Your Faculty / Fall 2005 - Faculty of Medicine - University of Calgary

Your Faculty
A Faculty of Medicine University of Calgary Publication / Fall 2005
R E S EAR CH
Fighting bioterrorism with vaccines
E D U CATI ON
If you build it they will come
S E RVI CE TO S OCI ETY
Y-Be-Active

Your Faculty
Vol 2 Issue 1 / Fall 2005
Your Faculty is published three times
a year by the Faculty of Medicine
University of Calgary, providing news
and information for and about our faculty,
staff, alumni, friends and community.
For more information contact:
Executive Editor
Gail Corbett
T 403.210.3894
E corbettg@ucalgary.ca
Managing Editor
Natalie St-Denis
Dean
Dr. D. Grant Gall
Vice Dean
Dr. Pam Sokol
Associate Deans
Dr. Martin Atkinson
Clinical Affairs
Dr. Benedikt Hallgrímsson
Undergraduate Science Education
Dr. Richard Hawkes
Research
Dr. Taj Jadavji
International Health
Dr. Allan Jones
Undergraduate Medical Education
Dr. Doug Myhre
Rural & Regional Affairs
Dr. Jill Nation
Postgraduate Medical Education
Dr. Frans van der Hoorn
Graduate Science Education
Dr. Bruce Wright
Continuing Medical Education
Vision
Creating the future of health
Mission
An innovative medical school committed
to excellence and leadership in education,
research and service to society.
Design and Art Direction
COMBINE Design & Communications
www.combine-online.com
Photography
John Gaucher Images
unless otherwise noted.
F A C U L T Y O F
MEDICINE
U N I V E R S I T Y O F
CALGARY

Contents Vol 2 Issue 1 / Fall 2005
02 The power of partership / Message from the Dean
03 Creating the future of health and wellness / New Initiatives
>
04 Fighting bioterrorism with vaccines / Research
06 If you build it they will come / Education
Taking medical care to rural Alberta
08 Y-Be-Active / Service to Society
Investigating activity levels in preschoolers
10 New mountain medicine program / International
First of its kind in the world
12 Mouse Prion Initiative / Research
Investigating genetic mutations and protein misfolding
13 Landmark study changes treatment strategy
for specific heart condition / Alumni Profile
14 Our People
> ON THE COVER:
Dr. Donald Woods, a researcher in microbiology and
infectious diseases, is putting science to work in the
fight against biological warfare.
PHOTO ABOVE:
Dr. Marc Poulin, a physiology and biohysics professor
in the Faculty of Medicine is helping spearhead the
world’s first mountain medicine program.

2
Message from the Dean
Your Faculty / Fall 2005
Dr. D. Grant Gall
PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE FACULTY OF MEDICINE
>
The power of partnership
A
s friends and family of the Faculty of Medicine, you already know the strength inherent in solid
partnerships. In some way, shape or form, I bet each of you reading this is part of a Faculty of Medicine
partnership in action.
Perhaps you belong to a group of first-year MD students quickly discovering the value in forming
study groups to better digest the volumes of information coming your way. Or, you may be one of 1,500
fulltime and clinical faculty members team-teaching students in classrooms, clinics and hospitals throughout
Calgary and southern Alberta. Maybe you are an alumna or donor whose legacy is the consistent
presence of your support. Your individual contributions to the Faculty of Medicine – whether student,
faculty, staff, alumnus, donor or community supporter – make you an ongoing partner in our commitment
to leadership and excellence in education, research and service to society.
Capitalizing on the power of partnership, we’re pioneering three unique collaborative initiatives
that encourage individuals and groups with common goals to put our collective heads together to grow
and enhance what is possible for the future of the Faculty of Medicine and health care as a whole.
U of C and CHR – Partners in development
To support the future activities of our research institutes and to underpin excellence in education, research
and clinical care, the University of Calgary has partnered with the Calgary Health Region in an ambitious
joint fundraising initiative to raise $300 million in health philanthropy. Over the next three years, we will
invite community leaders to invest in the people, programs and technological advances that will see
Calgary set new world standards of health.
>
>
Province of Alberta, Faculty of Medicine and rural health care practitioners – Partners in people
Dr. Doug Myhre is our new associate dean, Rural & Regional Affairs, here at the faculty. In this newly
created position, Dr. Myhre leads the Faculty of Medicine’s involvement in Alberta’s Rural Physician
Action Plan, designed to bolster medical education, recruitment and retention for this province’s rural
communities (see page 6 for more on this partnership).
U of C’s health sciences faculties – Partners in education
Finally, we intend to prove that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts with the creation of the
University of Calgary’s Division of Health Sciences (see next page). Within this framework, the Faculties
of Kinesiology, Medicine, Nursing, Social Work and Veterinary Medicine will create the future of health
and wellness, cooperating closely in undergraduate and graduate teaching, research training and ensuring
that research outcomes benefit the wider community.
As you peruse the pages of this issue of Your Faculty, think about the many ways strong partnerships are
manifesting themselves within the Faculty of Medicine, and their powerful results.
D. Grant Gall, m d, f rc p c
Dean

Your Faculty / Fall 2005
New Initiatives
3
Creating the future
of health and wellness
PHOTO: MIKAEL KJELLSTROM REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF THE CALGARY HERALD
U of C student Heather Fedor
W
ith its vision to create the future of health and wellness, the Faculties
of Kinesiology, Medicine, Nursing, Social Work and Veterinary
Medicine have partnered to create the Division of Health Sciences
– an initiative that encourages a collaborative approach to providing
education and research opportunities for students and faculty.
“This new division furthers the university’s goal of encouraging
faculties to work together under our established pillars of excellence,”
says President Harvey Weingarten. “The Health and Wellness pillar
will be well served by the synergies created as these faculties develop
innovative education and research opportunities that further our
academic plan.”
The division’s executive management committee (EMC) will be
led by Dr. Grant Gall as executive dean, and Paul Heinrich as chief
operating officer. Other key members are Dr. Michael Clinton, dean
of nursing, Dr. Gayla Rogers, dean of social work, Dr. Tina Gabriele,
vice dean of kinesiology, Dr. Peter Eyre, interim dean of veterinary
medicine, and a representative from the Calgary Health Region.
“I am delighted to work with my colleagues on this initiative
as each of us brings a great deal of insight and commitment to the
creation of the division,” says Gall. “For the past several months,
we have explored ways to work collaboratively to develop internationally
recognized education, research, leaders and services that will
help create healthy communities.”
This initiative will result in the Faculty of Nursing moving to the
Health Sciences Complex, marking an exciting new chapter in its
development. “The formation of the Division of Health Sciences
creates opportunities for the Faculty of Nursing to contribute to major
inter-professional developments in teaching, research and service
to the community that are without parallel in its 35-year history at
the University of Calgary,” remarks Clinton. “With the creation of the
division, we have entered a new era in which nursing can demonstrate
that it has come of age as a mature academic discipline.”
All faculties will continue to operate independently but will seek
opportunities to collaborate and innovate as a collective. Several interfaculty
task forces have been formed to explore collaborative, divisional
initiatives to achieve excellence in education and research.
“Creating an alliance among the health science faculties is exciting
because the opportunities for creating excellence in educational,
scholarly and service activities are significant,” says Gabriele. “The work
to date has been highly collegial, inspiring and productive – I look
forward to our future collaborations.”
“It’s critically important for the social dimensions of health to be
considered when creating a health sciences division,” says Dr. Gayla
Rogers, dean of social work. “That’s why our faculty is excited to be
involved in this initiative – we bring to the table a strong commitment
to the social determinants of health, which will significantly add to
the holistic vision of this division.”

