UNews - Faculty of Arts and Science

Six U of L alums now teaching in Japan through JET

caroline.zentner — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 22:00:09 +0000

Six ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge alumni are off on the adventure of a lifetime after being accepted into the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET).

The day before JET participants flew to Japan they attended a reception hosted by Mr. Shigenobu Kobayashi (right), the Consul-General of Japan in Calgary. Attending the reception were, from left, Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman, Roisin and Miller Wiens, Diane Minamide, Michelle Boivin-Carriere, Gemma Amoruso, Emily Kenney and Andrew Spearman.

They left for Japan at the beginning of August following a reception hosted by the Consul-General of Japan in Calgary — Mr. Shigenobu Kobayashi and his wife, Mrs. Keiko Kobayashi. The six U of L alums were among 36 Canadians selected from the Western Canadian region, which includes Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

“We are very proud of these graduates who have been accepted into the JET program,” says Diane Minamide, a coordinator with International Student Services. “We know they will be excellent ambassadors of the U of L, Lethbridge and the country as a whole.”

Minamide, herself a JET alumna, says participating in the programme provides an experience that won’t be soon forgotten. Being accepted into the program is the result of a rigorous process that includes writing an essay and doing an interview. Minamide and Dr. Abby McMeekin, a professor in the Department of Modern Languages, help prepare the students.

“Students who go on the JET Programme will have so many opportunities to interact with Japanese languages and culture,” says McMeekin. “This complements what they have learned in their courses at the U of L on a level that not many people get to experience.”

Miller Wiens (BSc ’19) and his wife, Roisin (BFA ’18), had their desire to return to Japan cemented after they spent a month there as part of an exchange program.

“Both my husband and I went on the exchange to Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and we fell in love with the culture, the food and the rhythm of day-to-day life,” says Roisin. “This was a really great opportunity for us to continue that relationship between Canada and Japan.”

She and Miller will be living in Kasukabe, a city northwest of Tokyo, and teaching at five schools in the Saitama Prefecture. Miller, who studied kinesiology, had dreams of being a personal trainer but that all changed when he took a Japanese course.

“McMeekin sensei is one of my role models. I admire the way she teaches Japanese and gets students engaged,” he says. “I absolutely loved her language classes and I took all the classes I possibly could.”

Gemma Amoruso (BA ’19), who’ll be teaching at two elementary schools and a junior high in Sendai, took Japanese history courses while at the U of L and also participated in the Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ exchange.

“When I was there I knew I had to go back,” she says. “After learning about the culture and meeting my host family and friends, I knew I had to go back eventually.”

Knowing about her interest in living in another country, the spouse of a co-worker recommended JET to Michelle Boivin-Carriere (BA ’18).

“I wanted to experience a different culture and go abroad. I applied last year and was an alternate. I reapplied this year and I’m off to Toyooka,” says Boivin-Carriere. “I will be working at a middle school, along with two elementary schools. I’m very excited. I’ve had experience with elementary schools before and I’m also looking forward to the challenge of a middle school.”

Andrew Spearman (BA ’17, BEd ’18) will be teaching English at a middle school and four elementary schools. While he’s not fluent in Japanese, he’s familiar with its traditions.

“Growing up, I was fortunate to be part of the Judo Club. Japanese culture and customs are very near and dear to my heart and they evolved once I hit university,” he says. “Diane Minamide has facilitated the importance of friendship internationally and I’ve seen the fruits of that, as well. We here in southern Alberta have a very important history with Japan. As somebody who’s got an education degree in modern languages, it’s important for me to come back and teach Japanese and to teach something that is more exclusive to this region.”

For Emily Kenney (BA, BEd ’18), participating in the JET programme represents a long-held wish. She’ll be teaching at a junior high school in Haebaru, Okinawa, Lethbridge’s sister city.

“My practicums through education gave me the opportunity to work at an elementary school, a senior high school and a junior high school,” says Kenney. “In Lethbridge, many students are not native to Lethbridge; they come from Syria and Africa. When I was teaching them, I wondered how I could relate to them because I’ve only known the Canadian perspective. In my essay when I applied for JET, I wrote about my desire to grow that ability to relate and understand what it’s like to be a new person in a new country where you might not speak the language, you don’t know the culture and you don’t know anyone. I’m so excited. This is such a great opportunity and I’m so blessed to be able to have this chance.”

The JET programme has been giving students the opportunity to travel to Japan and work in Japanese schools and cultural organizations for more than 30 years. Students initially sign on for one year but can return for up to five years.

“If there are any students who think that this is something they might want to do or if they want to travel, they should apply for it,” says Amoruso. “When I applied, I didn’t think there was a shot that I was going to get this, even after the interview. There’s support at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and you can get involved in clubs, all these opportunities are open to you. Just go for them and don’t dream too small.”

