UBC News Digest

The UBC News Digest is a weekly summary of news stories about UBC people, research, learning, community, and internationalization initiatives. News Digest past issues are also available on-line.

May 30, 2002

• UBC researchers keep company with Darwin, Newton
• UBC major winner of NSERC awards
• Faculty of Medicine appoints new department heads
• "Get in Motion" with the Man in Motion
• UBC takes on Commuter Challenge

UBC researchers keep company with Darwin, Newton

Two UBC scientists have joined the ranks of Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton with their election to the Royal Society of London, the only two Canadians to be so honoured this year.

Chemistry Prof. David Dolphin, a pioneer in the field of photodynamic therapy, and Zoology Prof. Anthony Sinclair, a world authority on the ecology of large mammals, are now members of the society founded in 1660 that is regarded as an academy of the world's most eminent researchers.

"This is a testament to the research excellence at our university and in Canada," says Indira Samarasekera, vice-president, Research. "It also demonstrates that UBC researchers are on the world stage."

Dolphin is distinguished for his contribution to the understanding of porphyrins. Nitrogen-containing organic compounds, porphyrins are used in light-activated or photodynamic therapy used to treat cancer, eye diseases and autoimmune and cardiovascular disorders.

His work led to the development of a treatment for age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 50. Called Visudyne™, it is produced by QLT Inc., the Vancouver-based biotechnology company where Dolphin is vice-president, Technology Development. It is the largest-selling ophthalmology product ever launched.

Sinclair is an international leader in the study of the ecology, population dynamics and community structure of large mammals. He directs the Centre for Biodiversity Research at UBC.

His research includes the impact of human activities on biodiversity, the processes leading to extinction of small populations, and the rebuilding of ecosystems that have become degraded. In B.C. he is studying the Vancouver Island marmot and developing ways to prioritize conservation sites.

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UBC major winner of NSERC awards

UBC received more than $27 million from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).

The funding is the second highest among Canadian universities; only the University of Toronto received a higher amount. It is part of 2,914 grants worth about $361 million over five years awarded to 62 post-secondary institutions.

At UBC some of the awards include:

• Thirty-two thousand dollars a year for four years to Dr. Leah Edelstein-Keshet and postdoctoral fellow Nathaniel Newlands who are using mathematics to help biologists understand the complex dynamics of tuna schools. Based on images of tuna schools, the University of British Columbia researchers are developing mathematical models to characterize the observed behaviours. This interdisciplinary work will refine current models for how tuna migrate and school, and how individual fish behave in relation to the group.



• An award of $47,000 a year for four years goes to TRIUMF particle physicist Dr. Richard Woloshyn who says not all quarks are created equal. Quarks (and gluons) are the minuscule building blocks of the better-known protons and neutrons that compose an atom's nucleus. Dr. Woloshyn is using computer simulations to explore what happens if one or more of the quarks in a proton or neutron are replaced by a heavy quark - one heavier than a standard quark



• Another award of $40,700 a year for three years goes to the University of British Columbia's Dr. Ray Meadowcroft who is exploring the question of whether slag, a waste product from smelting and steel production, could be recycled as a replacement for Portland cement in making concrete? It's one of the intriguing 'green' slag-related research questions explored by Meadowcroft. The metals engineer is also testing the possibility of using electroreduction to remove heavy metals, including lead and cadmium, from slags.

NSERC is a federal committee that awards research grants to Canadian universities on the basis of past research. Here's a list of the top 10 universities and the money they received.

1. University of Toronto ($34,913,326)
2. University of British Columbia ($27,077,947)
3. University of Alberta ($25,742,212)
4. McGill University ($18,015,388)
5. University of Waterloo ($17,948,258)
6. Queen's University ($16,046,571)
7. University of Calgary ($13,222,113
8. Laval University ($13,128,168)
9. McMaster University ($12,736,674)
10. University of Guelph ($12,400,068)
    

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Faculty of Medicine appoints new department heads

The Faculty of Medicine has chosen two new department heads: Dr. Frederick Mikelberg with the Dept. of Ophthamology and Dr. Christian Naus in the department of Anatomy. Both appointments are for five-year terms.

Dr. Mikelberg has been with the Faculty since 1984, most recently serving as Co-Medical Director for Peri-Operative Services at Vancouver Hospital & Health Sciences Centre from 1997 to 2002. His clinical practice is limited to the diagnosis and treatment of patients with glaucoma and his research has focussed on the assessment of the optic disc in glaucoma. With more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, Dr. Mikelberg has lectured widely on these topics around the world. He is a Past President of the Canadian Glaucoma Society and recently received the Achievement Award of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Dr. Naus is a prominent investigator in the field of gap junctional intercellular communication. Gap junctions are collections of intercellular membrane channels that join cells and allow a variety of small molecules to pass freely from cell to cell. This couples the cells, enabling a coordinated cellular response to signals within the body, such as hormones and neurotransmitters. Gap junctions are thought to play a key role in understanding congenital diseases, stroke, epilepsy and brain cancer. Dr. Naus comes to UBC from the University of Western Ontario, where he has been with the Dept. of Anatomy since 1987. He leaves his position there as Professor and Assistant Chair of Anatomy & Cell Biology.

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"Get in Motion" with the Man in Motion

Get in Motion at UBC is the theme of a community event to be held June 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Koerner Plaza, in support of the national Rick Hansen Man In Motion Campaign that celebrates the 15^th anniversary of Hansen's Man In Motion World Tour.

It is one of a series of events taking place across Canada to raise awareness and funds for spinal cord research.

The event features a pledged walk, wheel or ride; a demonstration of wheelchair basketball, a wheelchair relay race, a dunk tank and display of research into spinal cord injury.

"With the support of Canadians in communities across the country, we will find a cure for spinal cord injury. Anything is possible," says Hansen, who is president and CEO of the Rick Hansen Institute & Foundation.

Registration to participate in the event is $20. Pledge forms are available on the website at http://madmaxmultimedia.com/rhi/downloads.html. All funds raised will go to spinal cord research.

Event sponsors include the Alma Mater Society, the Office of the President, Food Services and other UBC departments.

For more information, contact Alex Bayne at (604) 822-1839.

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UBC takes on Commuter Challenge

From June 2-8 the UBC TREK program centre will host a competition among all departments to get staff, students and faculty to try more sustainable transportation options.

As part of the National Commuter Challenge, the competition encourages the UBC community to leave their single-occupancy vehicles and try walking, cycling, public transportation or car pools to get to work or school. A department’s “score” is measured based on level of participation in a department, and the amount of pollution individually prevented by choosing more sustainable transportation.

Prizes for participating include a night out on the town for two, gift certificates to Capers Community Markets, Nevermind restaurant, Hype Hair Studio and more. For more information, go to www.trek.ubc.ca.