UNews - Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research

2013 Gill Symposium honours neuroscience researcher McNaughton

robert.cooney — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 19:08:50 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Neuroscience researcher Dr. Bruce McNaughton is receiving a significant award from a major US-based neuroscience research institute located at Indiana ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, in Bloomington, IN.

As part of the annual Indiana ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ – Bloomington Gill Centre for Biomolecular Science Symposium, McNaughton, the Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions (AIHS) Polaris Research Chair at the Department of Neuroscience and Canadian Center for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN), will receive the 2013 Gill Award for his significant contributions to neuroscience research.

He will also deliver a keynote address to the 300 delegates who attend the event each year from around the world.

Dr. Bruce McNaughton was the first scientist to win the $10 million Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions (AIHS) Polaris Award, the richest health research award in Canada.

McNaughton joined the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in 2008, moving his research program from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Arizona to the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

His research focuses on how brain cells process information and form memories, and how those processes are altered by aging, trauma or substance abuse.

McNaughton is the first scientist to win the $10 million Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (now Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions (AIHS)) Polaris Award, the richest health research award in Canada. The AIHS award of $10 million was matched by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and the Informatics Circle of Research Excellence (ICORE) for a total investment of $20 million into McNaughton's research and the CCBN.

There are presently 56 researchers on McNaughton’s Polaris team at the CCBN, including principal investigators, doctoral and post-doctoral researchers, masters and undergraduate students, and a team of technicians.

According to Gerry Oxford, executive director of the Stark Neurosciences Research Institute and professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the IU School of Medicine, McNaughton has provided definitive experimental evidence for the concept that consolidation of memory -- in this case the memory of an individual journey in space -- was facilitated by repetitive "replay" of the hippocampal neuronal activity that occurred during the actual experience.

"His scientific accomplishments are extraordinary and broad, but with a relentless focus on understanding cognitive function through the dynamics of functional brain circuitry," Oxford said.

Gill Symposium organizers will also acknowledge the achievements of Dr. Loren M. Frank, associate professor of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of California San Francisco Center for Integrative Neuroscience and Department of Physiology, who is receiving this year’s Gill Young Investigator Award. His findings have broken new ground concerning memory formation and wakefulness.

For more information about the Gill Symposium or the Gill Center please contact Misty Theodore at 812-856-1930 or mtheodor@indiana.edu.

To speak with Professor McNaughton, contact Amanda Mauthe-Kaddoura at 403-332-4099 or amanda.mauthe2@uleth.ca.

Website: http://ccbn.uleth.ca/people/primary/McNaughton.php

Professor Frank can be reached at 415-502-7357 or loren@phy.ucsf.edu.

For additional information, please visit the Gill Symposium website: http://news.indiana.edu/releases/iu/university-wide/2013/09/2013-gill-awards.shtml

About the Linda and Jack Gill Center for Biomolecular Science

The Linda and Jack Gill Center for Biomolecular Science, which is part of the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington, was established by a generous gift from Linda and Jack Gill to advance the understanding of complex biological processes and to train the next generation of scientists in biomolecular measurements, especially in the field of neuroscience. Members and collaborators include faculty from IU's departments of Biology, Chemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Physics, Psychological and Brain Sciences, Neuroscience and the School of Medicine.

http://www.indiana.edu/~gillctr/symposiums.shtml

CCBN renovation creates enhanced research area

trevor.kenney — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 22:42:32 +0000

The Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) has undergone some major renovations in the past few months to improve the space where world-renowned research is being conducted.

The former in situ lab at the CCBN was quickly outgrowing the needs of the expanding Polaris Brain Dynamics Research Group at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. But thanks to funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, a new, larger lab and animal facility – an addition of 224-square metres – has been built to better suit researchers' needs.

The new lab is a modern space with the capacity to operate multiple workstations simultaneously. Previously, researchers would have to travel from room to room to gather supplies or use a particular piece of equipment, while changing lab coats and other protective gear between rooms.

Research technician Aubrey Demchuk prepares an experiment in the CCBN's new in situ lab that offers much more space than the previous lab.

Research technicians Valérie Lapointe and Aubrey Demchuk, who help to manage the lab and assist undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and principal investigators with their research, say the extra space has greatly improved their working conditions.

