Daily News

Posted on March 6: McMaster students redefining leadership

Why aren't more women involved in politics? What can be done to support women interested in running for office? Have there been improvements to encourage women to participate as student, community and political leaders? Redefining Leadership, a one-day conference on Friday, March 7 in the council chambers of Gilmour Hall is providing a forum to discuss these issues. The conference, co-hosted by MacWin (McMaster Womyn's Issues Network) and the MSU Gender Equity committee, will feature a keynote speaker and panel discussions allowing panellists to share their experiences and members of the audience to participate in the presentation. "The speakers are all women who have all made outstanding commitments to their communities," says Nicole Richmond, who co-organized the event with Helen Tewolde. "Each of the speakers we have seen at different events and have been truly impressed by, and felt that these are women who would provide both inspiration and insight to our audience." Keynote speaker, Sue Fraser, kicks off the day at 9:30 a.m. Fraser was MSU president from 1989-90 and is now a social justice lawyer.

Posted on March 6: Three McMaster researchers lead first Canadian study into West Nile virus

A team of researchers from McMaster University will be approaching up to 1,500 south Oakville residents asking for blood samples, in the first Canadian study to find the prevalence of West Nile virus infection. The researchers are looking for antibodies of the West Nile virus in the blood to help them get a better grip on how many were infected with the potentially deadly virus. Physicians believe that about 150 people are infected for every case that reaches them. The rate of Oakville residents contracting the mosquito-borne virus last summer was one of the highest in North America, said Halton medical officer of health Bob Nosal. There have been 58 human cases of West Nile since August -- 49 confirmed cases, and nine probable -- in Halton, almost all of them in south Burlington and south Oakville. Halton has the second-highest number of West Nile cases in Canada. Only Toronto is higher. Nosal said of the 19 Halton residents hospitalized with West Nile symptoms of encephalitis or meningitis, half are still suffering significant health problems, such as trouble walking. "West Nile caused a significant amount of illness last year, and we need to take it seriously." The ministry has contracted the research to McMaster University and hospital infectious diseases specialist Mark Loeb, and university colleagues and professors John Eyles and Susan Elliott. The blood will be tested at provincial labs. Read more

Posted on March 5: McMaster partners with City of Hamilton and Region of Halton to launch Golden Horseshoe Biosciences Network

More than 100 guests from the Hamilton and Halton business and research communities, along with representatives from municipal and provincial governments, attended a Golden Horseshoe Venture Forum Tuesday morning where a new Biosciences Network was launched. The Golden Horseshoe Biosciences Network is an organization initiated by McMaster University, the City of Hamilton and the Region of Halton to bring together the area's biosciences research and business communities to foster the creation of a vibrant biotechnology industry. Nick Markettos, senior advisor in the Office of the Vice-President (Research & International Affairs) says the timing is right for such an initiative. "Biotechnology and biosciences hold enormous promise for economic and social benefit and the creation of this network will allow us to move ahead together to increase research and commercialization activities in this area," he said. Keynote speaker Borys Chabursky, president and founder of Strategic Health Innovations, spoke about advancing the commercialization and development of biotechnology in the Golden Horseshoe. He told the audience that in order to compete with already established biotechnology clusters they would have to take advantage of the biosciences strengths and opportunities that exist in this region. "You have the resources but lack the links that will establish a cluster of innovation in biosciences in this area," he said. The first major event organized by the Golden Horseshoe Biosciences Network is a day-long conference planned at McMaster University on June 11, 2003. BioSummit2003@McMaster will bring the scientific and business communities together to find opportunities for strategic partnerships and create an environment for collaboration.

Posted on March 5: Visiting Hooker professor examines health care policy

Andy Oxman, a Hooker Distinguished visiting professor in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, will examine the "Unbearable Lightness of Health Care Policy", today (March 5) from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Health Sciences Centre, Room. 1A6. An international leader in developing, teaching, researching and applying evidence-based health care, Oxman is the director of Health Services Research in the Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Welfare. His talk will be based on Milan Kundera's book, The Unbearable Lightness of Being. "The underlying argument of my talk is that health-policy making is doubly unbearably light because not only is it often impossible to compare alternative policy options, many policies are never properly implemented, however well informed they are," Oxman says. Oxman will describe his experience working with key stakeholders in Norway to evaluate an implementation strategy for a broadly supported health policy: active sick leave; use case studies from six countries on the use of research to inform drug policy to better understand this experience; expand on a systematic review of interviews with policy makers about the use of research in health policy; draw some conclusions and engage the audience in a discussion about the implications of this in the Canadian context. Oxman's publications include systematic reviews, meta-analyses, methodology development, quality of life, community-health practice guidelines, and educational strategies for health-care providers and users. He is a leader in the Cochrane Collaboration and an active participant in the Evidence Based Medicine Working Group. After completing his MD at Michigan State, Oxman earned a Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety, a Masters degree in Design, Measurement and Evaluation, and Community Medicine Certification at McMaster in the 1980's. He is now the director of Health Services Research in the Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Welfare.

Posted on March 5: Female faculty challenge the chill

Conditions facing female faculty at Canadian universities will be explored during a lunchtime discussion today (Wednesday). Hosted by Women's Studies, the event is one of several planned this week leading up to International Women's Day, Saturday, March 8. The discussion and brown bag lunch was inspired by the book Canadian Women and the Academic Tundra: Challenging the Chill, by E. Hannah, Linda Paul and Swami Vethamy-Globus. "International Women's Day is a time for asserting women's political and social rights, and reviewing the progress that women have made," says associate kinesiology professor Nancy Bouchier, one of the key organizers of the event. "Perhaps best of all, it is a day for celebration. Our event aims to provide us with a forum to reflect upon the working conditions of, and our own experiences at the university." Challenging the Chill gives a voice to women's experiences as teachers and researchers on university campuses across Canada, adds Bouchier, "and it embraces so many different perspectives from people of very different disciplinary, administrative, and pedagogical backgrounds." Participants do not have to read the book to participate in the discussion. But Bouchier says it will serve as a springboard for people to air their views about things like how they have felt about the social and academic climate at McMaster for women, what changes have happened during their tenure here, what work is left to be done, and what accomplishments they should celebrate.