By admin on February 17, 2010
Poster awards are an important and valued part of the ICORD Annual Research Meeting. Through the support of generous donors, we were able to provide poster awards to ICORD trainees in three categories at our February 3-4 meeting.
Congratulations to Maryam, Claire and Gillian.
The ICORD Trainee Award is for the best poster presented by an ICORD trainee at the Masters Student level. The 2010 ICORD prize was awarded to Maryam Shahrokni (Oxland Lab), with honorable mention to Jessica Inskip and Colin Russell.
The Aaron Moser Award goes to the best poster presented by an ICORD trainee at the Doctoral Student level. The 2010 Moser prize was awarded to was awarded to Claire Jones (Cripton Lab). This award is named for Aaron Moser. In 1988, while playing hockey for the Nanaimo Clippers, Aaron was checked from behind into the boards and suffered a broken neck, severing his spinal cord and leaving him with no movement from the neck down. After his injury, his teammates and friends set up a trust fund to raise money for the equipment, supplies, renovations, and other expenses he would have during his rehabilitation. The Aaron Moser Spinal Cord Injury Foundation was started with the remaining funds. The sole purpose of this foundation is to raise money toward spinal cord research and, ultimately, a cure for paralysis.
The Gordon Hiebert Award is presented for the best poster by an ICORD trainee at the Postdoctoral Fellow or Resident level. The 2010 Hiebert Prize went to Gillian Simonett (Krassioukov Lab). This award is named in memory of former ICORD trainee, Dr Gordon Hiebert. Gord came to ICORD in 1996, after completing a PhD with Dr. Keir Pearson at the University of Alberta where he studied the electrophysiological mechanisms of locomotion. Gord chose to come to ICORD for his postdoctoral training, joining the labs of Drs. Wolfram Tetzlaff and John Steeves to broaden his knowledge base by studying the molecular mechanisms of spinal cord regeneration. In 2001, Gord left for Saskatoon and later Edmonton to combine his molecular and electrophysiological skills to better understand SCI-induced plasticity in spared motor systems. On May 26, 2004, SCI research lost a friend and colleague when Gord passed away following a battle with cancer at the age of 36. Along with his significant scientific contributions, Gord will be remembered as a friend to all who knew him.
Posted in News
By admin on February 11, 2010
This event is presented by the UBC Department of Health, Safety and Environment.
All UBC Staff and Faculty are welcome.
Friday March 5, 9:00- 4:30 pm
Sign up online to book your individual appointment for:
- nutritional health, focused on weight loss;
- nutritional health, focused on eating for energy and boosting your immune system;
- depression screenings;
- cardiovascular health assessment (blood pressure, body-mass index, waist circumference);
Register by March 3, 2010. Space is limited!
*Please register for just one appointment for the day. If there are any spaces available, you can sign up for an additional appointment on the day of the fair, at the Welcome Desk which will be located in the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre North Entrance.
Also register online for the following workshops offered in the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre Atrium on March 5:
Workplace Snacks- Power of Food Style: Master the Art of Cooking with a Nutritional Punch with Adam Hart (www.poweroffood.com) During this workshop participants are given the opportunity to discover how to prepare nutritious snacks that are simple to make and taste fantastic. Learn the secrets of how to prepare nutritious and tasty snacks, including power bars, and discover what food increase energy and how to use them with ease.
Yoga in the Workplace with UBC Rec (www.rec.ubc.ca) Learn yoga stretches and techniques that you can perform even when sitting at a desk or a computer. Taking a short break to do some stretches has many benefits, such as increased blood flow to the brain (to help us with focus and clarity), and dealing with stress. Taking just a few minutes a day can make us more productive and benefit our physical and mental health.
Posted in Front Page News, News
By admin on February 1, 2010
ICORD researchers, Dr. Peter Cripton, Director of the UBC Injury Biomechanics Laboratory, and PhD candidate, Tim Nelson, have invented a sports helmet that reduces direct impact to the neck by up to 56 per cent, according to preliminary tests. Dubbed Pro-Neck-TorTM, the patent-pending technology features a movable inner shell that guides the head to tilt slightly forward or backward in a head-on impact, thus allowing dissipation of direct loads to the cervical spine. The inner shell mechanism is deployed only when the wearer lands head-first with a certain speed and angle at impact. It works otherwise like existing sports helmets.
Click here to read the official news release.
Click here to visit the Pro-Neck-TorTM website and learn more about this new invention.
Posted in News | Tagged Cripton, helmet, invention, neck
By admin on January 8, 2010
ICORD Researcher and VCH Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. Brian Kwon has been named one of Business In Vancouver’s Top 40 under 40. The award honours corporate leaders, entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders in British Columbia who have reached a significant level of success before the age of age 40. Click here for the full story.
Posted in Announcements, Front Page News, News | Tagged brian kwon, business in vancouver, kwon, orthopaedic, spine surgeon, top 40
By admin on November 24, 2009
Paralympian athletes are exposed to tremendous physical and emotional stress during training and competition, and athletes with spinal cord injury (SCI) have unique disadvantages during competition. One of these disadvantages is unstable blood pressure control. On a daily basis, individuals with SCI deal with either extremely low resting blood pressure, and/or uncontrolled episodes of high blood pressure. The latter is called autonomic dysreflexia (AD). Low blood pressure and a poor response from the heart results in significant fatigue and presents a serious problem for athletes during both training and competition. In contrast to low blood pressure, AD is a life-threatening situation whereby individuals with cervical and upper thoracic injuries experience a drastic increase in blood pressure. If left untreated, AD can lead to bleeding in the brain and/or death.
