UBC Reports | Vol. 48 | No. 5 | Mar. 7, 2002

Vision researcher, historical scholar, among honorees

Northern lights the theme for Celebrate Research gala

UBC researchers will be honoured at a gala event with a celestial theme to be held at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on the evening of Thursday, March 14. Called Celebrate Research, the evening includes a sound and light sculpture by Fine Arts Assoc. Prof. Richard Prince called Aurora Borealis and musical entertainment by pianist Music Prof. Rena Sharon with the Borealis String Quartet.

Those being honoured include Educational Studies and Women's Studies Prof. Veronica Strong-Boag and Biochemistry and Ophthalmology Prof. Robert Molday. Strong-Boag has spent more than 30 years devoted to interdisciplinary historical scholarship.

Her publications have ranged from a consideration of class in shaping working class women's employment to studies of Canada's post-war suburbs and the nation's abused and dependent children.

"I've always been intrigued by what it means to be Canadian, especially what it means for women, workers and First Nations peoples," says Strong-Boag who headed up UBC's Centre for Research in Women's Studies and Gender Relations until 1997.

The recipient of numerous honours for her work, Strong-Boag received the Killam Research Prize at UBC and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Coming to UBC from Cal Tech in 1975, Molday is an expert on age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of legal blindness in people over 50 years of age and a significant health concern as huge numbers of baby boomers age.

The Canada Research Chair in Vision and Macular Degeneration, Molday looks at how light interacts with photoreceptor cells in vision and investigates how mutated genes cause inherited vision disorders such as AMD.

Recent Canada Foundation for Innovation funding will help Molday establish and direct a Centre for Macular Research at UBC.

"Canada is a leader in this type of science," he says. "We are well-poised to be the prime research unit in the country."

Recently named a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Molday is currently investigating the development and application of gene therapy to correct inherited retinal degenerative diseases including some forms of macular degeneration. There is reserved free seating at the gala which is part of Research Awareness Week, March 9-16.

more information

visit www.research.ubc.ca/raw.htm

e-mail celebrate.research@ubc.ca