2009 Calendar |
Jana Rieger Gallagher Park, Edmonton
Although she has lived in Edmonton for most of her life, Heritage Population Health Investigator Dr. Jana Rieger attended her first Edmonton Folk Music Festival only six years ago. "It was an absolutely perfect summer night on Gallagher Hill. The festival and the location really show off the beauty and vibrancy of the city. I remember thinking that if I was a visitor, I would think this is a great place to live." Edmonton also happens to be one of the best places for Dr. Rieger to pursue her research. She studies how patients cope following treatment for head and neck cancers. Although radiation treatment can eliminate certain types of cancer, it can also destroy salivary glands. Without saliva, eating and speaking become very difficult. Society tends to judge people with such impairments harshly. Dr. Rieger's team has developed a standardized approach to assess various functions (speech, swallowing, and chewing) and quality of life after treatment. Edmonton now leads an international network of centres using these standard measures. "By combining the data from clinical trials, we'll see much more quickly than before how well treatments are working. Our objective is better outcomes for patients." |