4
Research Your Faculty / Fall 2005
Dr. Donald E. Woods
Fighting bioterrorism with vaccines
By Doug McLaughlin
B
ioterrorism. Biological warfare. If the average Canadian thinks of
these terms at all, it is probably with disquiet, even dismay. The notion
itself is repellent: killing people with disease – intentionally, at random
– with planning and science, forethought and subterfuge.
In exploring this topic, one finds that using deadly sickness as a
weapon is neither a modern aberration nor one confined to desperate
foreign sects from some distant, dusty land. And, while most of us
feel a large measure of helplessness in the face of such an invisible
and deadly threat, science is examining both the problem and the
solution with great concentration.
A significant element of that science is taking shape right here
in Alberta, at the University of Calgary.
Dr. Donald E. Woods, professor of microbiology and infectious
diseases, Canada Research Chair in Microbiology, is heading up
this research. From his laboratory in the Health Sciences Centre in
Calgary, he links with other facilities across North America and the
world, sharing results, ideas, data and inspiration, battling potential
disease outbreaks.
“We study the pathogens, try to figure out how they might be
‘weaponized’, devise an effective vaccine – which is then put on a shelf,
in the hope that it is never needed,” says Woods.
Woods joined the Department of Microbiology and Infectious
Diseases at U of C’s Faculty of Medicine in 1982. In 1988, he began
unraveling the biological components of a disease that affects the
Dr. Woods earned his Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Texas Health Sciences Centre, completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in Oregon,
and joined the Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at U of C’s Faculty of Medicine in 1982. He became chair of the department and full
professor in 1991; in 1996 he became the scientific director of the Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network, an organization associated with the Network

Your Faculty / Fall 2005
Research
5
people of Southeast Asia. The disease, known as melioidosis, is caused by a bacterial organism closely
related to one that Woods has worked with for many years.
“As very little was known about the organism and the disease melioidosis, I felt challenged to pursue
these basic studies to define how the organism causes disease and then develop new therapeutic approaches,”
says Woods.
Burkholderia pseudomallei, commonly known as melioidosis (or Whitmore’s disease), can result in
pneumonia, many painful and debilitating symptoms, and become chronic if left untreated. The bacteria
live in soil and water and can enter the body through cuts and abrasions, a common occurrence in agricultural
workers, who spend a great deal of time wading in rice paddies. This disease also became known
among helicopter aircrew during the Vietnam War, who contracted it through their pulmonary systems
when the organisms were carried in dust stirred up by the downwash from their machines.
Fortunately for those who have access to antibiotics, melioidosis can be cured, but the number of effective
antibiotics is limited. Immunization with an effective vaccine would prevent a tremendous amount of
suffering and early death and Woods believes he has the key to this immunization. “We have developed
a multi-component vaccine; it contains three components from the bacterium that have been extracted,
purified and detoxified. This vaccine has shown promise in preliminary studies as an effective preventative
against melioidosis,” explains Woods.
When he speaks of the science of assembling this vaccine, his enthusiasm over the technical achievement
of his team is tempered by the reality of the years of testing and verification ahead, the process to which
all new medicines are subjected. However, the formulation of this vaccine itself could be a significant step
towards the solution to at least one other virulent infection, glanders.
Closely related to melioidosis, glanders is a more widespread disease with a history of use in biological
warfare going back to the 19th century. Primarily affecting livestock, it falls into the category of zoonotic,
a disease of animals that can be transmitted to humans (other examples are anthrax, equine encephalitis
and rabies). Zoonotic diseases sometimes acquire an extra vigor in human hosts, and both melioidosis
and glanders are regarded as potential agents for biological warfare and bioterrorism.
The work conducted by Woods and his research staff has little glamour connected with it. It involves
the repetitive, never-ending testing of small elements of the problem, chasing after possibilities that more
often than not lead to dead-ends. And the simple fact of working in the faculty’s Level Three Containment
Laboratory is a chore in itself – changing, showering, and ensuring that every precaution of the security
routine is followed – both on the way in and on the way out.
Every bit of it will be worthwhile if the product – the vaccine – is ever needed. On the other hand,
Woods will be perfectly happy if it is never put to the test. “Even if my colleagues and I have invested
countless hours and effort in the development of a vaccine against these biowarfare/bioterrorism agents,
we hope that the vaccine will never be necessary, and that it will serve as a deterrent to those considering
the use of these particular biological agents for unspeakable acts against humanity,” says Woods.
B i o lo g i c a l W a r fa r e
The Geneva Protocol, signed by
108 nations in 1925, was the first
multilateral agreement prohibiting
biological weapons. Biological
weapons include any organism or
toxin found in nature that can be
used to incapacitate, kill, or otherwise
impede an adversary. From Spain
to Japan, countries worldwide have
experienced several incidences
of bioterrorism in recent history.
The most prominent, from a North
American point of view, occurred in
the immediate post-9/11 period from
September to November 2001; a total
of 23 confirmed or probable cases
of terrorist-related anthrax dispersion
occurred in the United States.
of Centres of Excellence Program of Canada. In 2002, Woods returned to his former post, choosing to concentrate on his research program as Canada
Research Chair in Microbiology. He has published more than 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 10 book chapters and 100 abstracts.

6 Education
Your Faculty / Fall 2005
Dr. Doug Myhre
If you build it they will come
Taking medical care to rural Alberta
By Alison Azer
D
r. Doug Myhre doesn’t need artwork to liven up his new Calgary
office. Recently appointed associate dean, Rural & Regional Affairs
for the Faculty of Medicine, Myhre looks out onto an urban cityscape
of scaffolds, hard hats and forklifts. When asked if his surroundings
clash with his rural sensibilities, he laughs: “We work in parallel –
building and creating.”
In fact, the construction-site-view off Myhre’s new office is entirely
fitting. This man’s a mover and shaker in Alberta rural health care.
And like the faculty he’s joined, Myhre is a builder.
Jointly funded by the U of C Faculty of Medicine and The Alberta
Rural Physician Action Plan (RPAP), the new position in Rural &
Regional Affairs is designed to help the government and university
meet the health care needs of rural Albertans and their physicians.
The position is a timely response to a larger provincial plan designed
to address a growing need identified by the Alberta government:
to educate, recruit and retain rural physicians in Alberta.
Rural health care is a vital part of keeping Alberta’s small towns
alive. A town without a physician just isn’t sustainable. The presence
of good health care helps stabilize smaller communities. But it’s not
as simple as dropping a well-trained physician in to a remote corner
of Alberta. Because rural physicians must respond to a wide range of
patient care demands, lack of immediate access to the larger medical
community, technology and expertise often makes life as a rural doctor
a trying and isolating experience Physicians must work within a larger
medical context.
When not commuting between Lethbridge and Calgary, Dr. Doug Myhre enjoys woodworking, hiking, downhill skiing, and spending lots of time on his
boat – taking friends and family water skiing. He has also made fundraising an integral part of his life. Over the years he has been actively involved with
the Lethbridge Community College Foundation, the University of Lethbridge Foundation, and is currently with the Lethbridge Community Foundation.

