Awards & Accolades - February 2018

Faculty & Staff Achievements

Congratulations to Richard Rachubinski, Department of Cell Biology, on the 2018 Canadian Science Publishing Senior Investigator Award from the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences.

Kimberly Taylor, Assistant Dean, Advancement, and Kyla Denisuik Dickey, Director, Development, presented "Fundraising is a team sport...and alumni relations is on the team," at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District VIII conference in Seattle on February 8, 2018. Well done!

Maria Febbraio, School of Dentistry, won the GSA Graduate Student Supervisor Award.

Research Funding

The U of A received $19.2 million in federal funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for health related projects. Congratulations to the following Principal Investigators (PI) and their teams:

• Sean Bagshaw, Department of Critical Care, $1.56 million - Standard versus accelerated initiation of renal replacement therapy in acute kidney injury (STARRT-AKI): A multi-centre, randomized, controlled trial

• Sara Davison, Department of Medicine, and Brad Bahler, Department of Family Medicine, $1.17 million - Implementation and evaluation of an innovative integrated conservative (non-dialysis) kidney management (CKM) pathway by primary care across Alberta

• Richard Lehner, Departments of Cell Biology, $1.14 million - Role of a lipid hydrolase TGH in hepatic fat storage and lipoprotein secretion

• Joseph Casey, Department of Biochemistry, $948,600 - Improving corneal endothelial cell adhesion

• Dawei Zhang, Department of Pediatrics, $883,575 - Understanding of the physiological role of membrane-type I matrix metalloproteinase in lipid metabolism

• Troy Baldwin, Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology, $868,275 - Regulation of T cell central tolerance by non-apoptotic mechanisms

• Jason Dyck, Department of Pediatrics, $784,125 - Fatty acid handling and cardiac dysfunction

• Richard Wozniak, Department of Cell Biology, $772,650 - Function of flaviviridae viral RNAs in the host cell nucleus

• Satyabrata Kar, Department of Medicine, $742,050 - Role of lysosomal enzymes cathepsins B and D in neuronal vulnerability: potential implications in Alzheimer's disease pathology

• Silvia Pagliardini, Department of Physiology, $734,400 - The "ins" and "outs" of ventilation during sleep: Brainstem co-ordination of active inspiration and expiration

• Andrew Mason, Department of Medicine, $703,800 - Pilot study of emtricitabine, tenofovir alafenamide and raltegravir for patients with primary biliary cholangitis

• Gavin Oudit, Department of Medicine, $703,800 - Role of PI3Kinase alpha in cardiovascular disease and cardiotoxicity

• Peter Light, Department of Pharmacology / Alberta Diabetes Institute, $688,500 - Characterization of a novel light-sensitive signalling pathway in subcutaneous human adipocytes.

• Robin Clugston, Department of Physiology, $679,320 - Altered hepatic retinoid homeostasis in the initiation and progression of alcoholic liver disease

• Basil Hubbard, Department of Pharmacology, $665,550 - Identification and pharmacologic activation of SIRT1 substrates

• Ian Paterson, Department of Medicine, and Richard Thompson, Department of Biomedical Engineering, $608,175 - Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging of pulmonary edema: Application in acute heart failure

• Patrick McLane, Department of Emergency Medicine, $554,626 - Understanding and defining quality of care in the emergency department with First Nations members in Alberta

• Maria Ospina, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, $378,675 - Ehawawisit (With Child): Maternal and perinatal health outcomes among the Métis in Alberta and the influence of proximal, intermediate, and distal determinants of health

• Stephanie Thompson, Department of Medicine, $290,701 - The effect of exercise on hypertension in chronic kidney disease: A randomized controlled trial

• Jerome Yager, Department of Pediatrics, and Larry Unsworth, Department of Biomedical Engineering, $218,025 - Delivery platforms for treating perinatal brain injury

• Ngan Lam, Department of Medicine, $100,000 - Living kidney donor followup and outcomes: Caring for those who care for others

• Todd McMullen, Department of Surgery, $100,000 - Targeting PDGFRa using PET imaging to diagnose metastatic papillary thyroid cancer and improve treatment

• Andrea Gruneir, Department of Family Medicine, $100,000 - Practical approaches to longitudinal monitoring for quality of care near the end of life in nursing home settings

Andrew Mackie, Department of Pediatrics, (co-PI) is the recipient of a CIHR operating grant $761,175 - Evaluating innovations in transition to adult care: The Transition Navigator Trial.

Nominate a Colleague

Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine - due April 6, 2018

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2018 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine (Faculty) Award. This award is presented by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, as an extension of the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

The foundation honours one faculty MD member, for exemplifying outstanding humanism in medicine along with scientific excellence. Click here to learn how to nominate.