Originally, I wanted to be a vet and now I want to teach religious studies.”

Originally from the Crowsnest Pass, Knoop-Lentz moved to Lethbridge about a decade ago. When she enrolled at the U of L, Knoop-Lentz started taking classes with Dr. John Harding, a professor in the Department of Religious Studies.

“Eventually, it just solidified my interest in religious studies,” she says. “I was working really hard to do OK in biology, but religious studies felt effortless. I switched majors and went with what I was passionate about.”

Her paper, titled Shades of Green: A Consideration of the Multiple Perspectives on Buddhist Ecology, was written for Harding’s class on Buddhism and science. While Knoop-Lentz didn’t need the course credit, she signed up purely because she was interested.

“Buddhism is often seen as the most scientifically compatible religion. Some people would even say the Buddha was a scientist because he sought to understand the world and how it works,” she says. “Buddhists view all things as interconnected. There’s also the concept of karma, which is the idea that by doing good in this life, you’re planting seeds for your future lives or later in this life.”

But everyone has a different idea about what is good. Would a Buddhist agree to killing off a diseased population of animals if it saves the greater forest or should the lives of individual animals be considered?

“The answers to those questions depend on who you ask,” says Knoop-Lentz. “No Buddhist is ever just a Buddhist. They could be farmers or mothers and that will factor into their decision making.”

Prize adjudicators, Drs. Trevor Harrison and Richard Mueller, commended Knoop-Lentz on a well-written paper that explores the compatibility of Buddhist teachings with modern western-based approaches to ecology. While traditional Buddhism often emphasized the inward search for enlightenment, Knoop-Lentz shows that ecological elements were already present. She demonstrates that variations of Buddhist teachings were connected with local ecological circumstances and economies.

The Michael Chan Prize in Asian Studies was established by Dr. Bonnie Lee, a professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, to honour the memory of her husband. Michael Chan was a Chinese-Canadian scientist and humanitarian.

Use of innovative couples therapy to be expanded thanks to research grant and partnership with Alberta Health Services

caroline.zentner — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 16:23:15 +0000

A major two-year grant worth $153,000 from the Alberta Gambling Research Institute will allow ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Health Sciences professors, Drs. Bonnie Lee and Darren Christensen, and their team to gauge the effect of a specialized couples counselling model.

Developed by Lee, Congruence Couple Therapy (CCT) has already undergone a pilot randomized trial and proven its efficacy when used with couples where one member has a gambling disorder. Now Lee is excited to evaluate the use of the therapy in partnership with Alberta Health Services (AHS).

“We are intrigued to compare the treatment outcomes using the model for gambling and for alcohol use disorder, which is at least six times more prevalent than gambling disorder,” says Lee.

Dr. Bonnie Lee

Five researchers from the U of L and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta are involved in a research study that will be conducted at four AHS service sites over a two-year period. Researchers are now visiting each community, including Edmonton, Red Deer and Grande Prairie, to familiarize themselves with current operations.

“We’re paying site visits to understand the needs and variations of existing programs because we will be comparing outcomes using the CCT model to the usual treatment,” she says.

Counsellors with AHS will receive training in CCT and couples who volunteer for the study will be randomly assigned to receive either CCT or existing programs. After 12 weeks, treatment outcomes will be assessed by counsellors and the couples involved.

CCT addresses the roots of addiction and the impact of traumatic childhood family experiences that maintain it.

“Addiction is essentially a relationship disorder with breakdown of trust and communication beginning early in life. Those patterns are displayed in how a couple interacts. Healing partners in intimate relationships is a springboard to recovery,” says Lee.

In Lee’s pilot randomized trial, couples said the therapy was life-changing and gave them compassion for each other. They reported CCT helped them understand what lies behind the addiction to avoid blame, better listen and respond to each other, and revive their spirit and sense of worth. The results are less mental distress, improved relationships, often with their children as well, and decreased need for gambling.

“This innovation I’m bringing into the field is a systemic model that allows you to look at the whole package of what feeds into the addiction,” says Lee. “I’m passionate about bringing this conjoint couple therapy format into the field. It could well develop into a way of working with parents and adolescents.”

The research study also gives university researchers the chance to step into the field to interact with AHS service providers and clients themselves. Lee says funding agencies are increasingly seeing the value of collaborations and partnerships that allow researchers and stakeholders to work together. The Canadian Depression Research Network has added another $10,000 to the study to look at the effects of the intervention on depression, which commonly occurs with addiction.