Your Faculty / Fall 2005
Education 7
As the faculty’s first associate dean of Rural & Regional Affairs, one of his roles is to identify and represent
rural needs to the Faculty of Medicine and to help the faculty provide service to rural communities.
His guiding principle: “Let’s open the doors for communicating our needs and hopes and put our shoulders
to the wheel collectively.”
Working collaboratively with the teaching and medical communities across Alberta, Myhre and his
Northern counterpart, Dr. Jill Konkin, who heads up U of A’s Rural and Regional Health initiative, will
build a province-wide network of health care resources, professionals, and infrastructure to address the
needs of physicians working in rural communities. In cooperation with the medical faculty, they will
develop new admissions and curricular policies that will encourage young people from rural communities
to apply to medical school and that will see more young doctors take their practices to rural settings.
One of the best ways to prepare physicians for the challenges of rural practice is to train them in a rural
setting. Plans for new distant learning programs, continuing medical education programs, a database of
rural residency placements, upgrades to rural clinics to make them suitable for teaching and learning are
in the works.
Myhre brings an impressive portfolio of knowledge and experience to the job.
Working with Hinton physician Dr. Hugh Hindle, Myhre established RPAP’s Alberta Rural Family
Medicine Network (ARFM) in 2000, a program that helps place young family doctors in rural settings for
their residencies. As inaugural unit directors for Rural Alberta South (RAS) and Rural Alberta North (RAN)
respectively, Myhre and Hindle, worked collaboratively to build relationships between the teaching universities
and the rural and regional medical communities of Alberta. “I was guided by a desire for medical students
and universities to know of the good quality medicine practiced in rural Alberta, and for physicians,
working in these communities, to know that universities will respond to their needs,” says Myhre.
“Doug’s experience as Rural Alberta South (RAS) unit director and community physician brings an
important level of credibility to the position,” says RPAP program manager David Kay. “He has a talent for
translating the needs of the community to the university which is essential as we seek to fortify medical
resources in rural Alberta.”
Building strong partnerships between urban and rural medical communities is pivotal to the success
of the ARFM initiative, which has placed 60 per cent of its graduate family doctors in rural communities
to date.
Dr. Sarah Makhdoom, a graduate of the first RAS class, is now a family physician in High River.
She credits Myhre for her decision to set up practice in rural Alberta. “Doug made life so pleasant for
us residents,” she recalls. “He was always approachable and respectful. And he is the consummate promoter
– promoting us to rural Alberta and promoting rural Alberta to us.”
In the race to attract more young doctors like Makhdoom to rural sites, Myhre literally keeps a foot
in two worlds – in the city and in the country. It makes for a hectic pace. His week begins with a Sunday
drive from Lethbridge to Calgary followed by two full days at U of C. “I have only two days here so I work
like a tornado and then let everyone have five days to recover before I return,” says Myhre. Then he’s back
south to see patients at the Haig Clinic in Lethbridge and to spend time with his daughters. It’s an intense
schedule but Myhre believes his foothold in rural Alberta gives him credibility in his new position, which,
in turn, helps him build trust in the rural communities.
For now, Myhre gazes out at the moving tableau of construction that surrounds him. Later, this Tuesday
afternoon, he will pack up his briefcase and head off for the coulees of Lethbridge. “I enjoy the buzz of the
urban environment but feel a much stronger connection to the land. I hold the highest regard for green
spaces – prairie or mountain – and the physicians and people who live and work there.”
Ta r r a n t S c h o l a r s h i p
at t r a c t s yo u n g d o c to r s
to r u r a l p r a c t i c e
The Alberta Medical Association
annually awards two Alberta medical
students with the prestigious Tarrant
Scholarship, the largest medical school
undergraduate award in the province.
Named in honour of the late Dr. Michael
Tarrant, a family physician from Calgary
who championed rural medical education
in Alberta, the scholarship awards a full
year’s tuition to a medical student at
U of A and U of C who demonstrate
an interest in practicing medicine in
rural Alberta. Ryan Tooby, a third-year
medical student at U of C, won a 2005
Tarrant Scholarship, worth $12,788,
and Graeme Bishop of U of A received
a $10,886 scholarship.
He firmly believes that individuals earning a living in a given community have the responsibility to give back to the people in some way, be it through
volunteer work or monetary donations.

8 Service to Society
Your Faculty / Fall 2005
(L – R) Colleen, Richard
and Alyssa Fairhead
Y-Be-Active
Investigating activity levels in preschoolers
By Erin Carpenter
O
n an overcast Monday evening, five-year-old Alyssa Fairhead has
just returned home from ballet lessons. She’s still wearing her bright
yellow tutu, and squirms between her parents sitting on the sofa.
On the mantle over the fireplace is a photo of Richard Fairhead running
a race. This is clearly an active family.
“I’m training for triathlons,” Richard says. “We’re both pretty involved
in running, and we’ve taken up swimming recently too,” adds
Colleen Fairhead.
So it seemed natural that Colleen was curious when she saw a
notice at Alyssa’s daycare about a study investigating physical activity
in preschool children. “I thought it would be interesting to see how
Alyssa compared to other kids, and even ourselves too; to see how
it all relates.”
The Fairheads signed up for the study, conducted by Dr. Marja
Cantell and Dr. Deborah Dewey of the Department of Paediatrics in
the Faculty of Medicine. Cantell and Dewey – also adjunct professors
in psychology and kinesiology – are using funding from the Alberta
Children’s Hospital Foundation and some internal funding to pursue
their study, Y-Be-Active.
Cantell says the reasons for pursuing the study are straightforward:
“First, very few studies have looked at children this age (three to six).
Second, we are including parents in a way that no other study has,”
she says. “We are looking at the family as an important factor affecting
the child’s physical activity.”
Cantell and Dewey are also examining other determinants of
physical activity, such as the amount of time children spend in day-
Dr. Deborah Dewey is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Calgary and a member of the Behavioural Research Unit at the Alberta
Children’s Hospital. In addition to her academic responsibilities, she is the mother of three very active school-age children. Her research focus is on motor
development in children and its relationship to neurocognitive and psychosocial functioning and physical activity.

