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SPread Sheet Volume 2, Issue 7, June 2010

educating, informing, entertaining, inspiring

Standardized Patient Program Newsletter

IN THIS ISSUE

FEATURES

SESSIONS PENDING 3

SPIN AND AROUND 3

SYMPTOMS . . .

Hyperactive Reflexes 5

ARTICLES

U OF M NAMES POSTL NEW

DEAN OF MEDICINE 2

SPOTLIGHT ON . . .

Shaun Beach 4

REFLECTIONS ON HOPE 6

MORE NORTHERN RESIDENCY

POSITIONS 6

TREATING WOUNDS

PSYCHOLOGICAL 8

REDUCING DIABETES RISK WITH

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY? 9

SPENDING MONEY 12

STUDENTS BECOME PHYSICIANS

Questions or comments? Call 480-1307

The SPread Sheet is your newsletter; if you have any articles, photos, opinions, thoughts,

trivia, anecdotes, pictures, or jokes to contribute for the next issue, please do so by August 31, 2010. Contact information is provided in the sidebar on page two. We reserve the right

to edit any and all submissions for length and content in collaboration with the contributor. Submissions that are not included in one issue may be included in subsequent issues.

SUBMISSIONS, PLEASE

The University of Manitoba held

the Convocation Ceremony for medical graduates on Thursday,

May 13, 2010, conferring degrees to 104 medical school graduates:

52 female and 52 male, including 20 graduates from rural Manitoba

and two Aboriginal graduates.

“Today we are celebrating 104 graduates. The University of

Manitoba medical school has been educating physicians in the Prov-ince for 127 years. We are extremely proud of this class and their

achievements,” said Dr. J. Dean Sandham, Dean, Faculty of Medi-cine.

“We are also proud that we have the highest retention of gradu-

ates to residency programs in their home province in English Can-ada. My congratulations to the graduates, family and friends and to

our faculty and staff.”

The Convocation also included the presentation of an Honorary

Doctorate degree to University of Manitoba alumnus, Dr. Michael Rachlis. The title of “professor emeritus” was bestowed upon Dr.

Patrick Choy, Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics; Dr. Jane Evans, Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics; and

Dr. Daniel Sitar, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Source: U of M e-memo, Wednesday, May 19, 2010

http://myuminfo.umanitoba.ca/index.asp?

sec=2&too=100&eve=8&dat=5/13/2010&npa=22560


Contact the SPread Sheet:

Office B, Clinical Learning & Simulation Facility

Level 000, Brodie Centre

727 McDermot Avenue

Winnipeg, MB, Canada

R3E 3P5

Phone:

(204) 480-1307

Fax:

(204) 977-5682

E-mail:

[email protected]

Home Page:

http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/medicine/education/ed_dev/

spp.html

NEWSLETTER EDITOR

Tim Webster

SP PROGRAM STAFF

Shaun Beach,

Operations Director

CLSF / SP Program

Lezlie Brooks,

SP Coordinator

Holly Harris,

SP Coordinator

Tim Webster,

SP Coordinator

Cathy MacDonald,

Office Assistant

Copyright © 2010 University of Manitoba

Permission to reproduce and/or distribute any of the material contained

herein must be obtained from the Standardized

Patient Program.

ISSN 1715-5452


U OF M NAMES POSTL NEW DEAN OF MEDICINE

The University of Manitoba Board of Governors’

executive and governance committee has approved the appointment of Dr. Brian Postl as professor and

dean, Faculty of Medicine, for a five-year term begin-ning July 1, 2010.

“Dr. Postl is a highly respected, recognized leader in academic medicine who has demonstrated himself

to be an innovative and effective leader and adminis-trator,’’ says Joanne Keselman, vice-president (academic) and pro-

vost at the University of Manitoba. “Given his unique skill set and personal attributes, combined with his strategic knowledge of our

unique opportunities and challenges in academic medicine and health sciences, more generally, I believe that the Faculty can look

forward to a very promising future under his leadership.”

Dr. Postl is a graduate of the University of Manitoba. He received his doctor of medicine degree in 1976 and the Royal College Fellow-

ship in Community Medicine and in Pediatrics in 1981 and 1982, re-spectively. He is the founding president and CEO of the Winnipeg

Regional Health Authority (WRHA), a position he has held since 1999.

