Awards & Achievements

Congratulations Kirk!!  Way to go!!      posted January 30, 2012

FUEL FOR MANITOBA RESEARCH

$2.2 Million in funding from Government of Canada

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) announced today it has awarded $2,197,648 to eight University of Manitoba researchers from the Leaders Opportunity Fund (LOF). Half of the U of M researchers are from the Faculty of Medicine. The projects range from advancing knowledge about Arctic climate change to the control and prevention of infectious diseases to improving cereal crop yields.

“Canadians from coast to coast to coast can be assured that Canada’s research community is bringing its talents to bear on the problems that matter to them,” said Gilles G. Patry, Canada Foundation for Innovation president and chief executive officer. “This round of investment illustrates the value of research and innovation in building stronger, healthier and more prosperous communities.”

The University of Manitoba recipients are: Belay Ayele, Kangmin Duan, Jean-Eric Ghia, Robert Gulden, Richard Keijzer, Kirk McManus, Søren Rysgaard and John Wilkins.

“These funds will support these eight innovators and explorers in their quest for new knowledge,” said Digvir S. Jayas, vice-president (research and international) at the University of Manitoba. “Their success in the LOF competition recognizes their research expertise and will ensure it continues to grow.”

   
The Faculty of Medicine recipients and projects are:

Jean-Eric Ghia, Faculty of Medicine, received $159,726 to research the neuroendocrine control of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a chronic recurring intestinal disorder represented mainly by ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Approximately 200,000 Canadians live with IBD every day. This research program seeks to address the interrelationships between the brain, the endocrine system and the immune system in IBD and expand the breadth of the University of Manitoba’s IBD Clinical and Research Centre, one of the world’s foremost clinical research programs in IBD.

Richard Keijzer, Faculty of Medicine and Manitoba Institute of Child Health, received $159,987 to establish a Prenatal Therapeutic Intervention Research Facility to treat congential anomalies in utero (before the baby is born) using nanomaterials in order to improve the odds of survival and quality of life for these babies and their parents. An example of one congenital condition that will be investigated is congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), an inborn hole in the diaphragm. Every year approximately 50 babies are born with this anomaly in Canada.

Kirk McManus, Faculty of Medicine, received $160,000 to purchase state-of-the-art instrumentation that will advance the field of colorectal cancer research. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in Canada. McManus’ research will explore the basis for abnormal chromosome numbers found in colorectal cancers, seeking to identify genes required for chromosome stability in humans and develop new therapies that will be transferrable to other tumour types, including breast, lymphoma and lung.

John Wilkins, Faculty of Medicine and Manitoba Centre for Proteomics and Systems Biology, received $386,202 to purchase a highly specialized mass spectrometer which will be integrated with protein functionality in biology and medicine. This new equipment is key to further research advances in the area of kidney transplantation aimed at increasing survival rates, inflammatory diseases and cancer, and genetically engineering to enhance biofuel production. The research will have economic, health and environmental significance to all Canadians.
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Congratulations to Jamie Zagozewski, M.Sc. on successfully defending her thesis entitled:  "Transcriptional Regulation of the Retinoblastoma Family Member P107 by DLX Homeobox Genes in Central Nervous System Development"  Way to go Jamie & all the best wishes for your Ph.D. studies in Edmonton!  Monday, December 12, 2011

Congratulations to Meenal Moudgil, M.Sc. on successfully defending her thesis entitiled:  "Functional Analysis of Prolyl Hydroxylase X in Drug Resistance" Way to go Meenal!  Friday, December 9, 2011

Congratulations to Dr. Shilpa Chooniedass, on successfully defending her thesis entitled: “The Role of the Newly Discovered Steroid Receptor RNA Activator Protein (SRAP) in the Estrogen Signaling Pathway and its Implication in Breast Cancer
Way to go Shilpa!  January 27, 2011

Congratulations to Vanessa Pinto, M.Sc., on successfully defending her thesis entitled:  "DLX Homeobox Transcriptional Regulation of CRX and OTX2 Gene Expression During Vertebrate Retinal Development"  Way to go Vanessa!  - Monday, August 16, 2010

Congratulations to Caroline Shields, M.Sc., on successfully defending her thesis entitled:  "The Role of Dlc-2 in Ceramide Signaling to PGP Synthase"  Way to go Caroline!  - Friday, August 13, 2010


Congratulations to Dr. Meghan Brianne Azad, on successfully defending her thesis entitled: 
“The Role of BNIP3 in Proliferation and Hypoxia-Induced Autophagy: Implications for Cancer Therapy”  Way to go Meghan!  - Thursday, August 12, 2010

Congratulations to Zinnatun Nabi, M.Sc., on successfully defending his thesis entitled:  Characterization of RTEL/PCNA interaction in the maintenance of genomic stability.  Way to go Zinnatun!  - Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Congratulations to Lara Gushulak, M.Sc. student with Dr. Barb Triggs-Raine, on obtaining CIHR funding in the recent competition.  Way to go Lara!!


