For 91��ɫ student Ravenne Rivera, starting her first year for the second time has had its advantages.

The undergraduate student, enrolled in the Faculty of Health’s Kinesiology and Health Science program, had embarked on her post-secondary journey in the fall of 2020, but her studies were deferred when she encountered challenges with OSAP funding for the winter term. She worked with the University to sort it out, and her enrolment was deferred to fall of 2021.

For Rivera, this meant pursing her first year of studies a second time – but it also allowed her to re-enter 91��ɫ’s First Year for Free Contest, which offers students a chance to win free tuition.

“It was just pure shock,” she said about learning she had won. “It was amazing and it was something I didn’t ever expect.”

The win, she said, gives her financial security and will allow her to focus on her post-secondary studies and her dream of one day working in the medical field. It also boosts her motivation to succeed.

“It definitely motivates me a little bit more. I was already motivated for first year … but knowing that the tuition is free, it is a bit of a relief,” she said, adding that she can put all of her focus on doing well in school. “It means a lot to me, it means a lot to my future.”

Studying at university has been a dream of Rivera’s since she was a young girl. It was a path, she said, she always knew she wanted. Intent on studying kinesiology and with dreams of eventually becoming a surgeon, she said 91��ɫ was her top choice for post-secondary studies.

“I knew 91��ɫ has a really good kinesiology program – I’ve been reading about it since Grade 9, and it’s always ranked as one of the top programs – so my mind was already set [on 91��ɫ] from the beginning,” she said.

As for her experience at 91��ɫ so far, she said it’s been very positive.

“It’s a gateway to new opportunities and new lessons learned,” she said.

This annual celebration was cancelled in 2020 due to the emerging crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. One year later, mass vaccinations are hinting that there will be an end of the pandemic. Organizers decided to proceed with the celebration, which was offered over Zoom and co-hosted by the Office of the President and the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation.

Welcome remarks were delivered by President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton and Vice-President Research and Innovation Amir Asif. Lenton presented each of the 2020 President's Research Awards. The 2021 award recipients were announced by Asif. The celebration also included a series of videos, which featured all of the 140 recipients from 2019 and 2020. Faculty of Health Professor Rebecca Pillai-Riddell, associate vice-president research, MCed the celebration.

The recipients of the 2020 President’s Research Awards are:

Christopher Perry, School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health, was selected for the President’s Emerging Research Leadership Award (PERLA) in Cluster 1: Engineering, Science, Technology, Health and Biomedicine, as a reflection of his outstanding leadership in and contribution to the fields of exercise physiology, metabolism and skeletal muscle health.

Since 2012, when he came to 91��ɫ, Perry has contributed significantly to the success of the University, both internally and externally. He established the only human muscle biopsy lab at 91��ɫ, where he investigates the basic cellular mechanisms of muscle fitness and applies these discoveries toward developing novel therapies to treat muscle weakness disorders.

In 2016, he was elected to serve as a director, academic, for the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, Canada’s major authority in exercise science and prescription. This society focuses on integrating state-of-the-art research into best practice. It comprises professionals interested and involved in the scientific study of exercise physiology, exercise biochemistry, fitness and health.

Perry was the recipient of the 2017 Faculty of Health Research Award (early career). He has also received multiple internal and external awards, including funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Research Fund, the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada, the James H. Cummings Foundation, the Rare Disease Foundation and industry funding.

Theodore Noseworthy, Schulich School of Business, was chosen for the President’s Emerging Research Leadership Award (PERLA) in Cluster 2: Social Science, Art & Design, Humanities, Business, Law and Education Cluster), for his extraordinary leadership and contribution to the fields of marketing and consumer studies. As the Canada Research Chair in Entrepreneurial Innovation and the Public Good, he develops insights that inform business and policy-makers about the benefits of effectively communicated innovation and the potential costs to susceptible consumers and society. He examines how marketers can better communicate product and service innovations to maximize adoption and awareness. This work focuses on new product design and innovation, as well as product categorization, category ambiguity and visual processing.

In 2012, Noseworthy was appointed scientific director of the NOESIS Innovation, Design & Consumption Laboratory, a world-class behavioural lab at Schulich, to extend his primary research programs. The NOESIS lab is intended to foster innovative research into consumption, consumer behaviour and design. Noseworthy has developed this lab with the specific goal of conducting high-quality research, training skilled personnel and facilitating knowledge mobilization. Broadly speaking, Noseworthy’s research program is designed to help combat Canada’s innovation deficit by helping the private sector transfer knowledge into commercialized products and services to grow the economy.

