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CANADA RESEARCH CHAIR AWARDED GOLD MEDAL BY CANADIAN ORGANIZATION OF MEDICAL PHYSICISTS

August 12, 2010 | Aaron Fenster, Canada Research Chair in Medical Imaging at The University of Western Ontario, has been awarded the 2010 Gold Medal by the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP) in recognition of his outstanding achievements. COMP is the main professional body for medical physicists in Canada.

Much of Fenster's work as an imaging scientist has focused on developing 3D ultrasound imaging technology to improve the diagnosis and treatment of breast and prostate cancer. Fenster and his team have developed technologies that allow doctors to examine patients more quickly and thoroughly without prolonged invasive procedures. These innovative technologies have been licensed and distributed worldwide for cancer therapy and research. 

Among his other achievements, Fenster has developed new vascular imaging systems that allow for better detection of blood clots responsible for strokes. He has also devised several systems that are improving the diagnosis and management of many cancers as well as carotid artery disease.

CANADA RESEARCH CHAIR HONOURED BY THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA

August 12, 2010 | Dezene Huber, Canada Research Chair in Forest Entomology and Chemical Ecology at the University of Northern British Columbia, will receive the C. Gordon Hewitt Award from the Entomological Society of Canada. The award is in recognition of his efforts and activities in the field of entomology—the scientific study of insects.

Huber is being honoured for his work on the DNA of the mountain pine beetle, and particularly, for his research on the genes of the beetle that enable it to withstand extreme winter temperatures. Huber is currently examining what turns specific genes on and off in the fall and spring, with the hope of better understanding the climatic variables that affect the insect’s ability to survive the winter. The pine beetle is the most destructive pest of mature pine trees in British Columbia, and infestations have caused extensive tree mortality throughout the province.

The C. Gordon Hewitt Award is a peer-nominated honour presented each year by the Entomological Society of Canada to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to entomology in Canada before the age of 40.

CANADA RESEARCH CHAIR RECEIVES COOLIDGE AWARD

August 10, 2010 | The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) has awarded its highest honour, the William D. Coolidge Award, to David Rogers, Canada Research Chair in Medical Physics at Carleton University.

Founded in 1958, AAPM promotes the application of physics to medicine and biology. The Coolidge Award is presented to a member who has exhibited a distinguished career in medical physics, and who has exerted a significant impact on the practice of medical physics.

Rogers has made a huge contribution to improving the accuracy of radiation delivered to cancer patients as part of their treatment. Inaccurate dosing can lead to additional long-term health effects and organ damage.

Rogers was part of the committee that published the clinical protocol for radiation dosages administered to patients in North American cancer clinics. He uses computer simulations to understand the effects of radiation, and has improved knowledge of available techniques for administering radiation dosages.

David Rogers is only the fourth Canadian to win the William D. Coolidge Award.

CANADA RESEARCH CHAIR IN ELECTROCHEMISTRY WINS E.B. YEAGER AWARD

August 5, 2010 | Jacek Lipkowski, Canada Research Chair in Electrochemistry at the University of Guelph, has won the prestigious E.B. Yeager Award for his contributions to advancing electrochemistry. The award—named after the renowned electrochemist, the late Ernest B. Yeager—is presented every two years to an outstanding North American researcher by The Electrochemical Society.

Over the past 30 years, Lipkowski has been renowned for his groundbreaking research. Currently, he is co-ordinating research on proteins and peptides through the Guelph-based Advanced Foods and Materials Network, which involves 13 scientists from across Canada.

CANADA RESEARCH CHAIR PUBLISHES RESEARCH FINDINGS IN AIDS JOURNAL

July 27, 2010 | Peter Newman, Canada Research Chair in Health and Social Justice at the University of Toronto, has recently had an article published in AIDS, the official journal of the International AIDS Society. The journal publishes the latest research on HIV and AIDS, and targets clinicians and the research community.

Newman’s article, co-written with University of Toronto doctoral student Carmen Logie, undertakes a systematic review of the literature to examine HIV vaccine acceptability—the degree to which people at risk of contracting HIV are willing to be inoculated with the vaccine—and factors affecting the acceptability of future HIV vaccines. The researchers drew their conclusions from 30 previous research papers involving nearly 12,000 people.

“One might assume that if an HIV vaccine was available, many people would line up to be vaccinated. However, the research strongly indicates this is not the case,” says Newman. “The availability of a vaccine alone is not enough to ensure that people will be inoculated.”

Newman and Logie's meta-analysis of existing literature identified several factors that could influence people's willingness to be inoculated with an HIV vaccine. Among them were a lack of confidence in the effectiveness of the vaccine, scepticism about the risk of infection, and practical considerations such as cost and accessibility of the vaccine.

Newman argues that these factors need to be addressed now, before any vaccine is made publicly available, and says there is a need for more education and awareness around the benefits of vaccines and the continuing risk of HIV, particularly in young people.

TEAM CO-LED BY CANADA RESEARCH CHAIR JACEK MAJEWSKI MAKES BREAKTHROUGH IN GENETIC DISEASE TREATMENT

July 19, 2010 | A team co-led by Jacek Majewski, Canada Research Chair in Statistical Genetics at McGill University, has made a major breakthrough that will revolutionize the screening and treatment of genetic diseases. The research team has proven, for the first time, that it is possible to rapidly identify any genetic disease using a powerful and reliable exome sequencing method. The exome, a small part of the genome, accounts for 85 per cent of genetic mutations.

This new approach makes it easier for researchers to identify the gene causing a disease, since they no longer need to analyze the genes of two people from the same family, as was previously the case, but rather just two people affected by the same disease. The research team’s study, published recently in the journal Human Mutation, focused on isolating the mutation responsible for Fowler's Syndrome, a rare and debilitating genetic syndrome that causes urinary retention in young women.

The goal of this new sequencing technique is to isolate genetic alterations in cases of hereditary diseases among children. It is expected to reveal, within one or two years, a 'full catalogue' of mutations responsible for most hereditary diseases, and for more complex diseases, such as cancer in children.

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