“We hope through this kind of partnership with Alberta Health Services we can speed up the process of adapting scientific knowledge to the health-care system to make it more usable,” says Lee.

Field study illuminates modern-day China for U of L students

caroline.zentner — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 22:20:04 +0000

This past summer, a group of nine ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students began to understand the wisdom behind the Chinese saying ‘Better to travel 10,000 miles than to read 10,000 books.’

They spent two weeks in China as part of Dr. Bonnie Lee’s China Field Study course. Before the field study, the students completed a course in global mental health with Lee, a professor in the Health Sciences, Addictions Counselling program. The course covered the political history of modern China, its cultural beliefs and practices, and global mental health concepts.

“A lot of people think mental health is something that resides in people’s heads but mental health is really a product of how people interact with their environment. So the context does matter,” says Lee.

The forces at play today in China include mass internal migration, globalization and a breakdown of families similar to what has occurred in the West. China is also undergoing a sexual revolution marked by freer sexual expression, divorce being seen as more acceptable, and an imbalance in the ratio of men to women that has resulted from the country’s one-child policy. Those factors increase the risk of addiction in Chinese society.

Once they gained an understanding of China’s current context, the students got a few lessons in Mandarin before their departure. The students were billeted with host families who had some knowledge of English during their stay in Shanghai.

“This is definitely a class I’d recommend to everybody. It was literally one of the greatest experiences of my life. It was like landing on an alien planet,” says Aaron Eelhart, a student who participated in the field study and winner of the inaugural $1,000 Michael Chan Prize in Asian Studies. Michael Wing-Cheung Chan (1952-2001) was a Chinese Canadian scientist and humanitarian known for his passion in promoting Canada-Asia understanding.

“It really was a life-changing experience for me. It opened my eyes to how other areas of the world operate and live and how much I appreciate living in Canada,” says Chantella Friesen, a fourth-year nursing student.

Chantella Friesen's blonde hair was the object of much attention in China. People often asked her and her fellow U of L students to pose for a photo like this one at the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing

“We hear a lot about China in Western media but to experience it firsthand is completely different,” says Brian Bohn, currently in his final year of studies in neuroscience.

While in China, the students delivered presentations on addictions and global mental health to two groups of students at Fudan ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Shanghai and to professionals at two counseling centres, one in Nanjing and one in Shanghai.

“There was such enthusiasm in the audience. They really wanted to participate and the best part was when we had these small groups where people could share. That really built friendships,” says Lee.

The students also noticed a difference in how addiction is viewed in China. Lee says addiction is often seen as involving illegal drugs associated with the seamy side of society.

“Seldom do people worry about addiction that can occur with legal substances, such as tobacco and alcohol. Use of alcohol has become much more widespread. Even less concern is given to addictive behaviours, such as use of gambling, food, money or sex to regulate moods and create euphoria,” says Lee.

“I’m glad I went for the cultural experience and it’s always nice to see how the other half lives, so to speak,” says Bohn. “I found China to be a very safe place. I never felt threatened. Everyone I came into contact with was, at least from what I could tell, friendly.”

The students also found some of the presumptions they held about China were challenged. Eelhart imagined the country to be a totalitarian state where people live in an oppressive environment. Instead, he found a nation too large and varied to be narrowly defined.

“When we view China we tend to view their problems or issues the same way that we view our own,” says Eelhart. “That doesn’t always work because there’s so many different confounding factors. All of a sudden you realize that your assumptions are just in

Aaron Eelhart poses next to a statue of Confucious at the Shanghai Confucious Temple

accurate and not relevant.”

Eelhart says he also left China with a new respect for traditional Chinese medicine after the group toured a

hospital where it was practiced. In addition, some of the students visited Beijing after the field study.

“It’s just so eye-opening to see how this whole civilization operates. It’s completely different and it’s a real cultural and learning experience,” he says. “I had an incredible time.”

The next Global Mental Health and China Field Study courses will be held in 2017.

Participation in the course isn’t restricted to full-time students and anyone interested can contact Lee at bonnie.lee@uleth.ca for more information.

Revealing essay earns Eelhart the Michael Chan Prize in Asian Studies

trevor.kenney — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 22:57:25 +0000

Anyone who has travelled knows that travel changes you. Yet how often do we take the time to really reflect on exactly how a new place has expanded our perspective?

In spite of taking the mandatory preparation class, Eelhart says he still found himself incredulous upon touching down in the new country.

