March 29, 2006
Exiled Pakistani Women's Rights Journalist Joins U of S
Posted March 29, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Wednesday, March 29, 2006 2006-03-17-OTHER
Exiled Pakistani Women's Rights Journalist Joins U of S
A Pakistani journalist who had to leave her home country after being hunted
by Islamic fundamentalists will spend a year at the University of
Saskatchewan as part of PEN Canada's Writers in Exile program, the first
placement of its kind for the university.
Ameera Javeria begins her year as PEN Canada Visiting Scholar in May. While
at the U of S, she will continue writing In the Line of Fire, her book
examining crimes committed against women in Pakistan.
"Although most crimes are not sanctioned by religion, the fundamentalist
right validates and justifies horrific occurrences like honour crimes by
lending it religious currency," says Javeria, who is particularly interested
in the impact of Islam's Sharia laws in today's world.
As well as furthering her research, Javeria will teach two courses. One, for
the department of English, will focus on professional journalism with
emphasis on women's rights struggles in Pakistan. The other, for the
department of women's and gender studies, will explore trans-national
feminism.
"Coming to Saskatoon and teaching at the U of S is a dream come true for
me," she says. "It will give me a chance to be in an academic environment,
travel and make new friends. The opportunity of sharing expertise is very
significant for me. I am grateful the U of S is giving me this chance to
expand on my research."
As a journalist, Javeria has focused extensively on women's rights in
Islamic societies. Last year, she received the Helman Hammet award from the
Human Rights Watch for her courageous work in Pakistan. She was unable to
continue working safely for The Frontier Post, a premier daily newspaper in
Pakistan, after it was torched by protesters. She chose to leave the country
shortly after.
In addition to her research and writing work, she has been active in North
America as visiting scholar at the Institute for Research on Women and
Gender at the University of Michigan. She also holds a graduate degree in
journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa.
"I hope the U of S and PEN Canada will continue as partners in future
'Writers in Exile' initiatives," says English department head Paul Bidwell.
"Students, faculty, and staff will certainly be enriched by the presence of
such writers in our community."
PEN Canada is a non-profit organization that works on behalf of writers, at
home and abroad, who have been forced into silence for writing the truth as
they see it. Javiera's placement is funded by PEN Canada's Royal Bank Writer
Fellowship for New Canadians, the U of S President's Office, the College of
Arts and Science, and the Saskatchewan Arts Board.
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For more information, contact:
Ameera Javeria
PEN Canada Visiting Scholar
(734) 604-1458
Meer_j@hotmail.com
David Hutton
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-6490
dave.hutton@usask.ca
www.usask.ca/research
--------
March 20, 2006
Province Provides Over $6 Million to U of S for Synchrotron Beamline
Posted March 20, 2006
The following news release was issued by the Government of Saskatchewan.Province Provides Over $6 Million for Synchrotron Beamline
The University of Saskatchewan received more than $6.2 million today
from the province's Innovation and Science Fund for the Biomedical Imaging and
Therapy beamline (BMIT) at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron.
For more information, please see the official news release:
http://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/releases/2006/03/20-189.html
March 13, 2006
Stem Cell Lecture Headlines Life and Health Sciences Research Conference at U of S
Posted March 13, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 13th, 2006
2006-03-10-ME
Stem Cell Lecture Headlines Life and Health Sciences Research Conference at
U of S
A University of Saskatchewan alumnus and internationally recognized
researcher who played a key role in the discovery that stem cells can be
harvested from human adult skin will highlight the U of S Life and Health
Sciences Research Conference on Friday, March 17th.
Freda Miller, a cell and molecular neurobiologist at the Hospital for Sick
Children Research Institute and a professor at the University of Toronto,
will present a keynote address titled "Accessible adult stem cells: from
basic biology to therapeutic implications?"
This talk, which is open to the public, will take place Friday, March 17th,
from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Royal University Hospital's Theatre-in-the-Mall.
Miller has authored more than 85 scientific papers, reviews and book
chapters, and has 13 patents. She is best known for her lab's discovery
that human and mammal skin contains a stem cell that can be isolated. A stem
cell is a master cell that can turn into different types of brain and nerve
cells. Scientists hope they might someday be able to use this knowledge to
grow cells to replace diseased cells.
Miller's talk will focus on the on-going work to isolate, expand and
characterize stem cells in adults and will provide an update on the current
progress of human stem cell research.
"This conference displays the outstanding work of our student researchers in
life and health sciences," says U of S Vice-President Research Steven
Franklin. "The involvement of an internationally recognized researcher and a
U of S graduate underscores the dynamic research opportunities that our
university provides to start and grow a research career."