Congratulations to Dr. David Eisenstat  on recently receiving the
"2010 Paediatric Academic Leadership-Clinical Educator Award"


Hot off the press - MHRC 2010 Awards Announcement - Congratualations to the following BMG people:

Establishment Grant - Dr. Kirk McManus
Operating Grant - Dr. Mojgan Rastegar
Co-ordinated Fellowships - Dr. Rachelle Dillon, Post Doc with Dr. Mike Mowat

Co-ordinated Studentships -
Lara Gushulak
Samantha Pauls
Yueqin Zhou
Dilshad Khan
Jamie Zagozewski

Way to go!!


Congratulations to Dr. Yanmin Yang (Victor) on successfully defending his thesis entitled:  "Characterization of Pig Models of Myocardial Infarction and Its Repair Using MRI and Optical Spectroscopy and Imaging" Way to go Victor!   - May 17, 2010

Congratulations to Drs. Patrick Choy & Jane Evans on recently obtaining "Professor Emeritus Status" at the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Medicine Convocation on Thursday, May 13, 2010!   click for full announcement   
- posted May 14, 2010

Congratulations to Mehdi Eshraghi, M.Sc. on successfully defending his thesis entitled:   "PROX1 Utilizes Distinct Mechanisms to Induce Two Key Lymphatic Growth Factor Receptors: Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) and Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor-3 (FGFR-3)"   Way to go Mehdi!  - Dec 15/09

Congratulations to Pamela Miller, M.Sc. on successfully defending her thesis entitled:  “Characterization of the TRIM2/Tyro3 interaction and its involvement in the innate immune system”   Way to go Pamela!  - Dec 7/09

Congratulations to Dr. Trung Le on defending his Ph.D. thesis entitled: “Dlx Homeobox Genes and their Role in Interneuronal Differentiation and Migration in the Developing Forebrain” - Now... just 4th year Med School to finish!
Way to go Trung!  - Nov 2/09  ** Update:  Dr. Trung Le officially convocated from UofM on May 13, 2010!!


(Oct 20/09) Email received from April Tremblay, the award co-ordinator for STAM (Science Teacher's Association of Manitoba). STAM has decided to present Dr. Francis Amara with a $500 award for his contributions to science teaching in Manitoba. This award will be presented Friday, October 23, 2009 at the science teacher's conference at St.John's Ravenscourt.  Congratulations Francis!

Congratulations to Dr. Lin Li on defending her Ph.D. thesis entitled:  “The Role of SP1 in The Regulation of Estrogen Inducible Genes in Human Breast Cancer Cells"   Way to go Lin!   - Aug 27/09

Congratulations to Dilshad Khan, Graduate Student with Dr. Jim Davie on tranferrring to our Ph.D. Program.  Way to go Dilshad!

Congratulations to Yi Yan, M.Sc. on defending his thesis entitled:  Investigation of the biological relationship between of SRA/SRAP and Estrogen Receptor β in human breast cancer.  Way to go Yi!  - July 27/09

Congratulations to Dr. Teralee Burton on defending her Ph.D. Thesis entitled:  The Role of the Pro-cell Death Bcl-2 Family Member BNIP3 in Regulating GBM Tumor Cell Survival.  Way to go Teralee!!

Congratulations to Dr. Patrick Choy for recently receiving the Dr. and Mrs. D.R. Campbell Outreach Award.  The Dr. and Mrs. D.R. Campbell Outreach Award is given to university staff who consistently spend countless hours of their own time sharing their professional and scholarly experience in community service.        Congratulations Dr. Choy!!   posted May/09

Congratulations to Ludivine Coudière, M.Sc. on defending her thesis entitled: Combination of FGF and WNT signaling pathways mediate positional information during the posterior distal tip cell migration in C. elegans hermaphrodite.  Way to go Ludivine! AND by the way - congratulations on your very recent marriage to Matt Morrison from BMG faculty, staff & students!!  - July 29/09

Congratuations to Dr. Ellert Nichols on defending his Ph.D. Thesis entitled:  Capillary Electrophoresis Laser-Induced Fluorescence Investigations of Individual Molecules of Escherichia coli b-Galactosidase.  Way to go Ellert!!

