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September 30, 2009

Western hosts new health care network

A new health care program was announced last Friday by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

The Applied Health Research Network Initiative consists of two main hubs — the System Integration and Innovation network hosted by Western and the Population Health Interventions network at the University of Ottawa.

The SII network is led by Moira Stewart, director of the centre for studies in family medicine at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. According to Stewart, this new initiative will develop new and better modes of communication and interaction between Ontario’s health care policy makers and researchers.

“Researchers who are connected to the Ministry are on call to answer Ministry questions and to provide structures to facilitate the settling of the questions,” Stewart said. “[The program also] encourages researchers in doing our own research [and] ensures the new generation of applied health services and researchers are well connected to the Ministry.”

There are three sub-sections of the SII network — the Primary Health Care System program, the Systems of Prevention and Care program and Transition in Prevention and Care program. The latter two are both based at the University of McMaster.

—Alice Yuan

Research projects win $140,000

Three Western research projects are now closer to becoming commercial.

The research projects are the recipients of the Western Innovation Fund Awards, awarded annually by the office of the vice-president (research).

The winning June 2009 projects were the development of a prototype combined MRI and PET scanner (Blaine Chronik and Frank Prato), the development of a prototype production reactor (Leo Lau) and the development of a software quality assurance tool for medical radiation treatment plans (Eugene Wong and Jeff Chen).

The fund was first launched in 2004 with the aim of supporting the cost of innovative research results towards application and commercialization.

“The purpose [of the fund] is two-fold: one is the investment Western is making to its research community […] the other is to serve as a mechanism for creating awareness about the value and benefits of commercialization,” said Paul Paolatto, director of WORLDiscoveries, a research company which works closely with the applicants.

A maximum of $50,000 may be granted to each project. This year, funding for successful applicants totalled $140,000.

—Cathy Dai

Student recruitment campaign draws controversy

A student marketing campaign has sparked concerns in Sault Ste. Marie.

Vanessa Gastaldo, president of the Algoma University Student’s Union, is planning a town hall meeting regarding a large-scale marketing plan, called the 681 Kilometres campaign.

The campaign targets public areas in Southern Ontario to advertise Algoma University to prospective students. One released advertisement depicted a midriff and the bold statement, “Put 681 km between you and ‘You’re not going out in that!’”

According to Gastaldo, the 681 Kilometres campaign has received numerous complaints regarding the content from AU students. However, Gastaldo could not address specific concerns.

“The AUSU will be having a town hall meeting for AU students [on Monday],” she said.

The town hall meeting will allow the AUSU to take appropriate action by taking questions and concerns from current AU students.

— Aaron Blok

Crocs in London

Killarney Road was the last place residents expected to see a scene reminiscent of The Crocodile Hunter.

But John Stephan, a resident of northeast London, caught a 43-inch sub-species of crocodile while walking his dog on Monday.

The reptile was found near the pond in the Cedar Hollow subdivision near Fanshawe Road and Highbury Avenue Monday afternoon.

According to Kent Lattanzio, director of operations for the London Animal Care Centre, the centre received calls Sunday morning from residents reporting sightings of a large reptile.

“Officers were dispatched to assess the situation, and [to] see if the animal was sick or injured. However, it was a warm day, the animal was quite active and it submerged into the pond when they arrived,” he said.

“Monday was colder, so the [crocodile] was quite lethargic, which would have made capture fairly easy,” Lattanzio added. “Its body temperature was 20 C colder than normal, putting it at risk for pneumonia.”

Indian River Reptile Zoo representatives took the animal to Peterborough yesterday, where it will be quarantined for at least six months to ensure its health.

—Angela Easby

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