Your Faculty / Fall 2005
Service to Society 9
care or at home, access to safe play areas, season of the year, ethnic background and temperament, as well
as health indicators such as nutrition, blood pressure and Body Mass Index.
“One of the first things we wanted to do was to see if we could develop a valid and feasible caregiver
report measure of physical activity that could be used in larger epidemiological studies,” says Dewey.
To that end, Cantell and Dewey developed a daily activity-recording sheet to be filled out by parents and
daycare providers. They also created a personal digital assistant (PDA) program to collect observational
data whether at home, at the playground or on the skating rink.
The study also aims to develop measurement tools that are less expensive and more practical for larger,
long-term studies. “Tools such as direct observation of physical activity or the use of accelerometers –
motion sensors attached to a belt during waking hours – are quite expensive and can only be used with
very small groups,” says Dewey.
The researchers hope up to 50 families will take part in their study. When the Fairheads signed up,
Cantell and Dewey made an initial home visit, where they took the family’s body measurements: blood
pressure, weight and height. Then they handed over questionnaires and daily activity record sheets, along
with accelerometers for each.
The Fairheads wore the red motion sensors for five days at a time – first in June of 2004, then again
this past April. They took off the belts only to sleep, shower or swim.
Young Alyssa Fairhead took it all in stride. “She was wearing it from the time she got up to the time
she went to bed,” Colleen says. In fact, Alyssa wore it for everything – eating, activities at school, her studies,
reading books – all the time. “It feels comfortable,” says Alyssa. During the same five days, Alyssa’s daycare
providers were also asked to keep records of all her activities.
Cantell predicts that what happens with these children could be significant. “How physically active
they are from a very early age probably has a huge impact in their later lives,” she says.
Although still in its early stages, the initial findings of the study are interesting. “There’s such variability
among the families in the amount of physical activity they actually engage in,” says Dewey. “Some families
are very active, whereas other families spend a lot of time sitting in front of the television or the computer.”
Dewey says such findings could portend a big impact. “Children who aren’t very active early on may
not go on to develop patterns of higher physical activity as they get older. As physical activity is very
important in terms of long term outcomes for obesity, being overweight, or even psychological wellbeing,
low levels of physical activity in childhood could have long term consequences.”
Another significant finding at this point: “Parents of children of this age group don’t really take part
in organized sports a lot. That’s just the life stage they’re at,” Cantell says. “Mothers are relatively involved
in general physical activity with their children, but almost 40 per cent of fathers say they are not involved
at all,” says Dewey. Fathers have indicated they don’t have time for it.
Both researchers acknowledge their work is preliminary. In the long run, they plan to also study
physical activity in children with special needs. Meanwhile, Colleen Fairhead is looking forward to the
results of the initial research. “If it does raise awareness for people in keeping their kids active, then I
think that’s a great achievement in itself.”
(L – R) Dr. Marja Cantell
and Dr. Deborah Dewey
Fa m i ly G u i d e to P h y s i c a l
A c t i v i t y f o r C h i l d r e n
With growing concerns of obesityrelated
health problems in children,
Health Canada has produced a series
of guides to help families, educators
and community leaders motivate
kids to get active. Below are tips
on getting six to nine year-old kids
moving and creating new lifestyles
for happier and healthier children.
Develop awareness – involve children
in the decision-making process
Make a plan – get kids to agree
to a plan
Set goals – this will help kids check
their own progress
Give feedback – praise and reward
small steps
Recognize change – reinforce new
behaviour and celebrate successes
For more information on Health
Canada’s Physical Activity Guide,
go to www.healthcanada.ca/paguide
or call 1.888.334.9769.
Dr. Marja Cantell is assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Calgary and a member of the Behavioural Research Unit at the
Alberta Children’s Hospital. Before coming to Calgary in 2002 she was at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences in Jyvaskyla, Finland. She studies motor
development, physical activity and health outcomes and enjoys a variety of sports with her husband and preschool-aged daughter to keep her family active.

10 International
Your Faculty / Fall 2005
Dr. Marc Poulin
New mountain medicine program
First of its kind in the world
By Natalie St-Denis
Y
ou might say the incidence of high altitude sickness is on the rise.
With 25 per cent of tourists choosing to holiday in the mountains,
more travelers and sea level natives, working as porters, are experiencing
symptoms. And yet very little is known about the underlying
health problems related to too little oxygen reaching the body’s organs
and tissues.
A newly formed graduate program in Mountain Medicine and
High Altitude Physiology at the Faculty of Medicine is working to
change this by fostering partnerships and a place to study the body’s
intolerance to low oxygen found at higher altitudes or in hypoxic
environments. Located in the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains,
the University of Calgary is uniquely poised to tackle the health
problems of high altitude regions. U of C is partnering with two other
universities that make their home in mountainous regions – Tribhivan
University in Katmandu, Nepal, which neighbours the Himalayas,
and the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru, near
the Andes.
According to the World Health Organization, tuberculosis is one
of the leading causes of death in Peru and acute respiratory infections
are one of the five leading causes of mortality in Nepal. “We hope
our research will benefit altitude natives and high altitude sojourners,
while bringing together one of the world’s richest countries and
some of its poorest countries with a common cause,” says Dr. Marc
Poulin, associate professor in the Department of Physiology and
Biophysics at the Faculty of Medicine and acting chair of the graduate
education committee overseeing the new graduate program
in mountain medicine.
The first of its kind in the world, the program will train experts
in Peru, Nepal and Canada to better prepare them to address the acute
and chronic health problems associated with altitude-related illnesses.
The graduate program officially starts this fall. And it is already attracting
inquiries and applications from around the world.
By shedding light on the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying
diseases related to hypoxia, the program will deepen our understanding
of conditions such as acute and chronic mountain sickness
(CMS), high altitude pulmonary edema and high altitude cerebral
edema – often deadly if left untreated. Symptoms of these illnesses
range from shortness of breath to dizziness and nausea, which can