ICORD researcher Dr. Andrei Krassioukov is an expert in AD, and has just received funding from the Craig Neilsen Foundation to bring evidence-based clinical knowledge and crucial practical information on unstable arterial blood pressure control among athletes with SCI to Paralympians and their coaches at Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Paralympic Games.
This project is a collaboration between clinicians and scientists from ICORD, individuals with SCI in the BC Wheelchair Sports Association and former Paralympic athletes. For more information, see this page.
This project has been approved by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and recently received financial support from The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation.
Posted in Front Page News, News | Tagged AD, Autonomic disreflexia, Krassioukov, Paralympics
By admin on November 24, 2009
Dr. Andrei Krassioukov has won the 2009 Alan T. Brown Foundation Award for research in Spinal Cord Injury, presented by the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA). This is the first year the Alan T. Brown Foundation SCI Research Award has been awarded. It is presented to a researcher, clinician, or group which has demonstrated excellence in translating basic science research developments to clinical care on secondary conditions, long term outcomes and/or issues relating to aging after spinal cord injury.
Dr. Krassioukov received the award in recognition of his clinical and basic science research in autonomic function following SCI. He was Chair of ASIA’s International Committee to develop standards for the evaluation of autonomic functions in individuals with SCI. These standards were recently published in Spinal Cord (January 2009) and endorsed by two major international societies involved in research and clinical management of individuals with SCI: ASIA and International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS).
Dr. Krassioukov is a physician with the Spinal Cord Program at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, an Associate Professor in the UBC Department of Medicine and an Associate Director of the International Collaboration On Repair Discoveries (ICORD).
Posted in Front Page News, News
By admin on November 16, 2009
“The choir was amazing – sublime, exquisite – a great treat for our ears!”
“We loved how the choir members mingled and chatted with the audience.”
“Your show last night was magnificent. I have seldom enjoyed myself that much.”
“Who would have thought that a research building designed to be universally accessible would turn out to have the acoustic qualities of a Gothic cathedral?”
Spinal Chord, a gala fundraiser in support of ICORD and the Vancouver Cantata Singers, wowed guests on Saturday November 14th, 2009. Combining the musical talents of one of Vancouver’s best choral groups within the three-storey glass atrium of ICORD’s home at the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre turned out to be better than anyone expected.
Between sets by a lively jazz ensemble, the choir performed three collections of pieces by a range of composers from Grainger to Mendelssohn, including a piece by Vancouver composer Jordan Nobles in which choir members rang hand bells and sang individual notes to create an ethereal environment in the space.
Throughout the evening, guests mingled with choir members and ICORD researchers, bid on a selection of wonderful auction items generously donated by a number of sponsors and enjoyed delicious hors d’oeuvres.
Click here to view a short video of event highlights.
ICORD and the Vancouver Cantata Singers would like to thank everyone who braved Saturday’s rain to come out to the event. Your presence contributed to the magical energy in the room. We would like to thank all the people who volunteered their time to help on Saturday night. And we would especially like to thank all of the individuals and corporations who sponsored our event. We sincerely appreciate your generosity.
Posted in Front Page News, News | Tagged benefit, cantata singers, fundraiser, fundraising, spinal chord
By admin on October 30, 2009
Dr. Bill Miller, an ICORD investigator and faculty member in the UBC Dept of Occupational Therapy & Occupational Sciences and GF Strong Rehab Centre, along with Drs. Gary Birch, Bonnie Sawatzky and several others, received $1,485,447 over 6 years through the Emerging Team Grant: Alliances in Mobility in Aging competition for their program of research, CIHR Team in Wheeled Mobility for Older Adults (WheeMOAT). Their research will focus on improving the mobility opportunities of older adults who use power wheelchairs.
This is the abstract from their successful grant application:
Wheeled mobility or more specifically wheelchair use by older adults is expected to grow over the next 50 years. The goal of this interdisciplinary team is to develop a program of research dedicated to improving the wheeled mobility of older Canadians who no longer have the ability to walk safely. Our team consists of engineers, computer scientists, biomechanists and clinical researchers from across Canada. We will create 3 streams of related research focus: 1) the Device Improvement and Development stream will be responsible for leading innovation related to new technologies and intervention strategies designed to improve wheeled mobility; 2) the Measurement stream will be charged with the development and assessment of the utility of novel new measurement tools which will enable us to determine the impact of new devices and intervention strategies; and 3) the Clinical Trial and Evaluation Stream which will assess the effectiveness and efficacy of the new devices.
Posted in News
By admin on October 23, 2009
Dr. Janice Eng, a GF Strong and ICORD researcher and professor in the Dept. of Physical Therapy, has received the prestigious 2009 Jonas Salk Award from March of Dimes Canada.
Earlier this year Dr. Eng, developed a rehabilitation program that can dramatically improve recovery of arm function in stroke patients. She is now developing a similar patient managed program for leg rehabilitation following stroke.
The Jonas Salk Award is a lifetime achievement award presented annually to a Canadian scientist, physician or researcher who has made a new and outstanding contribution in science or medicine to prevent, alleviate, or eliminate a physical disability. The award is jointly presented by Sanofi Pasteur and March of Dimes Canada.
Posted in News | Tagged arm function, Eng, rehab, rehabilitation, salk, stroke
By admin on October 23, 2009
Drs. Wolfram Tetzlaff and Femke Streiger’s study on the effects of high-fat, low-carb (or ketogenic) diet on recovery after SCI was featured in Science Daily and PhysOrg.com. Dr. Tetzlaff presented the research project at a press conference at this year’s Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago.
Posted in Front Page News, News | Tagged ketogenic, Neuroscience, recovery, research, Streijger, Tetzlaff