Please join us to give a warm welcome to Dr. Kirk McManus, Assistant Professor to BMG.  Dr. McManus' office/lab will be located at MICB!  Welcome Kirk!

Congratulations to Dr. Spencer Gibson on being approved for full Professor! Way to go Spencer!!     posted April 16/09

Congratulations to Dr. Jim Davie who has been re-appointed as Editor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology for another five-year term ending 31 August 2014!                           (posted Mar. 18, 2009)

 

HE DID IT... Dr. Francis Amara has been voted as one of the top 25 Canadian Immigrants for 2009!  Dr. Amara would like to extend a sincere thank you to all University of Manitoba members who voted for him to win this honor!  Congrats Francis!!   http://www.canadianimmigrant.ca/top25

Dr. Francis Amara was recently nominated for Canadian Immigrant's Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Awards of 2009. Hundreds of nominations were received and Dr. Amara has been selected as a finalist by the panel of judges. “Congratulations and we're very honoured to have you as a finalist – you truly are an inspiring immigrant who has made their Canadian dreams a reality!”
Signed:  Varun Munjal  
http://www.canadianimmigrant.ca/             Congratulations Francis!     

What is the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Awards?

This is the first Canadian national awards program for immigrants - people's choice award that recognizes people who've made a difference since they arrived in Canada. Whether it's a community advocate or volunteer, a successful entrepreneur or a cultural icon, we're looking for Canada to tell us who are the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants.  Finalists have now been chosen among hundreds of nominations and  will be announced soon. 


  Dr. Francis Amara
 

We'll call on all Canadians to vote for Canada's Top 25 Immigrants at www.canadianimmigrant.ca/top25.  (voting is now closed). 

Please logon to the Canadian Immigrant Awards website & support Dr. Francis Amara’s work both within the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Medicine, Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, and the City of Winnipeg!

The Top 25 winners will be "officially" announced in May, 2009.


MHRC 2009 Awards Announcement...
Congratulations to our successful applicants of this year's MHRC awards...

Establishment Grants
- Dr. Mojgan Rastegar - Co-ordinated Fellowships - Funding partners for these awards include CancerCare Man Fdn., MICH, St. Boniface Res. Fdn.

- Dr. Mohammad Sabbir -
Co-ordinated Studentships - Funding partners for these awards include: CancerCare Man Fdn., HSC Fdn., MICH, St. Boniface Hosp & Res Fdn., The Lung Assoc of Man., The Man Medical College Fdn., UofM Graduate Fellowship.


Results from the 2009 Canadian Student's Research Forum are in!!!

BMG takes it again (3rd year in a row!) – congratulations to Teralee Burton, this year’s recipient of the Drewry Award for excellence in Research. Teralee was also awarded the Apotex Fermentation Molecular Biology Award

Congratulations to Yueqin Zhou, recipient of the Health Sciences Graduate Student Award and Evan Booy, Pamela Miller and Teralee Burton, recipients of the Manitoba Medical Sciences Foundation Poster Award.

Honorable Mentions went to:  Evan Booy, Shilpa Chooniedass, and Yi Yan (Manitoba & CIHR Research Poster Competition) and Trung Le for Translational Research in the MD/PhD competition.\

You all make our Department proud!!


Congratulations are extended to all our Graduate Students for February and May Graduation 2008!

February, 2008
Shahrzad Jalali, Ph.D. - supervisor Dr. Nasrin Mesaeli
Yi (Henry) Heng, M.Sc. - supervisor Dr. Klaus Wrogemann
Shauna Loewen, M.Sc. - supervisor Dr. Mike Mowat
Anoushe Sekhavat, M.Sc. - supervisor Dr. Jim Davie

May, 2008

Truong Duy, M.Sc. - Supervisor Dr. R. Dan Gietz

We wish you all good luck & success in your future endeavors!  Congrats!


Congratulations are extended to our graduate students for receiving awards in 2008!  Way to go!!