For students undertaking a two-week trip to China as part of an international field-study course, writing a paper about their experience provided an opportunity not only to record their itinerary, but to meditate on their responses to a culture so different from their own. For Aaron Eelhart, a third-year general sciences student at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, the personal reflection and photo essay he wrote also earned him this year’s Michael Chan Prize in Asian Studies.

To understand Eelhart’s experiences, his own words are the best source.

“In elementary and high school, I had been taught that China was a backward country. I was essentially taught that China was two things: a competitor and an oppressed country controlled by a brutal regime. It is beyond doubt that these teachings were based in some truth for the time, but I have learned that China is a country far too rich in culture and history to be defined by any singular thing,” wrote Eelhart in his reflection paper.

In spite of taking the mandatory preparation class (Global Mental Health with U of L professor Dr. Bonnie Lee), Eelhart says he still found himself incredulous upon touching down in the new country.

“It was like landing on an alien planet, really. It was a huge culture shock, but it was very exciting,” he says.

Dr. Bonnie Lee, centre, delivers the Global Mental Health course.

Besides visiting Shanghai and Nanjing as part of the field study, Eelhart and some of his fellow students also booked a four-day tour package to see Beijing and sites like the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Not only was it his first time in China, but it was his first time travelling outside the country since he was eight years old.

In his reflection paper, Eelhart meditated particularly on the language differences.

“I had to laugh at myself during my stay as it allowed me to remember what it feels like to be illiterate. I have been able to read English since I was very young, but Chinese characters are something I do not understand in the slightest,” he wrote.

He was also impressed by how well his Chinese counterparts spoke English.

“I did not know enough Mandarin to engage in even the simplest of conversations. The whole experience at Fudan [the university that the students visited] really made me respect the ability to speak multiple languages,” he explained.

For a student working two jobs to support his education, the Chan Award really means a lot.

“It helps me big time this semester. The $1,000 that I got as a prize went straight toward my tuition,” says Eelhart.

The trip itself made him eager to go back as soon as he can.

“Barring unforeseen circumstances, I will return to China. There is so much happening there, and I want to be a part of it. My experience has taught me that the world is a much larger place than I previously realized. It is a big, beautiful world out there. I want to experience it.”

��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

IRDF - Investigating the effectiveness of social programs

trevor.kenney — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:19:02 +0000

Established by the Vice-President Research, the Interdisciplinary Research Development Fund (IRDF) is a one-time non-renewable research fund that will provide the foundation for developing the next generation of interdisciplinary concentrations of research excellence at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. The General Faculties Council Research Committee reviewed applications for IRDF funding and three proposals received support (up to $100,000 each over two years). This is one of three projects funded in 2012.

The title of their project might be long, but five ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers are hoping their work leads to more concise ways in which disadvantaged groups, in particular women, can benefit from having input into, and influence over, social programs designed to assist them.

The research team, comprised of Dr. Carol Williams and Dr. Glenda Bonifacio of the department of Women and Gender Studies, Dr. Patrick Wilson of the Department of Anthropology, Dr. Bonnie Lee of the Faculty of Health Sciences (addictions counselling) and Linda Many Guns of the department of Native American Studies recently received nearly $100,000 from the U of L Interdisciplinary Research Development Fund (IRDF) to explore a project entitled Creative Appropriations: Identities, Communities, and Development in Cross-Cultural and Interdisciplinary Perspectives.

Dr. Carol Williams, left, with Dr. Glenda Bonifacio.

Simply put, the researchers are looking at how their target groups have been constructed by the state, appropriate the policies and programs directed at them by government or social agencies and how their particular cultural and lived experiences challenge these constructions to demonstrate alternative models of civic engagement.

The project, suggests Lee, "may shed light on how government policies and non-government organizations (NGOs) can be better positioned to promote more inclusive and vibrant communities."

"This multi-faceted research project will allow us to better understand the possible implications of state and NGO programs for minority populations, and may help us to question the cultural and ideological impulses driving the design of certain projects," says Williams.

Wilson notes the results may, "allow us to see the ways in which minority women, in this case, navigate sometimes hostile policy environments and therefore our results may allow for better design and planning of those policies and programs themselves. Better yet, it may encourage a shift in the control of a project's design and implementation back to local communities and stakeholders."

The local communities and stakeholders aren't just from one particular group. The researchers will be talking with indigenous women involved in food sovereignty projects in Ecuador, women and women's organizations in First Nations communities in Canada and the United States and racialized immigrant women in Canada.

Very little comparative scholarship on the circumstances of racialized immigrant and indigenous women currently exists.

Through a combination of research methods, they hope to gain a clearer picture of some of the challenges or barriers women face in developing cultural or other programming, how they worked creatively to overcome them and how they engaged in 'creative appropriation' to make projects work better.

