2009 Calendar |
Sam Weiss Calgary Saddledome
A hockey fanatic from childhood, Heritage Scientist Dr. Sam Weiss says choosing the Saddledome as one of his favourite places was a no-brainer. Moving to Alberta for graduate studies in the late 1970s meant leaving his beloved Montreal Canadiens behind. Although no other team could completely replace them in his affections, the Calgary Flames eventually found a place in his heart. As it turned out, the move to Alberta opened up many new interests beyond supporting a different hockey team. At the University of Calgary Dr. Weiss made headlines with his discovery that stem cells-the basic, primitive cells from which all other cells derive-exist in the adult brain. The discovery was significant. It allowed scientists to hope that one day they might find a way of stimulating these cells to repair the brain after injury or disease. "Understanding what makes stem cells tick has led us to unravel many of the signals that tell stem cells to make new brain cells," says Dr. Weiss. "Ultimately, we want to use that knowledge to harness this powerful self-repair mechanism-ask the stem cells to go somewhere else and replace cells that have been lost due to injury or disease." In 2008, in recognition of his discovery, Dr. Weiss was honoured with one of the medical community's most coveted prizes-a Gairdner International Award. |
