Hi everyone,
Welcome to spring in the Maritimes! Lots of great things are happening. It’s particularly exciting to see Dalhousie Medical School’s 150th anniversary activities rolling out alongside the 200th anniversary celebrations of Dalhousie University itself. Departments, programs and student groups have put together an outstanding series of 150th signature events. I’m looking forward to welcoming the appreciative attendees at many more signature events planned for the remainder of our anniversary year.
Innovators and Originals
For our 150th anniversary, we are continuing with our “Dal Med Innovator” series, to honour the outstanding contributions of leaders from the medical school’s storied past. You will meet two new innovators on our website: Dr. Chester Stewart, the dean who led the medical school into the latter part of the 20th century with determination, vision and style, and Dr. Lea Steeves, a pioneer who set a new course for continuing medical education in Canada.
I’m pleased that Dalhousie University has recognized Dr. Ford Doolittle as one of its 50 “Dalhousie Originals” through its 200th anniversary celebrations. Now professor emeritus, Dr. Doolittle has been a revolutionary force in the world’s understanding of DNA, gene swapping and evolution as a whole.
Canada 150 Research Chair
As you know, 2017 marked the 150th anniversary of Canada. To commemorate this special year, the Government of Canada earmarked new research positions, the Canada 150 Research Chairs, with the intention of recruiting world-calibre researchers to Canada. We are extremely fortunate to be one of seven Canadian universities to secure one of the coveted $7 million Canada 150 research chairs!
I am delighted to announce that Dr. Katherine O’Brien, currently a professor of international health and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is our new Canada 150 Research Chair in Vaccinology and Global Health. She will join our faculty in December, with a mandate to conduct clinical, epidemiological and policy-based research. Dr. O’Brien is a true international research superstar and bringing her to Halifax in a role of this stature is going to provide transformational opportunities for our learners, faculty members, patients and the community at large.
Dr. O’Brien will join an area of considerable research strength at Dalhousie, the IWK and the Nova Scotia Health Authority. Her research activities align with those of the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology and scientists in our Faculty of Medicine Wave I research cluster in infection, immunology, inflammation and vaccinology (I3V). Dr. O’Brien will become a leader in the Faculty of Medicine’s and Dalhousie University’s global health research strategy. She will be joining us for preliminary planning meetings at Dalhousie this June from the 11th to the 15th. Stay tuned to opportunities to engage with Dr. O’Brien and learn more about her research accomplishments and future plans. Read more in Dal Med News.
Faculty appointments
We are continuing to recruit excellent people into academic and administrative leadership positions within the Faculty of Medicine. Most recently, Dr. Roger McLeod was appointed associate dean of research. He had served as interim associate dean following Dr. Gerry Johnston’s retirement in 2016. He brings 20 years of experience as a lipid researcher in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, plus many years in a wide variety of leadership roles, to his new position as associate dean.
We also have a new head and chief in the Department of Urology, Dr. Greg Bailly, a known national leader in postgraduate urologic education. Dr. Bailly completed his MD and residency training at Dalhousie, before going on to the University of Toronto for fellowship training in urodynamics and reconstructive urology. He’s been a faculty member in Dalhousie’s department since returning to Halifax in 2003 and has led the residency training program since 2006. In 2012, he won the Mentor of the Year award from the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada. His five-year term commences July 1.
Two other new department heads—introduced in earlier blogs—have recently joined us from other centres. Dr. Tony O’Leary came from England in March to head up the Department of Critical Care, while Dr. Jean-Philippe Pignol has come from the Netherlands this month to lead the Department of Radiation Oncology.
Resident affairs website
Our Office of Residency Affairs has just launched its website to facilitate the process of connecting residents to services and programs to support their physical, mental and professional wellbeing.
This is an important proactive step to ensuring our residents gain the most from the incredibly important educational and practical experience of residency training, which—in spite of its many positives—can have unintended consequences of stress and burnout for some residents.
Dr. Carolyn Thomson is assistant dean of resident affairs; she can be reached at Carolyn.thomson@dal.ca.
Medical student wellness week
Our medical students in Saint John and Halifax recently wrapped up a very successful “Wellness Week,” an annual series of events the Dalhousie Medical Students’ Society puts on to provide students with information and inspiration to help them take charge of their own wellness. The week closed with a special 150th anniversary commemorative talk by Jeremie Saunders, a young man with cystic fibrosis who is the creator and host of the “Sickboy” podcast. He gave the students great insight about what it’s like to live with a serious chronic illness, with special humour and grace.
