2020
Genetic testing could personalize care for patients with Crohn’s disease, particularly women
December 20, 2020
Study shows that Crohn’s disease patients with a specific genetic variant are much more likely to need surgery and to need it earlier in their care journey.Annnouncement: Four new Canada Research Chairs named at Western, one renewed
December 17, 2020
Kelly Anderson has been selected as the Canada Research Chair in Public Mental Health Research at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Joy MacDermid was named as the CRC in Musculoskeletal Health Outcomes and Knowledge Translation. Andrew Pruszynski was also renewed as the CRC in Sensorimotor Neuroscience.Q&A: Lisa Saksida honoured as a powerful advocate for women in STEM
December 02, 2020
2020 has been a big year for Lisa Saksida, professor of physiology and pharmacology at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and BrainsCAN co-scientific director. Saksida was elected into the Royal Society of Canada in September; two weeks later, she was named a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences; and today, she has been honoured as one of WXN’s Top 100 — recognizing outstanding women across Canada who advocate for workforce diversity and inspire tomorrow’s leaders.Announcement: Dr. Julio Martinez-Trujillo re-appointed as Provincial Endowed Academic Chair in Autism
November 26, 2020
Dr. Julio Martinez-Trujillo has been re-appointed to his position as the Provincial Endowed Academic Chair in Autism, effective October 1, 2020 to December 31, 2024.Announcement: Dr. Donald Welsh re-appointed as the Chair in Molecular Neuroscience and Vascular Biology
November 25, 2020
Dr. Donald Welsh has been re-appointed as the Cecil and Linda Rorabeck Chair in Molecular Neuroscience and Vascular Biology, effective October 1, 2020 to March 31, 2025.Vanguard innovator may have found first-ever sepsis treatment
November 05, 2020
Dr. Qingping Feng has been named the 2020 WORLDiscoveries Vanguard Innovator of the Year, an honour that celebrates market-ready research, for his team’s development of the protein annexin A5 into a pharmaceutical that may become the world’s first effective treatment for sepsis, including when it arises as a complication of COVID-19.2020 James A.F. Stevenson Research Day Student Poster Winners
November 03, 2020Research News: Biomarkers could be used in a quick, inexpensive COVID-19 blood screening tool
October 28, 2020
A new study from Western University, Lawson Health Research Institute and University of Alberta suggests that COVID-19 affects the body’s blood concentration levels of specific metabolites which could one day be measured through an inexpensive blood test to quickly screen patients for the disease and predict which patients will become most critically ill.Feature: Preparing trainees for life after graduation
October 27, 2020
Thomas Drysdale, PhD, says it was all about the right people at the right time. When considering the role of Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, he knew he had the experience to understand the needs of graduate trainees and postdoctoral fellows, and the ideas to help improve their experience.New graduate program in Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences prepares students to solve wicked problems
October 19, 2020
The Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance has approved the new Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences program at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry. The one-year, course-based program uses a multi-faceted approach by integrating various fields of study.How Do We Learn Complex Motor Skills?
October 14, 2020
It requires getting and computing inputs from the skin and muscles of your hands and fingertips to understand where the button is in your hand, its size and shape, and where it is in relation to the button hole. The brain and spinal cord then have to interpret and understand those inputs in order to tell dozens of muscles in your hands in fingers to make very small movements and extremely accurate forces to manipulate the button through the hole. Andrew Pruszynski, PhD, is fascinated by this complexity.Forever Connected | The Class of 2020
September 25, 2020
Schulich Medicine & Dentistry’s Class of 2020 will forever be connected because of the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic. As the world searched for answers and families found new ways to deal with loss, change and adapt day in and day out, students at the School tapped into their personal resources and resiliency to complete their programs. Schulich Medicine & Dentistry couldn’t be more proud of all of their accomplishments and have chosen to celebrate their graduation by sharing five stories of the Class of 2020.Honours: Six Western researchers named Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Fellows
September 23, 2020
After reviewing a record number of applications this year, the academy’s fellowship committee named Marlys Koschinsky, PhD, Dr. Amit Garg, Grace Parraga, PhD, Dr. Michael Rieder and Lisa Saksida, PhD as CAHS Fellows at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.Funding: Researchers receive a multi-million dollar injection of funding through CIHR
September 16, 2020
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) announced the results of their project grants competition, awarding nearly $4.9 million in research funding to eight projects from the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.Award: PhD candidates receive CIHR recognition at the Canadian Student Health Research Forum
September 08, 2020
A group of graduate trainees represented the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at the 2020 Canadian Student Health Research Forum, winning four Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Silver Awards and three CIHR Honourable Mentions between them.Announcement: Nicole Campbell, PhD, appointed as Director of Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences
September 03, 2020
Dr. Campbell will be responsible for overseeing both the undergraduate and graduate level programs, and will lead the launch of the graduate IMS program in May 2021.Pandemic-era course shift fuels students’ academic and personal growth
September 01, 2020
Nicole Campbell can empathize with students feeling the weight of personal and academic stress involved in remote learning. And because the professor of physiology and pharmacology has been there – and come out the other side – she is committed to designing courses that help build students’ success as scholars and as people.Research News: Researchers unravel two mysteries of COVID-19
August 26, 2020
A team of researchers led by Dr. Douglas Fraser has identified six molecules that can be used as biomarkers to predict how severely ill a COVID-19 patient will become, and are also the first to reveal a new mechanism causing blood clots in COVID-19 patients and potential ways to treat them.Funding: Research to understand working memory receives new funding
August 20, 2020
Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry's Marco Prado, Gilles Lajoie and Lauren Flynn received research funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund.Experiential Learning grants brew innovative courses
August 10, 2020