"The room where we were doing the experiments before was very tiny. We could only work with a few people at a time, and we'd kind of walk on one another," says Lapointe, who was part of the planning and design process for the new in situ lab. "It's nice that it is bigger and that everything is here in one room."

"We're really lucky to have as much space as we have now," says Demchuk.

Dr. Bruce McNaughton, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) Polaris Research Chair, says many projects were put on hold until the new lab could be built.

"We now have an outstanding neural imaging facility for both live animal imaging and quantitative microscopy. As well as an integrated center for neuroscience data analysis, with workstations connected to our parallel supercomputing facility," he says. "These new facilities will enable a big increase in lab productivity and the output of high quality basic and preclinical neuroscience."

When it came to building the lab, most of the work was in the details, says project manager Brad Robinson.

"You can see, the counters are just full of lab equipment, so I had to do elevation views of each wall and know where each piece of equipment was going, where the plug was going, where the data plug was going, where the light switches were going, where the thermostats were going and so on. I had to know where everything needed to be logistically to create a well-organized, functioning lab," he says.

The rodent research facility at CCBN also received an overhaul. It now features 45 animal experiment/research rooms, six surgery suites, a quarantine room, seven animal housing rooms, an MRI room, an MPE (multiphoton electron) microscope room and an optical imaging room equipped with specialized LED surgical lights and Nederman gas extractor arms that can be placed almost anywhere near a surgery table to exhaust vapours.

Making renovations to the CCBN's animal facility wasn't without its challenges. Construction work can severely impact research. Simply drilling a hole into the drywall contaminates a room. The preparation and planning to shut down an area of the facility can take longer than the actual construction work, but if the proper precautions are not taken, the entire animal facility could be contaminated and thousands of hours of research work would be lost.

"Shutting down parts of the building to tie the new infrastructure into the existing infrastructure was a real team effort," says Robinson.

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

Student undergraduate research award winners

trevor.kenney — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:55:09 +0000

Following are the 2010 Student Research Awards for undergraduate students. Please note that some awards might not be listed because the granting agency has not yet given the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ permission to publicly release the information.

AHFMR Summer Studentship Awards
(Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research)

Katie Areshenko, Biological Sciences (O. Kovalchuk)
Elfriede Dyck, Biological Sciences (R. Golsteyn)
Kristyn Kurio, Neuroscience (G. Metz)
Rajat Thapa, Neuroscience (R. Sutherland)
Saif Zahir, Neuroscience (B. Kolb)

Chinook Research Summer Awards

Lowell Ayers, Philosophy (T. Govier)
Lisa Boody, History (L. Kennedy)
Janelle Brodner, Modern Languages (N. Rosen)
Brett Clifton, History (A. Shaw)
Michael De Coste, Physics (B. Seyed-Mahmoud)
Laura Faber, Mathematics & Computer Science (H. Kadiri)
James Falconer, Sociology (A.Kazemipur)
Yang Li, Mathematics & Computer Science (N. Ng & A. Akbary)
Sheena MacInnis, Neuroscience (M. Tata)
Dominic Mudiayi, Chemistry & Biochemistry (H. J. Wieden)
Hugh Ramp, Mathematics & Computer Science (H. Kharaghani)
Dasha Reizvikh, Health Sciences (B. Lee)
Laura Richardson, Anthropology (J. Newberry)
Bethany Schmidt, Sociology (R. Wood)
Rachel Shields, Sociology (C. Malacrida)
Tyler Stewart, Fine Arts (A. Dymond)
Jennifer VanderFluit, Fine Arts (A. Dymond)
Sophia Vathracoulis, Chemistry & Biochemistry (P. Hayes)
Vanessa Wall, Health Sciences (B. Hagen)
Elizabeth Young, History (H. MacDonald)
Amber Zary, Sociology (T. Harrison)

NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards
(Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada)