Research days
Over the past month, many of our departments and programs have hosted research days. I have had the pleasure of attending parts of some of these events. It is truly impressive to see the amount and breadth of research taking place at Dalhousie Medical School. Congratulations to faculty, residents and students who presented their research at these events. Our research directors and department heads deserve special mention for their tireless efforts to support research in their departments.
RIM (Research in Medicine) Research Day is one of highlight research days. This year’s RIM Research Day took place in Halifax and Saint John on April 9, with 56 posters and 19 platform presentations showcasing an extraordinary variety of research projects conducted by our medical students over the course of their undergraduate studies. Keynote speaker, Dean Emeritus Dr. Tom Marrie, shared the seminal events that were instrumental in advancing his outstanding research career.
Special thanks to our RIM mentors, the judges, RIM Governance Committee co-chairs Drs. Ron George and Brian Wheelock and the other members of this committee, the staff of the Undergraduate Medical Education Office, Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick and the Medical Research Development Office, and everyone else involved in pulling off this tremendous event.
Research awards
Our researchers continue to make their mark on the global stage. The U.S. National Institutes of Health, through its National Cancer Institute, recently awarded $3.2 million to Dalhousie cancer immunologist, Dr. Shashi Gujar, and his collaborator at the University of North Carolina, Dr. Sherri McFarland. The pair is developing effective treatments for advanced melanoma, using light-sensitive ruthenium compounds. Read the article in Dal Med News.
Another cancer researcher, recent PhD graduate Dr. Simon Gebresmeskel, is heading to Germany later this spring, to take part in the annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. He is one of an elite group of 600 top young scientists from around the world invited to attend this meeting of great minds. Simon is developing a combination approach to treating cancer that introduces cancer-killing viruses at the same time it stimulates the immune system to fight the cancer. Read the article in Dal News.
At a recent event, Germany-based Heidelberg Engineering pledged continued support to glaucoma research at Dalhousie Medical School. Heidelberg has been advancing retina-imaging technology with Dalhousie vision scientist, Dr. Balwantray Chauhan, for years. Read the article in Dal News.
Our researchers at Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick recently put together a compelling case to a “Medical Dragon’s Den” of “venture philanthropists” in Saint John. The “dragons” awarded the researchers—Drs. Keith Brunt, Sohrab Lutchmedial and Jean-François Légaré, all know for their work in heart disease—half a million dollars to purchase an ultra-high resolution microscope to further their efforts to address metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Read the article in Dal Med News.
The American Gastroenterological Association has named Dr. Johann van Limbergen recipient of its 2018 Pfizer Young Investigator Research Award in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. This award will allow Dr. van Limbergen to further study the role of the microbiome (gut bacteria) in Crohn’s disease.
Spring Molly Appeal
Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation is launching its first-ever spring Molly Appeal campaign this month. This targeted campaign will fund the purchase of a new tissue processor for the histology lab—the new LeicaHistoCore PEARL will replace an outmoded machine, providing our researchers with an essential piece of equipment that prepares tissues for detailed microscopic analysis. Our neuroscience researchers rely on this equipment to further their understanding of how injury, age and other factors lead to inflammation and neurodegeneration in the brain.
Kudos to our leaders and influencers
Our faculty members continue make great contributions and influence their fields, in Canada and around the world.
Dr. Pat Croskerry, well known for his work in medical error, has co-authored Diagnosis: Interpreting the Shadows. This important book examines the process of diagnosis in great detail, with an eye to improving accuracy by pinpointing how cognitive biases and other factors can lead to diagnostic error. Dr. Croskerry, director of our critical thinking program, has also been recognized for his influential contributions to the medical education literature in the field of emergency medicine. An article in the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine notes that he has authored the second and third most-cited papers in EM education (333 citations). Dalhousie colleagues Dr. George Kovacs also made the most-cited list, with 50 citations.
Dr. Ashley Miller, who recently joined our Department of Medicine, Division of Internal Medicine, has made an impression at the highest levels of the Canadian government with her recent article—co-authored with Dr. Danielle Martin and published in The Lancet—about Canada’s obligation to be an international leader in health policy and practice. The paper drew comments from bureaucrats all the way to senior cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister Trudeau. Read more in Dal Med News.
Dal Med hosting national medical education conference
I’m looking forward to the Canadian Conference on Medical Education, which we will be hosting this year at the new convention centre in downtown Halifax. Given that this is our 150th, and our first medical classes were taught at the original Dalhousie College in the Grand Parade, it feels like we are coming full circle, but with a new level of leadership. The Canadian Federation of Medical Students will also be holding its annual meeting as part of this conference, which promises to be a wonderful event.
On that note, I will wrap up this edition of the blog. I extend my best wishes to everyone at this very busy time of year, for continued success in pursuing your goals and also taking time for yourselves to enjoy life to the fullest.