The next JET recruitment session begins this fall. Anyone interested is invited to attend an information session on Tuesday, Oct. 1 from noon to 1 p.m. Those interested can sign up with Career Services.

Alberta Innovates grant facilitates joint research project on the hepatitis B virus

trevor.kenney — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 19:58:21 +0000

Dr. Trushar Patel at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Dr. Carla Coffin at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary have secured Alberta Innovates funding worth $639,000 to further research aimed at developing innovative strategies to combat hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

HBV is a global public health problem responsible for a million deaths every year, according to the Hepatitis B Foundation.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Dr. Trushar Patel.

“Although we have a very effective vaccine against hepatitis B, there have been over two billion people worldwide infected with the hepatitis B virus,” says Patel. “The vaccine is not useful for people who have already been infected. Globally, over 250 million are chronically infected and at risk of developing liver cancer.”

HBV is transmitted through blood or other body fluids. The most common methods of transmission are from mother to child at birth or in early childhood from close contact with body fluids of an infected individual. Children born to HBV-infected mothers are at high risk of lifelong infection and developing serious liver disease like cirrhosis and liver cancer. Hotspots for HBV infection include Africa, Asia and the Middle East, largely due to sporadic vaccination programs in those areas. In Canada, HBV vaccination in childhood or early adolescence began in the mid-1990s. Most adults born before 1985 have not been vaccinated.

“Despite the significant public health impact, research on hepatitis B has been severely underfunded. We are grateful for this funding as it allows us to continue to contribute to the global efforts to achieve a cure by understanding how to prevent HBV multiplication,” say Patel and Coffin. “Our preliminary results from earlier research show we are already on a positive track.”

Current treatments for HBV include long-term, often lifelong, use of oral antiviral medications or interferon injections. Although interferon is given for one year, treatment has severe side effects and limitations. Patel and Coffin want to help pave the way for new treatments in the future and are pursuing a two-pronged approach.

They first want to identify new targets for treatment on the hepatitis B genome. Secondly, because viruses cannot survive on their own and require proteins from the body to help them replicate, Patel wants to understand how the body and the virus communicate and then block the communication so replication doesn’t occur.

“We have already designed some therapeutic molecules based on our work that was done here in Lethbridge. Dr. Coffin’s lab is currently testing if these molecules can inhibit HBV replication,” says Patel.

Part of the project was supported by Patel’s Canada Research Chair program through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Cumming School of Medicine Clinical Research Fund. The preliminary results from that research were included in the Alberta Innovates grant application.

“Because the results are still preliminary, we can’t make any promises until we have the fully developed story. But clearly the reviewers at Alberta Innovates liked our idea and approaches,” says Coffin. “We hope to have pre-clinical work done at the end of the three years. Then we will move to the next phase of the research, which would mean applying for more funding to improve the molecules we are designing for animal studies.”

“We take this opportunity to thank our collaborators, the U of L and the U of C, as well as Alberta Innovates for their encouragement, support and motivation for our interdisciplinary research work on understanding host-viral communications,” says Patel.

Patel is an assistant professor and a Canada Research Chair (RNA & Protein Biophysics) in the U of L’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and an adjunct assistant professor at the U of C’s Cumming School of Medicine. Coffin is an associate professor of Medicine and a hepatologist (liver specialist) at the U of C.

Celebrating the versatility of ribonucleic acid (RNA)

caroline.zentner — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 16:51:26 +0000

Wednesday, Aug. 1 marks the first ever annual RNA Day, a celebration of the vital biological molecule, ribonucleic acid. RNA is a close relative of the commonly known molecule, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), and they, along with protein, are the three major biological molecules required for life.

Students at the Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute (ARRTI) at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge heard the call for an RNA Day celebration and they stepped up to host several activities in the community. They will be at the Downtown Lethbridge Farmers Market on Wednesday, Aug. 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with fun kids’ activities, such as colouring and word searches, and the chance to talk to an RNA scientist.

Dr. H-J Wieden, bottom centre, works with students in the lab.

"I hope RNA Day shows the public more about research and how members of the scientific community are using RNA to try and better the lives of people, in a wide range of applications from medicine to agriculture," says Sydnee Calhoun, a fourth-year undergraduate studying biochemistry. "Since this is the first RNA Day, I hope we continue to build on this event for many years to come."

"I feel as though RNA Day is a great stepping stone towards making RNA knowledge mainstream,” says Jessica Semmelrock, another fourth-year biochemistry student. “I'm looking forward to the circulation of this knowledge, which I hope will bring the general public closer to the exciting research that is going on around them."

