March 31, 2011
U of S teachers receive Alan Blizzard Award
Posted March 31, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 31, 2011
2011-03-15-OTHER
A University of Saskatchewan teaching team has received one of Canada’s most prestigious team teaching honours, the Alan Blizzard Award, from the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE).
The team of teachers who recieved the Alan Blizzard Award
Front row (L to R): Erin Beckwell, Peggy Proctor
2nd row: Krista Trinder, Marcel D’Eon
3rd row: Pat Wall, Darlene Scott, Arlis McQuarrie
Back row: Jane Cassidy, Nora McKee, Doreen Walker
Absent: Peggy MacLeod, Megan O’Connell
The national award is presented once per year to recognize a collaborative teaching endeavour that enhances student learning. The U of S project, "Innovative Practice in Interprofessional Health Sciences Problem-Based Learning", fit the bill perfectly.
“This project has been 10 years in the making and early on we recognized that interprofessional collaboration was a necessary part of a health sciences education,” said Peggy Proctor, one of the project’s co-ordinators and a clinical assistant professor, School of Physical Therapy. “We developed teaching modules related to a number of health topics like Aboriginal health, palliative care and HIV/AIDS. The students then work together in small groups to consider the ‘case’ of a patient within each module, relying on each other’s discipline-specific knowledge while also learning how each discipline approaches care of the patient.”
The project has grown each year and now includes faculty from the University of Regina (U of R) and the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST).
“We describe the project as a shared leadership model since all 12 members have been involved for quite some time and each of us takes on a leadership role when needed,” said Proctor. “Thousands of students have been a part of this project and our outcomes have resulted in it becoming mandatory. However, each college or school determines how to best embed it into curriculum.
“This award is a significant validation of the time we have all put into this project, much of which is in addition to our regular university appointments” she explained. “It shines the spotlight on a new way of teaching and learning, one which the university should be proud and supportive of.”
The project, which also received the university’s 2010 Provost's Prize for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, is the first U of S project to receive the Blizzard Award since its inception in 2000. Another U of S project—Integrative Teaching and Learning to Bridge Pre-Clinical Sciences in Veterinary Medicine, co-ordinated by Baljit Singh, professor of veterinary biomedical sciences—received the Blizzard Honourable Mention Award in 2010.
Project members—including Nora McKee, Marcel D’Eon and Krista Trinder (College of Medicine); Jane Cassidy and Doreen Walker (College of Pharmacy and Nutrition); Pat Wall and Peggy MacLeod (College of Nursing); Megan O’Connell (Arts and Sciences - clinical psychology); Peggy Proctor and Arlis McQuarrie (School of Physical Therapy); Erin Beckwell (U of R); and Darlene Scott (SIAST)—will be presented with the award at the STLHE conference hosted at the U of S June 15-18, 2011.
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For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Kris Foster, Communications Writer
University of Saskatchewan
Phone: (306) 966-1806
Email: kris.foster@usask.ca
March 25, 2011
Award-winning health scientist speaks at U of S on early childhood development
Posted March 25, 2011
What do children’s development in their early years and Canada’s ecological footprint have in common?
Both are critically important challenges facing society that require long-term commitment from a wide range of sectors to overcome them, says Clyde Hertzman, Canada Research Chair in Population Health and Human Development at The University of British Columbia.
Clyde Hertzman, Canada Research Chair in Population Health and Human Development
A video of the event is available on the U of S YouTube
Photos of the event are available in the U of S Flickr Gallery
“There is a huge gap between what Canadians know about these issues, and what we, as a society, are doing about them,” says Hertzman, who was named Canada’s Health Researcher of the Year in 2010.
Hertzman will speak about the interconnected challenges of trying to shrink our ecological footprint and support the earliest stages of human development during a presentation at the University of Saskatchewan entitled: “Are we the people we need to be? Early human development and the challenges of the 21st century”
His talk is part of the Royal Society of Canada’s (RSC) prestigious Governor General’s Lectures.
Hertzman notes that Canada, with one of the planet’s largest ecological footprints, spends enormous resources to support an unsustainable lifestyle for the future.
Similarly, research shows that more than a quarter of Canadian children are behind in one or more key domains of their development, yet Canada has one of the Western world’s weakest systems to support families and their children’s development in the early years.
