UNews - supervising professor

Lewis a perfect fit for Alumni post

trevor.kenney — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 22:02:36 +0000

Joking that some might call her career path "checkered" – she prefers eclectic – retired nurse, Kathy Lewis (BN '83, MEd '99) is both nervous and excited to take on the role of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Alumni Association (ULAA) president this year.

Lewis began her nursing career in the early 1970s after receiving her RN certificate from the Holy Cross School of Nursing, but a phone call from a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ recruiting officer would lead Lewis to explore a whole new world of possibilities.

"I was married, had two young children and was working as a nursing sessional instructor at the Lethbridge Community College. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ was just starting the nursing program and I was asked to enrol. I remember thinking, 'Gee, why are you contacting me?' I really didn't feel that I had what it took academically, but you know the old saying: success breeds success. I found myself completing courses and did very well. I surprised myself," says Lewis, who completed her BN (with distinction) in 1983.

With an undergraduate degree in hand, Lewis says doors opened to her that had formerly been closed. She landed a job as a discharge planning co-ordinator for St. Mike's Hospital and eventually began working as a home care co-ordinator for the Lethbridge Health Unit. Working as a sexuality educator and counsellor in the 1990s, Lewis decided to pursue her master's degree.

Kathy Lewis sees the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ as a positive force in the community.

"I had always liked the teaching part of my job so I opted for a master's in education at the U of L. My supervising professor was Dr. Cynthia Chambers. She was such an inspiration; she had a lot of life experience as a wife, mother, educator and writer and she brought that experience to the classroom," says Lewis. "By coincidence, Ron Chambers taught me my last class, which was a drama elective. It was one of the most rewarding classes I had in all my ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ time. Here I was, almost 50, and I found myself in class pretending to be a cow.

"That is what the university does; it gives you that opportunity to open up to a broad range of ideas, people, experiences and possibilities."

Despite her busy schedule with family, work and schooling, Lewis has always made community service a priority in her life. She has served on various boards, including the Southern Alberta Art Gallery, the Lethbridge Community Band Society and the Allied Arts Council, and has been a canvasser for a variety of different organizations such as the Canadian Diabetes Association. In 2002 she was nominated to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Senate to which she dedicated six years of service. In 2008, while attending a Senate meeting, Lewis volunteered to join the ULAA.

"It was not in my life plan to be on the Alumni Council, but the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is such a positive force, certainly in my life and in the community. It is a major employer in the region, we have excellent research going on, wonderful fine arts and contribute to educating our population. I often say that Lethbridge is a different place because people in the 1960s had a vision. We can be proud of that and proud of the people who made all this happen," says Lewis. "Being a part of the ULAA is a valuable opportunity. I am very much a believer in working together; where we may have shortcomings in experience or knowledge, others fill in. Together we all contribute to the betterment of our society."

During the past two years the ULAA has revised its constitution and by-laws to ensure that the association continues moving in the right direction, maintaining its focus on building relationships with the community, students and alumni.

"In Spring 2012, thanks to the hard work of Cheryl Meheden and her committee, we will be launching a Fiat Lux ring as part of our 45th Anniversary celebration at the U of L. We hope every alumnus will want to have one and wear it with pride," says Lewis. "Our alumni chapters are essential. Together we are over 32,000 strong. We are represented on the Board of Governors, the Senate and many ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ committees. Our voice is at the table of decision-making and our participation is vital to the success of this institution. I would encourage each alum that when the timing is right and the opportunity to get involved knocks – open the door."

GET THE FACTS

· Lewis is a proud mother and grandmother.

· A member of ULAA since 2008, she served as ULAA vice-president from 2009 to 2011.

· Lewis plays clarinet with the Lethbridge Community Band Society, and is also a former concert planner.

· Lewis is a former ESL tutor with the Lethbridge Public Library.

· In 2009 she completed her RN re-certification through Grant MacEwan ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

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

Childhood experiments just a start for McKay

trevor.kenney — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:38:24 +0000

By STACY SEGUIN

Have you ever looked up and wondered about the origin and contents of paper towel wads on a ceiling?