Trystyn Berg, Physics & Astronomy (D. Naylor)
Darcy Best, Mathematics & Computer Science (K. Kharaghani)
Alix Blackshaw, Neuroscience (A. Iwaniuk)
Lisza Bruder, Chemistry & Biochemistry (S. Mosimann)
Mackenzie Coatham, Chemistry & Biochemistry (H. J. Wieden)
Adriena De Visser, Biological Sciences (B. Selinger)
Jarrod Dowdall, Neuroscience (M. Tata)
Shey Eagle Bear, Chemistry & Biochemistry (H. J. Wieden)
Melissa Ferrari, Neuroscience & Physics (A. Cross)
Jason Flindall, Psychology (D. Weeks)
Thomas Fox, Geography (C. Hugenholtz)
Andrea Glover, Chemistry & Biochemistry (P. Hayes)
Dillon Hambrook, Neuroscience (A. Luczak)
Tanner Heggie, Physics & Astronomy (D. Naylor)
Breanne Kamenz, Chemistry & Biochemistry (S. Wetmore)
Fern Leavens, Chemistry & Biochemistry (S. Wetmore)
Elizabeth Millions, Chemistry & Biochemistry (S. Wetmore)
Samuel Neale, Physics & Astronomy (D. Naylor)
Kirsten Rosler, Chemistry & Biochemistry (H. J. Wieden)
Keilan Scholten, Mathematics & Computer Science (A. Akbary)
Jordan Van Dyk, Biological Sciences (E. Schultz)

Alberta Cancer Foundation Studentship

Philip Kubara, Biological Sciences (R. Golsteyn)

2010 student research awards (undergraduate)

trevor.kenney — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:30:39 +0000

AHFMR Summer Studentship Awards
(Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research)

Chinook Research Summer Awards

NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards
(Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada)

Alberta Cancer Foundation Studentship

Philip Kubara, Biological Sciences (R. Golsteyn)

Curiosity drives young epigenetics scholar

trevor.kenney — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:55:43 +0000

At a time when most kids were glued to TV shows about talking purple dinosaurs, Kristy Kutanzi was exploring the inner workings of the world around her.

"I have always had a curious mind," she explains. "As a child, I loved to experiment. My parents bought me a book with basic science experiments and explanations for general phenomena – a book that I read from front to back countless times."

Kristy Kutanzi is making a difference with her research focus.

They also bought her a microscope to indulge her fascination with "things too small to be seen by the human eye," says the Grassy Lake, Alta., native.

But it wasn't until she began her undergraduate degree at the U of L and had an opportunity to work in the lab of Dr. Olga Kovalchuk for her honours program, that Kutanzi realized her sights were set on becoming a scientist.

"The practical training that I received in labs during my undergrad was a turning point for me," says Kutanzi. "Dr. Kovalchuk fostered my interest in science and encouraged me to pursue a higher level of education in the field. Undoubtedly, she has provided and continues to provide me with invaluable tools and advice to succeed in my research career."

These days, Kutanzi is well on her way to realizing her ambitions. She's now in the MSc/PhD transfer program, which allows students with research potential to enter the PhD program without defending their master's thesis. She continues to work with Kovalchuk on a project to unravel the epigenetic changes that precede the development of cancer.

While traditionally researchers have studied the genetic influences of cancer, Kutanzi is working to understand the epigenetic factors that "turn on" cancer genes. Through funding from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (Prairies-NWT chapter) and the Alberta Cancer Research Institute, Kutanzi is looking at how estrogen may trigger genes that cause breast cancer, the leading cause of death for women 30 to 55 years of age.

Kutanzi's work on the topic has not gone unnoticed and her amazing aptitude for science has earned her high praise. In addition to being an Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research scholar, Kutanzi recently earned a prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, valued at $50,000 per year for up to three years.

The Vanier program, launched by the Government of Canada in 2008, aims to attract and retain world-class doctoral students who demonstrate a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies.

The prestigious award is a big boost for Kutanzi's burgeoning career. Not only does the funding allow her to focus on the research, but it allows her to present her results at international scientific conferences. There, she'll develop research collaborations and investigate current and future prospects in her field.

But perhaps most importantly, the award brings recognition to a dangerous disease.

"Receiving the Vanier reflects the merit of my field of research," Kutanzi explains graciously. "It brings national attention to the value of researching breast cancer development, particularly during the early stages when there's a greater chance for us to discover a successful treatment."

2009 Student Research Awards

trevor.kenney — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:46:23 +0000

AHFMR Health Research Studentship
The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) Research Studentship is valued at $21,000 plus a $1,500 research allowance over 12 months.

