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UBC Reports
October 16, 1997

Prof. Herbert Rosengarten has been appointed Executive Director in UBC's President's Office.

Rosengarten served as head of the English Dept. from 1987 to 1997, was president of the Faculty Association, and sits on Senate. He has also participated on many search, advisory and review committees at UBC and for various provincial bodies.

As executive director, he will be responsible for assisting the president and vice-presidents on a variety of strategic initiatives; interacting with external and internal constituents including students, faculty, staff, members of the Board of Governors and Senate, as well as with university visitors, government officials and members of the Canadian and international business community; overseeing projects, and undertaking research and analysis on a wide variety of issues.

Max Cynader has been named head of the new Brain and Spinal Cord Research Centre.

A winner of the Science Council of B.C.'s Gold Medal in Health Sciences in 1995 for his research in visual development, Cynader is also a fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

Last year, he and fellow UBC scientists launched NeuroVir, a biotechnology company which provides gene therapy for brain tumours, other cancers and diseases of the nervous system.

Located at the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre (VHHSC), UBC site, the centre will focus on researching central nervous system disorders including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, schizophrenia, spinal cord repair and vision impairment.

Cynader will continue to be director of research in the Dept. of Ophthalmology where he investigates how the brain processes visual and auditory information.

Michelle Lamberson, a lecturer in the Dept. of Earth and Ocean Sciences and educational technology coordinator for the Faculty of Science, has been recognized by the Geological Society of America (GSA), in partnership with Educom, for her efforts to improve undergraduate teaching and learning through the effective application of information and communications technologies.

The 1997 Educom Medal Awards program winner was cited for her innovative uses of technology and for her efforts to disseminate her findings which have benefited the educational process within the field of geology.

Lamberson's pioneering work on World Wide Web resources for undergraduate geoscientists serves as a model for educators seeking to maximize the Web's teaching potential. The site Lamberson developed for Earth and Ocean Sciences (www.science.ubc.ca/~eoswr/) includes course Web sites, interactive learning modules, exercises, discipline-specific databases, and developer tools.

Dr. Lawrence Green, professor of Health Care and Epidemiology and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research, received the Advocacy Award from the Association of State and Territorial Directors of Health Promotion and Public Health Education at their recent annual meeting in Atlanta.

The association recognized Green for his contributions to the advancement of health promotion and education through scientific contributions to policy and practice.

The award is made jointly with the U.S. Centres for Disease Control.

Dr. Charles Kerr has been appointed to the Heart and Stroke Foundation Chair in Cardiology.

Funded by the foundation with assistance from individuals, organizations, and the B.C. government, the $1-million chair will focus on improving education and research into strokes and heart disease.

A specialist in irregular heart rhythm, or arrhythmia, Kerr has served as head of Cardiology since 1988. A graduate of UBC's Faculty of Medicine, he joined the faculty in 1981.

Kerr is currently chair of the Heart and Stroke Foundation's Cardio/Cerebrovascular Research Advisory Council.