Canadian Student Health Research Forum - 2008 Research Days

Dianna Martin
The E. L. Drewry Memorial Award

Meghan Webb Azad
CIHR National Poster Competition – Silver Award
Manitoba Medical Services Foundation Award

George Skliris
Manitoba Health Research Council Post Doctorate Fellow Award (Manitoba Competition)

Sumit Sandhu
Dean of Medicine Poster Award (Manitoba Competition)

Francisco Mendoza
Merck Frosst Canada Inc. Award in Cell Biology


Department of Biochemistry & Medical Genetics Awards (2008):

Sumit Sandhu
Phyllis J. McAlpine Graduate Fellowship

Meghan Azad
Human Genetics Endowment Fund Graduate Student Award

Teralee Burton
Mindel Rady Olenick Fellowship in Human Genetics


The Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge (SABC) 2008 Manitoba Regional Competition was held at the St. Boniface General Hospital Research Centre on April 17/08.  An Awards Dinner was held with 175 attending including students, teachers, mentors, parents and dignitaries.  The keynote Speaker for the evening was Dr. Geoff Hicks, Associate Professor, BMG, University of Manitoba, who scored a “TKO” with his “Knockout Mice” which he is famous for!

In the Intermediate Category, the First Place Award ($1000) went to Ms. Uliana Kovaltchouk, with her project entitled:  Cell Cycle Control of Transformation in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae.  Uliana is a student attending Sisler High School, Winnipeg, who was mentored by Dr. Dan Gietz, Associate Professor, BMG, University of Manitoba. 

Uliana also competed in the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Ottawa, Ontario.  Uliana was a Bronze Medallist and was awarded a $1000 Entrance Scholarship to University of Western Ontario.  Uliana also won a $300 award - Bronze Medal – Life Sciences – Intermediate – Sponsored by Pfizer Canada.

Congratulations Uliana & Dan on a job well done!                   (posted Oct, 2008)


Congratulations are extended to Dr. Emöke Szathmáry -                       (posted July 11, 2008)

Dr. Emöke Szathmáry, the 10th President and Vice - Chancellor of our University and member of our Department, received two honorary Doctor of Law degrees recently.  In February, 2008,  she received a Dr. h.c. from York University. See the Feb 14 edition of Y-File as well as the Feb 22 edition on York’s 2008 winter convocation.

On June 12th Dr. Szathmáry was honoured by McMaster University. See her acceptance speech by clicking here.


Congratulations are extended to Dr. Louise Simard --                           (posted July 7, 2008)
Dr. Louise Simard has been awarded the 2008 Dr. David Green Award by Muscular Dystrophy Canada (MDC).
This is a yearly award that is presented to a scientist or researcher who has made a significant contribution to MDC in the areas of neuromuscular research or the advancement of care of clients with neuromuscular diseases. In this instance, it recognizes her contributions to SMA (spinal muscular atrophy) research, the transfer of this knowledge for better health care delivery, and outreach initiatives to bring this knowledge to families touched by neuormuscular diseases.


Congratulations are extended to:    (posted June 18, 2008)

Dr. Albert Chudley - Founders Award for the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists (CCMG) to be presented at the annual meeting in September 2008. This award is in recognition of members of the CCMG who have had an outstanding career in medical genetics in Canada or abroad.  

Dr. Cheryl Greenberg - The "Michael Wright Award for Community Leadership" - awarded on Saturday (June 7, 2008). 
(The following description of the award is from Sandra Funk of the HD society):  “It is the highest honour the Huntington Society can bestow on an individual at a local or regional level. It is presented to individuals who have made a difference in the lives of people with Huntington disease -in a sense our heroes who have helped enormously for years -- professionals who look after people living with HD, volunteers or community members who have given us hope and advocated for us not just once but over and over again.”
  


Hot off the press...     (posted June 16, 2008)
The Manitoba Health Research Council is pleased to announce the award recipients for the 2008-2009 year...
"Congratulations" are extended to our Dept members on their achievements!

Manitoba Research Chairs:
Dr. Spencer Gibson
Dr. Jeffrey Wigle

Coordinated Fellowships - Funding partners for these awards include CancerCare Manitoba and Manitoba Institute of Child Health:
Dr. Sanela Begic with Dr. Sabine Mai (CIHR Training Program/Physiology)
Dr. Ganchimeg Ishdorj with Dr. Spencer Gibson
Dr. Sandrine Lacoste with Dr. Sabine Mai (CIHR Training Program/Physiology)
Dr. Elizabeth McLachlan with Dr. Leigh Murphy
Dr. Arzu Ozturk with Dr. Geoff Hicks
Dr. Ashok Kumar Sekar with Dr. Spencer Gibson

