UNews - ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta

ULethbridge joining provincial partners to form Quantum Horizons Alberta research network

trevor.kenney — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 20:03:28 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is partnering with ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary to form Quantum Horizons Alberta (QHA), a new $25-million Alberta-wide initiative to expand our foundational knowledge of quantum science and pursue transformational research into the potentials of quantum physics. Initiated by a group of visionary donors, QHA will grow Alberta’s considerable capacity in quantum research.

“Quantum research is transforming our world by offering solutions to difficult problems much faster and better, opening up new opportunities in areas like security, finance, drug development and studying climate change,” says Dr. Mike Mahon, ULethbridge president and vice-chancellor. “Supporting fundamental research today is absolutely vital to achieve major scientific breakthroughs tomorrow.”

QHA will bring together world-class scientists to deepen our understanding and unlock the mysteries of quantum mechanics, where the rules of classical physics do not apply. Quantum science studies the properties and behaviours of the very small or very cold building blocks of the universe, exploring the world beyond what we perceive around us. From creating Bose-Einstein condensates at the lowest temperatures in the universe, to understanding the mysteries of spooky action at a distance with entangled particles, quantum is the field of novel discovery.

While there are practical applications today, such as medical imaging, lasers, electron microscopes, and new approaches to computing power and cybersecurity, dedicated foundational science is required to extend the horizons of knowledge in the quantum realm and open untold and unpredictable possibilities.

“We are very excited to be partnering with Alberta’s major research universities to bring this new pan-Alberta initiative into existence and continue on the path of having a globally recognized hub of excellence for foundational quantum research based here in Alberta,” says Richard Bird, speaking on behalf of the group of donors. “Quantum science is an increasingly critical area of study around the world, and we have the opportunity to establish our province as a key source of research and discoveries in a field which promises to be transformational to the human condition.”

Initially joining Bird as QHA donors are Patrick Daniel, Joanne Cuthbertson and Guy Turcotte, with the expectation that the group will continue to expand as supporters from across Canada join the initiative.

The initial annual operating budget for QHA will be $5 million spread across the three nodes, committed for a minimum of five years and supported by the donors, the universities and other partners.

"These community leaders have stepped forward to invest in foundational quantum discovery because they understand how critical new knowledge is to Alberta’s future. Quantum Horizons Alberta activates our provincial research ecosystem, leveraging the talent across our universities, and enabling us to elevate and expand our capabilities,” says Dr. Ed McCauley, president and vice-chancellor, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary. “Creating new knowledge to move society forward is foundational to the purpose of great research universities.”

“Quantum Horizons Alberta’s research funding will enable us to recruit more high-calibre research scientists and graduate students in this field,” says Bill Flanagan, president and vice-chancellor, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta. “We have a strong history of discovery and research excellence in Alberta. We can build on this history thanks to the visionary philanthropists involved in QHA. Advancing a collaborative quantum research network increases the potential for more made-in-Alberta discoveries that will benefit people worldwide.”

Alberta is already home to quantum research and innovation excellence, and, in partnership with industry, a quantum innovation hub dedicated to growing the quantum tech sector in the province. Funding through Quantum Horizons Alberta is intended to build quantum science capacity in Alberta, by supporting existing expertise and attracting new talent with the goal to recruit a minimum of eight new quantum research professors to Alberta over the next two years along with funding for many postdoctoral scholars and graduate students.

QHA enables a long-term and sustainable path for Alberta’s leadership in quantum research and innovation, creating impact that will reach far beyond Alberta.

Website: quantumhorizonsab.ca

Fostering resilience in mothers and babies following the Fort McMurray wildfire

caroline.zentner — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 15:45:27 +0000

Dr. Gerlinde Metz, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge neuroscientist, is one of a group of Canadian researchers led by Dr. David Olson at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta who seek to reduce the negative effects of stress on pregnant women, newborns and their mothers following the Fort McMurray wildfire.

The research study, which was recently awarded $500,000 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, could lead to new strategies for helping people who are facing disasters in the future.

Dr. Gerlinde Metz, a U of L neuroscientist, is part of a team of researchers who want to provide relief to people affected by disasters.