Engineering students will have a double-double learning experience when professor Lauren Briens guides them through the chemistry and business of a perfect cup of coffee.Four new Canada Research Chairs for Western, two renewed
July 27, 2020
Western is home to four new Canada Research Chairs, professors whose work will have global impact on autism, data science and children’s learning.Research News: Exposure to chronic stress changes neurons in the brain
July 20, 2020
Wataru Inoue, PhD, studies the effect of chronic stress on the brain. His latest paper, “Neuronal hypertrophy dampens neuronal intrinsic excitability and stress responsiveness during chronic stress,” led by his recent graduate student Sara Matovic, MSc’17, showed that the neurons in the brain actually change their size and microstructure, and become desensitized to stress signals over time.Awards: Trainees honoured with Brain Star Awards
July 08, 2020
Congratulations to PhD Candidate Roger Hudson, and Postdoctoral Fellow Jeffrey Weiler, PhD, who were awarded Brain Star Awards from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canadian Association for Neuroscience.Study hints at early sign of Alzheimer’s degeneration
July 06, 2020
Researchers have moved one step closer to identifying targets for brain degeneration that occur decades before symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease appear – a much sought-after clue that might open the door to early treatment.Brain Study explores lasting impacts of COVID-19
June 24, 2020
The COVID-19 Brain Study looks to recruit 50,000 individuals who received a confirmed positive diagnosis of the virus in order to answer pressing questions about the disease’s direct and indirect effects on the brain.Banting Fellowship puts postdoc’s work in motion
June 22, 2020
BrainsCAN postdoctoral scholar Jonathan Michaels has been awarded a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship to continue his work around brain activity during reach control.Announcement: Thomas Drysdale, PhD has been appointed as the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
June 01, 2020
We are pleased to announce that Thomas Drysdale, PhD has been appointed as the Associate Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University effective July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2025.Provincial funding enables coronavirus research in London, Ontario
May 27, 2020
Three studies investigating a range of important COVID-19 questions led by teams from Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute are among an initial 15 projects funded through the Government of Ontario’s COVID-19 Rapid Research Fund.Announcement: New Scholarship opportunity for graduate students
May 14, 2020
With a goal of enhancing collaborative research, Dr. John Yoo has announced the introduction of the Dean’s Research Scholarship program.Announcement: Researchers receive more than $4 million in NSERC funding
May 09, 2020
Researchers at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry have received more than $4 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).Announcement: Interdisciplinary research teams receive seed funding
May 06, 2020
Five new interdisciplinary research teams have received funding from the Collaborative Research Seed Grants (CRSG) program at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry.New Schulich dean finds lessons in crisis
May 01, 2020
On May 1, Dr. John Yoo stepped into his new role as Dean of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry during an unprecedented moment in human history.Nicole Campbell, PhD, recognized provincially for teaching excellence
April 30, 2020
Congratulations to Nicole Campbell, PhD, Assistant Professor, who has received a 2020 Teaching Excellence Award from the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA).Cheryle Séguin – Faculty Scholar
April 22, 2020
Congratulations to Cheryle Séguin who was selected among 16 new Faculty Scholars at Western. The recipients are considered all-around scholars and will hold the title for two years and receive $7,000 each year for scholarly activities.Eight faculty honoured for teaching excellence
March 13, 2020
Eight exceptional faculty members have been awarded Western’s highest honours for leading and inspiring their students. Collectively and individually, they exemplify the heart of excellence in teaching – and their influence has stretched across faculties, disciplines and decades.President’s statement on COVID-19 efforts
March 12, 2020
Western President Alan Shepard released the following statement today on the university’s response to the evolving COVID-19 situation, including updates on student, faculty and staff travel.Learning for the future in undergraduate education
February 28, 2020
Brad Urquhart, PhD, stepped into the new role of Associate Dean, Basic Medical Sciences Undergraduate Education in September. In this role, he oversees the Bachelor of Medical Sciences and Neuroscience programs at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry.Rapid test kit for Listeria improves food safety
February 26, 2020
A team led by Dr. Michael Rieder has created a Listeria rapid testing kit that helps improve food safety. The new kit builds on the success of a test kit previously developed by Dr. Rieder’s lab that detects E. coli.Care Zone program signals help for Science students
February 19, 2020
Inspired by the Block Parent program pioneered in London in the 1960s, the Care Zone program relies on a similar network of trained faculty and staff with easily recognizable signage on their doors, providing support to students in need.Announcement: Cheryle Séguin, PhD, will be serving as Interim Chair for the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology
February 12, 2020
Effective February 1, 2020, Cheryle Séguin, PhD, will be serving as Interim Chair for the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University for the duration of Dr. Frank Beier’s leave.Funding: CIHR Project Grant recipients announced
January 24, 2020
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) announced more than $11.9 million in research funding through their project grants competition for 17 projects across Western University. At the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, 15 projects received funding, including four projects at Robarts Research Institute.Joint research on target for arthritis sufferers
January 21, 2020
Physiology and Pharmacology professor Frank Beier and Chemistry professor Elizabeth Gillies have joined forces to tackle the debilitating effects of osteoarthritis. Their joint work was recently honoured by not only the Arthritis Society of Canada, but by patients wrestling daily with the disease.Research shows real risks associated with cannabis exposure during pregnancy
January 17, 2020
A new study from researchers at Western University and Queen’s University definitively shows that regular exposure to THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, during pregnancy has significant impact on placental and fetal development. With more than a year since the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada, the effects of its use during pregnancy are only now beginning to be understood.Monkey maze study sheds light on key brain structure's role
January 08, 2020
Western University researchers are a step closer to settling a heated debate over the role of a complex region of the brain, discovering it acts more like a complicated memory card than a navigation system.