Dr. Postl has served as head of pediatrics and child health and as head of community health sciences at the University of Manitoba. He

has also served as director of the J.S. Hildes Northern Medical Unit and division of community and northern medicine and as director of

the Faculty of Medicine’s community medical residency program.

Dr. Postl’s research, published works and professional involve-

ment focus on Aboriginal child health, circumpolar health and hu-man resource planning. His contributions in these areas, combined

with his experience as a visiting pediatrician to communities in

northern Manitoba and Nunavut, contributed to him earning the Ca-nadian Association of Pediatric Health Centre’s Child Health Award of

Distinction in 2006 and the Inter-Professional Association on Native Employment’s Champion of Aboriginal Employment award in 2007.

Postl serves on a number of committees and boards of provincial and national associations, foundations, institutes and other organi-

zations.

“I am excited about taking on this new role as dean of medicine

and expanding distributed medical education throughout the prov-ince as well as growing the research enterprise of the faculty,” says

Postl. “As Manitoba’s only medical school, we are committed to edu-cating and training physicians to address the health care needs of all

Dr. Brian Postl

(continued on page 4)


SESSIONS PENDING

NB: This listing is for informational purposes only; some of the sessions listed are

already in progress. If you are required for a role, you will be contacted directly by an SP Coordinator. If there is a discrepancy between the information provided here

and a confirmation form you have received, please regard the information from your SPC as correct.


• “Welcome!” to new Operations Director,

CLSF / SP Program, Shaun Beach. See the SPOTLIGHT ON ... feature on page 4 in

this issue for more information about our newest team member.

• The phone number for the Standardized Patient Program Training Room, 203 Bro-

die Centre, is 272-3164. Please use this number if an SPC is expecting you for a

training session but for some reason you aren’t on time.

• Please be sure to provide our Office Assis-tant, Cathy MacDonald, with any

changes in your personal or contact infor-

mation as they occur. You can reach her at [email protected] or at

480-1308.

• We are still compiling a catalogue of pho-

tos of all the SPs and Applicants in the program. The Coordinators don’t know

what each and every SP and Applicant looks like, and a catalogue will help us to

fill roles more easily. If you haven’t al-ready, please forward an 8” x 10” picture

of yourself – preferably in black and white

SPIN AND AROUND

– to the SP office. You can send your pic-

tures electronically to:

[email protected]

. . . or mail them by regular post:

Attn: Tim Webster, SPC

Office B, CLSF Level 000, Brodie Centre

727 McDermot Avenue Winnipeg, MB R3E 3P5

• The U of M Re-shop has new inventory available for re-use. The Re-Shop is open

to students, staff, and faculty to donate items that are unwanted but reus-

able, browse through the inventory, and

take away something useable. It’s free to browse, and best of all, every item available

for re-use is free. (Note: It is not necessary to bring an item in to take something

away). Call the Waste Prevention Office to view or claim an item in stock: 474-9608.

Visit the website for more information:

http://www.umanitoba.ca/campus/

physical_plant/sustainability/inaction/599.htm

Pharmacy 1100 / Case Review: June 21

Pharmacy 2100 / Case Review: June 22

IMG Program / MURTA Session: June 29

IMG Program / CTA Sessions:

June 21, 22, 24, 2010

IRHA / CTA Session: July 15

Faculty of Dentistry / Video Shoot:

August 2010

There are no other sessions currently

scheduled for July or August, but Coordinators will be filling roles for the fall sessions during

these months.

A prompt response to phone and e-mail

messages from the SPP Office is the best way to confirm your continuing involvement.


U OF M NAMES POSTL NEW DEAN OF MEDICINE (continued from page 2)


SPOTLIGHT ON . . .

Manitobans whether they reside in urban, ru-

ral, northern or remote communities.”

Dr J. Dean Sandham has been instrumen-

tal in the progress of the Faculty of Medicine since he was appointed Dean in October 2004.

As Dean, his priorities have included the ex-pansion of the medical school; distributed

education; recruitment and retention of fac-ulty; building relationships with the public and

private sector to support faculty growth and

development including grants, endowed chairs and professorships; and ongoing quality im-

provement in all facets of the faculty.

