Unravelling the mystery of stress

Plastering the pages of magazines and self-help books, stress is a hot topic for overworked North Americans – it’s also a poorly understood concept, says neuroscientist Dr. Gerlinde Metz.

“It’s a very timely subject these days; people think about it a lot. But it’s also a misused term,” says Metz, a principal researcher at the University of Lethbridge’s Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN).

Stress isn’t solely an emotional condition; it’s also a physiological state related to the flight-or-fight response that can be both helpful and damaging. The release of stress hormones, like adrenaline, can help an organism flee a harmful situation, but unmanaged long-term stress can increase the likelihood of certain health conditions and diseases.

“It’s very complex. Stress affects so many different organs, so many different functions and the brain in so many different ways,” she explains.

In the context of brain injury, stress is relevant on two dimensions. “On one hand, stress is a predisposing factor,” says Metz. “On the other hand, if you have a stroke, experiencing a loss of movement and cognitive functions is also a source of stress.”

Metz is systematically studying the impact of stress on normal motor system functions – including the complex interactions of hormones and their effects on the motor system – as well as how stress impacts the recovery of brain injury patients, particularly

victims of ‘silent’ stroke, in which a stroke isn’t immediately detected (these account for 70 per cent of all strokes).

Traditional rehabilitation therapy for stroke patients takes a tremendous physical toll on them. Intense training, amounting to hours of exercise each day, is needed to enable patients to regain movement.

The result is an accumulation of stress – not only from the loss of normal motor control and the adjustment to a major health condition, but from the treatment itself. By understanding the cellular processes at the heart of stress, and how these relate to different types of brain damage, Metz hopes to find ways to “optimize existing stroke treatments and maybe find ones that haven’t been discovered yet.”

For instance, non-traditional treatments like massage therapy, known for its ability to lower stress levels, may prove to be a helpful compliment to rehabilitation.

Metz’s work on stress is primarily funded by the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) which recently renewed her status as an AHFMR Senior Scholar and provided funding of more than $1 million over the next seven years. Metz also receives funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.

In addition to her work on stress and stroke, Metz is actively collaborating on a project for the Preterm Birth and Healthy Outcomes Team, a network of researchers and clinicians from across Alberta.

Working with peers from the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, Metz is studying an animal model of preterm birth in order to understand the physiological factors of the phenomenon, particularly hormones.

“Pregnancy is regulated by a complex concert of hormones,” says Metz. “Sometimes, some-thing goes wrong at some point. Once we know what’s not working, we can try to repair it.”

Metz explains that preterm birth is a complex occurrence, the causes of which have eluded scientists. It’s a particularly relevant health concern in Alberta, where more than 9 per cent of babies are born prematurely – the highest rate in Canada.

The Preterm Birth and Healthy Outcomes Team includes 20 principal investigators, including Metz, who recently earned a team grant from AHFMR, an award of $5 million over five years, to explore the issue from three main perspectives: the health of mothers, the health of infants and the long-term health outlook for people born prematurely.

“The focus of the team grant is to bring many different people to the table and have them focus on a single topic,” says Metz.

Health-care professionals working with mothers and preterm babies comprise an important part of the network, allowing the collected data to immediately benefit those affected.

“It’s a great learning process for all of us and really motivating because you know where your results are going.”

| research furthers innovation and teaching at the University of Lethbridge

fall 08 vol 1 issue 4 | ulethbridge.ca

By researching the complex

mechanisms behind stress,

Dr. Gerlinde Metz hopes to

help those suffering from

brain injuries like stroke

Dr. Dennis FitzpatrickVice-President (Research)

Editor: Alesha Farfus-ShukaliakAssociate Editor: Jane Allan Photography: Glenda Moulton, Bernie WirzbaWriters: Caitlin Crawshaw, Darcy Novakowski Design: Sarah Novak Design Printing: University of Lethbridge Printing ServicesCorrespondence should be addressed to:Research Services, University of Lethbridge4401 University DriveLethbridge, AB T1K 3M4Phone: (403) 317-2869E-mail: jane.allan@uleth.cawww.ulethbridge.ca

Welcome to the fall 2008 issue of FIAT: Furthering Innovation and Teaching

The U of L’s growth as a comprehensive aca-demic and research institution is reflected by our growth in research performance: the recruitment of 10 research Chairs; the development of the Prentice Institute for Global Population and our first endowed re-search Chair; and the evolution of the graduate program to embrace doctoral studies.