Hertzman studies how early childhood disadvantages can have lifelong impacts. He directors the the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP), an interdisciplinary research network of 200 faculty, researchers and graduate students from six B.C. universities,
He has led HELP's work in B.C. using the Early Development Instrument, a population-based measure for communities to gauge school readiness, to demonstrate that too many children – almost one in four – are considered “vulnerable” by the time they enter kindergarten. This figure could be cut to 10 per cent by investing in early years programs and supports.
In 2005, HELP was designated by the World Health Organization as the Knowledge Hub on Early Child Development. Hertzman is team leader of this hub and of the global Knowledge Network.
This free public talk, part of a cross-Canada tour, will be streamed live on the internet and archived for later viewing at: http://announcements.usask.ca/news/archive/2011/03/awardwinning_he.html
The Governor General’s Lectures of the Royal Society are the first national research lectures in Canada. Under this program, the Royal Society, the premiere national academy, sends top scholars and scientists to select universities across the country to inform Canadians about advances in many areas of research, as well as discuss their policy implications. The Governor General has input into the selection process.
U of S history professor Jim Miller, winner of the 2010 Gold Medal of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, has been selected to give a series of Governor General’s Lectures entitled “We are All Treaty People” across Canada in late 2011 and early 2012.
About the Royal Society of Canada: As the senior national body of distinguished Canadian scholars, artists and scientists, the Royal Society promotes learning and research in the arts and sciences, advises governments and organizations, and promotes Canadian culture. The RSC consists of nearly 2,000 Fellows—men and women selected by their peers for outstanding contributions to the natural and social sciences, the arts and the humanities.
For more information contact:
Michael Robin
U of S Research Communications
(306) 966-1425
michael.robin@usask.ca
Amélia Zaglul
Officer, National and International Events
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC)
(613)-991-9005
www.rsc-src.ca
March 22, 2011
Global Institute for Water Security Launched at U of S
Posted March 22, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 22, 2011
2011-03-12-OTHER
A new Global Institute for Water Security was officially launched at the University of Saskatchewan today, with a vision to be a driving force for research into global issues that have local implications. These include drought and flooding on the Prairies and nutrient loading from urban and agricultural runoff in Lake Diefenbaker.
Among many research projects, U of S water experts examine the South Saskatchewan River - considered the most at-risk river in Canada by the World Wildlife Fund
More photos available in the U of S Flickr gallery
Howard Wheater, who holds the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Water Security at the U of S, made the announcement at his Convocation Hall lecture today, United Nations World Water Day.
“Our institute will act as a catalyst for new interdisciplinary science, providing pump-priming funding to work with our provincial and federal partners to support these very large projects,” Wheater said. “We’ll be looking at some of the world’s biggest problems in water, starting with Canadian examples and issues of real importance to Saskatchewan and other Prairie provinces.”
The new institute is hitting the ground running, buying equipment and hiring staff to be ready for investigations into this spring’s runoff. With the ground saturated and snowpack levels at higher than average levels in many parts of the province, this spring promises to yield vital information on how prairie systems respond to flooding.
“We think it might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to capture such an extreme melt,” Wheater said.
Another major project will be to look at Lake Diefenbaker. One of Saskatchewan’s tourist gems, the lake receives runoff from local urban and agricultural areas and is also filled by water that flows through Alberta’s cities and farm country. This means heavy nutrient loading, which has researchers worried that the lake may be heading for the same fate as Manitoba’s Great Lakes, with toxic algae blooms driven by nutrient overload.
“We want to make sure that Lake Diefenbaker is not the next Lake Winnipeg,” Wheater said.
The institute builds upon a leading expertise and capacity in water research at the U of S, which is recognized as one of the university’s signature areas: Water Security: Stewardship of the World's Freshwater Resources. These are research areas in which the U of S aims to be a leader in Canada and among the best in the world.
Five U of S Canada Research Chairs and one NSERC Industrial Research Chair engage in various aspects of water research, as do more than 70 other faculty. U of S graduates from these programs are highly sought after by employers in industry, government and regulatory agencies.
By 2017, the institute will bring to campus another 85 researchers—six new faculty, 20 post-doctoral fellows, and 48 graduate students. The world-class research and training institute is co-located with Environment Canada’s National Hydrology Research Centre at Innovation Place.
The institute, approved by University Council on March 17 as a U of S research centre, will be funded through the CERC, a $30-million, joint federal-provincial-university commitment over seven years. One of only 19 CERCs in the country, it is the largest investment in a research chair in the university’s history and one of the single largest water research investments in the world.
