UNews - Scientific Director

Mitacs Globalink students on campus

trevor.kenney — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:58:42 +0000

They're recognized as being some of the sharpest minds in the world. Now, 46 top undergraduate students from India have come to Alberta to apply their skills to complex research projects and interact with industry.

Four of those elite students are being hosted by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in the Mathematics and Computer Science and Chemistry and Biochemistry departments.

It's all part of a new program called Mitacs Globalink, which was launched to attract international undergraduate students to the province and promote the benefits of a Canadian education to those pursuing graduate degrees.

"Every year, tens of thousands of future entrepreneurs and scientists from India travel abroad to countries like the U.S. or U.K. for graduate studies," says Arvind Gupta, Scientific Director of Mitacs, a leading national research organization that creates innovation research and training programs for up-and-coming researchers.

"Our message to international students is that Canada has world-class universities that provide superior education and innovative collaborative research opportunities. We also have some great companies interested in working with these students to help commercialize their ideas into the new products of tomorrow."

Mitacs has launched this one-of-a-kind program in the province with the support of the Government of Alberta, which has provided $375,000 towards the program.

"During my stay in Alberta, I have been able to interact with Canadian graduate and undergraduate students which has been very enlightening and informative," says Anupam Srivastava, a student from the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad who is at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge this summer.

"I would surely recommend the Globalink program to my friends back in India."

The Hon. Greg Weadick, Minister of Alberta Advanced Education and Technology and MLA, Lethbridge West says that programs such as Globalink help position Alberta as a world-leading research and innovation destination.

"We are thrilled to host these young international leaders in Alberta," says Weadick. "Bringing smart people into our Campus Alberta system is essential to building Alberta's knowledge-based economy, and we want these students to come back to Alberta for future studies, and to implement their skills and knowledge here."

At the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, the students have jumped right in to their various projects.

"We have been very pleased to host our Globalink students, and are learning from them as much as they are learning from us," says Dr. Jackie Rice, a mathematics and computer science researcher who is working with a student on a project which uses genetic algorithms to try and reduce the size of reversible logic circuits.

Her colleagues Dr. Yllias Chali and Dr. Shahadat Hossain are also supervising students, while another student is working with chemistry and biochemistry researcher Dr. Ute Kothe.

"We hope they will return home with new friends and contacts, and a different perspective on how their future education could include Canada and the U of L," says Rice.

The Globalink program was piloted in 2009 when 17 Indian students spent three months at British Columbia universities.

This year, Mitacs has placed top students from India in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, and expanded Globalink programming to students from China and Brazil for the first time.

The Globalink program also goes beyond the classroom, Gupta explains, by providing "a big picture taste for life in Canada.

"As part of the internship, for example, the students spend time working alongside their Canadian counterparts to understand Canadian culture and how easy it is for them to fit in, he says. "Our goal is to have these students interact with Alberta students and form new friendships that will extend well beyond their three months in the province."

"In order to be an international innovation leader, Canada must become an attractor for global talent, ensuring that we can compete effectively with other leading jurisdictions," says Gupta. "Building these types of linkages to India is a key part of that strategy."

Childhood experiments just a start for McKay

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

By STACY SEGUIN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GET THE FACTS

• McKay is married with two children

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

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

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

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

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

Alumnus made the most of free lab time

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

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

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

GET THE FACTS

• McKay is married with two children

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

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

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

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

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

Kovalchuk earns major funding boost

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:29:58 +0000

Objectivity is essential in the pursuit of scientific discovery. The science, after all, must guide the search.

But if the science is also supported by an underlying passion to achieve a solution, one fueled by personal experience, even greater things can be achieved. ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researcher Dr. Olga Kovalchuk has that passion and once again, those who fund the country's preeminent minds have recognized it.

Kovalchuk (Biological Sciences/Board of Governors Research Chair) is among six individuals in Canada to receive a prestigious Research Chair in New Perspectives in Gender, Sex and Health from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) and its Institute of Gender and Health (IGH). One of two Albertans named as a Chair, Kovalchuk's position comes with $750,000 in funding over five years.