Following her morning presentation, Miller, a former U of S biochemistry
graduate, will speak to students on her own career path and possible
opportunities for future researchers in the stem cell area. This talk will
take place at noon in the Education Building, room 1004.
Starting at 1 p.m., members of the public are invited to view more than 130
graduate student research projects on display in the Education Gym.
These presentations will enable graduate students in the life and health
sciences to share their findings and receive feedback from other students
and faculty. It will also present the public with a multi-faceted view of
the future in life and health sciences.
Student displays, posters and abstracts will highlight a broad range of life
and health science research from the Colleges of Agriculture, Arts and
Science, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Nutrition, Nursing, Kinesiology, Medicine,
and the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. Work from the U of S
Toxicology Centre and the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO)
will also be presented.
This conference is made possible through the generous support of major
sponsors including the U of S and the Saskatchewan Health Research
Foundation.
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Note to editors: Interviews can be arranged with Freda Miller and several of
the students upon request.
For more information, contact:
Bernadine Rudichuk
College of Medicine
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1417
bernadine.rudichuk@usask.ca
David Hutton
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-6490
March 09, 2006
U of S-Led Brain Awareness Week 2006 Runs March 13-19
Posted March 09, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 9th, 2006 2006-03-08-ME
U of S-Led Brain Awareness Week 2006 Runs March 13-19
Have you ever wondered how cell phone use affects your brain? Did you know
that regular physical activity may generate the growth of new brain cells?
Brainstorm these and other fascinating facts when the Saskatchewan
Neuroscience Network hosts Brain Awareness Week (BAW) 2006 from March 13th
to 19th. The theme of BAW 2006 is "Nutrition and the Nervous System."
To kick off the week, a free public lecture is set for Sunday, March 12th.
Bernard Juurlink, the 2006 Jarislowsky Chair in Biotechnology, will speak on
"How what you eat may influence your aging brain" from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at
the Radisson Hotel. Following the lecture the BAW banquet will be held from
6-8pm. Tickets are still available by calling Shirley at 966-4109.
A free seminar series runs all week from Monday, March 13th to Thursday,
March 17th. Lectures on various topics take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
each night at the Albert Community Center (610 Clarence Ave. S).
The topics will include "Effects of Mobile Phone Use on Cognition", "Effects
of Diet and Nutrition on Emotional States", and "Exercise and the Brain".
A complete list of lectures is available on the BAW homepage at
www.usask.ca/snn/baw06.html
The popular Brain Blast (formerly Brain Show) takes place Saturday, March
18th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Evan Hardy Collegiate (607 Acadia Dr.). This
is the first time BAW organizers have teamed with a local high school to
help improve awareness.
"This year we are particularly excited about our new collaboration with the
public school board and Evan Hardy Collegiate," says BAW chair Sarah Rigley
MacDonald. "Our organizers on both sides are very enthusiastic about
providing activities through which the high school students can interact
with U of S students and faculty."
This free, public event includes interactive booths from over 20 community
based organizations, a model MRI, a dizziness clinic and interactive
presentations by the Schizophrenia Society of Saskatchewan, the Alzheimer's
Society of Saskatchewan, and the Saskatoon Wheelchair Sport Association.
There will also be a nutrition-themed seminar series with topics such as
"Fuel for the brain" and "Complementary and alternative therapies for
diseases of the nervous system."
For children, there will be a Brain Walk, a 10-station hands-on activity
center focused on teaching children about the various aspects of brain
function and health. Children who attend the 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Brain Blast
will also have the opportunity to be one of the judges for Kid's Judge, a
reverse science fair where those aged six to 12 judge brain science projects
presented by Evan Hardy high school students.
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Note to Editors: Interviews can be arranged with U of S neuroscientists,
seminar series speakers, and members of the BAW organizing committee upon
request.
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Rigley MacDonald
Chair, Organizing Committee
Brain Awareness Week
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
College of Medicine
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 241-5192
David Hutton
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-6490
U of S Champion of Animal Care Receives Outstanding Service Award
Posted March 09, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Thursday, March 9, 2006
2006-03-09-WCVM
U of S Champion of Animal Care Receives Outstanding Service Award
Dr. Ernie Olfert, director of the Animal Resources Centre at the University
of Saskatchewan, will receive the Outstanding Service Award on March 11 from
the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) for his seminal contributions to
improving the care and use of research animals.
"Dr. Olfert's work is an example of how our university research community
not only meets international standards, but can help create the standards
for the world to follow," says Steven Franklin, U of S vice-president
research.