Source: U of M e-memo, April 7, 2010



Shaun Beach joined

us as the new Opera-tions Director on May

25, 2010: “my role is to direct the day-to-day

operations of the CLSF/SP Program.” He comes

to us from the Depart-ment of Surgery, Sec-

tion of Orthopedics where he was the Manager of Physician Services for the last two years.

“Surprisingly, this is only the third em-ployer I have ever had,” he recounts. He

joined the Canadian Forces at 17 as a reserv-ist, the regular Forces at 19, where he served

as a Marine Engineering Technician with the

Canadian Navy for 6 years, earning a Diploma in Marine Engineering Technology with St.

Lawrence College along the way.

Shaun was then given an the opportunity

to attend university under Canadian Force’s subsidy and as a result earned a Bachelor of

Commerce, with honors in Finance, from the University of Manitoba.

After completion of his degree he switched his occupation with the military to Health Care

Administrator, also earning a certificate in Health Services management from Ryerson

University. He pursued this career for the

next 14 years until retiring from the Canadian

Forces and joining the Department of Surgery in 2008.

Born and bred in Regina, it should be no surprise that Shaun is a Riders fan, often

checking in with the Regina Leaderpost for all the latest updates on his favourite team. The

second of four children, Shaun has three girls of his own “which occupy much of my time,”

he grins. With what time is left he enjoys camping, sports, home renovations, garden-

ing, woodworking and movies. He even plays a bit of acoustic guitar!

Thanks to his military career he has lived

from one coast to the next, with the most sig-nificant stops being in Regina, Cornwall, Hali-

fax, Victoria, Brandon, and, of course, Winni-peg.

He jumped at the chance to be involved in “something new and cutting edge . . . simula-

tion is an emerging and exciting part of medi-cal education. There is immense capacity for

growth.”

Shaun has a big job ahead as he manages and integrates the CLSF and SP Program

teams, but his background and experience certainly seem to have equipped him for the

challenge. Welcome to the team!



SYMPTOMS . . . Hyperactive Reflexes

Decreased reflexes can’t be simulated any-

more than high blood pressure. They are autonomic responses beyond the control of an

SP. The best chance for accurate simulation is to train an SP with naturally decreased re-

flexes to simulate hyperactive reflexes.

Deep tendon reflexes are quick muscle

contractions produced by a hammer striking the tendon of a muscle. The tendon is a hard

cord of tissue that connects muscle to bone. A knee jerk is produced by a contraction of

the muscles in the thigh when the tendon just below the kneecap is hit with a reflex ham-

mer. Hitting the Achilles tendon at the back of the ankle produces the ankle jerk.

There are a number of these reflexes in

many places on the arms and legs and in any of these locations, the deep tendon reflex re-

sponse can be increased by using “Jendrassik” reinforcement (named for Hungarian physi-

cian Ernst Jendrassik, 1858-1921).¹

In this maneuver, the

examinee is asked to “hook” both hands together

and then try to pull them apart forcibly before the re-

flex hammer strikes the re-flex tendon (see adjacent

picture); the reflex re-

sponse will be greater. This maneuver is particu-

larly useful in that even if the patient is aware that it

is just a distraction in order to elicit a larger reflex response, it still functions properly.³

These increased reflex responses can be simulated by an SP contracting a muscle in a

part of the body unseen by the examiner, for example, the muscles of the back. When the

SP sees that the examiner is about to strike the tendon where an increased tendon reflex

Jendrassik Maneuver Photo by Lucy Von Korff²

should occur, the SP pulls his or her shoulder

blades together as hard as possible. If the back muscles might be seen, the SP can

tighten the jaw or clench the buttocks.

The muscles tightened can be anywhere

else in the body; they do not need to be near the reflex being tested, but the SP must be

careful to screen the effort so that it does not produce any noticeable movement elsewhere

in the body. Practice will help the SP identify which muscles, when tightened, produce the

best effect without being seen an examiner.

With this method, an SP can simulate hy-

peractive reflexes on one side of the body, in

both legs, or wherever else is appropriate. If, by chance, the SP fails to cause the hyperac-

tive response to be elicited, he or she should not attempt to produce a hyperactive reflex

by voluntarily contracting the muscles in-volved in the reflex. This response would be

too late and obviously false to the examiner.