Debra Pepler, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health, was selected for the President’s Research Impact Award (PRIA) for her innovative contributions to psychology and mental health in the areas of bullying, aggression and violence, especially among marginalized children, youth and families.

In recognition of these contributions, Pepler was named an Officer of the Order of Canada by the Governor General. She is the only psychologist recognized by the Canadian Psychological Association for distinguished contributions to both psychology as a science and public or community service.

Pepler received a Network of Centres of Excellence grant to establish PREVNet – Promoting Relationships & Eliminating Violence Network, funded from 2006-19. She built this interdisciplinary network with her former PhD student Wendy Craig (Queen’s University), with over 120 researchers, 150 graduate students and 62 national organizations. PREVNet’s researchers and partners co-created over 150 resources for bullying prevention and healthy relationships. PREVNet was the culmination of Pepler’s decades of research linking science with practice and public policy for children’s healthy development and healthy relationships.

Pepler’s research embedded in clinical and community settings has real impact on the lives of children, youth and families. She has a strong publication record, having written or co-edited 10 books and more than 200 journal articles, chapters, and reports. In 2007, Pepler was recognized as a Distinguished Research Professor by 91��ɫ for her groundbreaking research.

Eric Hessels, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science, was chosen to receive the President’s Research Excellence Award (PREA) in the Engineering, Science, Technology, Health and Biomedicine Cluster, for his exceptional contribution to atomic, molecular and optical physics.

Hessels, 91��ɫ Research Chair in Atomic Physics and a 91��ɫ Distinguished Research Professor, has led numerous research projects that have far-reaching consequences for the understanding of the laws of physics. He is leading a collaboration whose goal it is to use ultraprecise measurements of the electron to study one of the fundamental unresolved questions of physics.

In 2019, Hessels led a study published in the esteemed journal Science, which found a new measurement for the size of the proton at just under one trillionth of a millimetre. The study confirmed the 2010 finding that the proton is smaller than previously believed. The year before, Hessels led a team that achieved the most precise measurement of the fine structure of helium ever recorded. His researchers had been working on this for eight years.

Hessels is now leading a collaboration (EDMcubed) that is attempting to measure the shape of the electron – or, more specifically, whether its charge is evenly distributed. This measurement will try to shed light on one of the fundamental mysteries of physics: why the universe is made entirely of matter (electrons, protons etc.) and, unexpectedly, has no antimatter (anti-electrons, antiprotons etc.).

The recipients of the 2021 President’s Research Excellence Awards are:

Pouya Rezai, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, was selected as the recipient of the President’s Emerging Research Leadership Award (PERLA) in Cluster 1: Engineering, Science, Technology, Health and Biomedicine.

The award demonstrates the complexity and relevance of Rezai’s research in utilizing science and engineering concepts built on the fundamentals of fluid mechanics, material engineering, electronics and microbiology to tackle pressing global challenges in both the health and safety sector, and in the field of bioengineering. His impact on his discipline is demonstrated by his receipt of funding as a principal investigator that spans Tri-Council, industry and provincial sources.

His research has resulted in 47 journal papers, seven book chapters, two issued and two submitted United States patents and 50 conference papers. His achievements were recognized by the prestigious Early Researcher Award from the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation & Trade in 2019 as well as the I. W. Smith Award from the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering in 2021.

Rezai joined 91��ɫ in 2013 and initiated a graduate program in Mechanical Engineering at Lassonde in 2015 while serving as the graduate program director since 2015. His work has earned four competitive best paper conference awards, the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada Visiting Fellowship in 2012, and multiple awards obtained by his students in the past five years. His work has also been recognized in 2017 and 2018 by the Early Researcher Lassonde Innovation Award and the Early Researcher Lassonde Innovation Fund. He provides leadership in his innovative research program and his mentorship and supervision. He has built international connections and his engagement has raised 91��ɫ’s research profile.

Rebecca Bassett-Gunter, School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health, is the recipient of the President’s Emerging Research Leadership Award (PERLA) in Cluster 2: Social Sciences, Art & Design, Humanities, Business, Law and Education. The award illustrates her leadership in the field of research on the promotion of physical activity among children with disabilities.

Bassett-Gunter has developed an interdisciplinary program of research that has made contributions to the fields of behaviour change psychology, physical activity promotion, health communication and knowledge translation.

Since joining 91��ɫ in 2013, she has published 42 papers in leading journals, and she has shared her research at numerous conferences throughout Canada and internationally. In 2018, she earned the prestigious Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation.