Your Faculty / Fall 2005
International 11
progress into mental confusion and lethargy, caused by swelling of the brain. Other symptoms include
severe coughing and chest fullness, caused by fluid retention in the lungs. Depending on the individual,
the first noticeable symptoms can develop at 2,500 meters above sea level.
Many of Nepal’s and Peru’s health care workers and researchers do not possess a broad knowledge of
high altitude medicine and physiology. By getting a specialized degree through the University of Calgary,
researchers and health care workers in mountainous countries will gain an extra edge when treating
hypoxia-related symptoms, providing better overall health care for their people.
“The high altitude pathologies, particularly chronic mountain illness and pulmonary hypertension,
are increasing and getting more complex. We can no longer consider high altitude sickness to be a clinical
entity affecting only a few individuals, but rather as a worldwide public health problem,” says Dr. Fabiola
Léon-Velarde, professor at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru and member of the
educational and scientific steering committee for the graduate program in Mountain Medicine and High
Altitude Physiology at U of C. Léon-Velarde also says that the loss of acclimatization over time in native
mountain people can affect, among other things, the circulatory, neurological and respiratory systems,
and is too often confused with other illnesses or aging.
With a population shift to high altitudes – mining for minerals in the Andes and taking tourists up
the beaten track in the Himalayas – a critical need exists to better understand mountain-related diseases,
thus the partnering of universities in mountainous regions. The migration of sea level natives to high
altitude has also increased the prevalence of old and new forms of altitude-related illnesses, which need
to be addressed. And the arrival of lowlanders, mixing with the traditional highlanders, is changing the
genetic makeup of the mountain people who have acclimatized over generations.
“Currently, among the 12 per cent of the world’s population living at high altitude – five to 15 per
cent of those living above 4,000 meters – will develop chronic mountain sickness,” says Léon-Velarde.
Although both the Tibetan and Andean people have acclimatized to high altitude over generations,
they have adapted to their environment quite differently. For instance, Tibetans ventilate more than
Andeans when at rest. This physiological response favours higher levels of oxygen transport in the body
and, as a result, Andeans are more likely to suffer from chronic mountain sickness. “We’re interested in
looking at these differences to gain a better understanding of hypoxia; what genetic and physiological
differences can explain such differences?” ponders Poulin.
Program participants will carry out controlled research studies simulating high altitude conditions
in high-tech laboratories and chambers at the University of Calgary’s Health Sciences Centre, Heritage
Medical Research Building, Foothills Medical Centre, and other U of C laboratories across campus.
Investigators will complement their experiments with field studies in the breathtaking landscapes of the
Himalayas, Andes and Canadian Rockies.
Dr. Buddha Basnyat, medical director of the Nepal International Clinic in Katmandu, and professor
at Tribhuvan University in Nepal and member of the educational and scientific steering committee for
the graduate program in Mountain Medicine and High Altitude Physiology, is thrilled to be part of
the partnership. Holding high expectations for the program and its research, he mostly looks forward
to having specialized health care workers at his side.
“Both Nepal and Calgary are bonded by the mountains. To enhance this bond for mutual good, what
could be better than setting up a medical program that deals with hypoxia of high altitude? I think this
will be a great mix of science, adventure and good human relationships – a combination hard to beat!”
says Basnyat.
A b o u t t h e
w o r l d ’ s m o u n ta i n s
25 per cent of the world’s landscape
is mountainous
75 per cent of the world’s countries
have mountain ranges or high
plateaus
12 per cent of the world’s people
live in the mountains
Thousands of languages are spoken
in mountain regions
Two billion people depend on mountains
for food, hydroelectricity, timber,
or mineral resources
50 per cent of the world’s people
rely on mountain watersheds for
freshwater
25 per cent of the world’s tourists
choose mountains as a place to play
or relax
Source: The Mountain Institute www.mountain.org
Dr. Marc Poulin obtained his Ph.D. in kinesiology at the University of Western Ontario followed by a D.Phil. in physiological sciences at the University of
Oxford in 1999. His spouse, Dr. Jean M. Rawling, is a physician who worked as a volunteer physician at the Sir Edmund Hilary hospital in Kunde, Nepal
(3,800 meters above sea level) in 2003.They are now proud parents of their first child, Maximillian Elliot Felix, born on June 22, 2005.

12
Research Your Faculty / Fall 2005
Mouse Prion Initiative
Investigating genetic mutations
and protein misfolding
By Natalie St-Denis
Dr. Frank Jirik
A
ll mammals carry the prion gene – a gene that scientists have linked
to the development of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)
in cows. And although extremely rare, extensive media coverage has
brought mad cow disease into our everyday vernacular. The prion
gene also has links to chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and to
a degenerative brain disease that spontaneously develops in humans,
known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).
So how does a healthy prion protein misfold into a shape that
triggers a deadly disease – transforming a healthy, vibrant brain into
a spongy mass? That’s a question Dr. Frank Jirik, from the Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Faculty of Medicine
and lead investigator of the Mouse Prion Initiative at U of C, intends
to tackle. “We want to identify genes and proteins that are linked to
prion protein dysfunction and the subsequent degeneration of brain
cells,” says Jirik.
Jirik and his collaborators at the Universities of Calgary, Alberta
and British Columbia think healthy prion proteins in the brain may,
paradoxically, have a protective quality. “Our intentions are to explore
the kinds of environmental factors within the brain that allow prion
proteins to protect neurons. This may lead us to understand the ways
in which the misfolded-infective-form of the prion protein damage
brain cells,” says Jirik.
Currently, little is known about how prion diseases emerge and
how they are transmitted from one animal to another. Nor do scientists
understand why some exposed animals become infected while
others don’t. “Since only a small number of animals or humans exposed
to infective prions ever come down with the disease, it appears that
genetics play a determining factor on who develops the disease and
how fast the degeneration occurs,” explains Jirik.
The quest to uncover the mysteries behind prion diseases will
take place in controlled and ethically approved laboratory settings
using genetically engineered mice. Jirik and his collaborators will be
working with mice missing the prion gene to determine whether brain
cells undergo spontaneous damage in animals that also lack specific
antioxidant and anti-stress-response-system genes. Dr. Hans Vogel,
another key member of the research team, will also investigate prion
protein structure and its tendency to misfold using state-of-the-art
protein chemistry techniques.
Team members will also study the course and severity of brain
disease in mice that lack various types of genes and that are inoculated
with scrapie (the sheep version of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies).
“These studies will test the ability of a whole range
of genes to alter the development and progression of prion-triggered
diseases,” says Jirik.
Jirik is optimistic that his multidisciplinary team of researchers
will achieve important new insights into the causes and factors that
control the progression of prion diseases – insights that will one day
lead the way to potential treatments.
The Mouse Prion Initiative is a three-year program supported by the Alberta Agricultural Research Institute and the National Centers of Excellence:
Genetic Diseases Network. University of Calgary researchers from faculties across campus include Drs. Frank Jirik, Janice E.A. Braun, James C. Cross,
Roy A. Gravel, Richard Hawkes, Keith Sharkey, Michael Surette, Hans J. Vogel, Samuel Weiss and Gerald Zamponi. Researchers from the University
of Lethbridge include Dr. Bryan Kol, the University of British Columbia, Dr. Blair R. Leavitt, and from the University of Alberta, Dr. Christopher Power.

