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Highlights of 2002-2003
 The Society of Rural Physicians of Canada (SRPC) judged Memorial University to have the best rural family practice residency training in the country in the past year. This is the second time the society has awarded us its prestigious Keith Award - the inaugual award in 2000 also went to us, and last year we placed second.
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 The scope of research in the Faculty of Medicine was highlighted at Scientific Days. The three days of activities held in October included prestigious lectures, poster sessions and oral presentations by faculty and graduate students. The Gairdner Lecture was given by Dr. Maynard Olson, Gairdner Award recipient 2002 and professor of medicine and genome sciences at the UW Genome Centre, University of Washington. Poster sessions featured brief talks by about 25 authors on topics from basic medical sciences to studies of future health care concerns. During Scientific Days, Dr. Thomas Michalak, Canada Research Chair in Viral Hepatitis/Immunology, gave the inaugural Canada Research Chairs lecture. The three-day event finished with a keynote luncheon speech by Dr. Christopher Loomis, vice president (research), on the topic of neuropathic pain. |
NORFAM offers the opportunity to study medicine and to experience life in a unique northern setting
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In co-operation with Memorial's Northern Family Medicine Program (NorFaM), a one-year multi-province study on the best ways to train medical students for rural and northern medical practice has been funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health (CIHR) Rural Strategic Initiative. The investigators involved in the project are connected to two research centres - the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Applied Health Research (NLCAHR) at Memorial University and the Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research (CRaNHR) at Laurentian University and Lakehead University. Memorial's medical education places strong emphasis on community and rural exposure throughout the entire education process, including a two-week rural community visit in the first year of studies and a four-week rural family medicine rotation in the third year. Family medicine residents do most of their two-year training in rural locations and the NorFaM program offers 28 weeks of family medicine training in Labrador. |
| To celebrate its 25th anniversary and to provide a blueprint for the coming years, the Telehealth and Educational Technology Resource Agency (TETRA) held a conference Oct. 28-29 titled The Way Forward: Telemedicine to e-Health. Featuring plenary speakers and working breakout sessions, conference participants worked together to lay the groundwork for TETRA's future. |
Dr. Mo Ravalia (L) with Dr. Ian Bowmer at Shingles
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As part of Celebrate Memorial, the Faculty of Medicine held its 8th annual Awards Ceremony in November. About 60 awards were presented to faculty and students, and recently-retired members of the faculty were recognized with special certificates. Dr. Dzintra Fernandez, professor of laboratory medicine (pathology), was chosen as Teacher of the Year by the first-year class. Dr. John Fardy, associate professor of medicine (gastroenterology), was selected as Teacher of the Year by the second-year class. A special presentation was made to Dr. Chris Heughan, who was named Mentor of the Year for 2002 by Region 5 of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. Later in the year, during graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2003, Dr. Mo Ravalia of Twillingate was selected to receive the Community Physician of the Year Award. |
| The Health Research Unit (HRU) of Memorial's Division of Community Health celebrated 10 years of collaborative community health research in November with a lunch and afternoon of discussion on the past, present and future of community-based health research. The work of the past decade was illustrated in a commemorative booklet featuring a summary of the 33 studies produced as well as a description of the workshop and two conferences hosted by the HRU. Dean Ian Bowmer described the HRU as a "driving force" in the Faculty of Medicine, and congratulated members of the unit on their expertise and ability to collaborate with community groups. |
| An interdisciplinary capacity enhancement (ICE) grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research will allow SafetyNet to help develop an East Coast Consortium on Workplace Health and Safety in collaboration with the Université de Sherbrooke and the IRSST (Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail) in Montreal, the research arm of the workers compensation board in Quebec. The five-year grant of $200,000 per year also includes partial funding for a chair in workplace health and safety to be located at Memorial University. The chair will be co-funded by private sector matching funds. |
Researcher, Dr. Proton Rahman (L), and Health Care Corporation of St. John's CEO, George Tilley (R), greet Ludwig Hantson, president of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., at the second Health Research Showcase held in Montreal.
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Special effort was made this year to forge new partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry. At two Health Research Showcases - one in Toronto and one in Montreal - Memorial University's Faculty of Medicine, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Health Care Corporation of St. John's, teamed up to host an evening for invited members of the pharmaceutical industry, featuring presentations on health research at Memorial University. Funded through a grant from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), the events were attended by Premier Roger Grimes, Memorial President Axel Meisen, and president and CEO of the Health Care Corporation of St. John's, George Tilley. Selected researchers outlined the work being done in areas such as stroke, genetics and obesity, osteoporosis, hepatitis, applied genomics, interdisciplinary health research and applied health research. |
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