Bassett-Gunter has secured significant external research funding in competitive, peer-reviewed grants as both a principal investigator and co-investigator from major granting agencies, including the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Her mentorship impact is evidenced by the success of her students, many of whom have had their research published in leading journals and have secured Tri-Council and other funding. Bassett-Gunter provides leadership in her innovative research programs and in her mentorship and supervision. She has built international connections and her engagement has raised the research profile of 91��ɫ.

Carl E. James, the Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community and Diaspora, Faculty of Education, was selected as the recipient of the President’s Research Impact Award (PRIA). James is the senior advisor on equity and representation in the Office of the Vice-President of Equity, People & Culture.

James is a leading Canadian scholar and researcher in the areas of equity and inclusivity in education, community development, immigration policies and settlement, and critical ethnography. In relentlessly documenting and addressing inequities related to Black and other marginalized groups, James has become internationally renowned for tackling and naming issues of racial inequity, and forging evidence-based policies and actions through innovative participatory research.

His track record clearly speaks to his strong success in designing and carrying out funded programs of research, including ministry, Tri-Council, corporate, school board, foundation, and community-based grants and contracts. He successfully engages his graduate students, involving them in writing and presentations, as co-authors of scholarly work and as active partners in knowledge mobilization activities.

In 2008, he founded the 91��ɫ Centre for Education & Communities, which he directed until 2018. James’ impressive scholarly output includes over 20 authored and co-authored, edited and co-edited books; over 130 book chapters and articles in refereed journals; reports, reviews and educational resources; and hundreds of presentations and workshops. With research that reaches a wide range of audiences, from scholars to policy-makers to the public, and that has undoubtedly enhanced 91��ɫ’s research reputation, James is most deserving of the 2021 PRIA.

Jennifer Hyndman, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change, was selected as the recipient of the President’s Research Excellence Award (PREA). The award is in recognition of her outstanding accomplishments and leadership as an internationally recognized scholar of human displacement, humanitarian response, feminist geopolitics and refugee subjectivity.

In January 2021, she was appointed associate vice-president research in the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. Hyndman has been an exceptional leader in building research programs at 91��ɫ and in training the next generation of scholars. From 2013 to 2019, she served as director of 91��ɫ’s Centre for Refugee Studies, expanding its mandate and strongly supporting faculty to compete successfully for funds to facilitate innovative research and publish in top peer-reviewed journals and books.

Hyndman is a prolific scholar whose list of publications – in peer-reviewed journals and with esteemed book publishers – is extensive. Most recently, she co-authored, with 91��ɫ Professor Emerita Wenona Giles, Refugees in Extended Exile: Living on the Edge (Routledge, 2017). She has two monographs, Managing Displacement: Refugees and the Politics of Humanitarianism (Minnesota University Press, 2000) and Dual Disasters: Humanitarian Aid after the 2004 Tsunami (Kumarian Press, 2011), plus a co-edited volume with Giles, Sites of Violence: Gender and Conflict Zones (University of California Press, 2004). She has conducted community-based research, applied work for the United Nations and governments, and is one of 91��ɫ’s most highly cited scholars in the social sciences and humanities.

To view the program for the 2020 Research Awards Celebration, click here. To view the program for the 2021 Research Awards Celebration, click here.

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91��ɫ: follow us at ; watch the new , which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as artificial intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the snapshot infographic, a glimpse of the year’s successes.

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Professor Maz Fallah announced in December 2020 that he had accepted a wonderful opportunity to serve as the new dean of the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Guelph. Following his announcement, I began consultations with senior faculty members and staff to identify a new associate dean, research. I want to thank the many people who took time to speak with me, provide their thoughts on the desirable attributes of our next associate dean, research, and nominate potential colleagues for consideration. The consultation revealed that we have several outstanding colleagues who would make excellent associate deans.

After careful consideration, I am pleased to announce that Associate Professor Chris Ardern from the School of Kinesiology and Health Science has graciously accepted my invitation to serve as our next associate dean, research. For Chris to complete his current obligation as the GPD in his School, he will begin his new role as associate dean on July 1, 2021. Professor Ardern is well known across the University and highly respected. He began his appointment at 91��ɫ immediately after completing his PhD from Queen’s University in 2006 and was promoted to associate professor in 2011.

