Three outstanding students win health research scholarships
(Edmonton, Alberta) Wednesday, February 25, 2009 ... PhD students doing medical research at three universities are being honoured with the 2009 Lionel E. McLeod Health Research Scholarship. The award remembers Dr. Lionel McLeod, the founding president of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR).
Johanna Schuetz from the University of British Columbia (UBC), Olivier Julien from the University of Alberta (U of A), and Michael Galic from the University of Calgary (U of C) are being presented with their scholarships at a luncheon on Thursday, February 26, 2009 at Alumni House at the U of A in Edmonton.
The award, to be presented by Dr. McLeod's widow, Barbara, honours the late first president of AHFMR (1981 - 1990). Dr. McLeod was Head of Endocrinology at the University of Alberta (1957 - 1969), and, in 1962, set up in Edmonton the first chronic renal dialysis program in Canada. Dr. McLeod was Dean of Medicine at the University of Calgary (1973 - 1981) and President and CEO of the UBC Hospitals in Vancouver in the early 1990's.
Johanna Schuetz is doing her PhD in the Department of Medical Genetics in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC. Her research focuses on the genetics of susceptibility to non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer with the fifth highest incidence in Canada. New knowledge in this area could help better predict and treat this deadly cancer. During her academic career Schuetz has received awards from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, and UBC.
Olivier Julien is pursuing his PhD in the Department of Biochemistry in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the U of A. His research focuses on how normal prion proteins become converted into infectious forms, causing prion diseases. His research aims to provide new insights into mad cow disease, and other disorders including Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and Parkinson's. Throughout his career, he has received awards from the CIHR, the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec, Université Laval, and the U of A.
Michael Galic is earning his PhD in the Department of Neuroscience in the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at U of C's Faculty of Medicine. He has received awards from CIHR, NSERC, and U of C. Galic's animal research focuses on why infection and inflammation during early life can lead to the brain being more susceptible to seizures in adulthood. His goal is to better understand seizure disorders, and ultimately improve treatments for people with epilepsy.
Reporters are welcome to attend the awards luncheon. It takes place Thursday, February 26, 2009 from 11:30 am - 1:30 pm at Alumni House at the University of Alberta, 11515 Saskatchewan Drive NW, Edmonton, Alberta.
Photos of the three awards recipients are available on request.
For more information or interviews, please contact Karen Thomas, 1.877.423.5727 x225
For reporters attending on February 26, please contact Dwayne Brunner, 1.403.619.4556 (cell).
BACKGROUND
The annual Lionel E. McLeod Health Research Scholarship is given to outstanding students from the universities of British Columbia, Calgary, and Alberta who demonstrate promise in human health research. The award provides $21,500 to support each of the recipients' studies.
Since 1980, AHFMR has committed more than $1 billion to researchers at the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, and the University of Lethbridge. AHFMR leads health research in Alberta's innovation system. The Foundation's endowment supports 250 senior level scientists at Alberta universities and hospitals, and more than 350 young researchers in training.