Chances are anyone who spent time in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge chemistry labs will admit they have occasionally wondered about the unintentional ceiling artwork. Dr. Ryan McKay (BSc '93), scientific director and assistant director at the National High Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Centre (NANUC), didn't give them a second thought – because he knew their origin.

"My dad worked as an academic assistant at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ from 1967 until just a few years ago. I remember going to work with him when I was a kid," says McKay. "My dad would set me up at the bench while he marked and I would experiment with soap detergents and copper sulfate. I would mix things until I had enough pressure in the tube to have corks blow off. I had stuff stuck to the ceiling for decades."

Of course, McKay is a lot more serious about his scientific research now, but his childhood experiments were a sign of things to come. McKay entered the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ as a pre-law student in 1989. After only one semester, however, he realized science was in his blood. He changed his major to biochemistry and spent the remainder of his undergraduate summers working as a research assistant and experimenting in organic chemistry.

"Going to the U of L, with its smaller classes, gave me more opportunity to do projects, and really affected my understanding of how research is done," recalls McKay. "The research was fascinating."

McKay became particularly enthralled with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) research while working with an NMR spectrometer during one of his summer projects. After graduating with distinction in 1993, McKay received a National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) scholarship to attend graduate school.

"When I finished my undergrad I wanted to study viruses with NMR spectrometry. Looking for a supervising professor at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta, I met Dr. Brian Sykes. Not really knowing who he was, I very casually plunked myself in one of his chairs, and explained my research interests. It wasn't until Brian decided to supervise my master's degree that I realized he was one of the top NMR guys on the planet," grins McKay.

McKay started a master's of science at the U of A in 1993, but switched to a PhD in 1996. He completed his PhD in biological sciences in 1999 then did two consecutive post-doctoral fellowships in physical biochemistry, at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Minneapolis and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary. While still at the U of C, McKay applied for the position of scientific director at NANUC in 2001.

"NANUC is a national research facility housed at the U of A. Using super conducting magnets we look at the nucleus of the atoms and, using radio frequencies, figure out what these atoms are doing," explains McKay. "The applications include everything from finding new antibiotic drugs to making the extraction of oil from oil sands more efficient. My job is to train and guide the academic, industrial and government researchers with their experiments as they use our facilities for research. I am also in charge of facility grants, to see that they are properly maintained and conducted."

McKay's current research involves projects such as the analysis of the water in Alberta tailing ponds and a calcium binding protein found in the human brain. His goals are to help Albertans understand the environmental impacts of the ponds and for his research to significantly contribute to environmental improvement. Knowing McKay, it will.

GET THE FACTS

• McKay is married with two children

• He is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including but not limited to NSERC and AHFMR

• Has authored/co-authored numerous academic articles and papers

• Presented, hosted and organized seven annual Canadian national NMR training courses

• Is a faculty member (equivalent of associate professor) at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta, instructing and advising undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral fellows

• Recently awarded a five-year renewal on his facility grant, including two CIHR and two NSERC grants

Alumnus made the most of free lab time

trevor.kenney — Wed, 13 May 2009 22:13:53 +0000

Have you ever looked up and wondered about the origin and contents of paper towel wads on a ceiling?

"Going to the U of L, with its smaller classes, gave me more opportunity to do projects, and really affected my understanding of how research is done," recalls McKay. "The research was fascinating."

GET THE FACTS

• McKay is married with two children

• He is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including but not limited to NSERC and AHFMR

• Has authored/co-authored numerous academic articles and papers

• Presented, hosted and organized seven annual Canadian national NMR training courses

• Is a faculty member (equivalent of associate professor) at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta, instructing and advising undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral fellows

• Recently awarded a five-year renewal on his facility grant, including two CIHR and two NSERC grants

UNews - supervising professor

Lewis a perfect fit for Alumni post

Related Topics

Childhood experiments just a start for McKay

Related Topics

Alumnus made the most of free lab time

Related Topics