The institute will improve water use and management, advance water policy, and provide new tools for environmental risk assessment and remediation applicable to all types of natural resource development.
For example, knowledge gained will result in better modeling of hydrological systems for flood and drought management; better policy development and improved prediction of safe drinking water supply; and better understanding of oilsands remediation problems and agricultural water use and pollution.
Multi-disciplinary science and social science teams will work with industrial and government partners to address three broad research themes—climate change and water security; land-water management and environmental change; and sustainable development of natural resources.
Wheater, one of the world's foremost experts in hydrology and sustainable freshwater resource management, has his finger on the pulse of water issues nationally and internationally.
For example, he provides expert counsel on Alberta’s newly created environmental monitoring panel, aimed at creating a world-class monitoring and evaluation system for oilsands development. He also chairs a national panel looking at water needs for sustainable agriculture in Canada, and is an expert member on the international court of arbitration handling a treaty dispute between India and Pakistan regarding the fate of a dam on the Indus River.
His announcement today came in conjunction with his lecture “Water Security and the Perfect Storm”, delivered as part of Water Week at the U of S, featuring a lecture series, a seminar for students, a feature film a and a concert. For more information, visit www.usask.ca/water/water-week.php.
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For more information, contact:
Michael Robin
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1425
michael.robin@usask.ca
Meagan Hinther
Communications Specialist
School of Environment and Sustainability & CERC Office
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1019
meagan.hinther@usask.ca
March 18, 2011
U of S clean coal research receives funding
Posted March 18, 2011
A three-year coal gasification project led by University of Saskatchewan researcher Todd Pugsley has been awarded nearly $1.2 million to design, test and build prototypes of a new catalytic gasifier with the support of key researchers from the University of Regina.
Todd Pugsley
Results from the gasifier project could provide a more cost effective and reliable clean energy product which uses low-grade coal and petroleum coke as its fuel source. The technology could potentially reduce capital and operating costs by 30 per cent for next generation power plants.
The projected growth in global energy demand means that we will need to make use of all of our energy resources, including coal,” said Pugsley, U of S professor of chemical engineering lead investigator on the project. “This project will be a critical step in ensuring we can use coal in a cleaner fashion and in developing Canadian clean coal expertise and know-how that will be exportable worldwide.”
The funding was announced at the University of Regina March 17 by John Baird, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. It includes $899,000 from Western Economic Diversification Canada and $300,000 from Carbon Management Canada, with commitments from other key stakeholders supporting clean energy production within the industry.
See “Government of Canada backs clean coal power generation” at the Western Economic Diversification website: http://www.wd.gc.ca/eng/77_12772.asp
For more information, contact
Michael Robin
University of Saskatchewan
Research Communications
(306) 966-1425
michael.robin@usask.ca
March 17, 2011
'milkrotron' funding announced for U of S dairy research
Posted March 17, 2011
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Gerry Ritz and Saskatchewan Minister of Agriculture, Bob Bjornerud announced $4 million toward a new dairy research and teaching facility at the University of Saskatchewan March 17.
Blaine McLeod, Saskatchewan milk Marketing Board, at the March 17 funding announcement
Photo by Mark Ferguson
See the Government of Saskatchewan news release for more information
Check out photos of the event in the U of S Flickr Gallery
The existing research facility, built in 1972, requires urgent replacement. It no longer meets the standards of the Canadian Council on Animal Care, the national standards body for the care and housing of animals used for teaching and research in Canada.
The new dairy research and teaching facility will be built on campus near East Road and Preston Avenue. It will accommodate 100 lactating cows with both robotic and parlor milking capabilities, animal handling and teaching areas, and research and staff space. The project also allows for feed storage and preparation areas within and around the facility. A viewing gallery in the new facility will accommodate public access and education on modern dairy and agriculture production systems.
Research performed in the new facility will include dairy nutrition and feed development, animal fertility and health, animal management, technology development, application of information technologies, and development of green technologies for improved sustainability.
This advanced dairy feeds evaluation and research capability will make a critical contribution to the large agricultural and feeds innovation research cluster led by the University of Saskatchewan.
Expected benefits for the Canadian dairy sector include reduced production costs, improved animal care and environmental sustainability. Innovative, high-value dairy feeds and new feeding programs promise new opportunities for producers and feed manufacturers for crops such as canola, mustard, flax, pulses, grains, and forages.