This year again, we have been successful in many provincial and national competitions, including those of the Alberta Heritage Foun-dation for Medical Research, Canadian Foun-dation for Innovation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, National Sciences and Engi-neering Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and others. In addition, eight successful applicants received awards from the newly established Community of Excellence in Research Development Op-portunities (CREDO) program to further their endeavours in social science and humanities re-search. A listing of all our accomplished schol-ars is included in this issue. We applaud each of you and wish you continued success.

Breakthroughs in knowledge increasingly require the ability to address problems that cannot be solved by a single discipline. We must facilitate and invest in new models of collaboration and cooperation that enable us to engage partners in problem-solving and knowledge translation. The U of L remains committed to supporting multidisciplinary teams and projects that are both relevant and beneficial to our community. This issue of FIAT showcases a sampling of our collaborative success stories and the difference their research is making in the community.

Research excellence at the U of L is not limited to our faculty however. This year, 83 student recipients will share an average $12,863 in funding in 14 award categories. Three of them are featured on our back cover: Ambra Gullacher, an undergraduate student completing her studies in health sciences; Christopher Myhr, who through his studies here, has received a Fine Arts award to pursue a master’s degree; and Craig Wheaton, who specifically chose our PhD program in chemistry and biochemistry.

Congratulations to all our successful academ-ics and students. I hope you enjoy reading about some of their research in this issue of FIAT.

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 University 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.

Despite international accolades, anthro-pological archeologist Dr. Andrea Cuéllar hesitates to take all of the credit for her success – after all, unearthing artifacts requires the patience and elbow grease of a committed crew.

“They are literally the ones that make a lot of this possible – as an archaeologist, you cannot work on your own,” says the assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Lethbridge.

Her team is composed of undergraduates from Ecuador and Colombia, indigenous people selected by a local indigenous federation, an Ecuadorian archaeologist, and archaeologists from Colombia and the

United States specialized in the analysis of botanical remains and lithic tools. Cuéllar and her team unearth homes and gardens of settlements dating back to 500 A.D. in a valley in the Eastern Andes of Ecuador.

Placed against a backdrop of dispersed homesteads, the emergence of these ‘central-place communities’ is key for understanding social and political change in pre-Columbian times.

Cuéllar is exploring community dynamics as they relate to social and economic differentiation.

With an eye on quotidian forms of social production, kitchens and domestic material culture are very important in

this research. Food production and consumption, as well as other aspects of daily life, are central arenas for symbolic production and ideological elaboration, the kind that naturalizes social and economic hierarchies.

Cuéllar is developing an international reputation and collaborates with experts worldwide. This spring, she earned a prestigious grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. Last year, she earned a Heinz Grant for Latin American Archaeology.

A collaborative approach to studying the past

A clear vision

Award-winning collaborations

Dr. Andrea Cuéllar’s study of pre-Columbian communities in Ecuador involves international partnerships and local participation

Water researchers ask important questions

Photo submitted

Just as a scientist places a sample beneath a microscope lens to understand its subtlest parts, philosophers minutely examine an argument to determine how its components work together.

Logics that can cope with inconsistent premises are the focus of Dr. Bryson Brown’s most recent work. The University of Lethbridge philosophy professor has recently earned a $95,000 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant to pursue his research program, titled Preservationism: Applications and Extensions.

His research, a collaboration with Dalhousie University’s Dr. Peter K. Schotch and Simon Fraser University’s Dr. Raymond E. Jennings, examines preservationism – a philosophical approach to logic that prioritizes preserving desirable formal properties of premises when we draw conclusions from them.

“We already have a large body of work on two forms of preservationist logic and a number of other side-projects with published results,” says Brown.

With this newest project, Brown hopes to look into applications of the logic (to philosophy of science and mathematics, for instance). “Broadly, we’re trying to make more people in the field aware of the work and the logical tools we’ve produced.”

To disseminate the work, Brown, Schotch and Jennings are creating a series of books to be published by the University of Toronto Press (the first will be published early in 2009), as well as presenting their research at a number of international conferences.

“Given that we’re trying to produce a book and attend several major conferences over the next few years, this help from SSHRC is essential to keeping up the pace of the project.”

Are we becoming a historically illiterate nation or are we already there? What teaching strategies would pique the interest of today’s techno-generation?