Co-ordinated Studentships - Funding partners for these awards include CancerCare Manitoba, Manitoba Institute of Child Health and St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre
Meghan Azad - Ph.D. student with Dr. Spencer Gibson
Josette Douville - Ph.D. student with Dr. Jeff Wigle
Dilshad Hussain Khan - M.Sc. student with Dr. Jim Davie
Vanessa Pinto - M.Sc. student with Dr. David Eisenstat
Iran Rashedi - M.Sc. student with Dr. Philip Gardiner
Sumit Sandhu - M.Sc. student with Dr. Hao Ding
Caroline Shields - M.Sc. student with Dr. Mike Mowat
Yi Yan - M.Sc. student with Dr. Etienne Leygue
Hongmei Zeng - M.Sc. student with Dr. Geoff Hicks
Yueqin Zhou - M.Sc. student with Dr. Geoff Hicks

Bridge Funding Awards:
Dr. Valerian Kupriyanov, Manitoba Institute for Biodiagnostics


Congratulations are extended to Dr. Cheryl Greenberg who recently won the Scholastic Award from the Manitoba Medical Association.  The physicians were honored by the MMA at it's Annual General Meeting on May 7, 2008.   Great job Cheryl!       (posted June, 2008)


Congratuations are extended to Dr. Jeffrey Wigle who recently was promoted to Associate Professor!  Way to go Jeff!
(posted April, 2008)


Congratulations are extended to Dr. Francis Amara who recently was approved for tenure!  Way to go Francis!
(posted January, 2008)



      Dr. Francis Amara

Dr. Francis Amara, Associate Professor, Biochemistry and Medical Genetics was the recipient of the prestigious University of Manitoba Presidential Outreach Award presented to him on November 21st, 2007 at a reception held at the University Club.   Following are some of the outreach activities for the benefit of children in Winnipeg and throughout Manitoba done by Dr. Amara over the past year:  Dr. Amara has   promoted life sciences education in schools in the North End, Winnipeg School Division. He founded the Head Start Aboriginal Biomedical Youth Program including being a mentor to Aboriginal students.  He co-founded the Sierra Leone Refugee Inc, there by providing leadership, aiding newcomers to Canada and guiding new immigrants in all aspects of daily living in the Sierra Leone Community in Manitoba. In addition, he has also organized the Summer Institute for High School Science Teachers in the Winnipeg School Division. Dr. Amara has established the summer school programs in the Faculty of Medicine for elementary school children in Winnipeg, and has been instrumental in seeking partnerships for the Faculty of Medicine with the Winnipeg Foundation and the Winnipeg Boys and Girls Club. Dr. Amara is particularly dedicated to ensuring relationships between the Faculty of Medicine and the school system, and the successful integration of refugee children into the Manitoba school system.  Congratulations!


Congratulations to Dr. Katherine Leslie Ruth Dunn (former Ph.D. student with Dr. Jim Davie) on winning the University of Manitoba's Governor General's Medal for Outstanding Achievement at the graduate level.  Way to go Katherine!!



Congratulations are extended to the following students
for their awards at the
Canadian Student Health Research Forum - 2007 Research Days...

Subba Reddy Maddika
The E. L. Drewry Memorial Award
and
Merck Frosst Canada Inc. Award for excellence in Cell Biology

Kendra Cann
Apotex Fermentation Inc. Award for excellence in Molecular Biology

Shilpa Chooniedass
Dean of Graduate Studies Poster Award (Manitoba Competition) and 
SILVER in theInternational CIHR competition.

Meghan Webb Azhad
The Dean of Medicine Poster Award (Manitoba Competition)

Shannon Baxter
Graduate Students' Association Health Sciences Caucus Poster Award
(Manitoba Competition)

George Skliris
Manitoba Health Research Council Post Doctorate Fellow Award
(Manitoba Competition)

Evan Booy and Teralee Burton
Manitoba Poster Competitiion Honorable Mentions

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You all make our department very proud!

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Research Days 2007 - Mentorship Award
Congratulations - Dr. Jim Davie
 

Research Days 2006 - Mentorship Award
Congratulations - Dr. Etienne Leygue
  



Mouse model expert wins national recognition
Congratulations - Dr. Hao Ding

Outreach Award Recipients 2005
Congratulations - Dr. Patrick Choy

Mentorship Award 2005
Congratulations - Dr. Jane Evans

Order of Canada - Dr. John Hamerton (1929-2006)
J.L. Hamerton
, D.Sc. (London), FCCMG, FRSC

With great respect we announce the passing of Dr. John L. Hamerton on Thursday, February 9, 2006. 
Further information can be found at this link. Thank you
Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Biochemistry & Medical Genetics; Pediatrics & Child Health
Prenatal diagnosis of genetic disease. History of human genetics.
Ethical and social considerations of the human genome project.