In addition to this free public outreach activity, ARRTI will also be hosting a livestream of a scientific lecture. The RNA Society and the organizers of the Ribosome Synthesis Conference have arranged for the keynote lecture by Dr. Ed Hurt (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Heidelberg) to be shared live with the international RNA community. The talk is titled “Insights into the mechanism of eukaryotic ribosome biogenesis” and will be viewable at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 1, in room C640 of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall.

“RNA will play a critical role in the new age of biotechnology — the rational design and engineering of biomolecular-based systems and molecular machines,” says Dr. Hans-Joachim Wieden, the founding director of ARRTI. “The role of RNA in new and upcoming disruptive technology has been foreshadowed by the recent commercial successes of the CRISPR gene-editing platform and the emergence of RNA-based therapeutics and pesticides.”

An artist's rendition of an RNA strand

The field of RNA research has been expanding ever since it was identified as a molecule unique from DNA in the 1930s. Since 1957, there have been 31 Nobel Prizes for RNA Biology, with nine Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and 22 in Physiology or Medicine. In 1993, the RNA Society was formed to facilitate sharing and dissemination of experimental results and emerging concepts in RNA research. The RNA Society is a non-profit, international scientific society with more than 1,800 members. It hosts a peer-reviewed scientific journal (RNA), an annual scientific conference and is responsible for the declaration of Aug. 1 as RNA Day.

At the U of L, RNA research is flourishing within the ARRTI, with eight research groups and more than 100 trainees working on problems related to cancer, antibiotics, viral infections and agriculture.

“Many of the most-deadly viruses in the world have an RNA genome,” explains Tyler Mrozowich, a master’s student in the lab of Dr. Trushar Patel. “The study of this exceptional molecule will help us understand these viruses, and ultimately, help us combat the diseases they cause.”

“For me, the greatest outcome of RNA research is the development of RNA therapeutics,” says Chris Lindgren, another master’s student in the Patel lab. “To see someone’s face when they learn that they have been cured of a disease would make all the long days in the lab and the sleepless nights worthwhile.”

The significance of RNA research for the future of Canadians was recently endorsed by a $1.65-million training grant, jointly held by the U of L and the Université de Sherbrooke. The grant will allow these leading RNA-research institutions to develop the RNA Bioengineering and Innovation Network Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) to train job-ready leaders and innovators in the field of biotechnology.

Breakthrough discovery in U of L collaborative research study brings potential for new cancer therapies

caroline.zentner — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 16:23:10 +0000

Drs. Olga and Igor Kovalchuk at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, in collaboration with researchers at Qiqihar Medical ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in China, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Michigan and Boston ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, have shown for the first time that interactions between microRNAs, which are very small ribonucleic acid molecules, and transfer RNA (tRNA) can affect cell reproduction and cell death.

“This is the first time that anybody has shown such interaction is possible, that it is actually functional, that it regulates biological processes and also the processes that contribute to cancer,” says Dr. Olga Kovalchuk, a U of L biology professor. “These processes are pivotal for cancer because cancer cells get unlimited capacity to divide and no capacity to die. If you manipulate the levels of these RNAs, you affect these processes.”

The study, which was conducted over several years, was recently published in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) contains genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of an organism. Genes tell a cell to make certain proteins. DNA and ribonucleic acid (RNA) work together to produce these proteins as part of a process called gene expression. RNA molecules can be of the coding variety, where they encode a protein, or the non-coding variety, which does not encode protein. Coding RNAs produce proteins that are involved in a variety of cellular processes, such as cell division, cell maintenance and cell metabolism, just to name a few.

“For a long time, we thought only coding RNAs were important,” says Kovalchuk. “But then it was discovered that there are small RNAs called microRNAs. They do not code proteins but they can interfere with the production of proteins. Sometimes, there may be a lot of RNA but the protein isn’t being produced because these small molecules are interfering. They are helping to fine-tune this process of gene expression.”

Scientists previously concluded that microRNAs only interact with coding RNAs called messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and interfere with full expression of genes.

“For quite some time, it was shown that only this specific interaction was possible, that microRNAs can only work with mRNAs,” says Kovalchuk. “By doing so, they can actually control cell division, cell death and malignant transformation. They are very powerful regulators even though they are small.”

Kovalchuk and her colleagues decided to examine one of the best-known microRNAs—a molecule called miRNA-34a which governs some key processes involved in cancer—and found it interacts with a small molecule —tRNAiMet — called initiator tRNA (transfer RNA) methionine.