Other possible opportunities include new nutraceutical feeds and milk products, specialty products (biologics) derived from milk and new sustainable technologies.
The new dairy research and teaching facility will be used to further research from the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, College of Engineering, the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and VIDO/InterVac. Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2011and to take about a year to complete.
For more information, contact:
Kira Paluck
Communications Co-ordinator
College of Agriculture and Bioresources
University of Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 966-6873
kira.paluck@usask.ca
March 16, 2011
USSU dedicates council chambers to Roy Romanow
Posted March 16, 2011
The University of Saskatchewan Students' Union (USSU) announced at a ceremony March 9 that the new student council chambers in the renovated Place Riel will be named in honour of Roy Romanow.
The USSU Executive with Roy Romanow outside the new council chambers
Photo by Olivia Swerhone-Wick
To read more about this, see the story in the Feb.11 issue of On Campus News
"We are sincerely honoured to name our new student council chamber after Roy Romanow," said USSU President Chris Stoicheff. "In his role as a former student council President and a Premier of Saskatchewan, he has made substantive contributions to this university, province and country."
Mr. Romanow, a senior policy fellow in the U of S Department of History, was on hand at the ceremony that took place prior to the Thursday meeting of the University Student Council.
"Saskatchewan university student leaders tackle extremely important and complex duties in advancing the interests and concerns of all students. In doing so, they demonstrate a deep commitment to constantly improving the University of Saskatchewan experience of our students, and thus, the university itself," said Mr. Romanow. "I am also confident that the USSU will produce future leaders who will greatly contribute to improving Canada's society, a tradition for which the U of S is already widely recognized. I am extremely honoured by this recognition, one that carries deep personal meaning."
For more information, contact:
Chris Stoicheff
USSU President
966-6965
chris.stoicheff@ussu.ca
March 15, 2011
U of S College of Law team wins national competition
Posted March 15, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 15, 2011
2011-03-07-LAW
Four students from the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Law have won the Sopinka Cup at a national moot court competition in Ottawa March 11-12.
The U of S Western Canada Moot Team
photo by Sebastian Printup, University of Ottawa
Jason Demers, Evan Thompson, Kayla Demars-Krentz and Andrew Kuzma were the top team at the National Trial Advocacy Competition and were coached by Ashley Smith, a sessional lecturer at the college who works at MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP in Saskatoon.
The Sopinka Cup, a bilingual competition, was established to honour the memory of the late Justice John Sopinka, Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada. The team’s win marks the first time the U of S College of Law has placed first in the competition. At the individual level, Evan
Thompson won best cross-examination and best overall advocate.
The foursome and their coach compose the Western Canada Moot Team. They competed against eight other teams from around the country, having earned the right to be there by winning at the regional level. The U of S team placed first among six Western Canadian teams at the MacIntyre Cup, February 12-13 at the University of Alberta, to make it to the Ottawa competition.
The College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan has six other moot teams. Mooting provides students with the opportunity to learn and practise skills through simulated court proceedings. All first-year students experience and participate in a moot as part of the curriculum, while upper-year students, such as those who just won the Sopinka Cup, can compete to be on one of the college’s seven moot teams. The program is designed to give students experience both in the preparation of a case for argument and in the presentation of that argument before an appellate court.
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For more information, contact:
Katherine Blau
Advancement Officer
College of Law
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1062
katherine.blau@usask.ca
U of S phytotron gets huge boost
Posted March 15, 2011
Today, the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Honourable Bob Bjornerud, Saskatchewan Minister of Agriculture announced $6.5 million toward enhanced capacity at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) phytotron.
The controlled environment plant growth facility enables research to be conducted under controlled environments year-round. It allows three cropping cycles in one year – something that is particularly important for the work of the Crop Development Centre.
New highly efficient lighting systems, new computer controls and a new chiller system will make the phytotron an efficient, state of the art facility.
The renewed chambers produce light intensities much closer to sunlight resulting in more vigorous and healthier plants, while at the same time using less energy. These chambers will be capable of creating both high and freezing temperatures, which is imperative to the study of the effects of heat, drought, frost resistance and extreme cold on plant growth.
“Our Government understands that investments in agricultural innovation create new crops for Canadian farmers, and help to strengthen our economy,” said Minister Ritz. “That’s why we are proud to be supporting the phytotron and the important research it facilitates.”