These are a few of the types of questions U of L education professor Dr. Amy von Heyking and her colleagues from The History Education Network/Histoire et Education en Reseau (THEN/HiER) are investigating.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) recently awarded the collaborative network $2.1 million to study ways in which teaching Canadian history in the K-12 setting can be made more relevant.

“Children are not being given the opportunity to think historically,” says von Heyking. “Clarifying the skills that historians use – collecting data, interpreting primary documents, assessing evidence, exploring the perspectives of people in the past – all are valuable in helping us improve the curriculum in the K-12 education system.”

Through research, von Heyking and THEN/HiER intend to promote historical consciousness, heighten understanding

of collective heritage and improve communication between teachers and historians.

Their collaboration extends to various public institutions and the education system – they dialogue with historians, educators, graduate students, heritage agencies and others from across the diverse field of Canadian history.

THEN/HiER works on an international level with history networks based in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. In this region, von Heyking will partner with teachers in classroom settings and work directly with education programmers at local museums and heritage sites, such as Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.

“The goal of THEN/HiER is to encourage history education research that is informed by practice, and practice that is informed by research. We will continue to try and find ways to help teachers and public institutions to work together to build links,” says von Heyking.

Like any type of marketing, social marketing (including work safety appeals and cause-related marketing) takes savvy and an intimate knowledge of one’s audience.

Drs. Debra and Mike Basil, a husband-and-wife duo in the Faculty of Management at the U of L, are trying to understand what makes workplace safety appeals (like posters and TV ads) effective. They’re currently analysing Canadian, American and Australian ads through a project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

“If we can understand a broader cross-section of people around the world, we are more likely to have identified some underlying human motivations and factors,” says Mike, the study’s principal investigator.

The project will also examine the usefulness of fear tactics (which are very common in Australian campaigns) and the impact of environmental factors on safety compliance.

“We believe that no matter how effective a workplace safety campaign poster may be, workers won’t heed the warning if their direct supervisor doesn’t emphasize the importance of safety,” says Debra.

The SSHRC award is allowing the couple

to continue their work at two Australian universities – the University of Wollongong and Edith Cowan University. It’s a great place to be, as Australia is at the forefront of the field, says Mike.

“I think Australians are very pragmatic and also willing to embrace new ideas and approaches,” he explains. “I think Australians are giving social marketing a ‘fair go’ and have been pleased with what they have seen.”

Working with Australian researchers will undoubtedly offer new perspectives on social marketing research, says Debra.

“Social norms campaigns are becoming popular here, and we will have the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of this approach compared with a more typical fear-type approach.”

A former account representative of a Fortune 500 company, Debra is also working on a three-year, SSHRC-funded project assessing the usefulness of cause-related marketing for non-profit organizations.

While the two research projects are quite different, both are “examining how programs can be structured more effectively to positively impact society,” she says.

research furthers innovation and teaching at the University of Lethbridge

Shining a light on logic

Selling public service messages

The future of Canadian history

Dr. Bryson Brown collaborates with two researchers at opposite ends of the country in his latest SSHRC project

Drs. Debra and Mike Basil investigate what makes a social marketing campaign effective

Dr. Amy von Heyking and her colleagues from The History Education Network receive $2.1 million to study how Canadian history is taught

Photo by Sean Maguire, University of Wollongong

While you cannot see individual waves of light, they collectively compose a spectrum that allows our eyes to perceive emerald hills and brilliant blue oceans.

Digital photography has opened up ways of capturing light and colour far beyond what the human eye detects, but traditional formatting methods (like JPG) have limited the information the camera preserves to keep files small, explains University of Lethbridge alumnus Christopher Myhr (BFA ’08).

This changed several years ago with the emergence of RAW: a format that captures unadulterated digital images in still photography. The result? Greater editing options and the ability to shoot images that were previously too difficult or expensive.

While professionals jumped on board, academia and the art community has been slow to explore RAW’s full range of possibilities.

Myhr has been working to fill this void. As an undergraduate student in the Department of Art, he systematically explored the tool’s technical possibilities, largely by incorporating new techniques in his own works. His accomplishments earned him the J. Armand Bombadier CGS Masters Award.

This fall he’ll start his master’s degree at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, where he hopes to examine RAW’s impact on society and the art world.

“Essentially, digital technology is now ubiquitous – it’s everywhere. I’m interested in looking at how tools like RAW are affecting people and the history of photography,” he says.

Like Myhr, Craig Wheaton has focused his

studies on an often overlooked subject: the creation of biodegradable plastic.