Lori-Ann Sacrey (Ian Whishaw)
"Role of attention in cognitive and motor tasks in Parkinson's disease"

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AHFMR Studentship
The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) Studentship is valued at $6,300 over 12 months.

Heather Bell (Sergio Pellis)
"The rules of engagement: The development of social competence"

Simon Spanswick (Rob Sutherland)
"Adrenalectomy induced neuronal degeneration: Development of an animal model"

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AHFMR Summer studentship
The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) Summer Studentship is valued at $5,200 over four months.

Selina Dobing (Brent Selinger)
"Modification of inositol polyphosphatases for the cost effective production of inositol phospate derivatives"

Kate Greeff (Hans-Joachim Wieden)
"Molecular dynamics of translational GTPases"

Henrie Bradley (Ian Whishaw)
"Neuroscience"

Norah-Faye Matthies (Gerlinde Metz)
"New rehabilitation strategies for spinal cord injury"

Nichole Schmold (Bryan Kolb)
"Effects of prenatal enrichment on recovery from early brain injury, behaviour, and the epigenome"

Joel Stimson (Olga Kovalchuk)
"Role of epigenetic changes in chemoresistance of breast cancer cells"

Rebecca Supina (Gerlinde Metz)
"Physiological and behavioural alternations after maternal and prenatal stress"

Shuchi Talwar (Olga Kovalchuk)
"Role of microRNA-mediated TOP2A regulation in breast cancer drug resistance"

Stephanie Wickersham (Igor Kovalchuk)
"Improvement of gene targeting by inhibition of non-homologous repair pathways"

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Alberta Government Graduate Scholarship
The Alberta Government Graduate Scholarship is valued at $3,000.

Kevin Johnson (Paul Hayes)
"An investigation into the reactivity of low valent group 3 and lanthanide metals supported by a tridentate pincer ligand"

Ben Ireland (Paul Hayes)
"Cationic organomagnesium complexes as lactone polymerization catalysts"

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Alberta Ingenuity MSc Graduate Scholarship
The Alberta Ingenuity MSc Graduate Scholarship is valued up to a maximum of $23,000 plus a $1,500 research allowance per year for up to two years.

Linda Lait (Theresa Burs)
"The postglacial dispersal and population structure of the boreal chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus)"

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Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral 3 (NSERC)

Crystal Ehresman (Ian Whishaw)
"Dividing attention in motor and cognitive tasks"

Lori-Ann Sacrey (Deborah Saucier)
"Hormonal manipulation of male and female Long-Evans rats in an object location memory paradigm"

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Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship Master's (NSERC)
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Canada Graduate Scholarship is valued at $17,500 over one year.

Kyle Hambrook (Will be attending UBC)
"Effective bounds on the exceptional zero of a Dirichlet L Function"

Linda Lait (Theresa Burg)
"The postglacial dispersal and population structure of the boreal chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus)"

Diana Lim (Will be attending UBC)
"The effects of prior experience on brain plasticity and learned nonuse following
cortical injury"

Ashley Marchuk (Tony Russell)
"Organization, Expression and Evolution of snoRNAs in Euglena gracilis"

Nathan Puhl (Brent Selinger/Doug Inglis)
"Characterization of cryptic emerging bacterial pathogens"

Jerrah Sawatsky (René Boere)
"PMMH-based dendrimers incorporating stable free radicals"

Anthony Schmieder (Howard Cheng)
"Compression image sets"

Nichole Schmold (Robbin Gibb)
"The effects of prenatal experience on early brain development and the epigenome"

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Chinook Research Summer Award
This ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge award is valued at $5,625 over four months.

