Trainees receive poster awards at ICORD Annual Research Meeting

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.

poster winners

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.