VCHRI held its annual Trainees Annual General Meeting on October 16, 2006. The purpose of the AGM is to support a feeling of cohesiveness among trainees, provide information about opportunities and services available to them through UBC and VCHRI, and to illuminate some aspects of the research endeavor.

The keynote speaker this year was Dr. Brett Finlay, Professor in the Michael Smith Laboratories, and the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Microbiology and Immunology at the University of British Columbia. He is also a collaborator with VCHRI through the PREPARE (Proteomics for Emerging Pathogen Response) project. Dr. Finlay's subject was "Battling the Bugs: Confronting the Microbial Menace". He described several of the research projects that he has worked on, and wove into it important lessons about how to live life as a scientist. Dr. Finlay emphasized the need for trainees and scientists to "have a life" outside of their science, and encouraged trainees to be as passionate about their pursuits outside of work as they are about their research. He also stressed the importance of collaboration and thinking about research questions on a large and ambitious scale.

The AGM was also the opportunity to present the 2006 Outstanding Trainee Awards. Five trainees were presented with this award, which recognizes excellence in their research as well as their contribution to the success of their peers through mentorship and collaboration. This year's winners (and their supervisors) are: Sarah Allan (Dr. Megan Levings), Kun Hwang (Dr. Alaa El-Husseini), Allan Lehman (Drs. John Esdaile and Dan Pratt), Ben Mortenson (Dr. Bill Miller) and Julie Nielsen (Dr. Kelly McNagny).

Winners includes (from left to right): Sarah Allan, Ben Mortenson, and Julie Nielsen. Kun Huang and Allen Lehman were not there to receive their awards.

The Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute is pleased to announce this year's winners of the Outstanding Trainee Awards which recognize trainees who are outstanding role models for their peers. These trainees (graduate students, post-doctoral fellows or research residents) are not only extremely effective scientists successful in their own research, they also substantially contribute to the scientific success of their peers through mentorship and collaborative activity.

Sarah Allan (PhD student, Dr. Megan Levings, Immunology and Infection Research Centre)
Sarah completed her BSc from UVic with the Co-op program, and worked for a little less than a year in Dr. Megan Levings before starting as a PhD student with Dr. Levings in 2004. Her supervisor writes that the importance and quality of Sarah's work has been recognized both nationally and internationally: She has a MSFHR scholarship and a prestigous CIHR Graduate Doctoral Award. Sarah has been invited to speak at Keystone Symposia, and published her first paper in a high impact journal (J Clin Invest) less than 2 years after entering the PhD program. During her time in Dr. Leving's lab she has mentored many co-op and directed studies students, who say that she has inspired them with her dedication and enthusiasm.

Kun Huang (PhD student, Dr. Alaa El-Husseini, Brain Research Centre)
Kun started her PhD with Dr. El-Husseini in 2003 and in that short space of time has published 4 papers, two of which she is the first author in top ranked journals Nature Neuroscience and Neuron. In recognition of her research achievements, Kum was awarded the Brain Star Award from the CIHR which recognizes the top graduate student in neuroscience in Canada. The chair of her graduate program writes that Kun "asks important questions and develops her own solutions". Kun is also a key member of group, someone who "consistently demonstrates the spirit of cooperation in research" who has taken a leadership role in "mentoring new students" in the lab.

Allen Lehman (PhD, Dr. John Esdaile and Dan Pratt, Arthritis Centre)
Allen obtained his MA in Family Studies at UBC before joining Dr. Esdaile and Pratt as a PhD student in 2001 studying the impact of spousal support on individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. His supervisors write Allen is one of those rare researchers who are able to "bridge social sciences and clinical research in medicine" that his is a "highly innovative ..... in an understudied area of arthritis outcomes". The significance of Allen's work has been recognized by invited presentations at international (American College of Rheumatology) and the prize for the top presentation at the Canadian Rheumatology Association meeting. His held scholarships from the BC Medical Foundation, Canadian Arthritis Network, MSFHR and the CIHR. Allen has taken a leadership role in translating arthritis research and developing arthritis projects. One of his peer referees writes that Allen "creates an environment rich in learning and guidance". Allen also devotes considerable time to the community, organizing or participating in public forums in Vancouver and other communities in BC.

Ben Mortenson (PhD student, Dr. Bill Miller, Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation)
Ben trained as an occupational therapist, before completing his MSc in Rehabilitation Science at UBC in 2002, and starting his PhD with Dr. Miller. Ben has held numerous scholarships, including an UBC University Graduate Fellowship, a Canadian Occupational Therapy Foundation research award and a CIHR fellowship, ranking in the top 20 in this year's competiton. He has published 5 papers, 4 of which he is the 1st author. His supervisor writes that Ben is one of the rare therapists who "become involved in research" to the extent of designing, conducting and disseminating research results. He has done so not because of professional obligations, but because of his curiosity and desire to address issues related to clinical practice. In doing so, Ben has acted as a role model for occupational therapists who work with him, creating an excellent clinical research environment for his peers.

Julie Nielsen (PhD, Dr. Kelly McNagny, Biomedical Research Centre)
Julie started her PhD studies with Dr. McNagny in 2000 and has recently graduated. Her research productivity has been excellent with two 1st author papers and another in revision in the high impact journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). She has held scholarships from NSERC and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Her supervisor writes that one of the best assessments of the success of a student's work is the legacy of projects that it catalyzes. Julie's work led to a CIHR and NCIC grants on which 4 graduate students are now working. Dr. McNagny also writes he gave Julie the opportunity to write the CIHR renewal grant, which entailed not only research talent and insight, but also the ability to pull together the personnel and their data. Her referees write that she is an outstanding team player, always willing to spend a significant portion of her time contributing to the success of the people around her.

You can view the Next Triumphs, Honours & Awards item: Wed Feb 21, 2007, Dr. Jon Stoessl has been named as a Member to the Order of Canada in the field of Health Care ......

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