June 28, 2011
U of S researchers to explore green energy, social media, plasma physics and beer
Posted June 28, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 28, 2011
2011-06-14-OTHER
Forty-seven University of Saskatchewan researchers have been awarded a total of $6.8 million over terms ranging from one to five years by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to develop improved biodiesel, targeted drug-delivery systems, social media software and improved beer making, to name just a few examples.
Canada Research Chair, Professor Ajay Dalai
Photo by Liam Richards available in the U of S Flickr gallery
“Innovation is borne of the imagination of our most talented minds, backed with these resources from NSERC, to allow them to pursue their ideas,” said U of S Vice-President Research Karen Chad. “Our researchers are creating knowledge and impact in health, basic science and industry.”
“These programs are key tools for unleashing the creative power of our most innovative researchers,” said NSERC President Suzanne Fortier. “The Discovery Grants Program has an outstanding international reputation because it has a very broad scope and offers researchers a lot of flexibility.”
Some of the recipients are:
Better biodiesel and bioproducts: Chemical engineering professor and Canada Research Chair Ajay Dalai is awarded $525,000 to develop a method to produce biodiesel from low cost raw materials such as soya, green seed canola and mustard, and develop catalysts for glycerol. This byproduct from the biodiesel production process has a wide range of uses in medicine, food, and industry. Dalai’s process produces higher quality biodiesel at a lower cost and with reduced water usage compared to existing methods.
Targeted drug delivery: Assistant professor of pharmacy Azita Haddadi was awarded $95,000 to develop a drug delivery system that will target individual cells without damaging healthy surrounding cells. The work is especially important in cancer treatment, where healthy cells are often damaged by chemotherapy meant to treat tumours. Haddadi’s lab uses nanoparticles to deliver the drugs, trying to optimize their ability to target tiny areas.
Plasma power: Physics professor Andrei Smolyakov was awarded $240,000 for his research on the complex behaviour of plasmas held in electromagnetic fields. Plasmas are central to understanding space and astrophysics phenomena, development of fusion power and technologies such as material processing reactors and spacecraft thrusters. By studying turbulence and fluctuations in plasmas, Smolyakov will help build a versatile Canadian research expertise applicable to all fields of plasma physics and its numerous applications.
Social media call to action: Computer science professor Julita Vassileva was awarded $416,000 to investigate how to use Internet-based communities and rewards to encourage positive change in peoples’ lives. Her software development focuses on building personalized incentives into online media to encourage real world healthy lifestyles, volunteerism and learning.
Genetics for better beer: Professor of medicine Barry Ziola was awarded $150,000 for research into the genes that allow beer-spoiling lactic acid bacteria to not only survive high alcohol content, low oxygen, acidity and antimicrobial activity of hops, but even thrive on the residual nutrients left over from yeast fermentation. His lab will sequence the genomes of five bacteria strains and compare them against less hardy strains to see what genes are associated with the ability to survive in beer.
NSERC is a federal agency that helps make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for all Canadians. The agency supports some 30,000 postsecondary students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies. NSERC promotes discovery by funding more than 12,000 professors every year and fosters innovation by encouraging more than 1,500 Canadian companies to participate and invest in postsecondary research projects.
The grants described above are provided through the NSERC Discovery Grants and Discovery Accelerator Supplements programs.
For a complete listing of projects awarded, visit www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca.
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For more information, contact:
Michael Robin
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1425
michael.robin@usask.ca
June 16, 2011
Cameco CEO announces gift to U of S business students
Posted June 16, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 16, 2011
2011-06-09-ESB
Cameco Chief Executive Officer Gerald Grandey announced a $1 million gift to the Edwards School of Business at an event hosted by the University of Saskatchewan Wednesday evening. The gift – which is a combined donation from Jerry and Tina Grandey and a legacy gift from Cameco Corporation – is to be directed toward a variety of leadership initiatives.
U of S President Peter MacKinnon and Gerry Grandey
Photo by Larry Kwok available in the U of S Flickr Gallery
“Leadership development has been one of my passions in my tenure as CEO of Cameco,” said Grandey, who is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at the Edwards School. “Developing strong business professionals depends on fostering leadership skills. My wife Tina and I are thrilled to help out in this way.”
