The Physical Activity and Chronic Disease Prevention Unit Welcomes Dr. Jamie Burr

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Jamie Burr has joined the Physical Activity and Chronic Disease Prevention Unit. Dr. Burr did his training at the internationally renowned laboratories of Dr. Norman Gledhill and Dr. Veronica Jamnik. He has already published several peer-reviewed first author publications. We are extremely fortunately to have Jamie join our team. Jamie will be working on the Physical Activity Line of BC in research and development, and will be spearheading various research trials related to the primary and secondary prevention of chronic disease in individuals from across the lifespan. Since arriving in July, Jamie has made an immediate positive impact upon our laboratory having participated in several studies and assisting with the development of various grants. We look forward to working with Jamie during his time in our program.

The Physical Activity and Chronic Disease Prevention Unit Says Farewell to Dr. Shirley Ngai!

It is with mixed emotions that we say goodbye to Dr. Shirley Ngai. Shirley will leave our program at the end of this month. We are happy that Shirley will be able to return to her family and friends shortly. However, we will miss Shirley’s amazing attitude and her endearing demeanour. We were truly blessed to have Dr. Ngai spend the last three months in our laboratory. She has been a great ambassador for the Pan Pacific Trainee Exchange, and for Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Dr. Jones and Dr. Pang certainly can be proud of how Shirley represented their program.

During her time, Shirley took the lead on several studies and worked side by side with our graduate trainees. We envision a series of leading publications resulting from this work. All of us that had a chance to work with Shirley were truly honoured. Her work ethic and compassion for others was remarkable.

We look forward to continuing to collaborate with Shirley in the future, but more importantly we look forward to a lasting friendship that was forged during her time here. We would like to thank our friend, Dr. Alice Jones, for recommending such a remarkable trainee for our exchange program.

In closing, we would like to thank Shirley for playing such an integral part in our laboratory over the past three months. We look forward to hearing about your future plans and are certain that you will become internationally renowned in short order. You will always be welcome at the University of British Columbia. We also look forward to our next trip to Hong Kong and the continuation of the interesting research that we started here.

Sincerely,

Darren and Shannon

謝謝 雪莉成為我們團隊的一個這樣重要的成員。認識了你， 我們都擁有了更好的!

Heather Foulds Successfully Defends Her MSc

We are extremely pleased to announce that Heather Foulds has recently (August 9, 2010) defended her MSc. Heather’s accomplishments during her MSc studies are remarkable with numerous peer-reviewed presentations, abstracts and published articles, and extensive external funding. She was able to complete her thesis is less than the allotted time, despite personally collecting data on over 700 participants. This involved a 13-week lab-based assessment of 106 participants, and a community-based physical activity intervention involving over 500 persons of Aboriginal descent. Her work simply is at the forefront of the field and we are extremely proud of her accomplishments. We are excited to have Heather remain in our laboratory for her PhD studies in the Faculty of Medicine.

Congratulations Heather, you surely deserve every honour that you have received!

Mischa Harris Receives the CIHR Masters Award

We are pleased to announce that Mischa Harris has been awarded the prestigious CIHR Masters award. We are extremely proud of his accomplishments.

Katie Chapman Receives the CIHR Masters Award

We are pleased to announce that Katie Chapman (LEARN Laboratory) has been awarded the prestigious CIHR Masters scholarship. We are extremely proud of her accomplishments.

Danielle Beaudoin Receives a NSERC Scholarship

We are pleased to announce that Danielle Beaudoin (LEARN Laboratory) has been awarded the prestigious NSERC PGSM scholarship. We are extremely proud of her accomplishments.

Heather Foulds is Awarded a NSERC Post-Graduate Scholarship

We are pleased to announce that Heather Foulds (PhD Student) was awarded the prestigious PGSD3 – Postgraduate Scholarship from NSERC. This award is in addition to the numerous awards that Heather also won during her MSc studies. We are extremely proud of Heather’s accomplishments.

Interactive Video Gaming Research Highlighted by Canadian Medical Association

We are pleased to announce that the innovative research of Drs. Warburton and Bredin has been highlighted by the Canadian Medical Association in “Future Practice.” Future Practice is a publication of the Canadian Medical Association that was developed to “help inform physicians about the growing world of health information technology in Canada.” In this issue, Marla Fletcher discusses the research currently being conducted in the Physical Activity and Chronic Disease Prevention Unit at the University of British Columbia. She highlights the innovation of this work and the potential role interactive video gaming may play in improving the health status of Canadians, in particular those with established chronic disease. To read the article please go to: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/5daa6be2#/5daa6be2/28

Welcome Shirley Ngai to the University of British Columbia and the Pan-Pacific Trainee Exchange

We are pleased to say that Dr. Shirley Ngai (post-doctoral fellow working with Dr. Alice Jones) is the first candidate to be selected to represent Hong Kong Polytechnic University. We welcome Shirley and look forward to working with her over the next while. As part of this program, Shirley will spend close to three months working intensively on various collaborative research projects at the University of British Columbia. In the past, Shirley Wong (PhD Student Experimental Medicine, UBC) has represented the University of British Columbia at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Drs. Warburton and Charleworth have also participated in the international keynote lecture series/exchange. Drs. Wong and Dr. Marco Pang have likewise participated in this exchange.

MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THE PAN-PACIFIC TRAINEE EXCHANGE PROGRAM

In 2009, the Physical Activity and Chronic Disease Prevention Unit and the Centre for East-meets-West in Rehabilitation Sciences (in Hong Kong, China) formalized an international exchange for research trainees from the University of British Columbia and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. This exchange is entitled “The Pan-Pacific Trainee Exchange: Creating Leaders of Tomorrow.” Applications from each university are considered on an annual basis. Trainees complete a two-four month exchange at the partner university and their travel and accommodations are covered by the collaborating laboratories and the exchange program. The selection committee consisting of Dr. Shannon Bredin, Dr. Alice Jones, Dr. Marco Pang and Dr. Darren Warburton consider applications on a continual basis, with an expected exchange of one to two students per year.

Dr. Bredin is Selected to Give a Presentation at the 1st European Congress on Physical Activity and Health Among 0-6 yr old Children

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Bredin was amongst a select group of researchers to present at the 1st European Congress on Physical Activity and Health Among 0-6 yr old Children in Epinal France (May 28, 2010). Her presentation entitled “Gender Stereotyping by Parents for Contemporary Toddle-Aged Toys” was exceptionally well received by approximately 300 attendees. During this talk, Dr. Bredin highlighted some of the innovative work being conducted by the LEARN laboratory, in particular the Children’s Play Initiative.