Your Faculty / Fall 2005 Alumni Profile 13
Landmark study changes
treatment strategy for
specific heart condition
By Leslie Strudwick
Dr. D.G. Wyse
W
hile most people can claim they’ve had a change of heart at one point or another, not many can say
they’ve actually changed a heart condition – or how medical science treats a heart condition. Dr. D. G.
Wyse (MD’74) is one who can. Wyse’s research has changed the way doctors around the world treat atrial
fibrillation, a heart condition affecting millions of people.
Having already earned a Ph. D. in pharmacology before enrolling in U of C’s medical school, Wyse
balanced his studies with teaching as a sessional instructor and running a research lab. Add the roles
of husband and father and you get a man who focuses, uses time wisely and simply gets things done –
attributes that played a critical role in putting a plan in action that would lead to closely examining antiarrhythmic
drugs used to treat atrial fibrillation.
As principal investigator for a study called Atrial Fibrillation Follow-up Investigation of Rhythm
Management (AFFIRM), Wyse led a clinical trial that studied two treatment strategies for atrial fibrillation.
The landmark study compared the use of anti-arrhythmic drugs against the use of generally safer
heart rate control drugs, which do not maintain a normal rhythm but slow conduction and enable a slower
ventricular rate.
“I suppose what set this study apart was that it was the largest clinical trial of its kind,” says Wyse.
But this is not the only thing that set it apart. Before releasing his findings, medical science largely treated
atrial fibrillation with anti-arrhythmic drugs, which attempt to maintain a normal rhythm. “These drugs
can be dangerous,” explains Wyse. “Some were especially dangerous for patients with recent heart attacks,
so it didn’t make sense to me that they would be completely safe in people who suffer from atrial fibrillation,”
he explains. After releasing the results of the study, heart rate control drugs became the method of
choice for treating atrial fibrillation.
The AFFIRM study arose from earlier successful studies in which Wyse was involved. Two of these
studies were also related to arrhythmia management. In a study called the Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression
Trial (CAST), researchers examined the treatment of arrhythmia in patients who had recently suffered
a heart attack. In the Anti-arrhythmics Versus Implantable Defibrillators (AVID) study, they looked at the
treatment of those who had survived a cardiac arrest. Each study changed the way physicians everywhere
treat arrhythmia in cardiac patients.
Wyse would list his contribution to these medical advancements as only some of his greatest achievements.
At the top of his list? “Getting out of here alive!” jokes Wyse, who officially retired June 30, 2005.
“Actually getting these major studies done is an accomplishment, yes. But I also get a lot of satisfaction
out of the way the medical school and its Department of Cardiac Sciences has grown and matured since
I was a student. Plus, I’ve managed to maintain a very good family life or, more accurately, they have
managed to maintain and sustain me. That, with the amount of hours I’ve spent working over the last
30 years, has been no easy achievement.”
J u s t t h e fa c t s
Cardiovascular diseases are the
underlying cause of death for one
in three Canadians.
Eight in 10 Canadians have at least
one risk factor for cardiovascular
disease and 11 per cent have three
risk factors or more. (The Growing
Burden of Heart Disease and Stroke
in Canada, 2003).
Cardiovascular diseases have the
largest economic impact of all illnesses
in Canada. In 1998, Health Canada
estimated the total cost to the health
sector and the Canadian economy
to be approximately $18.5 billion.
(Economic Burden of Illness in
Canada, 1998).
Source: Public Health Agency of Canada
www.phac-aspc.gc.ca

14 Our People
Your Faculty / Fall 2005
Awards and Distinctions
Dr. Eldon Smith invested
into Order of Canada
Former dean of medicine Dr. Eldon
Smith was invested into the Order
of Canada. The centrepiece of Canada’s
Honour System, the Order of Canada
recognizes a lifetime of outstanding
achievement, dedication to the
community and service to the nation.
The motto of the order – Desiderantes
meliorem patriam / They desire a
better country – aptly reflects Smith’s
tremendous vision and contribution
to Canadian health care.
Dr. Eldon Smith receives
CMA 2005 Medal of Service
The Canadian Medical Association
awarded Dr. Eldon Smith the
CMA 2005 Medal of Service for
his outstanding contributions to the
advancement of health care in Canada.
The award recognizes Smith’s diverse
roles as surgeon, researcher, educator,
advocate, administrator and ambassador
in the field of medicine. Smith
is the 35th recipient of CMA’s Medal
of Service award.
Dr. John Wallace receives
prestigious Masters Award
in Gastroenterology
The selection committee for the
Masters Award in Gastroenterology
recognized the career achievements
of Dr. John Wallace in the field of
gastroenterology at the American
Gastroenterology Association Digestive
Disease Week conference. The award
reflects the tremendous contribution of
Wallace to digestive disease sciences.
U of C professor wins AFMC-
GlaxoSmithKline Young
Educators Award
Dr. Kevin McLaughlin, program
director of nephrology, won an
Association of Faculties of Medicine
of Canada-GlaxoSmithKline Young
Educators Award. The award recognizes
individuals, who, through their vision,
work and interaction with colleagues,
have effected positive change within
their university or within the larger
medical community.
Dr. Henry Mandin
Dr. Henry Mandin takes RCPSC
Regional Award
Dr. Henry Mandin, a Calgary physician
and professor in the Faculty of Medicine,
received the 2005 Royal College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
(RCPSC) Regional Award. The award
recognizes college fellows who have
made outstanding contributions to
medical education, to their community
or to the Royal College itself. Mandin is
well known for implementing the clinical
presentation curriculum at U of C’s
Faculty of Medicine, which was adopted
by the Medical Council of Canada.
Since its inception in 1994, medical
schools in the United States, Europe,
Middle East and Asia have adopted
the clinical presentation curriculum.
Dr. David Mergran wins RCPSC
Regional Mentor of the Year Award
Dr. David Megran, a practicing
physician and associate professor
in the Departments of Medicine and
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases,
is this year’s RCPSC Regional Mentor
of the Year. The award acknowledges
college fellows who have demonstrated
a long standing commitment to the
welfare of patients and to excellence in
clinical care and ethical conduct. Award
winners will have been role models to
residents or fellows and their mentorship
will have had a lasting influence
on the careers of these fellows.
PHOTO: COURTESY DR. HENRY MANDIN
U of C medical graduate wins CMA
2005 Award for Young Leaders
Dr. Lanette Prediger, a new MD from
the U of C Faculty of Medicine, won a
CMA 2005 Award for Young Leaders
for her dedication, leadership and
service to medical students. As vice
president of the Canadian Federation
of Medical Students (CFMS), Prediger
championed to protect the learning
environments and rights of senior
medical students across Canada.
The Canadian Medical Association
annually awards three young physician
leaders – a medical student, a new
resident and an early career physician.
Prediger received the Student
Leadership Award.
2005 Canadian Health Care
Association Award for
Distinguished Service
Dr. Steven Lewis, a nationally
respected health policy researcher
from the Department of Community
Health Sciences, won the 2005
Canadian Health Care Association
Award for Distinguished Service.
The award recognizes Lewis’s long
standing commitment and service
to improving Canadian health care.
Two U of C medical residents win
postgraduate medical education
research awards
Dr. Kym Boycott, a medical resident
in the medical genetics program, won
the 2005 Canadian Society for Clinical
Investigation Award for Excellence
in Resident Research. Sponsored
by the Canadian Society for Clinical
Investigation (CSCI) and the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research (CIHR),
the $1,000 prize recognizes the best
resident research project at a RCPSC
/ CFPC training program in medical
schools across Canada. The University
of Calgary awarded a $500 second
prize to Dr. Jacqueline Petterson,
a medical resident in the Department
of Neurology.
Dr. Patrick Whelan
PHOTO: COURTESY DR. PATRICK WHELAN
U of C researcher obtains grant
from the Christopher Reeve
Paralysis Foundation
Dr. Patrick Whelan, associate professor
in the Department of Physiology and
Biophysics and in the Department of
Clinical Neurosciences, received a
research grant worth $132,880 (US)
over two years from the Christopher
Reeve Paralysis Foundation. Whelan
investigates how movement patterns
controlled by the spinal cord develop
in neonatal mice. His long term goal
is to develop therapeutic applications
for clinical use.
2004-2005 Student Union
Teaching Excellence Award
Dr. Kevin McLaughlin of the
Department of Medicine won a 2004
– 2005 Student Union Teaching
Excellence Award for his dedication
to teaching. The U of C Students’ Union
annually bestows the award on U of C
professors who show outstanding passion
and commitment in their teaching.
Department of Surgery Educator
of the Year Award
University of Calgary surgical residents
named Dr. John Heine a surgeons’
Educator of the Year at the University
of Calgary 23rd Annual Surgeons’ Day.
Department of Surgery
Distinguished Service Award
Dr. Terrence Myles of the Department
of Surgery won a surgeon’s Distinguished
Service Award at the University
of Calgary 23rd Annual Surgeons’ Day
for his work at the Foothills Hospital.