Wheaton, a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is working to develop catalysts – chemicals that trigger particular reactions – involved in the creation of polylactide polymer.

Derived from renewable resources like wheat and corn, the plastic is currently on the market (it can be found in certain kinds of food packaging), but there’s a need to create cheaper, more efficient ways of producing it. A better chemical catalyst can make this happen, says Wheaton, who recently earned a doctoral scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).

“I really believe in the development of plastics made from renewable resources – this is a sustainable way of developing materials. I’m really quite interested in

environmental issues, and I would like to do a little bit to make a difference if I can.”

Wheaton, who published six times as an undergraduate and master’s student, chose doctoral studies at the U of L over larger institutions. “It has a good balance between the resources of a large school and the atmosphere and learning environment of a small school.”

Ambra Gullacher has also aligned her academic career with a strong drive to make a difference. The undergraduate health sciences student is gearing up for a career in nursing and says recent research experience has changed her view of the profession.

Gullacher has been participating in an interdisciplinary, international research

study of the impact of wildfires on rural communities. Led by nursing researcher Dr. Judith Kulig, the research team represents a wide range of disciplines and locations (Canada, the U.S. and Australia).

“What we’re looking at, on a community collective scale, is what has the community’s response to the fire been both immediately

and in the aftermath?” says Gullacher.Gullacher has been working as an

undergraduate project leader on a program examining two communities which experienced wildfires in the last decade: La Ronge, Sask., and Barriere, B.C. In 2003, Barriere was evacuated for a month when forest fires ripped through BC’s interior. La Ronge was affected by forest fires in 1999, though the impact has been long-lasting. “Some people talk about it as if it happened yesterday,” she says.

While the SSHRC-funded research is ongoing, some themes have already emerged.

“A lot of people have identified a sense of community as a factor in resiliency,” she says. “When you live in a community that’s smaller and is farther away from the city or other services, you’re more dependent on each other. And because of that dependence, there’s a bond there.”

She’s been amazed to discover that in some ways, the fires benefited the communities. In Barriere, a mill where most of the community worked was slated to be shut down before the fire, and property values were expected to plummet.

When the fire destroyed the mill, it didn’t re-open, but ex-employees received insurance and relief money from the loss of their homes, and were able to either relocate or rebuild.

“There’s been a bit of a rejuvenation – a reclaiming of the community’s sense of pride and spirit – whereas before there was a sense that things were going downhill.”

Gullacher’s work has earned her a Canadian Institutes for Health Research Health Professional Student Research Award and an Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Summer Studentship Award. It’s also taught her that health isn’t just a matter of physical well-being; it’s impacted greatly by how a community affects people emotionally and socially.

“Being able to see how a community works together, and how it acts as its own little organism gives me a better perspective.”

research furthers innovation and teaching at the University of Lethbridge

Three award-winning

student researchers

delve a little deeper

Probing beneath the surface

Christopher Myhr

Craig Wheaton

Ambra Gullacher

2008 AHFMR Senior Scholar AwardGerlinde Metz, Neuroscience $1,135,000 – 7 Year Grant

Alberta Gaming Research InstituteRobert Williams, Health Sciences $369,000 – 2 Year Grant

CFI Leaders Opportunities Fund GrantsPrincipal Investigators Award

Theresa Burg, Biological Sciences $197,928Paul Hayes, Chemistry And Biochemistry $297,802Ute Kothe, Chemistry And Biochemistry $329,440

Canada Council for the Arts Killam Research FellowshipPrincipal Investigator Award

Stewart Rood, Biological Sciences $140,000 – 2 Year Grant

Canada Research Chair – Tier 1 Award Unfortunately, due to the recently called Federal election, there is a publication embargo on newly appointed Canada Research Chairs. We will hopefully be able to share this information with you in the next issue of FIAT.

Canadian Institutes Of Health ResearchPrincipal Investigators Award

Penny D’Agnone, Research Services $3,000 – 1 Year GrantUnfortunately, due to the recently called Federal election, there is also a publication embargo on other CIHR awards. We will hopefully be able to share this information with you in the next issue of FIAT.