Adapted from Training Standardized Patients

to Have Physical Findings, by Howard S. Bar-rows, M.D., Southern Illinois University,

School of Medicine, Springfield Illinois, 1999, pp. 16 & 17

References:

1. The Free Dictionary http://medical-

dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Jendrassik's+maneuver

2. Photo from: sfzero.org Used with permission: http://

creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/

3. All Experts http://www.associatepublisher.com/

e/j/je/jendrassik_maneuver.htm

(continued on next page)



REFLECTIONS ON HOPE

MORE NORTHERN RESIDENCY POSITIONS

University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine students took a holistic

look at health at the 9th annual Medical Art Show, exploring the theme “Hope: Strong Communities for a Strong World.”

Featuring paintings, sketches and poetry from medical students inspired by their experience in health care, the Medical Art Show ran

from March 29, 2010 to April 1, 2010 in the Brodie Centre Atrium.

“This is one of the few opportunities medical students get to ar-

tistically express themselves and the experiences that they go through during their training,” said Mandeep Mahal, Med II student

in the Faculty of Medicine and a member of the planning committee. “This year, we wanted to take a more holistic look at health and

health care. Specifically, we wanted to explore different perspec-tives on how hope can shape the individuals and communities.”

Medical students created a Hope Tree, a seven-foot-tall art installation piece displayed in

the Brodie Centre Atrium, and encouraged others to bring the tree to life by donating change into the trunk of the tree. Proceeds went to support two charities started by University of

Manitoba medical students:

• Giving Back, a free summer drop in program for school aged children in central Winni-

peg (www.giving-back.ca)

• Little Travellers, a program helping women affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa

(www.littletravellers.net)

Source: U of M e-memo, March 29, 2010

http://myuminfo.umanitoba.ca/index.asp?sec=2&too=100&eve=8&dat=3/29/2010&npa=22136

Federal funding for a University of Manitoba pilot project to in-

crease the number of family medicine residency positions for Canada's North was announced on May 10.

The expansion of the Northern and Remote Family Medicine Residency Program, which constitutes an investment of just over

$6.9 million, will provide extensive medical training for 15 addi-tional family medicine residents over the next four years. These

family physicians will have the necessary training and experience to practice medicine in under-serviced areas in rural and isolated

regions of Manitoba, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.

“The Government of Canada is working to ensure that all Canadians have access to quality

health care services,” said Minister Aglukkaq. “This project will strengthen the number of fully trained family doctors qualified to deliver health care to patients in Canada's rural and

remote communities.”

See photo cutline at end of this article.


MORE NORTHERN RESIDENCY POSITIONS (continued from previous page)


“We are grateful to the federal government for its extremely generous support to the

Northern and Remote Family Medicine Residency Program,” said Dr. David Barnard, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Manitoba. “The program will improve access to physicians,

health-care delivery and service to northern and remote communities, provide vital technol-ogy supports, and encourage more doctors to remain living and working in all areas of Mani-

toba.”

The pilot project will concentrate on northern and Aboriginal health issues to provide more

equitable health care for northern and Aboriginal communities and increase tele-health and tele-education capabilities for northern and remote residents and physicians.

“The Government of Manitoba is delighted with this significant federal investment to ex-pand our unique, made-in-Manitoba pilot project launched just last year,” said the Honour-

able Theresa Oswald, Minister of Health for Manitoba. “These new residency positions will go a long way toward improving care for rural, northern and Aboriginal Manitobans.”

“The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is pleased to support the expansion of the Northern and

Remote Family Medicine Residency Program,” said Grand Chief Ron Evans, Assembly of Mani-toba Chiefs. “The success of this program demonstrates the importance of collaborative

working partnerships between the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Medicine, the Manitoba First Nation Centre of Aboriginal Health Research and

Health Canada to ensure sustainable and accessible health care for First Nations people in northern and remote communities in Manitoba.”

Partners in this project include Manitoba Health, J.A. Hildes Northern Medical Unit, Mani-toba Telehealth, Manitoba Regional Health Authorities, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and

the Government of Nunavut.

Funding of $6,939,419 over four years is provided by Health Canada through the Pan-

Canadian Health Human Resources Strategy.