During his time at 91��ɫ, Professor Ardern has been a member of YU-CARE (an ORU concerned with Healthy Aging), and an associate coordinator with the Statistical Consulting Service. He has served as interim GPD on two occasions, on the University Senate, the Faculty of Health’s Executive and Planning Committee, the Graduate Executive Committee in Kinesiology and Health Science, multiple hiring committees, T and P file preparation committees, and more than a dozen other committees. His research on the epidemiology of physical activity and obesity has resulted in projects funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Ontario Brain Institute, MITACS, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Chris has published more than 90 peer-reviewed papers in top journals, as well as dozens of chapters, reports, conference presentations and invited lectures. He is the associate editor for two international journals. Professor Ardern is a highly experienced graduate and post-doctoral supervisor and thesis committee member. In short, Professor Ardern is an accomplished research leader with a strong understanding of research excellence, our Faculty and the University.

I am also pleased to announce that Associate Professor Michael Rotondi from the School of Kinesiology and Health Science has accepted my invitation to serve as the interim associate dean, research from Feb. 1 to June 30. Michael joined 91��ɫ in 2011 shortly after completing his PhD in biostatistics from the University of Western Ontario. He was promoted to associate professor in 2015. Michael is one of only a very few people to receive the Faculty of Health’s Dean’s awards for both Research and Teaching. He has won both doctoral and post-doctoral awards from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). He has won multiple CIHR grants as principal investigator and served as a co-investigator or collaborator on several others. He has published several dozen peer-reviewed journal papers, developed three software innovations, and supervised seven graduate students. Michael's service includes award and research committees at both the Faculty and institutional level. He has been a member of Kinesiology’s Academic Executive Committee and chaired an Ethics Review Committee.

I want to express my thanks to Professors Ardern and Rotondi for agreeing to serve the University and Faculty in the role of associate dean, research. This collegial leadership role is important as our Faculty seeks to move to the next level of research and graduate student success and impact. I know I can count on our entire community to support and work with Chris and Michael. I also wish to thank the Faculty’s research staff who have done a wonderful job supporting me over the last month.

Paul McDonald
Dean, Faculty of Health

The  (NSERC) supports ongoing programs of research with long-term goals rather than a single short-term project or collection of projects. These grants recognize the creativity and innovation that are at the heart of all research advances.

A total of 50 Discovery Grants were awarded in June, totalling $8,904,123. This amount includes the NSERC Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) program, which provides the primary avenue for university researchers in the natural sciences and engineering to obtain up to $150,000 in support for research tools and instruments.

Discovery Grants were awarded to:

• Robert Allison (Lassonde),
• Constadinos Armenakis (Lassonde),
• Mark Bayfield (Science),
• Ellen Bialystock (Health),
• Nassim Bozorgnia (Science),
• Satinder Brar (Lassonde),
• Jennifer Chen (Science),
• Arthur Cheng (Health),
• Taylor Cleworth (Health),
• Claire David (Science),
• Hany Farag (Lassonde),
• Marina Freire-Gormaly (Lassonde),
• Edward Furman (Science),
• Dasantila Golemi-Kotra (Science),
• Deborah Harris (Science),
• Laurence Harris (Centre for Vision Research),
• Jimmy Huang (Liberal Arts & Professional Studies),
• Jaclyn Hurley (Health), Cuiying Jian (Lassonde),
• Zhen Ming Jiang (Lassonde),
• Shooka Karimpour Ghannadi (Lassonde),
• Scott Kelly (Science),
• Peter Kohler (Health),
• Nikola Kovinich (Science),
• Anantharaman Kumarakrishnan (Science),
• Peter Lian (Lassonde), Neal Madras (Science),
• Ozzy Mermut (Science), Laurence Packer (Science),
• Jean-Paul Paluzzi (Science), Chun Peng (Science),
• Rebecca Pillai Riddell (Health),
• Simone Pisana (Lassonde),
• Pouya Rezai (Lassonde),
• Emilie Roudier (Health),
• Sapna Sharma (Science),
• Gunho Sohn (Lassonde),
• Neil Tandon (Lassonde),
• Sean Tulin (Science),
• Trevor VandenBoer (Science),
• Natalija Vlajic (Lassonde),
• Song Wang (Lassonde),
• Karl White (Science),
• Magdalena Wojtowicz (Health)
• Amro Zayed (Science).

Recipients of the RTI awards are:

• Satinder Brar (Lassonde),
• Gerd Grau (Lassonde),
• David Hood (Health)
• Sergey Krylov (Science).

For a full list of these grant recipients, their projects and their awards, visit .