“The work done at the phytotron is an important part of our success in agricultural research and production,” Bjornerud said. “We are pleased to provide this funding, which will result in new crop varieties that benefit our producers.”
“We are deeply grateful for our governments’ investments in the phytotron, which has been critically important in the development of so many innovations in plant growth and environmental management,” said Dean Mary Buhr, College of Agriculture and Bioresources. “The producers, who are also our partners, and the world’s consumers will directly benefit as we now rapidly lead the way into the bioeconomy of the future.”
For more information, contact:
Kira Paluck
Communications Co-ordinator
College of Agriculture and Bioresources
University of Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 966-6873
kira.paluck@usask.ca
March 10, 2011
U of S Life & Health Sciences Research Day a showcase of up and coming research talent
Posted March 10, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 10, 2011
2011-03-05-ME
The future of Canadian research will be on display March 11 at the Education Gym at the University of Saskatchewan as more than 120 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows come together at the 18th Annual Life and Health Sciences Research Day.
A highlight of the event will be the 10:30 a.m. keynote address by John Cross, a passionate voice from Saskatchewan’s biotechnology industry for more than 30 years. Cross was founding partner and later President and CEO of Philom Bios, a Saskatoon based company that produced the world’s first commercial phosphate and nitrogen inoculants. These products increase farm profits by allowing crop plants to use fertilizer more efficiently in an environmentally benign way.
Life and Health Sciences Research Day is open to the public as well as the campus community, providing an opportunity for students to share their findings with each other and faculty researchers. As well, their work will be judged by an expert panel and awards will be given for the best posters in several categories.
Examples include:
Ashlee McLardy, a Masters student in the College of Kinesiology, examined whether contraceptives taken during adolescence negatively affect bone health. Previous studies show that about 40 per cent of adult bone mass is accumulated during adolescence, a process that is enhanced by physical activity. McLardy looked at the effects of hormone-based contraceptives on bone density and bone mineral content, drawing participants from the Saskatchewan Pediatric Bone Mineral Accrual Study. She found that oral contraceptive use did not affect bone health in adolescents, although further study is warranted to examine possible long-term effects.
Tracy MacDonald, a Masters student in Toxicology, has examined uptake and accumulation of different chemical forms of mercury in developing organisms. MacDonald exposed zebrafish larvae to four forms of mercury and used synchrotron imaging to see where the mercury would accumulate. She found that fish exposed to organic mercury experienced accumulation throughout their bodies. In comparison, non-organic mercury only ended up in the brain. This study underlines the importance of chemical form when investigating mercury toxicity.
Scarlett Ewen, a Masters student in the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, is investigating the dietary habits acquired by Karen and Burmese refugees new to Canada and, specifically, Saskatoon. Ewen wants to examine how these families are reacting to a new diet and how they’re coping without access to their traditional foods. This knowledge will inform the necessary education and support to help these newcomers adjust to life in Saskatchewan.
Examples of research from a broad array of health and life sciences will be represented. Areas include animal science, plant science, behavioural neuroscience, cardiovascular and respiratory health, environmental toxicology, food science and nutrition. Other topic areas include genetics, tissue engineering, advanced medical imaging, immunology, kinesiology, rehabilitation, health services and education.
The 18th Annual Life and Health Sciences Research Day runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For details, visit http://www.medicine.usask.ca/research/conference2011/index.html.
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For more information, contact:
Angie Zoerb
College of Medicine
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-6957
angie.zoerb@usask.ca
Michael Robin
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1425
michael.robin@usask.ca
March 09, 2011
U of S President Peter MacKinnon to step down June 2012
Posted March 09, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 9, 2011
2011-03-04-OTHER
Peter MacKinnon has announced that he will step down from the position of president of the University of Saskatchewan on June 30, 2012. He informed the university’s Board of Governors of his decision March 4.
President MacKinnon in his office
“There is never a ‘great’ time for this kind of change,” said MacKinnon, “so one must look for a ‘good’ time, and I feel this is it. The University of Saskatchewan is in the hands of very capable leaders at the Board of Governors level, among senior administrators and within our various colleges, and we are experiencing a period of unprecedented growth and momentum. All of these factors combined give me confidence that the timing of my decision is right.”