In photo above (left to right):

• Dr. Sandy MacDonald, Director of Medical Affairs, Nunavut

• Grand Chief Ron Evans, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs • Theresa Oswald, Minister of Health, Province of Manitoba

• Leona Aglukkaq, Health Minister, Government of Canada • Dr. David Barnard, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Manitoba

• Dr. Cameron Goldie, Resident, Northern and Remote Family Medicine Residency Program • Dr. J. Dean Sandham, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba

Source: U of M e-memo, May 12, 2010



DID YOU KNOW . . .

. . . the only polar bears that hibernate are pregnant females?

Source: http://www.alltrivia.net/facts/polarbears.htm


TREATING WOUNDS PSYCHOLOGICAL


The technology used to treat the physical injuries of trauma vic-

tims – including burn patients – has made huge leaps forward in re-cent years. The result? Doctors can save more lives. Now they

want to know if they’re doing all they can to treat a patient’s mental wounds.

In the last half century, medical professionals caring for burn sur-vivors have gained a better understanding of how much and what

kind of fluids to administer, and how to keep burns free of infection.

“We can help people survive who have more devastating injuries

but the trouble is we don’t know whether or not we’re coping with their psychological well-being as well as we should be,” says Sarvesh Logsetty, head of the Firefighters Burn Unit at

Health Sciences Centre. The centre treats more than 300 trauma victims every year, includ-ing about 115 burn inpatients – one third of them are children.

Logsetty, along with principal investigator Darren Campbell and co-investigator Jitender

Sareen, are exploring the psychological consequences burn patients endure and how they manage their emotions. Participants are shown a series of images on a computer screen

while researchers note their response. Some of the pictures are of benign, everyday items or events while others are more emotionally charged. They might depict an arguing couple or

an explicit injury, explains Campbell, a psychiatry professor. The study allows researchers to measure a burn survivor’s reaction to ordinary life events without following the person

around 24 hours a day.

They’re gauging the participants’ “reactivity” which tells them whether the individuals are

overreacting to things typically considered non-threatening, Campbell says. People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often have heightened responses and this “exaggerated

emotional reactivity seems to extend into everyday events,” adds Campbell.

The interviewers also offer gentle instructions to see whether the participants can control

their emotional reactions with some guidance.

A year into the study, preliminary findings show burn survivors have more intense emo-tional reactions and are less effective at using emotion regulation strategies. Surprisingly,

those with more severe burns had a “less intense emotional reaction” than those with more minor injuries, says Campbell, who believes those hurt more severely likely have improved

“perspective-taking.”

“Seeing some not-so-nice images on screen doesn’t have the same impact if they feel they

have had a very profound life-threatening event,” he says.

Eventually the researchers would like to take pictures of the participants’ brains using MRI

while they’re shown these emotionally evocative images to get a better idea of the brain’s ac-tivity. Campbell is already doing so with military soldiers coping with PTSD.

Logsetty, a general surgeon who specializes in burn and trauma care, treats patients who have suffered various forms of trauma – from burns and assaults (involving stabbing and gun

-shot wounds), to falls and motor vehicle collisions. In his unit, a

Left to right: Faculty of Medi-

cine researchers Jitender

Sareen, Sarvesh Logsetty,

and Darren Campbell




TREATING WOUNDS PSYCHOLOGICAL (continued from previous page)

REDUCING DIABETES RISK WITH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY?

psychology and psychiatry team works closely with trauma patients and medications are pre-

scribed if a patient shows clear signs of PTSD but Logsetty would like to know if there are ways to predict who develops these symptoms, and if so, prevent that from happening.

Sareen too would like to know why one person develops mental health problems and an-other does not. “It’s not clear,” the psychiatrist says.




Jonathan

McGavock, assis-tant professor in

the Faculty of Medi-cine at the Univer-

sity of Manitoba and research scien-

tist at the Manitoba Institute of Child

Health is the recipi-ent of the Cosmopolitan Foundation of Canada

Inc.’s annual award for diabetes research. McGavock was presented with the $98,000

award at a local Cosmopolitan Club of Winni-peg event on April 12.

McGavock will be studying the impact of

rigorous physical activity on risk factors for type 2 diabetes in overweight adolescents.

The study titled “Physical activity for Over-WEight youth at Risk for type 2 diabetes,”

POWER for short, will measure the role of regular aerobic exercise on insulin sensitivity,

a predictor of type 2 diabetes risk.

