UNews - pharmaceuticals

Fulbright Chair Brooks to deliver presentation

trevor.kenney — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 21:52:06 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Fulbright Canada Visiting Research Chair in Water and the Environment, Dr. Bryan Brooks, will be on campus to deliver his first presentation to a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge audience on Thursday, Dec. 5 from 3 to 4 p.m. in WE1001.

Brooks was appointed a Fulbright Canada Visiting Research Chair earlier this year and will begin his term at the U of L in January 2014. On Thursday, he will be presenting Understanding Risks of Fish on Prozac, Bugs on Drugs and other Harbingers of an Urbanizing Water Cycle.

Human interactions with freshwater remain among the greatest challenges to environmental protection. Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs such as pharmaceuticals) present threats to these water resources, yet information needed to make environmental policy decisions is often lacking for unregulated contaminants, particularly across natural gradients that exist in surface waters.

His presentation will critically examine some lessons learned from studies of pharmaceuticals and other CECs in urbanizing watersheds. It will then focus some attention on related global water quality research needs.

While serving as the Fulbright Visiting Research Chair, Brooks plans to collaborate with ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge colleagues to develop a more robust understanding of water quality dynamics in urbanizing watersheds of semiarid regions in Alberta. Multidisciplinary studies in Alberta will leverage ongoing work in semiarid regions of Texas and other parts of North America to advance sustainable water resource management efforts.

Hontela contributes to IET team

trevor.kenney — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 23:18:28 +0000

A ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge ecotoxicology expert is part of a new province-wide research institute dedicated to examining the impact of harmful chemicals in our environment.

Dr. Alice Hontela, a U of L biological sciences professor and Canada Research Chair in ecotoxicology, is among the researchers who make up the Institute of Environmental Toxicology (IET). Housed at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary, the IET is a multidisciplinary team that will include biologists and engineers from the universities of Lethbridge, Calgary and Alberta, as well as scientists in municipal and federal laboratories. Its mandate is to develop new and improved technologies for effective risk assessment and remediation of contaminated sites.

Dr. Alice Hontela is pictured in her lab, one of several unique spaces in the Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building.

"Our research will help provide decision makers and the public with scientific information on the nature and magnitude of environmental contaminants, and offer some solutions to address this important global challenge," says Hontela.

Among other research collaborations, Hontela is part of MITHE (Metals in The Human Environment) strategic network and the Alberta Institute for Water Research. She says climate change and increasing industrial activity (especially farming and mining) are not only affecting the volume of available water, but the concentration of pollutants that exist in the water.

Through lab and fieldwork, Hontela studies the endocrine systems of different fish to determine the effects of certain pollutants. She explains that some chemicals are safe at low doses (like selenium, which our bodies need), but toxic at higher concentrations. See the following video for a look at Hontela's research.

Since pollutants, like pharmaceuticals, are difficult or impossible to remove with filtration, the health of both human and aquatic species requires keeping these chemicals at non-toxic levels.

"Alberta is a province that is changing very quickly, and we have to find new ways to deal with our water and our pollutants," says Dr. Hamid Habibi, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary and the IET director.

An environment free of harmful chemicals is the group's top priority. IET will study the nature, fate and persistence of chemicals in the environment as well as the remediation of terrestrial and aquatic contamination activities.

Habibi says that the causes of contamination are wide ranging and could include pollutants released from wastewater treatment plants and landfills, such as plasticizers, surfactants, flame-retardants, drugs, personal care and industrial products. In addition, there are heavy metals or other toxins resulting from mining activities and electronics consumerism, agricultural runoff, oil sands operations and tailings ponds.

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

Cream of the crop

trevor.kenney — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 18:55:41 +0000

When U of L chemistry researcher Dr. Paul Hayes sees a cornfield, he looks much deeper than the rows, the stalks or even the kernels.

He envisions matter at the molecular level and sees corn as a source for biodegradable material, such as a plastic drinking cup, rather than just a common vegetable.

In fact, Hayes looks at many common materials and thinks up ways to improve them at the molecular level by making them more useful, energy efficient and, like biodegradable corn-based drinking cups, more environmentally friendly.

His award-winning research focuses on synthetic chemistry, or the making of molecules. More specifically, he prepares new molecules – called catalysts – that are able to convert one chemical into another without themselves being consumed or altered.

Chemistry researcher Dr. Paul Hayes takes his lab to the cornfield.

One of his recent projects focuses on the challenge of making new materials that are both biodegradable and biocompatible.

"We prepare catalysts that convert a chemical found in corn or beets into a plastic-like material called polylactide," explains Hayes. "Polylactide can be made into a wide variety of manufactured goods, such as drinking cups or other biodegradable products. We can either shorten or extend the biodegradable lifespan of the product based on how we fine-tune the molecular structure of the polylactide."

The ability to manipulate these characteristics opens up possibilities for many new and useful materials in the future.

For example, Hayes explains packaging materials can have readily adjusted biodegradation rates to accommodate the need for various shelf lives of different items, providing an alternative "green" plastic for food packaging.

Hayes' research also has medical applications like absorbable sutures, matrices for the slow release of pharmaceuticals and polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Hayes, who has been at the U of L for four years, continues to develop his thriving independent research program, which has produced numerous publications in top-tier journals and received more than $1.4 million in funding from provincial and national agencies, such as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Canada School of Energy and Environment and GreenCentre Canada.

