Daily News

May 12, 2004

McMaster University will confer honorary degrees on the Ruler of Sharjah and a former dean of McMaster University's Faculty of Health Sciences during its health sciences convocation on Friday, May 14. Four hundred and nine health sciences students, including doctors, nurses, midwives and health specialists, will graduate at the 2:30 p.m. Hamilton Place ceremony. His Highness Shaikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammad Al-Qassimi, member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates, Ruler of Sharjah will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree and speak to the graduates. His Highness is known as a scholar, humanitarian, and humanist who has enhanced the culture and health of his country and region. He holds an engineering degree and doctorates in history and political geography, and is president of both the University of Sharjah and the American University of Sharjah. In partnership with McMaster, His Highness has developed a College of Health Sciences at the University of Sharjah. Jack Laidlaw, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences from 1981 to 1985, will receive an honorary Doctor of Science Degree. A leading scientist in the field of endocrinology, his concern for patients led him to focus on patient-centred care, communications with patients and between health professionals, supportive care for cancer patients and the education of future health care providers. He is now consultant emeritus to Cancer Care Ontario and a consultant to Cancer Care International.

May 12, 2004

McMaster's University Senate met Monday, May 10. Below are highlights from this meeting. Origins Institute Questions such as “how and why did the universe begin” . . .

May 12, 2004

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Economics,-Tyler-Chalk.jpg” caption=”Tyler Chalk”]Fourth-year economics student Tyler Chalk is helping send Canadian veterans to the 60th anniversary ceremonies of D-Day in Normandy on June . . .

May 11, 2004

McMaster University researchers will be investigating ways of preventing cancer cells from spreading thanks to awards totalling $718,500 from the Canadian Cancer Society. Andre Bedard, . . .

May 11, 2004

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/math.jpg” caption=”James Stewart Centre for Mathematics”]Calm, reflective spaces juxtaposed with interactive mathematical zones, has earned McMaster's newly redesigned James Stewart Centre for Mathematics . . .

May 11, 2004

Fifty-one degrees and diplomas will be conferred on graduands of Divinity College at its annual Spring Convocation ceremony today (Tuesday, May 11). The ceremony will be held at 8 p.m. in Convocation Hall. Degrees to be conferred are: Doctor of Ministry, Master of Theology, Master of Divinity, Master of Religious Education, Master of Theological Studies and Master of Arts -- Christian Studies. Certificates to be awarded are: Diploma in Ministry, Certificate of Christian Studies and Certificate in Parish Nurse Ministry. Honorary degrees will be presented to Audrey Morikawa, president of the Women's Department of the Baptist World Alliance and Henry De Bolster, a pioneer of Canadian Christian education. De Bolster will deliver the Convocation address.

May 10, 2004

The timeline from when the word 'gene' was first coined and the entire human genome was sequenced is less than 100 years. Jack Gauldie describes this genomic timeline as a "short and frantic ride in science". Gauldie, professor and chair of the Department of Pathology and head of McMaster's Institute for Molecular Medicine and Health (IMMH), will take his audience on a whirlwind tour of gene research in his Science in the City lecture, Genes as medicine: from growth factors to vaccines . Gauldie, a leader in gene therapeutics, will be at the forefront of the research that will see gene therapy as a cure for diseases from asthma to cancer, for treatment of growth deficiencies and also for use as a vaccine for infectious diseases such as SARS. In an interview with the Hamilton Spectator Gauldie explains that, "things go wrong when genes don't work right or they're working too hard or there's too many or too few or they're in the wrong sequence. This is a new way of treating disease at that level."

May 10, 2004

Six McMaster travel scholarships are awarding students the world. One student will experience and research the rural and eco-development issues of the Himalayans, another will travel to Poland to learn about the Holocaust and another will visit Switzerland to investigate the inner workings of the fundamental particles that make up the universe. These are some of the experiences students will have with help from McMaster's Office of Student Financial Aid & Scholarship.

May 7, 2004

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/mufa_awards.jpg” caption=”MUFA award recipients”]The McMaster University Faculty Association presented its first ever Faculty/Librarian Outstanding Service Awards at its annual general meeting Wednesday. Psychology . . .

May 7, 2004

This Saturday, McMaster's doors will fling open for more than 4,000 prospective students and their families. May @ Mac, one of McMaster's largest annual events, takes place tomorrow (Saturday, May 8). The open house will give visitors the opportunity to find out information about programs of study, ask questions about admissions or scholarships and tour campus facilities. Every year, the number of visitors attending May @ Mac grows. "We've been seeing an increase in attendance over the last couple of years," says Bonnie Crocker, liaison officer in McMaster's Office of the Registrar. "Part of the increase is due to the number of parents that attend and appear to be more involved than in previous years in the decision-making process. People want to shop more and investigate their options."