The event, held at the university’s Faculty Club, provided an opportunity for U of S President Peter MacKinnon to thank Grandey, his wife and Cameco for their ongoing support of the university and the Saskatoon business community.
“We are delighted to receive such a generous gift,” said Daphne Taras, dean of the Edwards School. “And we are excited to match the interests of a supporter with a demonstrable need within our School.”
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For more information, contact:
Jan Kalinowski, Development Officer
Edwards School of Business
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-5437
kalinowski@edwards.usask.ca
June 15, 2011
U of S centre for health and safety in agriculture celebrates 25 years of healthy living
Posted June 15, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 15, 2011
2011-06-08-AG
The Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture (CCHSA) is celebrating 25 years of dedication to research and education in the health and safety of farmers and their families.
The centre was formed 25 years ago in response to a large number of farmers reporting lung problems due to exposure to grain dust, and the high incidence of farm related accidents and fatalities. The purpose of the centre is to conduct research, educate and spread knowledge in the area of health and safety for farmers, their families and rural residents.
The centre has hosted six international symposia attended by researchers from around the world, resulting in the publication of several books. The centre also established the Saskatchewan Agricultural Health and Safety Network, which now has more than 200 rural municipality members. CCHSA collaborates with more than 14 universities across Canada on research projects and has conducted research on topics such as hog barns, chicken barns in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, a Prairie Ecosystem Study, and Epidemiological studies on allergens and toxins.
Due to the centre’s success, a National Agricultural Rural Industrial Hygiene Laboratory is being established, which will be part of the new Health Sciences building on campus opening in 2013. Space will also be dedicated to the centre in the new bio-medical building.
CCHSA will be holding a number of events throughout the year to celebrate its success and 25th anniversary.
Further information can be found at www.cchsa-ccssma.usask.ca.
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For more information, contact:
Maura Gillis-Cipywnyk, Director, Institutional Advancement
Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture
University of Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 966-8302
Email: maura.gillis@usask.ca
June 09, 2011
Ile a la Crosse community and U of S researcher help teach children healthy lifestyles
Posted June 09, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 9, 2011
2011-06-03-OTHER
Children in Ile a la Crosse are playing more and learning to eat healthily thanks to a community-based research project led by University of Saskatchewan PhD student Sarah Oosman.
Ile a la Crosse students from Rossignol Elementary School hold up their water bottles - a healthy alternative to drinking sugary pop or juice
Photo supplied by Sarah Oosman
Oosman, a community health and kinesiology researcher, worked with elders, teachers and community members to develop a set of lessons focusing on physical activity and nutrition for a grade 3-4 split class. This included in-class physical activity, nutrition and health lessons, along with five-minute physical activity flashcards with fun motions for the whole class to perform and family packs that reinforced the classroom lessons at home.
“The whole program was developed to incorporate Métis culture, for example, using Michif Cree language. We wanted to do this in a way that was culturally appropriate and culturally relevant,” Oosman said. Michif is the traditional Métis language, with roots in both Canadian French and Plains Cree.
Historically, Métis people were hunter-gatherers, which meant an active lifestyle and nutritious local food habits. Changes in the environment in which individuals live has led to a more sedentary lifestyle with a greater reliance on sweet and starchy processed foods, contributing to serious health challenges.
Among these is obesity, which can lead to life-threatening health complications such as Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. While this is a danger for people of all ages and backgrounds, Aboriginal populations are disproportionately affected.
Community- based research helps address health challenges with knowledge that the people themselves help to create. Not only did the children demonstrate healthy lifestyle changes, but their families made positive changes, too. The research team interviewed the parents to get an idea of how classroom lessons were translated at home.
“One of the families talked about how the messages sent home opened the environment to talk about pop drinking… and they completely stopped purchasing pop,” Oosman said.
To help get the childrens’ personal perspectives, the team used “photovoice,” a research method that combines pictures and words. They encouraged them to take photographs of “Things You Eat” and “Things You Do,” and explain why the images were important to them.
When the classroom program ended in December 2010, the class had more pictures of fruits and vegetables than they had when they started that September. A handful of students had even selected more culturally significant food subjects, like bannock and cranberries. As for things to do, the local playgrounds were a popular photo subject, reflecting both the childrens’ increased interest in active play and the importance of the community’s play-enabling equipment. Oosman said the community did a great job providing ways for people to be active.