NSERC Research Tools and Instruments GrantsPrincipal Investigators Award

Elizabeth Schultz, Biological Sciences $13,394 Hans-Joachim Wieden, Chemistry & Biochemistry $58,361Christopher Hugenholtz, Geography $31,687 Kevin Grant, Mathematics & Computer Science $14,811Matthew Tata, Neuroscience $22,500David Naylor, Physics $21,767 Louise Barrett, Psychology $47,000

NSERC Discovery Grant ResultsPrincipal Investigators Award

Behnam Seyed-Mahmoud, Physics $17,500 Per Year For 5 YearsJohn Bain, Biological Sciences $15,000 Per Year For 5 YearsGail Michener, Biological Sciences $17,730 Per Year For 5 YearsStewart Rood, Biological Sciences $60,000 Per Year For 5 YearsAnthony Russell, Biological Sciences $28,000 Per Year For 5 YearsMichael Gerken, Chemistry & Biochemistry $35,000 Per Year For 5 YearsMarc Roussel, Chemistry & Biochemistry $42,000 Per Year For 5 YearsChristopher Hugenholtz, Geography $15,000 Per Year For 5 YearsGongbing Shan, Kinesiology & Physical Education $15,000 Per Year For 5 YearsDaya Gaur, Mathematics & Computer Science $15,000 Dragos Ghioca, Mathematics & Computer Science $17,000 Per Year For 5 YearsKevin Grant, Mathematics & Computer Science $15,000 Per Year For 5 YearsHadI Kharaghani, Mathematics & Computer Science $22,000 Per Year For 5 YearsJohn Zhang, Mathematics & Computer Science $15,000 Per Year For 5 YearsDavid Naylor, Physics $44,175 Per Year For 3 YearsAdriana Predoi-Cross, Physics $26,540 Per Year For 5 YearsPeter Henzi, Psychology $21,670 Per Year For 5 YearsSergio Pellis, Neuroscience $43,136 Per Year For 5 YearsDrew Rendall, Psychology $32,436 Per Year For 5 YearsMatthew Tata, Neuroscience $24,936 Per Year For 5 Years

SSHRC GrantsAid To Small Universities – 3 Year GrantDavid Gregory, Health Sciences $62,000

Community-University Research Alliances (Letter Of Intent Stage)Sameer Deshpande, Management $14,925

International Opportunities Fund (Management, Business and Finance) – 1 Year GrantMichael Basil, Management $36,000

Research Grants (Management, Business and Finance) – 3 Year GrantDebra Basil, Management $75,880

Standard Research Grants – 3 Year GrantsYale Belanger, Native American Studies $97,500Bryson Brown, Philosophy $94,618Elizabeth Galway, English $54,855Claudia Malacrida, Sociology $87,403Patrick Wilson, Anthropology $91,551

Other External Funding:Alberta Centre For Child, Family & Community Research Reginald Bibby, Sociology $39,755 – 1 Year Grant

French Embassy (Canada) Roy Golsteyn, Biology Approx. $5,000 – 1 Year Grant

Alberta Livestock Industry Development Ltd. Brent Selinger, Biology $360,000 – 2 Year Grant

Southern Alberta Intellectual Property Network Gongbing Shan, Kinesiology and Physical Education $20,000 – 1 Year Grant

In addition to being the PI on grants held at the U of L, several faculty have alerted us that they are co-applicants on successful grants at other institutions. We apologize if we have missed anyone who is collaborating on such a grant. Unfortunately, the granting agencies do not advise us of these awards and we must rely on the collaborators themselves to provide us with this information. Please share your successes with the Office of Research Services.

Name Institute of Principle Investigator Total Grant

Sarah Boon, Geography University of Alberta $219,000 University of BC $190,000 University of BC $260,750 University of Alberta $705,579

Cynthia Chambers, Education NWT Literacy Council $226,000

David Gregory, Health Sciences Dalhousie University $115,527

Erika Hasebe-Ludt, Education University of Alberta $20,000 (Letter of Intent)

Gail Hepburn, Psychology University of Ottawa $139,000

Gordon Hunter, Management Queens’ University $20,000 (Letter of Intent)

Queens’ University $298,501

Gordon Hunter, Management Queen’s Business School $9,000

Stefan Kienzle, Geography National Institute for Water and $16,000/Year (Open Ended)

Atmosphere, New Zealand

Stefan Kienzle Prairie Adaptation Research $200,000 & James Byrne, Geography Collaborative

Claudia Malacrida, Sociology University of Alberta $20,000 (Letter of Intent)

Gerlinde Metz, Neuroscience Preterm Birth & Healthy $5,000,000 Outcomes Team

Noella Piquette-Tomei, McGill University $250,000 Education University of Alberta $48,000 Memorial University CIHR Letter of Intent Concordia University $125,000 (Letter of Intent)

Amy von Heyking, Education University of BC $300,000

New Internal Funding: Community of Research Excellence Development Opportunities (CREDO) The Office of Research Services awarded eight faculty members funding from the newly established CREDO program to enable them to develop their research in the social sciences and humanities and apply for external funding at the end of the two-year grants.