As a result of these successes the young researcher has earned province-wide accolades, including the prestigious Alberta Ingenuity New Faculty Award. Most recently, Hayes accepted a Distinguished Academic Early Career Award from the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations for his ongoing accomplishments and future research potential.

It's a promising future for all Albertans, really, thanks to leading ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ like Hayes, who just happens to be tackling world issues at the molecular level.

For a look at the full issue of SAM in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Hayes earns CAFA honour

trevor.kenney — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:59:55 +0000

The Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations (CAFA), the provincial organization representing academic staff associations at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, and Athabasca ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, recently announced the recipients of the CAFA Distinguished Academic Awards for 2010.

Among the recipients is Dr. Paul Hayes an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, who will receive the 2010 CAFA Distinguished Academic Early Career Award at an event in mid-September.

The CAFA Distinguished Academic Early Career Award recognizes academic staff members who, at an early stage of their careers, through their research and/or other scholarly, creative or professional activities, have made an outstanding contribution to the wider community beyond the university.

Hayes is being recognized for, among other projects, his research to find a cost-effective, environmentally sustainable 'green' alternative to conventional plastics.

Building his research programme at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge from scratch, Hayes has been able to attract top-quality students and postdoctoral fellows to his lab. As principal investigator, he has secured multi-year external funding, including grants from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Alberta Ingenuity, NSERC, the Canada School of Energy and Environment, and GreenCentre Canada.

Hayes' research is receiving wide attention in the scientific community, and already has resulted in an impressive string of high-profile publications in leading peer-reviewed chemistry journals, in addition to numerous invited presentations at scholarly conferences across Canada and abroad.

His research in the field of organometallic chemistry, focusing on fundamental questions in catalysis and polymer science, addresses the need to develop new technologies for chemical conversions, which are crucial to drug development, materials synthesis, and the production of value-added chemicals.

Specifically, his work on polylactide polymerization catalysis advances our understanding of the synthesis of 'green' polymers, that is, biodegradable polymers that can be prepared from inexpensive renewable sources, such as corn.

This research holds the key to the challenge of producing viable alternatives to many conventional materials, such as 'green' plastic for food packaging. Lactone polymers also have many possible medical applications, for example in absorbable sutures, matrices for the slow release of pharmaceuticals, and polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Understanding what's in our water

trevor.kenney — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:49:46 +0000

As Alberta's economy and population grow, the demand for water is soaring and so is the need to know how well we're managing this invaluable resource.

Canada Research Chair and U of L researcher Dr. Alice Hontela is adding to the well of knowledge by seeking to understand just exactly what's in our water.

Hontela is part of MITHE (Metals in the Human Environment) strategic network. She says climate change and

Dr. Alice Hontela is adding to the well of knowledge by seeking to understand just exactly what's in our water.

increasing industrial activity (especially farming and mining) are not only affecting the volume of available water, but the concentration of pollutants in it.

Through lab and fieldwork, she studies the endocrine systems of different fish species – whose systems resemble in some aspects those of humans – to determine the effects of certain pollutants.

She explains that some chemicals are safe at low doses (like selenium, which our bodies need), but toxic at higher concentrations. Since pollutants, like pharmaceuticals, are difficult or impossible to remove with filtration, the health of both human and aquatic species requires keeping these chemicals at non-toxic levels.

The answers Hontela and her colleagues discover are crucial to finding new ways to deal with our water and pollutants, and will aid in making sound management decisions for the future.

Award-winning collaborations

trevor.kenney — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:26:19 +0000

As Alberta's economy and population continue to boom, the demand for water is soaring and so is the need to know how well we're managing this invaluable resource.

Biological scientists Drs. Alice Hontela and Stewart Rood are part of a team of world-renowned researchers at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge who are seeking to answer the province's most pressing questions related to water.

Hontela is part of MITHE (Metals in The Human Environment) strategic network. She says climate change and increasing industrial activity (especially farming and mining) are not only affecting the volume of available water, but the concentration of pollutants in it.

Through lab and fieldwork, she studies the endocrine systems of different fish species – whose systems resemble in some aspects those of humans – to determine the effects of certain pollutants.

She explains that some chemicals are safe at low doses (like selenium, which our bodies need), but toxic at higher concentrations. Since pollutants, like pharmaceuticals, are difficult or impossible to remove with filtration, the health of both human and aquatic species requires keeping these chemicals at non-toxic levels.

"Alberta is a province that is really changing very quickly, and we have to find new ways to deal with our water and our pollutants."

Rood, who was a co-director of the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Water Research from 2002 to 2007, is now part of a river research group supported by the new Alberta Water Research Institute. He is also a recent recipient of a Killam Research Fellowship.

He studies the relationship between water (particularly river water) and aspects of the natural environment, like floodplain forests (zones that flank rivers).

"More broadly, the topic in my area is, 'How can we effectively manage water in areas that are water scarce, with the double-threat of reducing water supplies due to climate change and increasing demands due to human population and industrial activity?'"

The answers Rood, Hontela and their colleagues discover will be crucial for making sound management decisions about water resources today and in the future.

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