Katie Areshenko (Brent Selinger)
"Characterization of novel protein tyrosein phosphatase like phytases from aerobic bacteria"

Lisa Boody (Lynn Kennedy)
"The talk of the town: Gossip and boundaries of community in Antebellum Charleston"

Lisza Bruder (Ute Kothe)
"Yeast model system for Dyskeratosis congenita mutations"

Colleen Chan (Tony Russell)
"Purification and reconstitution of snoRNP proteins"

Georgia Dale (Tiffany Muller Myrdahl)
"A feminist analysis of 'Green' discourse: Theory and praxis"

Jeffery Doherty (Yale Belanger)
"Collapse of the Kainai First Nation cattle ranching industry"

Angelica Doucette (Lesley Brown)
"Novel intervention for managing balance impairment in people with Parkinson's Disease"

Shey Eagle Bear (Hans-Joachim Wieden)
"Localization of two conserved bacterial GTPases on the E. coli Ribosome"

Laura Faber (Habiba Kadiri / Nathan Ng)
"Explicit bounds for the Kth prime number"

James Falconer (Abdie Kazemipur)
"The consequences of the rising ethnic/cultural diversity for social cohesion in Canada and other industrial nations"

Vanessa Foussier (Hans-Joachim Wieden)
"Nucleotide binding properties of the Lymphocyte guard IAN5"

Brandon Good (Shelly Wismath)
"K-Normal identities for varieties of bands"

Laura Gothreau (Paul Vasey)
"Mate retention behaviours of the male partners of female sex workers"

Dylan Johnson (Sheila McManus)
"Drawing the line: Selling the North American West, 1880-1930"

Sara Kafashan (Martin Lalumiere)
"Why risk it? A study on the link between risky behaviour and developmental stability"

Phillip Kubara (Roy Golsteyn)
"Characterization of Cdk1 activity in human cells exposed to genotoxic agents"

Phillip Layton (Judith Kulig)
"Resiliency in rural settlements that have experienced wildfires: Implications for disaster management and mitigation"

Vanessa Lodermeier (Muriel Mellow)
"Assessing experience in salary equity studies at North American universities"

Allysa Lumley (Habiba Kadiri)
"Explicit bounds for some functions of prime numbers"

Daniel Manson (James Mackenzie)
"Teaching spiritual identity in the west"

Kelly Pasolli (Heidi MacDonald)
"The Dominion-Provincial Youth Training Program (1937-39): A response to Canadian youth at risk during the Great Depression"

Shayne Rybchinski (Paul Hayes)
"Diphosphido supported transition metal and actinide complexes"

Jesse Supina (Arundhati Dasgupta)
"Quantum gravity"

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CIHR Health Professional Student Research Award
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Health Professional Student Research Award is valued at $4,251 over 13 weeks.

Phillip Layton (Judith Kulig)
"The discovery of death and dying beliefs and practices among low German speaking Mennonites: Application to best practice guidelines"

Nicole Lemke (Ruth Grant Kalischuk)
"Post death encounters"

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FQRSC Fellowship - Bourse de Maitrise en Recherche
The FQRSC Fellowship is valued at $15,000 over one year.

Gillian Kennedy (Martin Lalumiere)
"Motivational Myopia: The effect of sexual arousal on decision-making"

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Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship Master's (SSHRC)
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canada Graduate Scholarship is valued at $17,500 over one year.

Debra Gazeley (Judith Whitehead)
"First Nation's women, gender and the embodiment of social suffering"

Carlin Nicholson (Jason Laurendeau)
"Let's put them on leashes: The construction of the novice risk experience in kayaking"

Kerrie Price (will be attending U of C)
"Of brave deeds in saddle and afoot: Internalization of masculinity in the American West"

Daisy Raphael (will be attending the U of A)
"Constructing gender in the 2008 US presidential election: representations of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin in the New York Times"

Anne Spice (will be attending Dalhousie ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ)
"Fair Trade and the ethical consumer: re-imagining relationships through the global marketplace"

Perry Stein (will be attending SFU)
"The divergences of fair trade"

Lesley Terry (Paul Vasey)
"Food, feeding and female sexual arousal"

Brittany Thompson (TBA)

Gabrielle Weasel Head (Yale Belanger)
"Aboriginal housing issues in Lethbridge"

Krysta Wosnack (Thelma Gunn)
"The process of resilience in adolescents in foster care: A mixed-methods approach"

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Julie Payette NSERC Research Scholarship
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Research Scholarship is valued at $25,000 over one year.

Selina Dobing (TBA)
"Biochemistry"

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Math in Moscow Scholarship (Canadian Mathematics Society/NSERC)
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Math in Moscow Scholarship is valued at $9,000 over one semester.