“The overall purpose for the study is to ascertain whether we could apply to a large number of women a simple but effective intervention to reduce their stress and thereby improve the outcomes of their pregnancies and the health of their babies,” says Olson. “If this intervention is effective, it can be applied to people everywhere in any country who are victims of natural disasters.”

Previous studies have shown that pregnant women affected by a natural disaster tend to deliver early. The children of pregnant women experiencing a disaster are at higher risk for becoming overweight or obese, developing early onset type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

“To overcome this trauma is very difficult and will take a long time,” says Metz. “That’s why we think that, if we offer an intervention that is easy to do, it’s something that we can provide and give back to the community of Fort McMurray.”

Launched by Olson last fall, women participating in the study—177 so far—are asked to do daily online expressive writing for 15 to 20 minutes for four days. Expressive writing is a well-established technique that allows for emotional disclosure and has been shown to reduce biochemical markers of physical and immune functioning. Olson says preliminary results suggest the women in the study are very stressed.

Metz’s lab will be determining the allostatic load (AL), which is the wear and tear that accumulates in the body when exposed to repeated or chronic stress, by analyzing tissue samples such as blood, urine, hair or breast milk. Researchers can then identify which biomarkers of disease are linked to the experience of stress. Comparing the AL score before and after treatment will help the researchers determine if the expressive writing treatment has been effective.

“We want to learn how we can provide fast relief next time something like this happens, it could be a flood, a wildfire, or a tornado,” says Metz.

As part of the study, children’s neurodevelopmental outcomes, weight and metabolic health will be monitored for at least two years. An additional portion of the study will ensure that the processes and outcomes of research are shared with the community and stakeholder groups. Metz says the study results will help inform decision making among health professions, emergency disaster managers and policy makers.

Study shows Battle River clam populations in drastic decline

caroline.zentner — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 16:14:25 +0000

Freshwater mussels in Alberta spend their lives out of sight but a Finnish researcher who has studied them since 1993 hopes they don’t stay out of mind.

The results of a study by Dr. Jouni Taskinen, a professor from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Jyväskylä in Finland who is a world expert on freshwater mussels, and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge biology professor Dr. Cam Goater, point to a troubling trend.

Taskinen and Goater have studied the Battle River southeast of Edmonton, a river that hosts the highest diversity of freshwater clams in Alberta.

Dr. Jouni Taskinen, holding a quadrat that will cordon off a section of the riverbed, prepares to take a sample of the clam populations in the Battle River.

“There’s some good news and some bad news,” says Taskinen. “The good news is that we could find small, one-year-old individuals of even the rare species. That shows that even the rarest species are reproducing in the river. It is a good sign of current reproduction, but the bad news is that there has been a drastic decline in clam density.”

Taskinen says similar results are being reported in many other areas of the world, making freshwater mussels one of the most endangered aquatic organisms.

“It’s quite a universal phenomenon that almost everywhere, native freshwater mussels are declining and there are probably several reasons that act together,” he says.

Those reasons include the building of dams, which affect the mobility of fish, increasing amounts of silt on the river bottom from human activities like construction, toxic contaminants in the water, or hot, dry weather that reduces water flows. Natural enemies like clam-eating muskrats, dam-building beavers and sterilizing parasites are also on the list. Fortunately, the exotic, invasive mussel species like the zebra mussel are not yet a problem in Alberta.

Taskinen and Goater were post-doctoral fellows at the same lab at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta when they first began studying clams in the Battle River. They decided to conclude their study this year since Taskinen is on sabbatical leave. In early June, Taskinen, his wife and four daughters arrived in Lethbridge to continue the study and to explore southern Alberta.

The Battle River is a hotspot of clam diversity in Alberta, likely because the river, which doesn’t originate in the mountains, has a more stable bottom environment that isn’t subjected to spring flooding. Taskinen and Goater have taken samples from the river every 11 years to assess clam biodiversity in the river and to evaluate changes in the density and age structure of clam populations.

“We don’t usually even see them but they are important players in the river or lake ecosystem,” says Taskinen. “They collect material from the water column and transfer it to the bottom where it is a good food source for insect larvae, for example. The insect larvae, on the other hand, are food for fish. Mussels provide all sorts of ecosystem services, including cleansing of water.”

Alberta is home to four main species of freshwater mussels, including the fatmucket, the most common clam, the white heelsplitter, the giant floater and the creek heelsplitter.

