Daily News

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.