Mark Thom (Independent ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Moscow)
"Mathematics"

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NSERC Industrial Postgraduate Scholarship Master's
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Postgraduate Scholarship is valued at $21,000 over one year.

Rob Sonnenberg (Dan Johnson / Pisces Environmental Consulting Services)
"Aquatic ecology and limnology"

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NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) award is valued at $5,625 over four months.

Karley Campbell (Theresa Burg)
"Testing the Bergmann Hypothesis in Nucifraga columbiana and Poecile gambeli"

Cassandra Churchill (Stacey Wetmore)
"Large scale computer modeling of DNA damage"

Mackenzie Coatham (Hans-Joachim Wieden)
"Structural and functional properties of translational ATPases"

Jill Dosso (Bryan Kolb)
"Recovery from juvenile brain injury"

Jarrod Dowdall (Matthew Tata)
"What and where in the auditory brain"

Jessica Erickson (Elizabeth Schultz)
"Understanding the molecular role of FKD1 in PIN localization"

Thomas Fox (Andrew Hurly)
"Use of landmarks by hummingbirds"

Natalie Freeman (Theresa Burg)
"Population differences in morphology of black-capped chickadees"

Tanner Heggie (David Naylor)
"Characterizing the performance of the Fourier spectrometer for use with SCUBA-2"

Miranda Meents (Elizabeth Schultz)
"Testing a truncated auxin response factor for repressibility"

Christine Michell (Andrew Hurly)
"Risk sensitive foraging by hummingbirds"

Aaron Mullin (Derek Peddle)
"Remote sensing of environmental dynamics in riparian forests of southern Alberta"

Lex Navarro-Whyte (Stacey Wetmore)
"Characterizing noncovalent interactions between DNA and proteins"

Samuel Neale (Mark Walton)
"Non-Newtonian reflections in one-dimensional quantum mechanics"

Karla Ponjavic (Matthew Tata)
"Auditory attention in complex acoustic environments"

Keilan Scholten (Kevin Grant)
"Flexible runtime structures for Bayesian network inference"

David Sessford (Lesley Brown)
"Bridging the gap between clinic and laboratory-based assessments of motor performance"

Michael Shields (Hans-Joachim Wieden)
"Universal bacterial GTPases interacting with the protein synthesis machinery of E. coli"

Vivien Suen (Jackie Rice)
"Investigations into representations for reversible logic functions"

Mark Thom (Nathan Ng)
"The Riemann zeta function and divisor functions"

Hlif Thrainsdottir (Lesley Brown)
"Exploring the interplay between attention and balance in older adults who fear falling"

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Ralph Steinhauer Award of Distinction
The Ralph Steinhauer Award of Distinction is valued at $20,000 over one year.

Craig Wheaton (Paul Hayes)
"The development of novel homogeneous catalysts for the synthesis of biodegradable polymers"

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Sexual Medicine Society of North America stipend
The Sexual Medicine Society of North America stipend is valued at $3,500 over one year.

Gillian Kennedy (Martin Lalumiere)
"Motivational myopia: The effect of sexual arousal on decision-making"

Kelly Suschinsky (Martin Lalumiere)
"Tell me how you feel: Why are women less sexually concordant than men?"

Lesley Terry (Paul Vasey)
"Food, feeding and female sexual arousal"

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Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral (NSERC)
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Vanier Scholarship is valued at $50,000 per year up to three years.

Kristy Kutanzi (Olga Kovalchuk)
"Epigenetic dysregulation in estrogen-induced mammary carcinogenesis"

Rethinking “brain gain”

trevor.kenney — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:20:57 +0000

This fall, Dr. Bruce McNaughton, one of the world's foremost experts in neurophysiology, proudly joined the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN). It's a "brain gain" made possible through the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) Polaris Award – a 10-year, $10 million grant that will ultimately result in $20 million through matching funding.

Lured from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Arizona, McNaughton says it's the world-class expertise of the researchers at the CCBN that attracted him to the U of L.

"Drs. Bryan Kolb, Ian Whishaw, Robert Sutherland and many others at the CCBN are pioneers in the behavioural neuroscience field," says McNaughton. "There is nothing in North America that is like what we're building here."