Your Faculty / Fall 2005
Our People
15
2004-2005 Gold Star Awards
and Calgary Medical Students
Association (CMSA) Letter of
Excellence in Teaching Awards
U of C medical students annually
recognize excellence in teaching and
mentorship with the Gold Star Award
and CMSA Letter of Excellence Award.
The Gold Star award represents the
highest honour of the Calgary Medical
Students Association.
Cardiovascular Class of 2007
Gold Star Award Lecturers
Dr. Todd Anderson
Dr. Lisa Welikovitch
Gold Star Award Preceptors
Dr. Pauline Alakija
Dr. Joyce Harder
CMSA Letter of Excellence Lecturer
Dr. David Patton
CMSA Letter of Excellence Preceptors
Dr. Sarah Weeks
Dr. Frank Dicke
Respiratory Medicine
Class of 2007
Gold Star Award Lecturers
Dr. Kristin Fraser
Dr. Valerie Kirk
Gold Star Award Preceptor
Dr. Martha Ainslie
CMSA Letter of Excellence Lecturers
Dr. Mark Montgomery
Dr. Andrew Graham
CMSA Letter of Excellence Preceptors
Dr. John Chan
Dr. Willis Tsai
Renal Class of 2007
Gold Star Award Lecturers
Dr. Daniel Muruve
Dr. Kevin McLaughlin
Gold Star Award Preceptor
Dr. Stefan Mustata
CMSA Letter of Excellence Lecturers
Dr. Kiril Trpkov
Dr. Jay Lee
CMSA Letter of Excellence Preceptors
Dr. Ellen Burgess
Dr. Henry Mandin
Communications Class of 2007
Gold Star Award Preceptor
Dr. Sharon LeClercq
Dr. Elizabeth Woolner
Dr. Karen Valentine
Physical Exam Class of 2007
Gold Star Award Preceptor
Dr. Makela Nkemdirim
Dr. Robert Collingridge
CMSA Letter of Excellence Preceptor
Dr. Mike Parkins
Dr. Vickey Parkins
Endocrine Class of 2007
Gold Star Award Lecturer
Dr. Gregory Kline
Dr. Bernard Corenblum
Gold Star Award Preceptor
Dr. Charlotte Jones
Dr. Alun Edwards
CMSA Letter of Excellence Lecturer
Dr. Christopher Symonds
Dr. David Stephure
CMSA Letter of Excellence Preceptor
Dr. Daniele Pacaud
Human Development
Course Class of 2006
Infant, Child, and Adolescent
Gold Star Award Lecturers
Dr. Taj Jadavji
Dr. Doug Strother
Gold Star Award Preceptors
Dr. K Millar
Dr. April Elliot
CMSA Letter of Excellence Lecturer
Dr. Julian Midgley
Aging and the Elderly
Gold Star Award Lecturers
Dr. Jose Pereira
Dr. Bruce Wright
Gold Star Award Preceptor
Dr. Neil Hagen
CMSA Letter of Excellence Lecturer
Dr. David Hogan
The Family
Gold Star Award Lecturer
Dr. Karl Tomm
Gold Star Award Preceptors
Dr. Sheri-Lynn Cassity
Dr. Nicki Ottenbreit
CMSA Letter of Excellence Lecturer
Ms. Joy Johnson
Class of 2005 Clerkship
Gold Star Awards
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Dr. Belland, Dr. Igras
and Dr. Murphy
Internal Medicine
Dr. Coderre and Dr. Lemaire
Family Medicine
Dr. Sader and Dr. Thomson
Pediatrics
Dr. Brenner, Dr. Hak and Dr. Lam
Surgery
Dr. Buie and Dr. Nixon
Anesthesia
Dr. Caton and Dr. Hokanson
Psychiatry
Dr. Stokes, Dr. Turner
and Dr. Zanussi
In Memoriam
Marjorie (Marj) Herron
1917 – 2005
The faculty, staff and students
of the Faculty of Medicine will
fondly remember Marjorie (Marj)
Herron (nee Allen). Ms. Herron
passed away on Wednesday,
August 24, 2005 at the age of
87. She was a warm, energetic
woman who gave generously and
passionately to life. She will be
missed by many.
Ms. Herron was a long time
friend of the Faculty of Medicine
at the University of Calgary. Her
generous support of asthma
research has had and will
continue to have a tremendous
effect on the many thousands
who suffer from asthma.
We will greatly miss and always
remember the passion and spirit
of Marjorie Herron.