MacKinnon, 63, is the eighth president of the U of S, having been sworn into office in July 1999. Originally from Prince Edward Island, MacKinnon was educated at Dalhousie University, Queen’s University and the U of S, and completed his bar admission course at Osgoode Hall in Toronto. At the University of Saskatchewan, he served as a professor and dean of the College of Law before accepting the presidency. He is currently in his third five-year term in that office.
“We are, of course, saddened at the prospect of Peter’s departure as he has provided this institution with tremendous leadership throughout his tenure as president,” said Nancy Hopkins, chair of the Board of Governors. “At the same time, we very much appreciate the time he has given us and his awareness of the need for a smooth transition in the Office of the President to ensure our work toward achieving the goals and priorities of our integrated plan is not unduly disrupted.”
Hopkins went on to note that among MacKinnon’s lasting legacies will be the establishment of the university’s strategic directions in 2002, a document that has been the foundation for the institution’s growth and development ever since, as well as his tireless efforts to restore the historic College Building. “Both of these accomplishments serve to anchor this university, and will continue to do so for years to come,” she said.
The search for a new president of the University of Saskatchewan will follow the institution’s approved process, she said, starting with the establishment of a search committee by summer.
For more information contact:
Mark Ferguson
Media Relations Co-ordinator
University Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1851
Bio
R. Peter MacKinnon, President, University of Saskatchewan
Peter MacKinnon, 63, was raised in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He was educated at Dalhousie University, Queen’s University and the University of Saskatchewan, and completed his bar admission course at Osgoode Hall in Toronto.
MacKinnon articled in Kingston and was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1975 and to the Law Society of Saskatchewan in 1979. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1990.
MacKinnon joined the University of Saskatchewan in 1975 and served as professor, assistant dean and dean of the College of Law, as well as one year as acting vice-president academic before his appointment as president and vice-chancellor. He assumed that role July 1, 1999 and is currently in his third five-year term, which began July 1, 2009.
His national appointments include the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee on the Public Service (2011 and continuing); the Science, Technology and Innovation Council of Canada (2007 and continuing); the Canadian Judicial Council Chairperson's Advisory Group (2006 and continuing); director, Confederation Centre of the Arts, Charlottetown, PEI (2005 and continuing); the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (Chair, 2003-2005); the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada (2003-2005); the Council of Canadian Law Deans (President, 1994); and the Canadian Association of Law Teachers (President, 1981-1982).
MacKinnon’s provincial appointments include Bencher, Law Society of Saskatchewan (1988-1998); board member, Foundation of Saskatchewan (1988-1998); and Saskatchewan Honours Advisory Council (1999 and continuing).
He is honorary president of the Canadian Club of Saskatoon (1999 and continuing); a member of the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority Board of Directors (1999 and continuing); a member of the Meewasin Valley Authority Board of Directors (1999 and continuing); and serves on the Saskatoon Airport Authority Board of Directors (2003 and continuing).
MacKinnon is the co-editor of three books and author of many articles, commentaries and reviews that have been published in Canadian and international legal journals. He is the recipient of many professional and service awards including the Canadian Bar Association Distinguished Service Award (Saskatchewan Branch) (2005); the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal (2005) and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002).
Peter MacKinnon has been married since 1974 and has two sons.
March 07, 2011
PET-CT scan part of U of S nuclear investment
Posted March 07, 2011
Saskatchewan will soon have access to critical medical diagnostic scans and a powerful new suite of research tools at the University of Saskatchewan thanks to $23 million in funding by the federal and provincial governments and the Royal University Hospital Foundation
Provincial Innovation Minister Rob Norris
Photo by Dave Stobbe
A video of the event is available in the U of S YouTube Channel
More information is available in the U of S Discover Research website
Photos of the event in the U of S Flickr Gallery
The funding will purchase a cyclotron to produce medical isotopes and a positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scanner that uses the isotopes. PET-CT scans have a wide variety of uses, but are especially valuable in cancer treatment, where they allow doctors to precisely locate tumours and see if treatments are working.
The new facility will be part of the $30-million centre of excellence in nuclear studies announced March 2, 2011 and will be critical for nuclear medicine, research and training. The cyclotron and PET-CT facility will offer a wide range of research opportunities in medicine, plant and animal science and materials science. Together with facilities such as the Canadian Light Source, the cyclotron PET-CT will provide unparalleled training opportunities for the highly skilled people necessary for these facilities.