His addition is a major coup for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

"This is the most significant hire in Canadian universities this year," says Dr. Dennis Fitzpatrick, vice-president (research). "The AHFMR Polaris Award is used to recruit internationally-significant scholars, and Dr. McNaughton is in that class."

Neuropsychology looks at how the brain works by figuring out what it can or cannot do when pieces of the mechanism are broken. McNaughton, a neurophysiologist, studies the healthy brain, gaining an understanding of the basis of knowledge. Alzheimer's patients, stroke victims and those with spinal injury all benefit from technology he has developed for measuring the activity of groups of healthy brain cells and how they interact with one another.

The brain is what we call a dynamical system, and it is constantly active, processing information even while we sleep," says McNaughton.

By unlocking the keys to how the brain generates knowledge, it opens the door to bypassing the broken connections in a damaged brain.

"The brain creates its own reality, and we're finding out how that works."

The CCBN has already established an unequaled reputation of innovative research; McNaughton's addition primes the U of L neuroscience team for unprecedented breakthroughs in discovery.

Welcome to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge 2007/2008 Community Report

trevor.kenney — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:18:05 +0000

Wow – what a year this has been! Our 40th anniversary year was filled with plenty of excitement, but I can honestly say our 41st year is proving to be truly transformational.
We continue to build a comprehensive institution by expanding our horizons into the world of graduate studies while maintaining our tradition in undergraduate education. This year, 8,000 students from around the world call our campuses in Lethbridge, Calgary and Edmonton home. Our student body has grown by 50 per cent in the last 10 years, phenomenal growth among post-secondary institutions in Canada. Despite this growth, we have remained true to who we are – student-focused, research-intensive and grounded in liberal education. Our graduates face the world with confidence – not only in their educations, but in their abilities to succeed in their careers.
The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is built on a commitment to the individual student and to providing each student with the most vital and engaging learning environment in the country. We are a university that sees teaching as a core activity and a university that has developed a reputation as a major research institution. In what is being called the biggest research hire for a university in Canada, this fall, Dr. Bruce McNaughton joined our Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience team as the inaugural Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) Polaris Award recipient. The award is a 10-year, $10 million research grant that will ultimately result in $20 million through matching funding.
Our centres of research excellence provide opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students that are second to none. New facilities, such as the Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building and the future Markin Hall, will create additional research space and accommodate future student needs. Over the last two years, we have had $147 million worth of new construction on campus. To date, five projects are complete and two more are under construction and set to open in 2009/2010. A key part of the U of L's campus infrastructure, our signature Arthur Erickson building, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall, is also being preserved through an $18.5 million renovation investment.
I am also pleased to report that we set out to raise $20 million from the community through our Legacy of Leadership Campaign and we actually raised $35 million, an achievement made possible in part through the support of the Government of Alberta's Access to the Future Fund. The largest percentage of the money raised went directly to establishing scholarships and bursaries for our students. I want to thank alumnus Dan Laplante (BMgt '88) for serving as Chair of the campaign – he did an outstanding job of motivating support and we sincerely appreciate the enthusiasm he brought to the campaign.
And last, but definitely not least, I would like to highlight two U of L students who shone brightly on national and international stages this year. Theo Tams, a music and psychology student, won the Canadian Idol competition, and hammer thrower Jim Steacy competed for Canada at the Beijing Olympics.
So why rethink? Because we want you to "rethink" what you thought you knew about the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

William H. Cade, PhD
President and Vice-Chancellor
Professor of Biological Sciences

Dr. Dennis Fitzpatrick Vice-President (Research)

trevor.kenney — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:18:19 +0000

Welcome to the fall 2008 issue of FIAT: Furthering Innovation and Teaching

The U of L's growth as a comprehensive academic and research institution is reflected by our growth in research performance: the recruitment of 10 research Chairs; the development of the Prentice Institute for Global Population and our first endowed research Chair; and the evolution of the graduate program to embrace doctoral studies.

This year again, we have been successful in many provincial and national competitions, including those of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, Canadian Foundation for Innovation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, National Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and others. In addition, eight successful applicants received awards from the newly established Community of Excellence in Research Development Opportunities (CREDO) program to further their endeavours in social science and humanities research. A listing of all our accomplished scholars is included in this issue. We applaud each of you and wish you continued success.