“This was the first time anybody has shown that microRNAs can interact with other RNA molecules, especially tRNAs,” says Kovalchuk. “We had a lot of work to do to prove that the two actually interact with each other. It has functional consequences when this miRNA-34a interacts with tRNAiMet, affecting cell proliferation, cell-cycle arrest and levels of cell death.”

The study was conducted using a breast cancer model and the researchers are now looking at other types of cancers, specifically focusing on pediatric malignancies. Publication of the study opens the door to numerous other projects, including several articles already in the pipeline, and further collaborations.

“It has already started to garner attention and it will serve as a foundation for the big translational initiative, that is, taking results shown in a lab into a clinical setting,” says Kovalchuk. “If we show results with a couple of other cancers, we will have the potential to discuss the possibility of clinical trials and the therapeutic value of these molecules.”

Applied study project investigates relevancy of supercluster proposals

trevor.kenney — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 21:51:03 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge geography student Katie Quinn had the opportunity recently to complete an applied study at Lethbridge County that focused on agricultural superclusters and how one would best contribute to the county. Her research culminated in a special presentation to Lethbridge County Council.

Katie Quinn had the opportunity to present her findings from an applied study project to Lethbridge County Council.

This research endeavour began when the Canadian government designated $950 million in funding to “support business-led innovation superclusters with the greatest potential to energize the economy and become engines of growth.” A supercluster is a group of individuals, companies, industries, universities and colleges all working together to achieve a common goal.

There are unlimited benefits for creating and maintaining an agricultural supercluster, specifically in Lethbridge County. Through her research, Quinn determined that the Protein Innovations Canada Supercluster, led by Saskatchewan-based Ag-West Bio, was most relevant to the area. On Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, the Federal Government announced the project was one of five proposals chosen to receive funding.

“This supercluster proposal is based on a pan-prairie partnership and will focus primarily on the sustainability of crops such as: pulses, canola, hemp, oats, flax and specialty crops,” explains Quinn.

During her applied study, Quinn had multiple opportunities to meet individuals who play significant roles in the supercluster initiative, such as Soren Madson, director of Denmark’s Agro-food park, and Dennis McKnight, director of the Protein Innovations Canada Supercluster.

“Having the opportunity to present to Lethbridge County Council was a chance to present my new-found knowledge and research to individuals who can make this proposal become a reality,” she says. “I was very nervous but was immediately pleased that I had agreed to do this when I finished presenting. I ended my presentation with giving the council three main recommendations about support, research and preparation to further their success at implementing this plan in the future.”

Quinn’s on-the-job supervisor was Martin Ebel, the economic development officer at Lethbridge County and a U of L alumnus (BA ’96).

“We’ve had great success in partnering with the U of L and its Applied Studies program. The students have been top notch, and Katie continued that strong, positive tradition,” says Ebel. “Lethbridge County supports the U of L’s Applied Studies program as it serves as a good link between the academic environment at the university, and the actual requirements of the working world.”

Quinn’s faculty supervisor, geography professor Dr. Ian MacLachlan, developed and continues to support this partnership between the U of L and Lethbridge County and has supervised students there for the past four years.

“I am the type of person who truly believes I can make a difference in the world and I enjoyed being in an environment that surrounded me with people who actually believe I can do it too,” says Quinn. “This applied study dramatically changed my semester, in a positive way, and I am very pleased I got to complete it.”

Ebel values the importance of combining a passion and program focus with relevant workplace experience.

“When a student is motivated, and there is a good fit between their program of study and the applied study placement, the two components (academic and non-academic) can really complement each other well. The student benefits, the applied study host benefits, and ultimately, I believe that the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ does as well. I like it when outcomes are wins for everyone involved.”

The Applied Studies Program offers students the opportunity to earn academic credit for learning gained through employment or volunteer experiences. Students are encouraged to partake in an applied study because it offers the chance to apply skills in the workplace while drawing from the knowledge gained in the classroom. For more information, visit ulethbridge.ca/career-bridge or the Career Bridge office in AH151.

U of L student joins iGEM delegation to present at Biological Weapons Convention

caroline.zentner — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:21:13 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) team made quite a splash at November’s annual jamboree, providing the springboard for one U of L student to participate on the world stage.

The iGEM team’s project focused on ways to make synthetic biology safe and available for everyone, says Chris Isaac (BSc’ 17), a biochemistry master’s student who has participated in iGEM since he was a Grade 11 student at Chinook High School.

“We presented these results in Boston and we drew the attention of iGEM itself, the FBI and the Dutch Institute for Public Health,” he says. “Our team was trying to develop a cell-free synthetic biology system to bring this technology to as many people as possible and make sure that it’s democratically spread out. Then we realized that this tool, as useful as it is, also opens up unforeseen biosecurity risks.”