16
Our People
Your Faculty / Fall 2005
Milestones
Prime Minister Paul Martin
and Dr. Gerald Zamponi
Prime Minister Paul Martin
visits Faculty of Medicine
Prime Minister Paul Martin visited
the Faculty of Medicine last spring
to announce the Canadian Institutes
of Health Research awards and visit the
research lab of Dr. Gerald Zamponi.
Martin announced that the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research awarded
571 Canadian researchers with grants
worth more than $222 million. Of this
amount, $9.4 million will go to medical
research projects underway at U of C’s
Faculty of Medicine.
Gerald Zamponi, a medical researcher
in the Departments of Pharmacology
and Therapeutics and Physiology and
Biophysics, received $795,000 for his
research into chronic pain, migraines and
seizures. He toured the Prime Minister
through his lab, where his research
into calcium channels is edging medical
science closer to new treatments for
neurological problems such as epilepsy
PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
and migraines – the single most
common neurological disorder
associated with calcium channels.
Other researchers from the Faculty
of Medicine to receive CIHR funding
include Dr. Peter A. Forsyth, Dr.
Colleen Maxwell, Dr. Donald Fujita,
and Dr. Guido Van Marle.
Prime Minister Paul Martin praised the
work of Canadian health researchers,
while Dr. Alan Bernstein, president of
the CIHR, commended the University of
Calgary for its multidisciplinary approach
to health research: “Nowhere is this
(approach) more evident than at the
University of Calgary.”
Undergraduate Medical Education
renovations complete
Renovations to the Undergraduate
Medical Education (UME) space in
the Health Sciences Centre are now
complete. Made possible by funding
from the Alberta government, the
new state-of-the-art facilities feature
expanded anatomy and radiology labs,
small group seminar rooms, a new
student lounge, the BACS Medical
Learning Resource Centre – a hightech,
hands-on resource centre –
and a new medical skills area,
where students are able to hone their
bedside manner during simulated
medical interviews with actor-patients.
The new UME space is helping the
Faculty of Medicine keep pace with
major educational and technological
advances and increase capacity for
undergraduate student enrollment.
O’Brien Centre for Bachelor
of Health Sciences
Calgary philanthropists Gail and David
O’Brien joined the Faculty of Medicine
as it marked the official opening of
the O’Brien Centre for the Bachelor
of Health Sciences April 22, 2005.
The centre features a bioinformatics
area, small group classrooms and
a wet lab facility, all designed to
support the inquiry – and researchbased
learning the Bachelor of Health
Sciences program promotes. Spearheaded
by researchers in the Faculty
of Medicine, the BHSc program is a
collaborative program involving researchers
and scholars across campus.
Mini Med for healthinterested
Calgarians
The Faculty of Medicine launched its
first ever Mini Med School program
this fall for the general public. Mini
Med offers a series of user-friendly,
not-for-credit medical lectures that will
help Calgarians better understand their
bodies and health. The pre-registered
series runs Wednesday evenings
September through November and
includes lectures on a range of health
issues—from the ABCs of nutrition to
the whys and hows of cancer and the
ins and outs of bone and joint injury.
Top scientists and physicians from
the Faculty of Medicine will lead each
session. Students who complete the
series will graduate with a Mini Med
diploma and t-shirt. Course organizers
plan to run Mini Med in future years if
demand and interest are there.
Dr. Oliver Sacks
Awakenings author
wows Calgarians
The Faculties of Medicine and
Humanities crossed the traditional
borders of art and science last April
when they joined forces to present
bestselling author and world-celebrated
neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks in two
free events. Sacks spoke to packed
houses both nights, reading from his
memoir the first evening, and giving
a lecture on neurology of the soul
the following evening.
Sacks is an internationally celebrated
neurologist, humanist and author of
astonishing case study histories from
the far borderlands of neurological
experience. He is the author of nine
books, including Awakenings, which
inspired the 1990 Oscar-nominated
Hollywood movie starring Robert De
Niro and Robin Williams.
Sacks’ Calgary visit was sponsored
by the Markin-Flanagan Distinguished
Writers Programme in the Faculty of
Humanities and the Second Annual
Wuensche Memorial Lecture series
in the Faculty of Medicine.
PHOTO: COURTESY ROYCE CARLTON INC.
Thank you! Calgarians raise funds for schizophrenia research
Young Carlos Ogilvie took his life in 1998, after a two-year battle with schizophrenia. Compelled to find answers to the complex and disabling mental
illness, Carlos’s friends and family organized and held what became an annual fundraising event for schizophrenia research. The inaugural gala dinner
raised $14,000.

Your Faculty / Fall 2005
Our People 17
Appointments
New kids cancer research
chair leads largest research
program in Canada
Dr. Max Coppes is the first Kids
Cancer Care Foundation Chair
in Pediatric Oncology, the largest
program of its kind in Canada.
Worth more than $6 million, the
child cancer chair is a collaborative
research initiative between the
Alberta Children’s Hospital, the Kids
Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta,
the Alberta Cancer Foundation,
Burlington Resources Canada Ltd.,
the Calgary Health Region, the Steve
Fonyo Fund and the University of
Calgary Faculty of Medicine. Coppes
is an internationally recognized expert
in Wilms tumor, the most common
kidney cancer in children. Director
of the Southern Alberta Children’s
Cancer Program and professor of
oncology and pediatrics in the Faculty
of Medicine, he brings tremendous
expertise, passion and vision to child
cancer research.
Canada Research Chair in
Gastrointestinal Inflammation
Dr. Krisendath (Kris) Chadee
joins the Faculty of Medicine as
a Tier-1 Canada Research Chair
in Gastrointestinal Inflammation.
Chadee uses biochemical and
immunological methods to study
Entamoeba histolytica, a protozoan
parasite that affects one per cent
of the world’s population and causes
up to 100,000 deaths per year.
Chadee comes to the Faculty of
Medicine from McGill University.
Canada Research Chair
in Molecular Medicine
Dr. Jan Storek is the new Canada
Research Chair in Molecular Medicine.
He studies the development of immunity
following bone marrow or blood stem
cell transplantation. Storek was
previously at the Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Research Center and the
University of Washington in Seattle.
Canada Research Chair in Medical
Bioethics and Ethical Theory
As the new Canada Research Chair
in Medical Bioethics and Ethical
Theory, Dr. Walter Glannon will
explore the ethical issues related
to clinical neuroscience and organ
and tissue transplantation. He comes
to the Faculty of Medicine from the
Children and Women’s Health Centre
in British Columbia.
New assistant dean (research)
Dr. John Reynolds accepted the
position of assistant dean (research)
in the Faculty of Medicine. Reynolds
has served in several leadership roles,
which will be invaluable to the research
enterprise of the faculty.
In Memoriam
Dr. Gertrude Sharon Crabtree
1952 – 2005
It is with sadness and fond
memories that the staff, faculty
and students at the Faculty of
Medicine remember the life of
Dr. Gertrude Sharon Crabtree. Dr.
Crabtree passed away on August
25, 2005, after a courageous
battle with ovarian cancer.
Dr. Crabtree was a pathologist
with Calgary Laboratory Services
and recognized as a local expert
in the pathology of malignant
lymphoma and related disorders,
in soft tissue tumours and
in the clinical application of
immunohistochemistry.
A clinical associate professor of
pathology and laboratory medicine
in U of C’s Faculty of Medicine,
Dr. Crabtree taught classes in the
undergraduate medical program,
the clinical graduate program
and the continuing medical
education program.
She gave generously to her
community through her church
and through the Calgary Public
School system.
We will long respect and
remember the passion and
dedication she showed her
students, her patients, her family
and her community.
Today, more than $70,000 in donations to the Faculty of Medicine is supporting research into the causes of schizophrenia. The faculty received its most
recent gift to the fund last spring at the Department of Psychiatry’s annual Sebastian Littman Research Day.
The Faculty of Medicine and friends and family of Carlos sincerely thank all of the dedicated volunteers who make this event possible each year.
Please join us at this year’s gala event on New Year’s Eve at the Telus Convention Centre. Contact the event chair, Tim Uniacke, at 403.663.9952.

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