The study aims to find the optimal amount

of time and intensity of physical activity re-quired to improve insulin sensitivity and ulti-

mately allow overweight Canadian youth to modify their lifestyles to avoid development of

type 2 diabetes.

“I congratulate Dr. McGavock on being awarded this funding from the Cosmopolitan

Foundation and look forward to the results of

this important study,” said Gary Glavin, asso-

ciate vice-president (research) at the Univer-sity of Manitoba. “This research will improve

the lives of Canadian youth who are increas-ingly at risk for development of type 2 diabe-

tes.” Type 2 diabetes mellitus in youth has in-

creased by a factor of 20 across Canada in the past 25 years. The team of researchers at

the University of Manitoba and the Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg are one of the first

groups in the world to recognize this trend in their patient population. Type 2 diabetes is

the fastest growing chronic disease in Canada and costs close to $5 billion annually.

“This award of $98,000 to Dr. McGavock

more than doubles the previous award given to the University of Manitoba in 2005,” said

Gary Wensel, President of the Cosmopolitan Club of Winnipeg. “Our Club members have

been diligent in their fundraising efforts in or-der to support these important research ef-

forts to find a cure for Canadians afflicted with diabetes.”

Every year, the Cosmopolitan Foundation Canada Inc. member clubs undertake fund-

raising activities to support research projects in search for a cure for diabetes. The Cosmo-

politan Foundation Canada Inc. has granted

approximately $1 million to foster diabetes re-search. Most of the funds are directed to uni-

versities in Western Canada, however, INGAP research at McGill

Centre: Jonathan McGavock, assistant

professor in the Faculty of Medicine.




REDUCING DIABETES RISK WITH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY? (continued from previous page)

received a significant grant.

The POWER project receives funding support from the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Lawson Foundation, the Manitoba Institute of Child Health and the Canadian Institutes of

Health Research.

The Cosmopolitan Foundation Canada Inc. is the charitable arm of Cosmopolitan Interna-

tional in Canada. Cosmopolitan International was formed in 1918. The 2,000 members are in sixty-seven clubs; there are approximately 300 members in 13 Clubs in Canada – 4 in Al-

berta, 1 in Manitoba and 8 in Saskatchewan. Cosmopolitan Clubs support local needs in their communities and unit to fight diabetes.

The Manitoba Institute of Child Health is the research division of The Children’s Hospital Foundation. The Institute is dedicated to excellence in pediatric research. At the Institute,

more than 220 world-class pediatric medical researchers, technical staff, students and sup-port staff are involved in over $6 million of research and clinical trial activities each year. For

more detailed information, visit www.mich.ca.

Source: u of m e-memo, 14 APR 10



RESEARCH SUPPORT

As we get older, our ability to process spa-

tial information declines. Thanks to new gov-ernment funding, researcher Debbie Kelly is

investigating what aging does to our brains, specifically how it affects the way we navigate

our way around.

The new Canada Research Chair (CRC) in

Comparative Cognition, Kelly is the first re-searcher to use a bird model – pigeons – to

understand age-related spatial degeneration. She’ll monitor spatial decline not only associ-

ated with normal aging but with degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

“Using birds offers a unique opportunity to

study the brain and its functions since their anatomy provides a natural split-brain situa-

tion. Therefore, the function of each hemi-sphere can be studied independently and re-

peatedly within the same animal while it navi-gates around its environment,” said Kelly, a

recent recruit to the University of Manitoba.

Her CRC appointment was announced to-

day at the University of Manitoba by Minister

of State for Democratic Reform Steven Fletcher, coinciding with the national an-

nouncement in Ottawa. Renewed support for four existing U of M Chairs was also an-

nounced. Chairholders are research leaders or rising stars in natural sciences and engi-

neering, health sciences, or social sciences and humanities. The University of Manitoba

has 49 Canada Research Chairs.

“This government is investing in research,

science and technology to improve Canadians’ quality of life, create jobs and strengthen the

economy,” said Minister Fletcher. “The Can-ada Research Chairs program is helping our

universities develop, attract and retain tal-

ented people, strengthening our capacity for leading-edge research, while building eco-

nomic opportunities and the jobs of the future for Canadians.”

The new funding is worth a combined $4.4 million, plus infra-





RESEARCH SUPPORT (continued from previous page)

structure support.

“I congratulate the new and renewed Chairs,” said David Bar-nard, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Manitoba.