The life cycle of the clam begins with a larval stage. The adult female releases larvae called glochidia that attach themselves to the gills or fins of fish. Under normal circumstances, they don’t hurt the fish, but stay attached for two weeks to a month as they metamorphose into juveniles and then drop off to settle on the river bottom. If they happen to settle into a suitable environment, a new mussel bed is formed.

From left to right are a giant floater, creek heelsplitter, white heelsplitter, female fatmucket and male fatmucket. Photos courtesy of Jouni Taskinen.

As filter feeders, a mussel can filter 10 to 30 litres of water per day, cleaning it in the process. They eat microscopic algae but collect all sorts of particles from the water and what they don’t eat, they pack into a ball of slime that they spit out onto the river bottom.

The distribution and occurrence of clams in Alberta, and in many other parts of the world, haven’t really been mapped out because they are not easy to find. But scientists do know that 40 species, out of 400 to 500 species of clams in the world, have gone extinct in the last century and many others are close to extinction.

“Mapping the distribution and densities of clams in Alberta rivers is a top priority for the management and conservation of this important but poorly known part of biological diversity. That’s one of the directions that we would like to take our research in the future,” he says.

Taskinen and his family will return to Finland at the end of July but they’ve used their time in Alberta to visit mountain and prairie landscapes alike.

“We have enjoyed being here and the weather in Lethbridge has been so nice while it’s been cold and rainy in Finland,” he says.

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

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

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

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

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

Dr. Bonnie Lee

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Throwers earn Pronghorn weekly honours

trevor.kenney — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 23:23:13 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns throwers Peter Millman and Kayla Gallagher earned their respective Subway Pronghorn Male and Female Athlete of the Week honours after impressive performances at the Canada West Track and Field Championships this past weekend.

Second-year thrower Millman continued his stellar start to his university throwing career, winning the gold medal in both the weight throw and shot put events at the Canada West championships hosted by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta.

In his first event of the meet, the Truro, NS native set a new personal best in the weight throw, en route to his second career gold medal in the event. His throw of 18.82 metres won the event by over a metre. The next day in the shot put event, he set another personal best mark, hitting 16.91 metres on his sixth and final throw. It was the second time this season that he had set a personal best mark in that event.

With his outstanding performance at the Canada West Championships, Millman was named the Canada West Field Athlete of the Year.

Meanwhile, reigning CIS weight throw champion Kayla Gallagher was again the cream of the crop in her marquee event, claiming her second consecutive Canada West title. Setting a new personal best with a throw of 18.48 metres, Gallagher also beat the field by nearly a metre.

Despite not training shot put for much of the season, Gallagher was then three centimetres short of a new personal best and missed the shot put podium by only nine centimetres and finished fourth with a throw of 13.17 metres.

Gallagher, Millman, Ryan Sommer and Aaron Hernandez will travel return to Edmonton for the CIS Championships, Mar. 6-8.

Pronghorns women's rugby team kicks off season

trevor.kenney — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 17:49:55 +0000

For the first time since 2007, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s rugby team enters the Canada West season as the hunter and not the hunted after seeing their reign of six consecutive conference championships snapped in 2012.

The ‘Horns will not have a home game until the Canada West Championships and will play all four of their conference games on the road, starting this weekend with a trip to the west coast to face the Victoria Vikes and UBC Thunderbirds.

In addition to losing their conference crown, the ‘Horns also had their 22-game conference winning streak snapped in the process, losing to the Calgary Dinos 31-18 during the regular season. It was the Dinos who also put an end to the ‘Horns' reign as conference champions, beating the U of L 33-32 in a thrilling Canada West semifinal.

Heading into the 2013 season, the ‘Horns will need to fill some key holes left by the departure of five-time Canada West all-star Brandi Van Eeuwen, fly half Laura Murphy-Burke, scrum half Alex Hendricks and heart and soul leader Kendra Reeves. Despite these departures, the cupboard is far from bare with the return of 2013 Canada U20 members Sarah Gordon and Ashley Delaney. Add in team captain Jillian Ankutowicz, Kim Leavitt, Tiffany Wideen and Lindsey Duxbury, and the leadership group will be solid.

Newcomers Allison Toews and Lisa Hildebrand have also impressed early for the ‘Horns.