In addition to these grants, the NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplement Awards (DAS) were also announced, with $360,000 awarded to 91��ɫ research projects. These supplement awards aim to provide substantial additional resources to accelerate progress and maximize the impact of outstanding research programs and are valued at $120,000 over three years.

Recipients of the DAS grants are: Jennifer Chen (Science), Zehn Ming Jiang (Lassonde) and Amro Zayed (Science).

For a full list of these grant recipients and their projects, visit .

For more information on the NSERC Discovery Grants funding announcement, visit the media release .

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“Greg was always so energetic and full of life. Never short of things to discuss, often based on life-experiences that were very unique. Greg always had a constant stream of students visiting his office, discussing ‘life’ in all its aspects, and always treated students with a great deal of respect and compassion,” said Merv Mosher, School of Kinesiology & Health Science.

Malszecki was the author of several book chapters and journal articles, and organized several conferences. He also contributed to 91��ɫ serving on the executive board, LaMarsh Centre for the Study of Violence and Conflict Resolution; the board of the Centre for Practical Ethics; and the board of the Centre for Jewish Studies.

In his retirement, he developed and distributed his 'Secrets of Success Strategies' to help others become extraordinary active listeners and realize the potential that exists in all of us.

"Greg was not just my colleague. Greg was my pal, my friend, my guide. Early at 91��ɫ, it was Greg who took my hand and invited me to teach with him. His generosity was unlimited and his constant smile contagious,” said Hernan Humana, School of Kinesiology & Health Science. “Students lined up outside his office to chat with him. They loved Greg.”

Malszecki is survived by his children Karis and Aislinn, their partners Kevin and Savannah, and his wife Jennifer.

To share stories and tribute messages, visit .

To view Malszecki's final lecture "Healing and Happiness in a Broken World," recorded Oct. 20, 2019, see the video below:

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Funding for the Rapid Research Funding projects was June 25.

“We are delighted to learn of CIHR’s support for three timely projects from the Faculty of Health related to the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak,” said Amir Asif, vice-president Research & Innovation. “91��ɫ is committed to ensuring that our research, scholarship and creative activities are focused on the needs of the communities and on the complex challenges facing our society. We are very pleased to be a strong participant in the rapid research response to contribute to global efforts to contain the outbreak.”

Shayna Rosenbaum, professor and 91��ɫ Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory in the Faculty of Health’s Department of Psychology, has been awarded more than $120,000 to study biases in decision-making and ways to change decisions in order to protect ourselves and others from COVID-19 as the economy reopens. People have a strong tendency to make choices that lead to immediate and certain rewards. Rosenbaum and co-principal investigator Donna Rose Addis, Canada 150 Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory and Aging and senior scientist at Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute, will track decision-making related to people’s willingness to use protective measures and train people to overcome biased decision-making by imagining personal scenarios.

Faculty of Science Distinguished Research Professor Jianhong Wu, Canada Research Chair in Industrial and Applied Mathematics, will also contribute to the project, along with co-applicants from other institutions. Researchers will study decision-making in a pool of over 2.8 million frontline workers who receive workplace training in COVID-19 health and safety measures. Findings will help inform the Public Health Agency of Canada on when and how to safely lift restrictions on everyday activities.

Tarra Penney, assistant professor in the Global Health Program and School of Kinesiology and Health Science, and Mary Wiktorowicz, professor in the School of Health Policy and Management in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Health and Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, will receive $446,912 to evaluate the governance of wildlife markets in countries where zoonotic epidemics and pandemics emerged, including China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A multi-disciplinary team of investigators including Adrian Viens, Cary Wu, James Orbinski, Peter Tsasis and Shital Desai of 91��ɫ, co-investigators Hélène Carabin and Cécile Aenishaenslin of Université de Montréal and Kerry Bowman of University of Toronto and country collaborators will evaluate the governance gap by integrating an institutional, legal and systems analysis of how wildlife markets intersect with livelihoods, cultural practices and food security. The findings will inform international, national and local governance, policy and implementation. 

A team co-led by Michael Rotondi, associate professor in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Janet Smylie, a Métis physician, professor and research chair at St. Michael’s Hospital and University of Toronto, and Cheryllee Bourgeois, a Cree/Métis midwife at Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto, will receive $395,460 to estimate the rate of COVID-19 transmission for Indigenous Peoples in cities. Their team will use information from the Our Health Counts studies in Toronto, London and Thunder Bay, population-based health research co-led by Indigenous communities using respondent-driven sampling and social networks. The team will develop new statistical methods to estimate the transmission rate and risk factors for COVID-19 in these communities by linking the Our Health Counts studies to the provincial COVID-19 database at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES).