"The chairs have already made significant progress in their respective fields to increase the profile of gender and sex in health research," says Dr. Joy Johnson, Scientific Director of the Institute of Gender and Health.

Kovalchuk's work uses animal models to examine how radiation induces secondary tumours in cancer patients; the different effects radiation has on women and men; and what can be done to protect the children of radiation-exposed parents from contracting cancer. In addition to teaching, her research program has allowed her to supervise numerous doctoral candidates and masters-level students at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

"The Chairs are producing cutting-edge research with enormous potential to improve the health of Canadians, such as Dr. Kovalchuk's research on secondary tumours in cancer patients,"
Dr. Johnson adds.
"Dr. Kovalchuk's work was inspired by her experience as a high school student in the Ukraine in 1986, while living only 600 kilometres from Chernobyl, the site of the worst nuclear accident in history."

IGH created the research chair program to expand and strengthen research capacity relevant to gender (socio-cultural experiences) and sex (biological factors) and health in Canada. IGH expects that this program will lead to increased national capacity for excellent research and knowledge translation relevant to the health of women and men, girls and boys.

The research Chair program is intended for health researchers who have developed a reputation for excellence in research, and to support outstanding research programs that enhance the health of Canadians.

In addition to Kovalchuk, the Institute of Gender and Health (IGH) researchers are Dr. Sonia Lupien (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Montreal), Dr. Marlene Moretti (Simon Fraser ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ), Dr. Olena Hankivsky (Simon Fraser ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ), Dr. Maureen Heaman (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manitoba) and
Dr. Lynn McIntyre (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary).

Kovalchuk gets $750,000 funding boost

trevor.kenney — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:28:54 +0000

Dr. Olga Kovalchuk has devoted her research life to the development of cancer treatments. On Tuesday, it was announced she would receive $750,000 in funding to continue to break new grounds of discovery.

Kovalchuk (Biological Sciences/Board of Governors Research Chair) is among six individuals in Canada to receive a prestigious Research Chair in New Perspectives in Gender, Sex and Health from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) and its Institute of Gender and Health (IGH). One of two Albertans named as a Chair, Kovalchuk's position comes with $750,000 in funding over five years.

"The chairs have already made significant progress in their respective fields to increase the profile of gender and sex in health research," says Dr. Joy Johnson, Scientific Director of the Institute of Gender and Health.

Dr. Kovalchuk's work uses animal models to examine how radiation induces secondary tumours in cancer patients; the different effects radiation has on women and men; and what can be done to protect the children of radiation-exposed parents from contracting cancer. In addition to teaching, her research program has allowed her to supervise numerous doctoral candidates and masters-level students at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

"The chairs are producing cutting-edge research with enormous potential to improve the health of Canadians, such as Dr. Kovalchuk's research on secondary tumours in cancer patients," Dr. Johnson adds. "Dr. Kovalchuk's work was inspired by her experience as a high school student in the Ukraine in 1986, while living only 600 kilometres from Chernobyl, the site of the worst nuclear accident in history."

IGH created the research chair program to expand and strengthen research capacity relevant to gender (socio-cultural experiences) and sex (biological factors) and health in Canada. IGH expects that this program will lead to increased national capacity for excellent research and knowledge translation relevant to the health of women and men, girls and boys.

The research chair program is intended for health researchers who have developed a reputation for excellence in research, and to support outstanding research programs that enhance the health of Canadians.

In addition to Dr Olga Kovalchuk, the Institute of Gender and Health (IGH) researchers are Dr. Sonia Lupien (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Montreal), Dr. Marlene Moretti (Simon Fraser ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ), Dr. Olena Hankivsky (Simon Fraser ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ), Dr. Maureen Heaman (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manitoba) and Dr. Lynn McIntyre (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary).

UNews - Scientific Director

Mitacs Globalink students on campus

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