The ‘Horns' first opponent, the Victoria Vikes, will look to rebound from last season’s winless campaign and welcome a fresh, elite group of recruits to the fold. The Vikes boast 15 new members, 11 of whom competed provincially this past summer.

The UBC Thunderbirds enter the 2013 Canada West women’s rugby season with a new coach in Maria Gallo, who is working to replicate the success she enjoyed as a player at both Guelph ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta. The former national team member won three CIS championships and was named the CIS Most Valuable Player in 2002.

Gallo takes over a relatively young squad that returns most of its players from last season, which ended with a loss in the Canada West bronze medal game. There are no fifth-year seniors on the roster, but there is a large group of third- and fourth-year players who will provide leadership.

The Canada West Championships will be hosted by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Oct. 18-20 at the
U of L Community Sports Stadium.

Parkland Institute and U of L partner to support diverse research projects

robert.cooney — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 20:12:39 +0000

Two ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge humanities and social sciences researchers studying vastly different projects will receive support for their work from the Parkland Institute, a not-for profit organization based at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta that supports the study of economic, social, cultural and political issues facing Albertans and Canadians.

Pictured from left to right, Dr. Trevor Harrison, Ann Holden and Dr. Suzanne Lenon

Dr. Suzanne Lenon (Women and Gender Studies), whose research interests are in the area of law, gender and sexuality, will receive $5,000 to further her research on the complex relationships between gender equality and the recognition of valid foreign polygamous marriages.

Ann Åsfrid Holden, graduate studies Master of Arts candidate in History, takes her research into the Subarctic and Arctic to compare legal policies that affect first Nations and Inuit people in Northern Quebec, and those of the Sami people of her home country of Norway. Both groups were affected by large-scale hydroelectric power developments that changed their land and lifestyles, and the legality of the expropriation of indigenous land for these developments was questionable. She will also receive $5,000 to further her studies.

“Parkland is excited to be able to support the diverse research represented by Dr. Suzanne Lenon and Ann Holden,” said Dr. Trevor Harrison, a U of L sociology researcher and Director of the Parkland Institute.

“Parkland’s emphasis has been, and remains, on research that is academically sound, that is important to the broad public and that dares to push the boundaries of our understanding. Both of these research projects fit that bill.”

Harrison added that though they are very different, both projects deal with legal issues and social policy.

“Dr. Lenon’s work will contribute to the body of knowledge that deals with immigration, polygamy, and gender equality, and how those concepts are intertwined, in an often confusing way, from a policy perspective. Ann Holden’s work will explore and explain how the respective legal systems of Norway and Canada have framed the implementation of hydroelectric projects on indigenous land. Though they are far apart geographically, there are some striking similarities that both parties could gain from knowing more about.”

SUZANNE LENON

In Lenon’s case, she is using the recent (2011) Polygamy Reference case in British Columbia as a springboard for discussion, which upholds the prohibition of polygamy in Canada as constitutionally sound. “As in the United States, polygamy is illegal in Canada, but people often immigrate to Canada from a number of countries in Africa and the Middle East where polygamous relationships are, in fact, legal,” Lenon said.

Lenon said that one of the reasons for the continued criminalization polygamous marriages in Canada (and in the West) is that of gender equality.

“The second spouse cannot be legally acknowledged, and has very few, if any, rights if the relationship breaks down. The same challenges apply to people in Canadian polygamous relationships in communities such as Bountiful, BC, where the law applies to the individual who is considered to be legally married, but not to other polygamous spouses. While this law is upheld in the name of gender equality, in these cases the law prevents women from being legally supported if there are problems, and this, ironically, has created gender inequality.”

There is, she says, vigorous debate as to whether continued criminalization of polygamous marriage is a viable public policy strategy to address the complex issues arising from it.

ANN HOLDEN

Holden’s work involves a topic that is just as complex, involves a number of inequality elements, and has affected people -- but in a different way.

The development of hyropower projects in both Norway and Canada a few decades ago and 1980scaused more grief for the politicians than they would have expected, because the negative reactions to it was so strong. Both the James Bay Cree, a fishing, hunting, and trapping community in eastern James Bay in Canada, and the reindeer-farming Sami people in Finnmark, Northern Norway argued that they had rights that stemmed from their immemorial usage of the land.

