Pictured: Dr. Haakon Nygaard shows Charles Fipke the new GE Healthcare SIGNA™
hybrid PET-MRI scanner housed in the Charles E. Fipke Integtrated Neuroimaging Suite at a ribbon-cutting event on April 8, 2019. The GE SIGNA™ is the first scanner of its kind in Canada.
Congratulations
- Dr. Teresa Liu-Ambrose received a Catalyst Grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for her project, The Impact of Increased Activity, Reduced Sitting, and Good Sleep Quality on Cognition: An Exploration of for Whom and How. The project will study the impact of increased activity, reduced sitting, and good quality sleep on cognition, and is part of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.
- Dr. Julie Robillard receives leadership award from ALS Society of BC.
- The NanoMedicines Innovation Network (PI: Dr. Pieter Cullis) has been awarded $18.5 million in new funding from the Networks of Centres of Excellence, a federal program that connects teams of scientists across Canada to collaborate on research with significant health, environmental and societal impacts. This funding is matched by more than $22 million from industry and other not-for-profit agencies.
- Dr. Ruth Grunau received the Outstanding Pain Mentorship Award at the Canadian Pain Society’s Annual Scientific Meeting this week. The award recognizes her outstanding mentorship of young researchers studying pain.
- Dr. Andrei Krassioukov has been appointed President of the American Spinal Cord Injury Association.
- Dr. Julia Schmidt (PIs Dr. Lara Boyd and Dr. Naznin Virji-Babul) has joined the Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy as Assistant Professor.
- Cristina Rubino (PI: Dr. Lara Boyd) received a Research Tools and Equipment Grant from the The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
- Dr. Stefan Wendt (PI: Dr. Brian MacVicar) received funds from the Pacific Alzheimer Research Foundation for his project, Contribution of Microglia activation and neuronal oxidative stress to Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Haakon Nygaard is a co-PI on this project, which will look at how microglia cause oxidative stress, a phenomenon that causes an overproduction of reactive oxygen radicals, and whether microglia generate oxygen radicals (and their role in nerve cell damage).
- Daphne Ling (PI: Dr. Adele Diamond) was awarded a travel grant to present her research at the 20th IBRO World Congress in South Korea.
- Joyce Lam (PI: Dr. Doris Doudet) received the Edward JC Hossie Leadership Award. Only three students each year receive the award; the award recognizes students who have demonstrated leadership through volunteerism, community services and campus activities.
- Dr. Maria Arredondo and Dr. Drew Weatherhead (PI: Dr. Janet Werker) received new equipment from the Artinis Win-A-Brite Contest for their pilot study proposal, What’s in a word? Imaging the birth of a word using fNIRS.
- Brandon Forys (PIs: Dr. Kiran Soma and Dr. Rebecca Todd) wins prestigious UBC undergraduate awards.
- Carolyn English (PI: Dr. Vesna Sossi) was inducted into UBC’s 25 Year Club, an initiative that honours staff members with 25 or more years of service at UBC. Carolyn is the Head Nuclear Medicine Technologist with the UBC PET-MRI Imaging Centre at the Charles E. Fipke Integrated Neuroimaging Suite.
Twitter highlights
Exciting day! Dedicating the 1st integrated PET-MRI for neuroimaging research, thanks to generosity of Chuck Fipke. @DMCBrainHealth @ubcprez @UBCmedicine pic.twitter.com/Qtvf3ZH4Qz
— Raymond Lam (@DrRaymondLam) April 8, 2019
April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month. I was inspired by the stories of those living with #Parkinsons Disease. Thank you @ParkinsonsBC for your 50 years of service! I‘m so impressed with the innovative technologies that are helping to improve people’s quality of life.#DrTaraRastin pic.twitter.com/XwgRYKwRRW
— Melanie Mark (@melaniejmark) April 12, 2019
Congratulations to the team of runners for the Centre for Brain Health who were top in their category for Medical/dental teams at the Vancouver Sun run yesterday. I like to brag that 3 (LP Bernier, Eli York and Hyun Choi) were from my lab!! pic.twitter.com/MZQbYcGb3k
— Brian macvicar (@brian_macvicar) April 15, 2019
Thank you to Dr.@JenGommerman from @UofT and Dr. Tony Traboulsee from @UBC @DMCBrainHealth for a very insightful presentation this evening on B cell therapies for #MultipleSclerosis pic.twitter.com/jRLzDtgaaX
— Shelly Au (@shellyau) April 16, 2019
Congrats to Sriram Subramaniam @CIHR_IRSC newest #CERC. His area of research: Health and Life Sciences.
Félicitations à Sriram Subramaniam, l’un des nouveaux titulaires de #CERC des @IRSC_CIHR. Son domaine de recherche : sciences de la santé et sciences de la vie. pic.twitter.com/pT1dUYOsxx
— CERC (@CERC_CERC) April 18, 2019
Very excited to have just completed CHIMERA training in Japan. Never thought a brief chat at SfN would lead to an invitation to Japan years later. Many thanks for Dr Hasegawa, Dr Aoyagi and colleagues for the warm reception! Wish you all the best in tau research!@igakuken pic.twitter.com/IAjjNrBnGh
— Tom Cheng (@TomChengWH) April 26, 2019
Media
- Inside the brain of an opera singer (UBC Music, March 26)
- Kelowna researcher studying impacts of concussions on women in violent relationships (InfoNews.ca, March 26)
- When Life Gives You Parkinson’s podcast: Is Parkinson’s a genetic condition? (Global News, March 27)
- Five Questions with GE3LS Researchers – Jehannine Austin (Genome BC, April 2)
- Genetic counselling: Answering the questions after the diagnosis (The Irish Times, April 3)
- Professor from Tsawwassen invested into the Order of Canada (The Delta Optimist, April 3)
- Kelowna brain injury symposium follows TED Talk format (Kelowna Capital News, April 4)
- Redefining ‘lazy eye’ and investigating its effects on reading ability (UBC Language Sciences, April 8)
- New study first to identify an expanded section of DNA as cause of a rare genetic metabolic disorder (UBC Medicine, April 15)
- Global leader in precision cancer drug design joins the faculty of medicine (UBC Medicine, April 17)
- Changing the future of cancer drug design: A foundational relationship (Vancouver Sun, April 18)
- Researchers identify mutation in mice that may hold promise for new stroke treatment (The Ubyssey, April 22)
- A day in the lab: NINET Lab (VCHRI News, April 23)
- Could Greasing the Wheels of Lipid Processing Treat Alzheimer’s? (AlzForum, April 24)
- Disability and disease progression in multiple sclerosis is linked to income and education (MS Society of Canada, April 24)
- 3D Bioprinting Personalized Brain Tissues (3D Heals, April 28)
- Whistler joins national Walk for Alzheimer’s on May 5 (PiqueMagazine, April 29)
- Fusion-Dependent Formation of Lipid Nanoparticles Containing Macromolecular Payloads (Science in the City, April 29)
Did we miss something? Do you have a story tip? We want to hear from you! Send your research highlights, upcoming publications, trainee successes, and funding and awards news to emily.wight@brain.ubc.ca.