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The event attracted 172 registrants and featured eight speakers, as well as 62 abstract submissions, from which eight  trainee awards were jury-selected for oral presentations. The 30-minute presentations featured research on muscle, heart, cardiovascular control and mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell.

Imed Gallouzi (biochemistry, McGill University) spoke about the role of mRNA stability in affecting muscle structure and function, while Scot Kimball (physiology, Penn State University) discussed the signaling pathways and mechanisms through which amino acids regulate muscle protein synthesis. From the University of Michigan, Jacob Haus described novel protein modifications that contribute to diabetic complications in muscle, while Sunita Mathur (physical therapy, University of Toronto) described her work on skeletal muscle physiological assessment techniques aimed at improving the health of people suffering from profound muscle atrophy and weakness. Kimberly Dunham-Snary, (medicine, Queen’s University) shared her studies of mitochondrial biology, specifically, how genetic and structural changes to mitochondria alter cell function.

Sherry Grace (kinesiology and health science, 91��ɫ) began a discussion on the cardiovascular system by highlighting the importance of knowledge translation as applied to cardiac rehabilitation programs for individuals post-heart attack. Philip Millar (human health and nutritional sciences, University of Guelph) described his understanding of the mechanisms that regulate the sympathetic control of blood flow and blood pressure at rest and during exercise. Finally, Richard Hughson (kinesiology, University of Waterloo) provided a compelling story about how astronauts regulate their cardiovascular systems during exercise while travelling in the microgravity conditions within the International Space Station.

Between faculty presentations, industry representatives from Nikon (Sally Miller) and Beckman Coulter (Natalia Ferdianina) shared images and knowledge regarding their most recent microscope and flow cytometry instrumentation.

The event ran with the help of 91��ɫ’s Learning and Technology Services crew of Grant McNair and Bert Imai, and organizers expressed thanks to MHRC members Professors Ali Abdul-Sater, Arthur Cheng, Heather Edgell and graduate student Heather Johnston who chaired the scientific sessions seamlessly.

The event was sponsored by the Faculty of Health and benefitted also from industry support for the sponsoring of student awards.

For a list of student award winners, and for more information on the event, visit .

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“There was no lab component to the course when I first came to 91��ɫ,” said Richardson, an associate professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science in the Faculty of Health, “so with the help of a Faculty of Health grant, I was able to develop a virtual dissection lab.”

A site license provides 91��ɫ students with free access to a suite of Primal Pictures dissection software through the University libraries, so the students can use a computer touchpad or mouse to locate and dissect structures such as brains or kidneys, rather than just looking at textbook drawings and photos.

“I give them a list of structures and it’s very similar to a physical lab,” Richardson said. “Everyone also greatly appreciates the ability to do it on their own time; it translates to excellent accessibility. I record all of my lectures, too. Many of our students commute or have jobs, so I want to do what I can to make learning as easy as possible.”

Richardson’s second-year introductory anatomy students have also benefited from the software. Renovations to the Farquharson Life Sciences Building on the Keele Campus provided the opportunity to redesign the human anatomy laboratories with federal funds; the labs now include hook-ups for e-learning. Each lab has three large video screens connected to two cameras and a computer, allowing lab demonstrators to ensure that all students in the lab can see demonstrations of dissections clearly.

“The teaching assistants can project dissections or structures onto the screens, and they can also pull up virtual dissections or diagrams,” Richardson said. “It makes demonstrations better and more efficient. Instead of showing the dissection to each group of three to four students, the Teaching Assistant (TA) can walk through a virtual human or animal dissection of a particular structure and let the students work on animal specimens afterward.

“In the past, the TA would have to demonstrate to each group individually on the lab table, and it wasn’t always easy to see if 20 students were crowded around. It has made a huge difference; it makes everything we do in the lab more effective.”

Richardson says it also helps build a sense of community among the students in the lab section, which “is nice in a course with 900 people.”

The students can also use the software to review and practise what they have learned in the lab, which is helpful in preparing for exams.

Richardson says the software has other components, so it is also applicable to students in physiology courses who use it to see how various muscles work during specific movements or activities.

She is delighted to be able to add this hands-on, e-learning component to her courses.

“I’ve always learned anatomy with my hands,” she said. “I wanted students to have an experiential component to their studies so they could apply the theories they learn in class.”

By Elaine Smith, special contributing writer to Innovatus

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