May 7, 2004

Each year, the McMaster Summer Institute on Gerontology attracts health care practitioners, academics, and the general public with an informative and topical array of sessions . . .

May 7, 2004

Modifications to McMaster's second-generation solar car, Fireball II, are now complete. With improved electrical, braking, and steering systems and a new canopy, the improved version . . .

May 6, 2004

For scientists, creating new vaccines to treat diseases such as cancer is only part of the puzzle. Equally important are the vectors or delivery agents that will be used to transport the vaccines into a patient's body. This is a complex process and, until now, there has been no university facility in Canada able to develop vectors suitable for use in people. Scientists have had to go to the United States and wait in line for laboratory space. Thanks to a $1-million gift from McMaster alumni Robert Fitzhenry to support gene therapeutic research, McMaster University is firmly on the path to a new era in medical discovery. His gift will establish the Robert E. Fitzhenry Vector Laboratory as the first Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) laboratory in Canada capable of producing vectors for use in clinical trials for patients. GMP is a set of regulations that ensure the identity, potency, safety and purity of pharmaceutical products. "I was overwhelmed when I learned what a huge stride forward the establishment of this vector laboratory would represent, not only for McMaster but for medical researchers across Canada who would now have access to Canadian produced vectors," said Fitzhenry, the former vice chair & COO of Woodbridge Foam Corporation in Mississauga, and a graduate of McMaster University in political economy.

May 6, 2004

McMaster men's volleyball team have received commitments from Nathan Groenveld and Peter Hrkal to attend McMaster University in the fall. Both players are members of . . .

May 6, 2004

Does older mean wiser? When it comes to motherhood for Mongolian gerbils, the answer is apparently yes. In her studies of these small mammals, McMaster University researcher Mertice Clark has found that the older a mother is, the more time she spends with her offspring and, perhaps as a result of that increased attention, the healthier her pups are. Clark, an adjunct professor in the department of psychology, explains, "Maternal effort increases with age. Older Mongolian gerbil mothers invest more in their offspring." To determine the effect of age on maternal effort, researchers divided 48 gerbils into four groups determined by age. Females were 35, 70, 90, and 120 days old. By observing the mothers with their babies, researchers found that the older a gerbil was, the more devoted she was to her offspring.

May 5, 2004

It's a mother's job to protect her children, teaching them to look both ways before they cross the street and not to talk to strangers. In the waters of Lake Tanganyika in Africa there are no streets to cross, but there are plenty of other threats that a mother fish must protect her offspring from. Sigal Balshine, assistant professor of psychology at McMaster University, along with her graduate students, has been studying tiny fish from Lake Tanganyika called cichlids, trying to understand why some parents aggressively defend their young from predators and other parents defend less vigorously. The species of fish studied by Balshine are co-operative breeders. Like wolves or some primates, these fish live in groups made up of two breeding fish (male and female) and up to 14 helpers. In some groups, parents work hard, carefully tending the eggs, cleaning their territories, and fiercely defending their young. In other groups, parents do little, allowing the "helpers" to take on the lion's share of the workload. Balshine and her students are examining the genes, hormones, brains and environmental surroundings of these fish to try to understand how different levels of parental care evolve.

May 5, 2004

As obesity is fast overtaking tobacco as the leading risk factor for heart disease, a new laboratory for studying the biology of fat cells (adipocytes) is opening its doors at the Henderson Research Centre. McMaster University's Arya Sharma, professor of medicine and Canada Research Chair in Cardiovascular Obesity Research and Management, says: "Fat cells are now recognized as highly active cells, that make a host of molecules contributing to metabolic disease, inflammation, and cancer." The new fat cell lab, with its state-of-the-art equipment, will support cardiovascular obesity research and management. Researchers will be able to examine fat biopsies and grow fat cells taken from obese patients with obesity-related health problems, like high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. They will be able to look at the molecular aspects of the cells - watching for the changes in gene expression.

May 4, 2004

The sound of deep applause will be heard Wednesday, May 12 from Liuna Station when McMaster celebrates the collective achievements of its engineering researchers. An Applause and Accolades Awards Celebration will recognize the achievements of engineering faculty in 2003, including four Premier's Research Excellence Awards, one teaching award, three University honoured awards, two Canada Research Chairs and 17 professional association and societies recognitions. The event also will celebrate a business leader's exemplary contributions to McMaster and the community. "This event will publicly acknowledge the success of our corporate partnerships and our many internal successes within the Faculty of Engineering," says Mo Elbestawi, dean of engineering. "This is an opportunity to share in the appreciation of all our outstanding recipients."

May 4, 2004

McMaster University's School of Rehabilitation Science started its new application process yesterday into the master of science occupational therapy (OT) and physiotherapy (PT) programs. The . . .

May 3, 2004

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/cities2opt.jpg” caption=”Virtual Cities Web site”]Faculty and students in the multimedia program at McMaster University had the chance to experience working on a large . . .