The principle investigators of the new grants are:

Ebenezer Asem, Management $23,000Sharleen Hoar, Kinesiology And Physical Education $20,236.56Abdie Kazemipur, Sociology $23,000Heidi Macdonald, History $23,000Daniel O’Donnell, English $22,010Arlan Schultz, Music $23,000Blythe Shepard, Education $19,508.30Judith Whitehead, Anthropology $21,594

R E S E A R C H A W A R D SFACULTY

UNDERGRADUATEAHFMR Summer StudentshipThe Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) Summer Studentships are valued at $1,300 per month for four months.

Recipients Supervisors

Mackenzie Coatham Gerlinde Metz, NeuroscienceDenis Davidov Bryan Kolb, NeuroscienceAmbra Gullacher Judith Kulig, Health SciencesChrista Klapko Olga Kovalchuk, Biological SciencesJoelle Kopp Rob McDonald, NeuroscienceDiana Lim Ian Whishaw, NeuroscienceNorah-Faye Matthies Gerlinde Metz, NeuroscienceAndrej Pogribny Olga Kovalchuk, Biological SciencesNichole Schmold Bryan Kolb, NeuroscienceStephanie Wickersham Igor Kovalchuk, Biological Sciences

Chinook Research Summer AwardsThese University of Lethbridge awards are valued at $5,625 for four months.

Recipients Supervisors

Jessica Andrusiak Bonnie Lee, Health SciencesNadine Baker Walter Wymer, ManagementThera Body Carol Williams, Women’s StudiesSilvana Campus Shelly Wismath, Mathematics & Computer ScienceSeung Joon Choe John Sheriff, Mathematics & Computer ScienceMichaela Debeyer Inge Genee, Modern LanguagesKristen Dow Michelle Helstein, Kinesiology & Physical EducationJames Falconer Trevor Harrison, SociologyLindsey Garner-Knapp Jan Newberry, AnthropologyKyle Hambrook Amir Akbary, Mathematics & Computer ScienceYun-Jung Kim Howard Cheng, Mathematics & Computer ScienceVanessa Lodermeier Edward Swenson, AnthropologyAshley Marchuk Tony Russell, Biological SciencesMichelle Morris Christopher Kukucha, Political ScienceRae Stauffer Janay Nugent, HistoryKelly Stephen Steven Mosimann, Chemistry & BiochemistryTanya Wagner Heidi MacDonald, History

CIHR Health Professional Student Research AwardThe Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Health Professional Student Research award is valued at $4,251 for three months.

Recipient Supervisor

Ambra Gullacher Judith Kulig, Health Sciences

Health Quality Council Of Alberta StudentshipThe Health Quality Council of Alberta studentship is valued at $4,000.

Recipient Supervisor

Katherine Egan David Gregory, Health Sciences

Math in Moscow ScholarshipThe Math in Moscow scholarship is valued at $9,000 for a semester.

Recipient Supervisor

Kyle Hambrook TBA, Independent University of Moscow

NSERC Undergraduate Student Research AwardsEach Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) award is valued at $5,625 for four months.

Recipients Supervisors

Heather Bird Teresa Burg, Biological SciencesDora Capatos Gerlinde Metz, NeuroscienceGregory Christie Matthew Tata, NeuroscienceCassandra Churchill Stacey Wetmore, Chemistry & BiochemistrySelina Dobing Brent Selinger, Biological SciencesDillon Hambrook Behnam Seyed Mahmoud, PhysicsStephanie Jones Stacey Wetmore, Chemistry & BiochemistryStefan Koppert Marc Roussel, Chemistry & BiochemistryKatherine Lafreniere Hans-Joachim Wieden, Chemistry & Biochemistry Christine Michell Teresa Burg, Biological SciencesAaron Mullin Derek Peddle, GeographySamuel Neale Steve Patitsas, PhysicsAlan Nielsen Drew Rendall, PsychologyJamie Novlesky Stewart Rood, Biological SciencesChad Povey Adriana Predoi-Cross, PhysicsNathan Puhl Brent Selinger, Biological SciencesLaura Robertson Olga Kovalchuk, Biological SciencesJerrah Sawatsky Marc Roussel, Chemistry & Biochemistry Anthony Schmieder Howard Cheng, Mathematics & Computer ScienceDavid Sessford Lesley Brown, Kinesiology & Physical EducationMichael Shields Hans-Joachim Wieden, Chemistry & Biochemistry Jenny Shim Stacey Wetmore, Chemistry & Biochemistry Joel Stimson Igor Kovalchuk, Biological SciencesMark Thom Nathan Ng, Mathematics & Computer ScienceJaden Wright Hans-Joachim Wieden, Chemistry & Biochemistry Dani Zwueste Alice Hontela, Biological Sciences

