posted on Oct. 18: Award-winning scientist appointed inaugural chairholder in diabetes research

Canadians suffering from diabetes have new hope with the announcement today that Hertzel Gerstein, a professor of medicine, will be the first chairholder of the Population Health Institute Chair in Diabetes Research, sponsored by Aventis Pharma Inc. "The research will focus on two areas - preventing diabetes and developing new management strategies for health care providers and people already affected by diabetes," said Gerstein. Aventis Pharma Inc. committed $1 million in funding to establish the new chair. Last year Aventis was a funder, with other partners, of the DREAM (Diabetes Reduction Approaches with ramipril and rosiglitazone Medications) study, an international clinical trial testing ways to prevent type 2 diabetes. Jean-Francois Leprince, Aventis Pharma Inc. president, said the latest sponsorship "reaffirms our commitment to the diabetes field and complements the extensive research and development efforts underway within our own global organization to find innovative therapies to combat and treat an illness which will soon take on epidemic proportions." John Kelton, dean and vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences said the company's generous gift "will allow Dr. Gerstein to continue to look for ways to prevent the consequences of diabetes, and indeed diabetes itself - a disease that affects one in 14 Canadian adults over the age of 20."

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posted on Oct. 18: Tribal philosophies, environmental health focus of two public lectures tonight

Spiritual tribal philosophies, the ramifications of Sept. 11 and environmental health in the 21st century will be topics of discussion at two public lectures on campus tonight. The indigenous studies program and the Centre for Peace Studies present Leon Secatero, chair of the Indigenous Elders of the Americas, who will explore spiritual tribal philosophies and prophecies in his talk My Ancestors Speak. Secatero will be followed by Ovide Mercredi, former national chief and current political adviser of the Assembly of First Nations, who will speak about the past in his talk, Listen to My Ancestors, and will explore how the themes of the past can guide us after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The free public lecture takes place tonight (Oct. 18) in Health Sciences Centre, room 1A1 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. The presentations by Secatero and Mercredi are part of the 2001 Indigenous Studies Lecture Series. For more information, contact Cassandra Lo in Indigenous Studies at ext. 27226. As well, the McMaster Institute for Environment and Health (MIEH) presents its fourth annual public lecture entitled Environmental Health in the 21st Century: Challenges to Decision Making with guest speaker Trevor Hancock. Hancock has been described as one of the top 10 health futurists in the world. He is a public health physician and health promotion consultant working primarily for local, provincial and national governments, as well as the World Health Organization. Hancock's lecture will explore three key environmental challenges: ecotoxicity (the wide-spread contamination of ecosystems); the physical, mental and social health of our built environments (from indoor air quality to urban sprawl) and global environmental change. The free public lecture will run from 7:30 to 9 p.m. tonight (Oct. 18) in Health Sciences Centre, room 1A6. (End of story)

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posted on Oct. 16: University mail service disrupted

The following message was distributed to the McMaster community today from Ron Angus, director of Risk Management Services: Dear members of the McMaster community: Mail services on campus have been temporarily interrupted today after a member of the mail services staff was concerned about a package received by the University. Security Services were immediately called. The normal procedure for a suspicious package is for security to inform Hamilton police who are now on campus investigating. There is no evidence that the package is dangerous but the current heightened sense of security across the country means that every precaution needs to be taken. The mailroom in the Michael G. DeGroote building has been closed. However, access to other areas near the mailroom is not restricted. Mailroom staff are assisting police with the investigation. Although the majority of mail at McMaster passes through either the Faculty of Health Sciences or the MGD mailroom, other mail is sometimes directly delivered to offices and is dealt with by other employees. Here are a few tips to help identify suspicious mail: No return address Return address and postmark are not from the same area Grease stains or discolouration Strange odors Hand written or poorly typed addresses A common sense approach is best but if you have any concerns about mail you receive please call security at ext. 24281. (End of story)

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