"Dr. Olfert was the driving force behind the CCAC Guide for the Care and Use
of Experimental Animals and the CCAC guidelines on: choosing an appropriate
endpoint that are now recognized as international reference documents," says
CCAC Executive Director Dr. Clément Gauthier."His most important
legacy to future generations in Canada and elsewhere in the world is a
series of web-based modules for animal users."
The award, to be presented at an awards banquet in Ottawa, is the CCAC's
highest honour, recognizing Olfert's contributions to the field over a
career spanning more than 35 years.
He literally helped "write the book" on animal care, as lead editor of the
CCAC Guide for the Care and Use of Experimental Animals. Published in 1993
in English and translated into French and Spanish, this seminal publication
remains the CCAC "bible" for animal care policies and procedures. His own
in-depth knowledge of animal care, together with his skillful collaboration
with other expert contributors on the project, produced a nationally and
internationally acclaimed reference work.
On the education front, Olfert co-authored 11 of CCAC's 12 web-based
training modules published in 2003 for animal users, and helped market the
package. These modules, originally developed to help Canadian institutions
implement CCAC guidelines on institutional animal user training, have had
impact far beyond Canada's borders. This work has helped put Canada in a
lead position to advance the harmonization of training standards for animal
users around the world.
On the local level, Olfert has received awards for his tireless volunteer
activities. This includes the Saskatchewan SPCA, where he has served on the
board of directors for many years. He is also a long time participant in the
Saskatoon Regional Science Fair, volunteering as a judge for safety, animal
use and ethics.
CCAC has bestowed its highest honour only once before, in 2003, to Dr. Harry
Rowsell. Dr. Rowsell was the first professor and head of the department of
veterinary pathology at the U of S Western College of Veterinary Medicine,
and CCAC's first executive director.
CCAC is the national peer review agency responsible for setting and
maintaining standards for the care and use of animals used in research,
teaching, and testing. It acts to ensure, through programs of education,
assessment and guideline development, that the use of animals for these
purposes takes place under the best physical and psychological care. It also
promotes increased awareness of and sensitivity to the ethical principles
involved in the care of research animals.
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For more information, contact:
Michael Robin
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2427
michael.robin@usask.ca
www.usask.ca/research
Claude Charbonneau
Canadian Council on Animal Care
(613) 238-4031 ext. 32
ccharbonneau@ccac.ca
www.ccac.ca
March 03, 2006
SaskTel Rings Up $1 Million in Support for U of S and RUH
Posted March 03, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 3, 2006 2006-03-04-OTHER
SaskTel Rings Up $1 Million in Support for U of S and RUH
Saskatoon, SK - SaskTel today announced $1 million in support of the
University of Saskatchewan and the Royal University Hospital Foundation. The
donation is being used for three projects: $500,000 will be used to support
a synchrotron-based research chair in the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition,
$250,000 is going to the College of Kinesiology's Building Equipment Fund,
and $250,000 will support an academic clinical and research professorship to
support the implementation of PACS - a Picture Archive and Communication
System based at RUH.
"SaskTel is extremely pleased to sponsor these three very worthwhile
projects through support of the University of Saskatchewan and the Royal
University Hospital Foundation," Minister Responsible for Crown Investments
Corporation Maynard Sonntag said. "The legacy that will be created as a
result of these projects will benefit the Province of Saskatchewan for years
to come."
"Supporting community events and organizations that enrich the lives of
Saskatchewan people is very important to SaskTel," Robert Watson SaskTel
President and CEO said. "Youth, technology, education and health are all
served by this sponsorship and this is another way that we can share our
success at SaskTel with the people of Saskatchewan."
U of S President Peter MacKinnon says SaskTel's gift recognizes the
important partnership that exists among the University of Saskatchewan, the
Saskatoon Health Region and Royal University Hospital. "This generous
contribution from SaskTel will help to attract and retain faculty, increase
our capacity for cutting-edge medical research, support graduate students
who are the teachers and researchers of tomorrow, and provide quality
facilities for our students and our community."
"Thanks to SaskTel, clinicians and radiologists in our province will one day
be equipped to review and report on electronic images anywhere in the
province to provide the best care possible for the people of Saskatchewan.
Linkages to teaching and research will also be created on an international
scale because of the Biomedical Imaging and Therapy Beam Line at the
Canadian Light Source (CLS) and its research ties to this robust tool," said
Doug Hodson, Co-Chair of the Royal Care Campaign for RUH.
The donations were made through the University of Saskatchewan's Thinking
the World of our Future campaign, and the Royal University Hospital
Foundation's Royal Care Campaign. University campaign priorities include
enhancing the student experience, increasing financial support for students,
improving facilities to provide better opportunities for learning and
research. The objective of the Royal Care Campaign is to improve access and
quality of care, retain medical specialists and professionals, and to equip
RUH with the facilities and tools it needs to provide exceptional care.