“We are home to many outstanding scientists and scholars, and continue to be the chosen university for researchers who are lead-

ers in their field.”

The four renewed Chairs are James Blanchard, Harvey Chochi-

nov, Peter Loewen, and Verena Menec.

James Blanchard, Canada Research Chair in Epidemiology and Global Public Health, is in-

vestigating why some people get sick and other don’t, and why some communities are more at risk than others. The epidemiologist studies the local and global distribution of communi-

cable and non-communicable diseases like HIV in India, and diabetes mellitus and inflamma-tory bowel disease in Canada. His research aims to better understand the underlying deter-

minants of epidemics, and ultimately develop effective public health strategies to better allo-

cate health services, and reduce disease spread.

Harvey Max Chochinov, Canada Research Chair in Palliative Care, will continue to conduct

studies that are helping to shape and improve palliative care around the world. Chochinov’s work on dignity at end-of-life has provided new insights on how to understand, identify and

address various sources of distress seen amongst the terminally ill. As Chair, Chochinov has become a pioneer in e-health by founding the Canadian Virtual Hospice, an online interactive

network which provides support for about 1,000 Canadians daily.

Peter Loewen, Canada Research Chair in Protein Chemistry, does research that focuses on

the structure and function of the proteins which play a key role in the promotion of health and the combating of disease. His work involves the characterization of cellular responses to

oxidative stress, which occurs when reactive oxygen – commonly called ‘free radicals’ in health food stores – accumulates faster than it can be removed by our bodies. Loewen is also

interested in the mechanisms by which a certain group of enzymes destroy hydrogen perox-

ide before it breaks down and damages cellular components.

Verena Menec, Canada Research Chair in Healthy Aging, looks at the relationship between

the physical and social environment that people live in and their health. Menec’s goal is to make communities as age-friendly as possible in order to promote healthy, active aging. She

identifies aging issues using creative techniques – for example, seniors are equipped with cameras to record age-friendly features and barriers in their community. Menec’s research is

done in partnership with government to increase the likelihood it will influence policy, pro-grams and services.

Chochinov and Loewen were each awarded a $1.4 million Tier 1 Chair over seven years. Blanchard, Kelly, and Menec each received a $500,000 Tier 2 Chair over five years. The new

CRC will also received $124,952 from the Canada Foundation for Innovation. The foundation is an independent corporation created by the Government of Canada to fund research infra-

structure.

See photo cutline at end of this article.



RESEARCH SUPPORT (continued from previous page)

In photo above (left to right):

• Dr. David Barnard, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Manitoba • Dr. James Blanchard, CRC in Epidemiology & Global Public Health

• Dr. Veren Menec, CRC in Healthy Aging • The Honourable Stephen Fletcher, Minister of State for Democratic Reform and MP for

Charleswood-St. James • Dr. J. Dean Sandham, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba

• Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov, CRC in Palliative Care


http://myuminfo.umanitoba.ca/index.asp?sec=2&too=100&eve=8&dat=3/26/2010&npa=22120

SPENDING MONEY

A research team headed by David Laibson, Ph.D., of Harvard University and the National

Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Mass., did MRI scans on the brains of volunteers who were asked to choose between receiving money at an earlier or later date.

The object was to explore human decision-making, and researchers found that it is appar-ently influenced by the interactions of two distinct systems in the brain, which showed up on

the MRIs. Participants were asked to choose between receiving $27.10 today versus $31.25 in a month.

“Our research suggests that consumers have competing economic value systems. Our emotional brain has a hard time imaging the future, even though our logical brain clearly

sees the future consequences of our current actions,” Dr. Laibson says. “Our emotional brain wants to max out the credit card, even though our logical brain knows we should save for re-

tirement.”¹

* * *

If you had a million dollars ($1,000,000) . . . you’d be rich, according to the Barenaked

Ladies song, and if you spent $1 every minute of every day, it would take you almost two years to spend it all.

If, however, you started with a billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) and spent $1 every second of every day, it would take you almost 32 years to spend it all . . . AND if you earned a re-

spectable 10% interest, the unspent money would double every seven years and you would never be able to spend it all!²

References:

1. http://discoveryhealthcme.discovery.com/quiz/quiz.html

2. http://www.wherehaveibeen.com/index.php?module=faq&action=trivia

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