Funding is as follows:
Cyclotron:
* $7 million Government of Canada through Western Economic Diversification.
* $7 million Government of Saskatchewan (capital)
* $3 million Government of Saskatchewan (operating funds)
PET-CT Scanner:
* $4 million Government of Saskatchewan
* $2 million Royal University Hospital Foundation
Detailed information is available in the backgrounder (more details). A video of the announcement is available on the U of S Research YouTube channel here. More information is also available from the news releases below, and by contacting U of S Research Communications at 966-1425.
March 04, 2011
U of S researchers link high-carb diet to Type 2 diabetes
Posted March 04, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 4, 2011
2011-03-02-ME
Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan have discovered, after a two-year investigation, that diets high in carbohydrates are a probable mechanism for the skyrocketing rates of Type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes researcher Kaushik Desai
Photo by Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation
The work by Kaushik Desai and Lily Wu, professors in the U of S College of Medicine’s Department of Pharmacology, focused on methylglyoxal (MG), which is produced naturally as the body metabolizes glucose consumed in carbohydrates.
What they have found is that high levels of MG produce all the features of Type 2 diabetes, including damage to insulin producing cells in the pancreas, insulin resistance and impairment of body tissue to use glucose properly. Their findings are set to be published in the March issue of the American Diabetes Association journal Diabetes.
“This is very exciting for us because diabetes is one of the most important health issues in North America,” says Dr. Desai.
The researchers’ findings come on the heels of the statistic showing that in 2008, 1.66 million Canadians have diabetes, compared to 1.22 million in 2003 – a 36 per cent increase in just five years. By 2010, the number of cases in Canada is expected to be three million with particular concern for Aboriginal people.
Many cases are appearing with no history or genetic cause of diabetes, says Desai, “so it comes down to what we’re eating and drinking.”
While the high-fat, high-carbohydrate North American diet has always been a suspect in the development of the disease, the underlying mechanisms have eluded researchers until now.
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For more information, contact:
Mark Ferguson
University Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1851
m.ferguson@usask.ca
March 02, 2011
U of S receives funding to establish nuclear research centre
Posted March 02, 2011
The University of Saskatchewan received $30 million in funding over the next seven years to establish a centre for the study of nuclear medicine and science.
Premier Brad Wall
Photo by Mark Ferguson
“In the early 1950’s, scientists at the University of Saskatchewan pioneered the use of Cobalt 60 for cancer treatment,” Premier Wall said. “Today we are taking another important step in re-capturing that international leadership position in nuclear medicine and expanding it to include research in materials science and small reactor design.”
The province’s $30 million investment in nuclear research builds on January’s announcement of $12 million in funding from the federal and provincial governments to build a new linear accelerator and support research into the production medical isotopes at the Canadian Light Source.
“Our province produces 10.2 million kilograms of uranium annually, and as the Premier is fond of saying, the next ounce of yellowcake we add value to will be the first,” Minister Norris said. “Today’s announcement, and some other exciting announcements in the coming days and weeks are significant signposts on the road to developing excellence in a number of different nuclear-related fields.”
University of Saskatchewan President Peter MacKinnon welcomed the provincial investment and said the new research centre will complement and strengthen the university’s existing nuclear research infrastructure. That includes the Canadian Light Source synchrotron, the Saskatchewan Research Council’s SLOWPOKE research reactor and the university’s STOR-M Tokamak fusion reactor.
“With this exciting new multi-disciplinary centre, the U of S will build on its historical strengths to become an international centre of excellence in nuclear research, training and innovation, as well as in studies into the full environmental and social context of nuclear development,” said MacKinnon. “We will be able to hire new faculty researchers, support many graduate students, and seize new opportunities for leading-edge research.”
The new research centre will focus on nuclear science and engineering, materials and neutron science and nuclear health sciences. It will also facilitate an expansion of academic programs in nuclear engineering, nuclear and reactor physics and radiochemistry.
“The new centre will spark research partnerships with industry, universities and other research institutions,” Norris said. “Work will include development of advanced materials for construction, aerospace and small reactor designs; and medical imaging for diagnosis of cancer and heart disease.”
“Our government has long been committed to innovation, and this new centre marks a bold start to a new venture,” Premier Wall said. “I look forward to more exciting announcements here at the University of Saskatchewan in the days and weeks to come that will build on today’s investment in nuclear research.”