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For background information, please contact:
Susan Burton
Campaign Communications Officer
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1851
Adrienne Nolan
Executive Director
RUH Foundation
(306) 655-1050
Michelle Englot
SaskTel Corporate Affairs
(306) 777-4476
March 02, 2006
U of S College of Medicine's Undergraduate MD Program Receives Accreditation
Posted March 02, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 2, 2006 2006-03-03-MED
U of S College of Medicine's Undergraduate MD Program Receives Accreditation
The University of Saskatchewan is pleased to announce that the undergraduate
MD program at the College of Medicine has been fully accredited by the
Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) beginning immediately.
Dr. William Albritton, Dean of the College said: "We are thrilled to receive
full accreditation for the Undergraduate MD Program, as it confirms our
commitment to quality health education at the College of Medicine. Our
students, staff and alumni will be reassured by this decision and we can now
turn our attention to ensuring undergraduate medical education at the
University of Saskatchewan continues to grow and thrive."
"I wish to thank our faculty and students for their work on this project.
Special thanks are extended to Dr. Sheila Rutledge-Harding, Associate Dean
of Medicine (Medical Education) and Dr. Lou Qualtiere, Assistant Dean of
Medicine (Undergraduate Medical Education), for their leadership and
dedication to this endeavor," added Albritton.
* A brief media scrum with Dr. Albritton will take place on Thursday, March
2 at 1:30 pm outside of Room B103, Health Sciences Building, U of S campus.
Background: A review by LCME in 2002 identified weaknesses in the
undergraduate MD program that stemmed from long-term resource challenges. As
a result, the College was put on probationary status in 2003. Since that
time, the College has responded resolutely to the feedback and has worked to
satisfy the imposed conditions. A follow up visit took place in January 2004
at which time the review team found the College had satisfied half of the
standards in question. A second visit took place in September 2005 and their
report was forwarded to LCME for review in late February 2006. At this time,
full accreditation was granted.
Additional information can be found online at:
www.usask.ca/medicine/accreditation/.
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For more information, please contact:
Dr. W. L. Albritton
Dean of Medicine
College of Medicine
University of Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 966-6149
Email: william.albritton@usask.ca
Annette Horvath
Alumni Communications Officer
College of Medicine
University of Saskatchewan
E-mail: annette.horvath@usask.ca
Tel: (306) 966-8864
Province Announces $4.6 M for Agricultural Research
Posted March 02, 2006
The following news release was issued today by the Government of
Saskatchewan.
Province Announces $4.6 M for Agricultural Research
Two Saskatoon research teams -- one led by U of S plant scientist Brian
Fowler and the other led by Wilf Keller, a scientist at the NRC Plant
Biotechnology Institute and an adjunct U of S professor -- will receive a
total of $4.6 million over four years for research projects approved by
Genome Canada.
For more information, refer to the official news release:
http://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/releases/2006/03/02-116.html
March 01, 2006
CUPE 1975 Ratifies Tentative Agreement with the U of S
Posted March 01, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 1, 2006 2006-03-02-OTHER
CUPE 1975 Ratifies Tentative Agreement with the U of S
Saskatoon, SK... The University of Saskatchewan (U of S) is pleased to
announce that CUPE 1975 membership voted in favour of accepting the
tentative Agreement.
The principal features of the Agreement include a new compensation model,
effective date of signing in 2006, which provides an average increase of
2.4% for that year. Retroactive payments of 2% for 2004 and 2% for 2005
will also be provided.
"I am pleased that, together, we were able to negotiate an agreement that
benefits the U of S, our employees and our community. It is my hope that
this negotiation established a positive and cooperative relationship," said
Associate Vice-President, Human Resources, Barb Daigle. "Reaching an
agreement was a long and complex process, but I am convinced the outcome
will help contribute to the future success of the University. We now have a
significant opportunity to move forward with an agreement that recognizes
our employees' tremendous contributions and provides the University with the
flexibility needed to continue our leadership position in a highly
competitive environment."
"This Agreement would not have been successfully concluded without the
leadership of our local union President, Glenn Ross, and the assistance of
Lois Lamon, National Representative," Daigle emphasized. "Their diligence
in explaining a complex deal to their members in a fair manner was important
to the successful ratification."
The new CUPE 1975 agreement, which has been ratified by the union's
membership, is effective March 1, 2006 and runs through the end of 2006.
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For more information, contact:
Kathy M. Hollands, ABC
Communications, Human Resources,
University of Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 955-4571 or 966-6285
Cell: (306) 270-9631