GRADUATE AHFMR FELLOWSHIPRecipient Supervisor

Guev-Jen Lai Robert Sutherland, Neuroscience

Alberta Cancer Board Graduate StudentshipThe Alberta Cancer Board Graduate Studentship is valued at $20,000 per year for two years.

Recipient Supervisor

Lidia Luzhna Olga Kovalchuk, Biological Sciences

AIF Ingenuity MSc Student ScholarshipThe Alberta Ingenuity Fund (AIF) MSc Student Scholarship consists of an annual stipend and a $3,000 research allowance. The total value of the award is $33,000.

Recipient Supervisor

Evan Mercier Hans-Joachim Wieden, Chemistry & Biochemistry

Focus On Stroke Post-Doctoral FellowshipRecipient Supervisor

Guev-Jen Lai Robert Sutherland, Neuroscience

NSERC Master’s AwardsThe Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Canada Graduate Scholarship is valued at $17,500 per year for one year and the Postgraduate Scholarship is valued at $17,300 per year for one year.

Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship Recipients Supervisors

Erika Droessler TBACrystal Ehresman Deborah Saucier, NeuroscienceBen Ireland Paul Hayes, Chemistry & Biochemistry Jenni Karl Ian Whishaw, NeuroscienceEvan Mercier Hans-Joachim Wieden, Chemistry & Biochemistry Mike Nemeth Stefan Kienzle, Geography

Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients Supervisors

Chelsea Matisz Cameron Goater, Biological SciencesJulie Nielsen Stewart Rood, Biological SciencesChad Povey Adriana Predoi-Cross, PhysicsJennifer Przybylski Stacey Wetmore, Chemistry & Biochemistry

Joseph Armand Bombardier CGS Master’s (SSHRC)The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canada Graduate Scholarship is valued at $17,500 per year for one year.

Recipients Supervisors

Jennifer Arthur Rob Williams, Health SciencesDanielle Demiantschuk will be attending University of Western OntarioNadine Duckworth Rick Mrazek, EducationMichael Granzow Claudia Malacrida/Bill Ramp, Sociology Nicole Hembroff Hillary Rodrigues, Religious StudiesColin Hirano will be attending Dalhousie UniversityTammi Mills Shawn Bubel, GeographyChristopher Myhr will be attending Nova Scotia College of Art and Design UniversityElise Ray will be attending Dalhousie UniversityJenna Would Kerry Bernes, EducationChelcie Zimmer Thelma Gunn, Education

NSERC Doctoral AwardsThe Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Canada Graduate Scholarship is valued at $35,000 per year for two years, the Postgraduate Scholarship is valued at $21,000 per year for three years and the Postdoctoral Fellowship is valued at $40,000 per year for two years.

Canada Graduate Scholarship Recipient Supervisor

Lesley Rutledge Stacey Wetmore, Chemistry & Biochemistry

Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients Supervisors

Heather Bell Sergio Pellis, NeuroscienceJody Filkowski Olga Kovalchuk, Biological SciencesAndrea Millen Stacey Wetmore, Chemistry & Biochemistry

Postdoctoral FellowshipRecipient

Oleksandr Boyko

Private Foundation GrantFunded by a private foundation, all of the following recipients from the Department of Neuroscience received a research stipend in support of their studies. The Foundation requests to remain anonymous.

Recipients Supervisors

Muhammad Arif Bryan Kolb, NeuroscienceHeather Bell Bryan Kolb, NeuroscienceKara Brissette Bryan Kolb, NeuroscienceRichelle Mychasiuk Bryan Kolb, NeuroscienceFraser Sparks Rob Sutherland, Neuroscience