“Historically, land ownership, in the Western meaning of the word, was a foreign concept for both the Sami and the James Bay Cree,” Holden said. “The Norwegian and British legal systems suited a farming culture, and private ownership over land was the most common form of a legal connection to land, although not the only form of legal rights to land. When the Scandinavian legal traditions met the Sami traditions and the James Bay Cree met the English and later French traditions, the needs of both communities were written into the laws - but not equally.”

Holden said that her work will help Indigenous groups learn more about how the laws of land ownership -- and land management -- can apply to current issues where land is disputed, in particular in cases that involve oil, gas and mining exploration in the northern areas of several Canadian provinces and Territories, and also in northern Sweden, where similar activities are taking place.

“In Canada, resource extraction (i.e. mining) on indigenous land happens in several Provinces. In Sweden, civil disobedience that mirrors the actions the Norwegian Sami used in the 1970s and 1980s was used as a tool to put a mining project on traditional Sami reindeer herding ground on the political agenda. These events are taking place right now, and have significant parallels to the challenges I am looking at which took place decades ago. The historical context is important to understand current issues because changes to the law in both the cases I study were consistent with legal traditions in Canada and Norway.”

Ultimately for Harrison, funding projects that stimulate not only public conversation but social change -- and that allow researchers to explore topics of public interest -- is what makes him happy as a researcher and as a representative of the Parkland Institute.

“This is the second year that the Parkland Institute has partnered with the U of L to deliver the scholarships. I want to thank the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge for its tremendous support given to Parkland, in particular for making the awards possible.”

The project period is two years, and the researchers are expected to deliver a final report on their work to the Parkland Institute, which will make their findings public.

Contacts:

Dr. Suzanne Lenon, Women and Gender Studies (403) 380-1876
suzanne.lenon@uleth.ca
http://directory.uleth.ca/users/suzanne.lenon

Ann Åsfrid Holden, School of Graduate Studies Candidate (History)
ann.holden@uleth.ca

Dr. Trevor Harrison, Sociology / Director, Parkland Institute (403) 329-2552
trevor.harrison@uleth.ca
http://directory.uleth.ca/users/trevor.harrison
http://parklandinstitute.ca/home/

U of L researchers among Venture's Top 50

trevor.kenney — Thu, 25 Jul 2013 22:14:53 +0000

Two ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers from vastly different disciplines have been acknowledged by Alberta Venture Magazine as being among the province's 50 most influential people for 2013.

Drs. David Naylor (Physics and Astronomy) and Robert Sutherland (Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience) made the 2013 list for their achievements in the lab -- outer space, in Naylor's case, and for Sutherland, advocating for the academic community as the President of the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations.

Dr. David Naylor

As an instructor with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's physics department since 1981, David Naylor has taken his lab to the upper echelons of experimental astrophysics. Practically speaking, that means he designs and uses instruments that can measure incredibly small amounts of radiation and light.

His primary project for the last four years has been the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE), a telescope on the Herschel Space Observatory, which was launched in 2009.

The Herschel is winding down its mission as it runs out of liquid helium to cool its instruments, but its 25,000 hours of studying the universe have already led to 250 peer-reviewed articles, a better understanding of the galaxy and spin-off businesses in the Lethbridge area.

Naylor himself was instrumental in establishing Blue Sky Spectroscopy, a private company that has won several contracts from the European and Canadian space agencies and delivered complex instrumentation to leading research teams across the planet. And the SPIRE's legacy is still in its infancy. Astronomers will analyze the prolific telescope's legacy of data for years to come.

Dr. Robert Sutherland

Rob Sutherland's day job is as a professor and chair of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's department of neuroscience, but his public profile this year has come as a result of his role as president of the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations.

CAFA represents academic associations at the province's four research-intensive institutions (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and Athabasca ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ).

They were all hit hard in the provincial budget in March, with cuts to their operating budgets of more than seven per cent. Sutherland was suddenly thrust into the limelight as a defender of tertiary education from both the budget cuts and the mandate letters sent to the institutions from Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk.

You can be sure the battle will continue for years as the provincial government continues its austerity measures and the universities fight to get their funding back up to – and beyond – prior levels.