“We found that a lot of the photos and interviews highlighted access to equipment like cross-country skis and skates,” she said.
Just as encouragingly, the students in the healthy learning program kept just as active as weather got gloomy in winter. Normally as the temperature drops people spend more time watching TV, reading, or on their computers, but these students spent no extra time at these activities.
The Ile a la Crosse project was funded through the Indigenous Peoples Health Research Centre (IPHRC), which encourages community based and interdisciplinary Aboriginal health research. The funds paid for a variety of tools to test the effectiveness of the education program, from questionnaires to accelerometers to track the childrens’ movements.
Oosman’s work in Ile a la Crosse has already attracted national attention. In 2010, she was one of three recipients of the Scientific Director’s Award of Excellence from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health (CIHR-IAPH).
Note to media: Participants from the Ile a la Crosse healthy living community research project are available for interviews upon request to any of the contacts below.
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For more information, contact:
Sarah Oosman
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 652-3761
sarah.oosman@usask.ca
Cassandra Opikokew
Knowledge Translation
Indigenous Peoples' Health Research Centre (IPHRC)
(306) 337-2510
Cassandra.Opikokew@uregina.ca
Michael Robin
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1425
michael.robin@usask.ca
June 06, 2011
U of S Partners with Federal Agencies on Unique Study of Vitamin D Insufficiency
Posted June 06, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 6, 2011
2011-06-01-OTHER
One in four Canadians aged six to 79 has vitamin D blood levels below internationally recommended levels, a first-in-Canada study led by the University of Saskatchewan, in partnership with Statistics Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, has found.
Professor Susan Whiting
When individuals taking vitamin D supplements were excluded from the data, evidence of low vitamin D blood levels was even greater. In fact, during the winter months, more than one-third of Canadians not using supplements did not meet the level associated with the Recommended Daily Allowance, the study found.
“We have shown the advantage that supplement use and sun exposure can have to help Canadians maintain their vitamin D status,” said U of S nutrition professor Susan Whiting.
Low vitamin D can increase the risk of bone-related problems such as rickets, osteomalacia (softening of the bones), and osteoporosis. Low vitamin D may also compromise the immune and inflammatory systems.
The new study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggests that current food choices alone are insufficient to maintain recommended vitamin D levels for many Canadians, especially in winter.
“If you’re taking a supplement, you’re half as likely to have blood levels of vitamin D in the deficient range or below the level associated with adequacy for individuals,” Whiting said.
The study is the first in Canada to examine vitamin D intake in comparison to levels outlined in the U.S. Institute of Medicine’s 2011 Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) report which sets out the estimated average daily vitamin D requirements for individuals. The Canadian government has accepted that report as the basis for new recommended values for vitamin D and calcium levels considered adequate for specific age groups, as well as safe upper levels.
The 2011 DRI report states that children and adults, ages one to 70 years, should consume 600 IU (international units) per day and those over 70 years should take 800 IU per day. However, the Canadian diet provides only 200 IU on average, Whiting said.
Non-white Canadians had the highest risk of not achieving DRI recommendations. “We think this is in part due to the fact that with more skin pigmentation, there’s a need for greater exposure to sun in order to make vitamin D,” she said.
The research was conducted by Whiting and Hassan Vatanparast of the U of S College of Pharmacy and Nutrition in collaboration with Linda Greene-Finestone of Public Health Agency of Canada and Kellie Langlois of Statistics Canada.
The study involved an analysis of 2007-2009 data gathered as part of Statistics Canada’s Canadian Health Measures Survey which involved more than 5,300 individuals who were tested for vitamin D blood levels.
The paper is published on-line at: http://www.ajcn.org/content/early/2011/05/19/ajcn.111.013268.abstract?sid=7ee4feca-59e0-4ad8-8a9f-88bde238d450.
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For more information, contact:
Heather Dawson, Communications and Alumni Relations Officer
College of Pharmacy and Nutrition
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2502
(306) 221-0129
heather.dawson@usask.ca
Michael Robin
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1425
michael.robin@uask.ca