Breakthroughs in knowledge increasingly require the ability to address problems that cannot be solved by a single discipline. We must facilitate and invest in new models of collaboration and cooperation that enable us to engage partners in problem-solving and knowledge translation. The U of L remains committed to supporting multidisciplinary teams and projects that are both relevant and beneficial to our community. This issue of FIAT showcases a sampling of our collaborative success stories and the difference their research is making in the community.

Research excellence at the U of L is not limited to our faculty however. This year, 83 student recipients will share an average $12,863 in funding in 14 award categories. Three of them are featured on our back cover: Ambra Gullacher, an undergraduate student completing her studies in health sciences; Christopher Myhr, who through his studies here, has received a Fine Arts award to pursue a master's degree; and Craig Wheaton, who specifically chose our PhD program in chemistry and biochemistry.

Congratulations to all our successful ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and students. I hope you enjoy reading about some of their research in this issue of FIAT.

Unravelling the mystery of stress

trevor.kenney — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:14:11 +0000

Plastering the pages of magazines and self-help books, stress is a hot topic for overworked North Americans – it's also a poorly understood concept, says neuroscientist Dr. Gerlinde Metz.

"It's a very timely subject these days; people think about it a lot. But it's also a misused term," says Metz, a principal researcher at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN).

Stress isn't solely an emotional condition; it's also a physiological state related to the flight-or-fight response that can be both helpful and damaging. The release of stress hormones, like adrenaline, can help an organism flee a harmful situation, but unmanaged long-term stress can increase the likelihood of certain health conditions and diseases.

"It's very complex. Stress affects so many different organs, so many different functions and the brain in so many different ways," she explains.

In the context of brain injury, stress is relevant on two dimensions. "On one hand, stress is a predisposing factor," says Metz. "On the other hand, if you have a stroke, experiencing a loss of movement and cognitive functions is also a source of stress."

Metz is systematically studying the impact of stress on normal motor system functions – including the complex interactions of hormones and their effects on the motor system – as well as how stress impacts the recovery of brain injury patients, particularly victims of 'silent' stroke, in which a stroke isn't immediately detected (these account for 70 per cent of all strokes).

Traditional rehabilitation therapy for stroke patients takes a tremendous physical toll on them. Inte

nse training, amounting to hours of exercise each day, is needed to enable patients to regain movement.

The result is an accumulation of stress – not only from the loss of normal motor control and the adjustment to a major health condition, but from the treatment itself. By understanding the cellular processes at the heart of stress, and how these relate to different types of brain damage, Metz hopes to find ways to "optimize existing stroke treatments and maybe find ones that haven't been discovered yet."

For instance, non-traditional treatments like massage therapy, known for its ability to lower stress levels, may prove to be a helpful compliment to rehabilitation.

Metz's work on stress is primarily funded by the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) which recently renewed her status as an AHFMR Senior Scholar and provided funding of more than $1 million over the next seven years. Metz also receives funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.

In addition to her work on stress and stroke, Metz is actively collaborating on a project for the Preterm Birth and Healthy Outcomes Team, a network of researchers and clinicians from across Alberta.

Working with peers from the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, Metz is studying an animal model of preterm birth in order to understand the physiological factors of the phenomenon, particularly hormones.

"Pregnancy is regulated by a complex concert of hormones," says Metz. "Sometimes, something goes wrong at some point. Once we know what's not working, we can try to repair it."

Metz explains that preterm birth is a complex occurrence, the causes of which have eluded scientists. It's a particularly relevant health concern in Alberta, where more than 9 per cent of babies are born prematurely – the highest rate in Canada.

The Preterm Birth and Healthy Outcomes Team includes 20 principal investigators, including Metz, who recently earned a team grant from AHFMR, an award of $5 million over five years, to explore the issue from three main perspectives: the health of mothers, the health of infants and the long-term health outlook for people born prematurely.

"The focus of the team grant is to bring many different people to the table and have them focus on a single topic," says Metz.

Health-care professionals working with mothers and preterm babies comprise an important part of the network, allowing the collected data to immediately benefit those affected.

"It's a great learning process for all of us and really motivating because you know where your results are going."

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