"An agency might give a group funds, or design a social program for one specific purpose," says Williams.

The group, in turn, might use the money for that stated purpose, or creatively expand the bounds of the agency's funding or program parameters. Williams says that sometimes those groups who work creatively to help their constituents can find themselves 'de-funded' if they stray too far from the stated plan set out by the group or governing organization overseeing the project.

"We are hoping to collect information which can contribute to a new way of policy-making for organizations that allows for, as we're calling it, the 'creative appropriation' of a program design or funding process to make it their own, and possibly more effective."

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

5 questions with . . . Dr. Bonnie Lee

trevor.kenney — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:06:57 +0000

Dr. Bonnie Lee is an associate professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences (Addictions Counselling). She obtained her doctoral degree from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Ottawa and is a registered marriage and family therapist and a clinical member and approved supervisor with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Lee favours an ecological, human systems-paradigm in her teaching, clinical practice and research. Her driving force is the desire to enhance the lives and health of individuals in their contexts of family, culture and society. She has been an invited keynote speaker and workshop leader in Canada and internationally.

What first piqued your interest in your research discipline?

I have always been intrigued by questions about human nature, the universal elements and deep structure of healing and human transformation. For my doctorate, I was led to the work of Virginia Satir (1916-1988), a woman pioneer in family therapy.

Satir chose the path of staging experiential workshops rather than conducting academic research and writing for scholarship. However, the 'culture' she created with her followers and her style of workshops invited an ethnographic approach to further understanding of her work. This research led to the development of a four-dimensional theory centred on the construct of "congruence" which I systematized into a treatment model for problem gambling and other addictions. Currently I am formulating and testing a relational framework to understand addictions.

Dr. Bonnie Lee looks to enhance the health of the family unit through her research in the Faculty of Health Sciences.

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

One of the joys of clinical research is that it engages both the mind and heart; it also brings together theory, empirical findings and practice. Such research can make an impact in services and in the alleviation of people's suffering in profound ways.

With a major 2004-2006 research grant from the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre, I trained 21 Ontario-based problem gambling counsellors in Congruence Couple Therapy (CCT), who then were able to apply the model in their treatment agencies with clients and enhance the work they do with couples.

The same model can be used with individuals, but when you work with couples, you change the primary relationship context for the client with addiction. Changes in this executive couple system in the family have spinoffs to the children, extended family and workplace relationships.

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

In 2010, my students nominated me for the Lethbridge YWCA Woman of Distinction Award (Spirit of Women). I feel honoured by the acknowledgment that came with this award.

How important are students to your research endeavours?

I have mentored many keen and bright undergraduate students in my research program. Several students were funded through the Chinook Summer Research Award and others elected to work with me through independent studies. It was not until my postdoctoral fellowships when I took part in a range of research projects through an apprenticeship, hands-on model under the tutelage of a Research Chair. So it is exciting to see how undergraduate students take to such opportunities early in their careers. Some aspire to graduate studies and research after such an experience; others say they have come to appreciate the rigour of research inquiry and want to refer to the evidence base in their practice.

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

We live in a climate that places a premium on innovations. That's a good thing. An innovation is new knowledge that creates better products and processes that add value to services and outcomes. It can result in greater productivity, better and more output per input with payoffs in cost savings and improved quality of life.

To make this happen, I would put money into creating pathways for innovations from research to be transferred into practice and adoption by the health services system. This is a complex process that involves linking researchers, decision-makers and practitioners. For clinical research, it is a necessity to reach out beyond the ivory tower and engage those in the field for an innovation to ultimately take hold and bear fruit.

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

UNews - Bonnie Lee

New EDI Scholars to build capacity for equity, diversity and inclusion at ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge

Related Topics

��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge celebrates International Clinical Trials Day

Related Topics

New model of couple counselling helps with addictions

Related Topics

Michael Chan Prize in Asian Studies goes to religious studies major

Related Topics

Use of innovative couples therapy to be expanded thanks to research grant and partnership with Alberta Health Services

Related Topics

Field study illuminates modern-day China for U of L students

Related Topics

Revealing essay earns Eelhart the Michael Chan Prize in Asian Studies

Related Topics

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

Related Topics

IRDF - Investigating the effectiveness of social programs

Related Topics

5 questions with . . . Dr. Bonnie Lee

Related Topics

New EDI Scholars to build capacity for equity, diversity and inclusion at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge celebrates International Clinical Trials Day

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