The iGEM ambassador to Latin America approached Isaac and suggested he apply to the iGEM delegate program. He did and was chosen to be part of the iGEM Foundation’s delegation to the Meeting of States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in Geneva from Dec. 4 to 8. Isaac was one of five students in the delegation. They attended the plenary sessions and presented to delegates from around the world at a side event.

“We spoke to delegates over lunch and talked about our experiences in iGEM and how they relate to biosecurity and provided our thoughts about how to make biosecurity practices better,” says Isaac. “The reception was very warm. Those who attended the meeting were excited to hear our perspectives, they asked thoughtful questions and the discussion was very productive.”

As it stands now, the risks that would come with making genetically recoded cell-free systems exist only in theory, but Isaac says the tools are on the horizon given advancing technology. While cell-free synthetic biology has the possibility of doing great good, there is also the potential for great harm if proper controls are not in place.

“The issue that we’ve identified with this technology is that it might allow individuals to bypass current screening procedures in terms of DNA synthesis, which is a service that researchers around the world rely on extensively,” he says.

When researchers request a certain DNA sequence from a bioscience company, the company’s software analyzes the request and will deny it if the requested sequence is too close of a match to a toxin, such as anthrax or botulinum toxin (botox). Using a novel genetic code to interpret a sequence would allow a request to bypass the current screening protocols in place at synthesis companies.

“We, as ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and synthetic biologists on the frontline of technological development, need to be better connected with the people who are talking about policy and regulations. We need more science policy advocates with the ability to influence policy from the top down and also guide cultural changes from the bottom up,” says Isaac.

SpearChief-Morris embracing opportunity to affect change

trevor.kenney — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 18:59:46 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge alumnus Julian SpearChief-Morris (BA’13) said he was headed for law school in a 2012 video feature he shot while a member of the Pronghorns men’s basketball team.

“After I finish at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge I hope to travel for a couple of years and hopefully go into law school,” he said at the time, almost matter-of-factly.

Julian SpearChief-Morris garnered plenty of attention for his on-court talents, while he was just as adept in the classroom.

Little did we know that the distinguished graduate of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s urban and regional studies program would set his sights on the pre-eminent law school in North America – Harvard. Now in his second year at the venerable institution, SpearChief-Morris has made history as the first Indigenous student president of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. The organization has been in existence for 104 years.

“It’s an incredible honour. I think it’s great whenever you see First Nations and other Indigenous people in higher education and in positions like this,” says SpearChief-Morris. “Being at Harvard is an incredible experience. It’s a big school and the campus is very impressive but overwhelmingly it’s a humbling experience. I think that’s what I’ll take away most from this, being surrounded by the most brilliant people in the world and constantly having to hold yourself up next to those people gives you some great perspective.”

The son of an African-American father from Los Angeles and Aboriginal mother (Wilma Spear Chief (BASc ’77)) from the southern Alberta Blood Tribe, SpearChief-Morris grew up in a unique household that groomed unique talents. A gifted athlete, he was a star in the Southern Alberta High School Basketball League and, after graduating from Lethbridge Collegiate Institute, was recruited by national powerhouse ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Victoria.

While he was universally respected for his ability to run a fast break and hit a three-point shot, there was a depth to SpearChief-Morris that went far beyond the hardcourt. It was apparent early on that the student aspect of student-athlete would always remain first and the sport would help facilitate much larger goals.

“That was a vision that Jules always had in his life. Basketball was great and basketball was another place for Julian to excel but he was never a hoop dreamer, he was a person who had a very clear vision and focus about what he wanted to do with his life,” says Dave Adams, current coach of the Pronghorns women’s basketball team and former coach of the men’s program that lured SpearChief-Morris back to Lethbridge in 2009.

Adams knew him well, having watched him grow up alongside his own daughter when both were enrolled at Montessori School as toddlers. The U of L lost SpearChief-Morris to Victoria out of high school but he says he was an awkward fit there, and after two years, with Adams now at the helm of the Horns, he returned.

“Think about the fortitude and the vision he had to leave a very successful program in Victoria and come to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, which hadn’t made the playoffs in seven or eight years,” says Adams, who notes SpearChief-Morris then had to sit out the 2009-2010 season because of transfer regulations. “For him to do that speaks a lot to the character of the person and to who Julian is.”

Back on the floor for the 2010-11 season, SpearChief-Morris played just eight games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He endured a full 10 months of rehabilitation before he finally returned to the starting lineup the next fall. His first year back, he managed to play only 15 minutes per game as he regained strength and confidence in his surgically-repaired knee. It wasn’t until 2012-13, his final year of eligibility, that the Pronghorns saw a completely healthy SpearChief-Morris and he responded averaging 15.1 points per game, second in both team scoring and rebounds.