The complete list of Alberta Venture's 50 most influential people for 2013 is available here.

Study to examine how social and economic stressors affect Aboriginal health

trevor.kenney — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:03:05 +0000

In a first-of-its-kind study, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers are examining how the social and economic adversity faced by Aboriginal peoples may affect their biological health.

This new study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, will be co-lead by three researchers at the U of L, pulling together research strengths from health sciences, kinesiology and neuroscience.

"Aboriginal populations experience high levels of chronic stress as they are often marginalized both socially and economically in Canada. We know that over time, high unrelenting stress can have a profound influence on biological systems," says study Co-Lead, Dr. Cheryl Currie, who is a public health researcher at the U of L.

Stressful experiences are an inevitable part of life, but repeated and chronic exposure to uncontrollable stressors can disrupt the function of neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and immune systems. Markers of biological disruption can be identified well before the clinical markers of disease are detected.

"We tend to think about social and biological determinants of health separately. Connecting the two is a more comprehensive way to think about health- and may shed new light on why Aboriginal populations are disproportionately affected by chronic disease," says study Co-Lead, Dr. Jennifer Copeland, a U of L kinesiology researcher.

The study will also build on past research by Currie indicating that Aboriginal cultural practices promote resilience against alcohol and drug abuse within Aboriginal populations. In this new study, the team will examine the extent to which Aboriginal cultural practices may promote biologic resilience and improve health. Further, the study will examine the ways in which western approaches to wellness, such as regular physical activity, may also promote resiliency in these populations.

Dr. Gerlinde Metz, a neuroscientist at the U of L's Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience and Co-Lead on the study says understanding the biological effects of adverse social conditions is an important step towards the development of interventions that can improve population health and wellness.

"Information gained from the study will be used to help identify new strategies that can reduce health disparities experienced by Aboriginal populations," says Metz.

The full research team includes Drs. Judith Kulig, Michelle Hogue, and Olu Awosoga from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, and Dr. David Olsen from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta. Working together with the Aboriginal community in southern Alberta, this cross-disciplinary team will examine how a range of factors - including adverse childhood experiences, poverty, unemployment, single parenthood, living in overcrowded housing and racial discrimination - impact the stress response and biological functioning among Aboriginal adults living in the Lethbridge area.

The U of L study will commence October 2013 with results expected in 2016-17.

Horns soccer looks to build off success

trevor.kenney — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 16:34:59 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns have finalized their schedules for the Canada West soccer season and for the program's men's team, the focus will be on building off of last season's 18-point performance, a franchise best.

The men's program will open its 2013 campaign with a home-and-home series against the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary Dinos, Sept. 7-8 (at home on Sunday, Sept. 8). That's the start of a 15-game schedule that will also see the Horns play host to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan Huskies, Mount Royal ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cougars, UNBC Timberwolves, UBC Thunderbirds and the Trinity Western Spartans.

The Horns won four games last season and narrowly missed the playoffs with 18 standings points. They will once again play in the six-team Prairie Division, looking for one of three playoff spots.

The regular season concludes on Oct. 27 followed by three rounds of playoffs in four days at the home of the first-place finisher in the five-team Pacific Division. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of New Brunswick in Fredericton, N.B. is the site of the 2013 CIS men's championship tournament, Nov. 7-10.

On the women's side, the Horns are coming off a one-win season but with 21 players eligible to return from last season's roster (that included 11 first-year players), it should be a much more seasoned and cohesive group.

The Canada West women's set-up differs from the men in that only one, 13-team division exists, with the top eight teams qualifying for playoffs.

After opening the schedule on the road with games against the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and Mount Royal ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cougars, the Horns will host the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Winnipeg Wesmen on Saturday, Sept. 14 at the U of L Community Stadium.

The Horns will also play host to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manitoba Bisons the next day and host the UNBC Timberwolves, UBC Thunderbirds and Trinity Western Spartans to round out the home schedule.

Canada West playoffs open with quarter-finals on Oct. 26, after which teams will be re-ranked for semifinals and medal matches on Nov. 2-3. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto hosts CIS Nationals, Nov. 7-10.

For a look at the complete Pronghorns soccer schedule visit the website at www.gohorns.ca. For season tickets, call Pronghorn Athletics at 403-329-2681.

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