“I believe that all the adversity that was put in front of Julian to play and to be the successful player that he was, he channeled into other aspects of his life,” says Adams. “He always surrounded himself with excellence and it gave him tools to put in his toolbox for success in life.”

All the while, SpearChief-Morris threw himself into his studies and he prospered in a new environment.

“I had such a good experience at the U of L, the small class sizes were something I really appreciated,” he says. “I had the opportunity to meet and get to know so many of my professors, many I still keep in contact with today.”

One of those professors was Dr. Ivan Townshend, coordinator of the Urban and Regional Studies program in the Department of Geography. He paints a picture of a student who saw his studies as a way to facilitate a meaningful impact on society.

“One of the reasons he stood out was you could tell he had a real social conscience and a sincere willingness to help the disadvantaged,” says Townshend. “And it wasn’t so it would just look good on his resumé, he was intent on making a real difference.”

SpearChief-Morris worked for Townshend as a research assistant for a year and clearly was at the top of his class.

“From the point of view of the urban and regional studies students I’ve seen over the last 25 years, he’s certainly one of the top 1 to 2 per cent,” he says. “He was an exceptional student, mature beyond his years. He was very unique in that he was intellectually inquisitive and an exceptionally good researcher who really grasped the material on a deep level.”

SpearChief-Morris feels strongly connected to his family and his roots. He has never wavered in his desire to better the outlook for the Aboriginal community in southern Alberta.

SpearChief-Morris is keen on bringing his knowledge and experience back to southern Alberta and doing what he can to better the fortunes of the disadvantaged.

“I grew up in a household where it was an expectation that we’d attend some form of higher education and I was lucky to have had two parents who were there, who cared, who supported me, and who believed in me. That’s not something that a lot of Aboriginal kids have the privilege of and that privilege is not lost on me. I feel very fortunate to have had that upbringing and that’s part of the reason why I do what I do – to give back,” says SpearChief-Morris.

Upon graduating from the U of L, SpearChief-Morris spent a year as an educational assistant and guidance counsellor who specifically worked with Aboriginal children.

“That was a great experience. I saw a lot of success stories but I also felt frustrated a lot of the time because I always felt I was dealing with symptoms of a greater issue that I really didn’t have the power to address in that role,” he says. “That’s when I cemented my decision to go to law school.”

He admits he never expected to end up at Harvard but after excelling on his LSAT exam, it opened the door for him to apply. At the tail end of his first year in Boston, he was eligible to apply to one of the three historic honour societies at Harvard Law School and earned acceptance into the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, the oldest student-run law firm in the United States.

Thanks to a specific statute in the State of Massachusetts, the bureau is allowed to practice as students in court under the supervision of instructors but as lead attorneys and attorneys of record.

“We provide pro bono legal aid to folks in the greater Boston area who couldn’t otherwise afford those services,” says SpearChief-Morris. “The Bureau is a remarkable organization. When we take on a client, we take on responsibility for the most important thing in that client’s life, and I think that forces our students to grow up a lot. You have to answer that phone call and that email, even if it’s on Christmas morning, you have to be on time, you have to be present and you have to take it seriously because it’s real.”

He will graduate in May 2018 and in the meantime, he’ll spend his second consecutive summer working for a law firm in Washington, D.C. as part of the Native American Practice Group. They represent Native American tribes in complex litigation matters, and act as government relations and economic development consultants.

And while the big cities are honing his legal skills today, a return to his hometown is the ultimate goal – continuing the work and fulfilling the promise he began years ago.

“As a second-year student I don’t have it all figured out yet but I’ve really enjoyed the work I’ve been doing in the summer and I’d like to do that moving forward, at least in the short term,” he says. “Long term, my goal has always been to go back to southern Alberta and put the experience I hope to have gained along the way to use back home.”

Westcastle Field Station supports research in diverse areas

caroline.zentner — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 21:00:20 +0000

The ability to conduct field work is essential to ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students who study topics like mountain snowpacks, changing tree lines and the cognition, behaviour and ecology of wild hummingbirds.

Christine (Michell) Mishra (BSc/BEd’10) called the U of L’s Westcastle Field Station home for two summers while she participated in three different research projects by Dr. Andy Hurly. The research examined hummingbird foraging behaviour to better understand the factors the birds used when they decided which flowers to feed from in an artificial flower patch.

“My experiences at the Westcastle Field Station, as well as other field work I did with other biology faculty, have really benefited me in my career as a high school science teacher,” says Mishra. “I often share stories from these experiences with my students, either to illustrate a point about a biological process, or just to let them know that science is not just something you do in the lab—it can take you to beautiful places and let you experience great things.”

The field station was renovated in 2016, with a second building added to provide dormitory facilities for 23 beds, an expanded kitchen, more lab space, exterior storage, water storage, a fire alarm system and better road access. The field station can now host numerous students and researchers and community outreach programs. The U of L supports the station by directing a portion of its Research Support Fund toward its operations.

Thomas Fox (BSc ’11), who also studied under Hurly, conducted research on wild hummingbirds and their ability to find the same flower time after time. They learned that hummingbirds primarily rely on landmarks close to the flower, although other factors can also play a role. Using the Westcastle Field Station as home base, the study was conducted over two consecutive summers.

“Having the field station as a resource was really great—it was like summer camp for scientists. Being out there gave me hands-on experience engaging with the scientific method in a beautiful setting,” says Fox. “Perhaps the most beneficial aspect for me was having the opportunity to live out there with graduate students and professors from all over the world. I really learned a lot getting to know all those brilliant people!”

David McCaffrey, who’s completing a Master of Science degree under the supervision of Dr. Chris Hopkinson, studies changes in the tree line in the Castle Wilderness Area southwest of Pincher Creek. While he sometimes camps when conducting his research, the U of L’s Westcastle Field Station serves as a launching point.

“As a base of operations and logistics hub, it makes a world of difference,” he says. “It provides us with a kitchen, lodging and a more research-focused atmosphere. I’m thankful to have the station there. I’ve been at a number of field stations around the world and the Westcastle Field Station is on par with any of them. It’s a really great facility.”

McCaffrey uses repeat photographs to study changes in the tree line. Some of the earliest photos come from surveys done more than 100 years ago. His research has revealed that whether a tree line goes up or down depends on topographic features like slope and aspect, which can affect the way the Castle area stores water. His work helps build understanding of long-term water resources in the Oldman River basin.

McCaffrey, and other geography students studying under Hopkinson, have also used the Westcastle Field Station as a base for LiDAR (light detection and ranging) surveys. LiDAR provides a high-resolution data set that allows researchers like McCaffrey to calculate the mass of the trees and, when compared with earlier images, the amount of carbon stored or lost.

Kelsey Cartwright, a Master of Science student under Hopkinson, conducts snow surveys in the mountains of the Oldman River watershed. Having an accurate measurement of the snow pack allows for better predictions of runoff and the potential for floods or droughts. Knowing more about the snowpack, locally and provincially, could help mitigate natural disasters and the costs that go with them. The Westcastle Field Station has provided a convenient mustering point for the work Cartwright has been involved in.

“We had a ton of equipment and tools to keep track of, which was easier to do at the field station than from tents and vehicles, as we did before the field station opened,” says Cartwright.

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

PUBlic Professor series promising another stellar lineup

trevor.kenney — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 15:53:50 +0000

Surely the ancient Maya never predicted their downfall, nor did the Roman Empire foresee its society coming to an end and yet they both vanished into history. What can we learn from these civilizations and how can it relate to the normal we know today?

Dr. Kevin McGeough (BA ’96) of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Department of Geography will explore these topics when he presents ‘I met a traveller from an antique land’: The Archaeology of Progress, Decline and Collapse at the first PUBlic Professor series event of the fall semester. The free public talk is set for Thursday, Sept. 22 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Lethbridge City Hall.

Dr. Kevin McGeough opens the series on Thursday, Sept. 22 discussing the lessons of archaeology.

McGeough says that the ability of archaeology to offer insight about long-term change is one of the major contributions of the discipline to society. He also sees the PUBlic Professor series as an important vehicle to share his research work.

“It’s part of what I think is our obligation as professors,” he says. “We can’t always make our research accessible in ways that are meaningful but we should always be trying to do so and archaeology is one of those disciplines that is evocative and garners a lot of public interest and imagination. So we need to think about that and do our best to communicate our work back to everybody.”

PUBlic Professor is beginning its third year in the current format. Born out of the great success of the Public Professor newspaper column co-edited by Drs. Dan Johnson and James Linville, the current series offers free public talks in a pub-style setting. Intended more as open forums than lectures, PUBlic Professor evenings provoke questions and open dialogue.

“It’s a forum that has proven to be very popular and we’re excited to have Dr. McGeough open another series of what promises to be outstanding presentations,” says Dr. Craig Cooper, Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science. “I think that people will once again be very intrigued by the scholars we have lined up for the year and the variety of topics that will be discussed.”

McGeough is a U of L alumnus who went on to master’s and doctoral studies at Harvard and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Pennsylvania respectively before returning to teach at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in 2003. He’s been in Lethbridge ever since and has conducted field work throughout the world, including extensive research in the Middle East.

His work looks at how people use archaeology to make arguments about the present, how this is both legitimate and can also be cause for concern. He has also studied archaeology and its presentation in films and media.

McGeough’s talk is the first of the six-part PUBlic Professor series that will run through March 2017. The full schedule follows:

Sept. 22, 2016 – Dr. Kevin McGeough (geography & archaeology) – ‘I met a traveller from an antique land’: The Archaeology of Progress, Decline and Collapse
Oct. 20, 2016 – Dr. Roy Golsteyn (biological sciences) – Flower Power: A Scientific Search for New Medicines in Prairie Plants
Nov. 24, 2016 – Dr. Goldie Morgentaler (English) – How Dickens Invented Christmas – and Why it Matters
Jan. 26, 2017 – Dr. Janay Nugent (history) – Converting a Nation: Family, Religion and Calvinism in Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century Scotland
Feb. 16, 2017 – Dr. Kent Peacock (philosophy) – Alberta in the Anthropocene
Mar. 23, 2017 – Dr. Stacey Wetmore (chemistry & biochemistry) – DNA Damage, Repair and Disease: How Computers Can Help Us Understand

Free appetizers and bar service will be available at each presentation. Seating is limited and people are urged to attend early. No RSVP is required. For more information, visit the PUBlic Professor series web page.

For more on Dr. McGeough’s work, visit this feature story.

Shell Canada gift helps ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ revitalize Westcastle Field Station

trevor.kenney — Thu, 26 May 2016 17:18:12 +0000

A group of determined researchers, an innovative project manager and a $100,000 donation from Shell Canada have combined to enhance the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Westcastle Field Station, creating opportunities for expanded research, student training and community outreach initiatives for years to come.

The Westcastle Field Station can now host numerous students and researchers and has the capacity for community outreach initiatives.

“There was always the view that we really wanted to improve this facility so that we could make the most of its outstanding location and the research opportunities it provided,” says Dr. Stewart Rood, a faculty member in the Department of Biology. “Now we have a field station that will allow for those activities.”

Established in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s initial days, the original field station was constructed in 1970 on a five-acre parcel of land in Castle Provincial Park, just five kilometres from Castle Mountain Ski Resort. It began with a pre-fabricated wood cabin with adjacent wooden pads for canvas tents that were meant to serve as dormitories.

Over the years, safety (bears aren’t easily deterred by canvas) and practicality (generators were replaced with line electricity) led to a number of changes to the site. An ATCO-style trailer was added as a lab to free up dorm space in the cabin and eventually various trailers and campers made their way on site to meet space demands – but they were all seen as stop-gap measures.

The scope of research being conducted at the field station is vast, and the natural setting is inspiring.

“We saw an opportunity to be involved in creating long-term sustainable infrastructure that would benefit both the community in and around Waterton and also those who conduct research in the Castle,” says Ryan C. Smith, senior environmental planner with Shell Canada. “These types of opportunities are very important to us. They help us meet the commitments we make to local stakeholders as well as improve our connection to the surrounding communities where we operate.”

Former psychology professor Dr. Drew Rendall first approached Shell with a funding proposal. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ then stepped in, and through then Executive Director of Facilities, Doug Parker, secured infrastructure revitalization grant money from the provincial government. A project was born.

The field station now features a second building (Shell Dormitory), accommodates 23 beds and three bathrooms, an expanded kitchen facility, increased lab space, exterior storage, new water storage, a fire alarm system and better road access. The end result is a station that can now host numerous students and researchers and has the capacity for community outreach initiatives.

“We’ve been running field courses in geography, environmental science and biology that were dispersed and scattered around because we had no core facility,” says Rood. “Now we have a viable field station in a prime and accessible location.”

The scope of research being conducted at the field station is vast. From Dr. Andrew Hurly’s study of hummingbirds and memory to Dr. Chris Hopkinson’s work on climate systems and climate change to Rood’s water studies and more, the Castle area offers an extremely valuable environment. Couple that with Shell’s interests in resource extraction and its associated environmental sensitivities and like interests emerge.

“Protecting the environment requires new technologies, new partnerships and new ways of operating,” says Smith. “This partnership with the U of L is a great example of how we can work with an academic institution and also involve those from the NGO world and surrounding communities and come together for a common goal.”

Rood says the industry partnership is extremely beneficial to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and its students.

“If you asked my students a decade after they graduate what they remember, a high proportion of them will remember the field experiences,” says Rood. “Ironically, it’s a very inefficient way to get content across. It’s much easier to present bullet points on a screen in a classroom but those lessons don’t become embedded in the students, they don’t really become a part of who they are. To actually go out and see something and discover its natural place is invaluable.”

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