Prize winners – Libin Institute Research Day

Libin/Pfizer Canada postdoctoral research achievement award for smooth muscle biology, 2009
Dr. Eikichi Ihara

Libin/Pfizer Canada postdoctoral research achievement award for cardiovascular biology, 2009
Dr. Lei Zeng

Presentation prizes

• Mr. Hao Yin – presentation award for his talk on “Methoxyestradiol inhibits Atorvastatin induced rounding and migration of human vascular smooth muscle cells”
• Mr. Matthew James – presentation award for his talk on “Acute kidney injury and progression of chronic kidney disease following coronary angiography”
• Mr. Mohammad Imtiaz - presentation award for his poster on “Pacemaking in lymphatic chambers”
• Ms. Billie-Jean Martin – presentation award for her poster on “The Relationship Between Flow-­mediated Dilation, Hyperemic Shear Stress, And Various Anthropometric Indices of Obesity”
• Mr. Rithwik Ramachandran – presentation award for his poster on “Neutrophil derived proteinases act as biased agonists for PAR2 receptors”

Congratulations to our winners but also to all the participants and attendees for a tremendous day of science!

Defusing a Time Bomb

Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta member Dr. Brenda Gerull, assistant professor in the departments of Cardiac Sciences and Medical Genetics at the University of Calgary and AHFMR Clinical Investigator, is featured in the Fall 2009 AHFMR magazine, Research News.

Here is an excerpt from the AHFMR article:

Serious heart diseases can come as a surprise or appear slowly over a lifetime. In some cases, the younger the patient, the more sudden and severe the onset can be. We tend to picture teenagers as bundles of energy who empty out the refrigerator, sleep until noon on Saturdays, and hang out with friends at every other possible moment. But some teens have a different story. Some have to undergo heart surgery to get an implant that could save their lives. AHFMR Clinical Investigator Dr. Brenda Gerull’s research on the genetics of a debilitating form of heart disease provides teens and their parents, as well as patients of other age groups, information that can help them make difficult decisions on how to proceed.

To read the rest of the AHFMR article, click here

To read other blog posts about Dr. Gerull, click here

UCalgary Feature on Institute Director

The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary recently featured an article on the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta’s first Director, Dr. L. Brent Mitchell. The article is accompanied by a photo gallery and includes details of the new Dr. L. B. Mitchell Fellowship Research Fund.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

After becoming director of the Libin Institute in 2004, Mitchell’s five-year term has come to an end. The only Institute director at the Faculty of Medicine to serve his full term, Mitchell has steered the Libin Institute from its early days to its current status as a national leader in cardiovascular care and research. With many achievements, and even more humourous stories and anecdotes to share, Mitchell, or “Mitch” as he’s know by many, is a charismatic and gifted physician who will be missed as director.

“Mitch has played a very important role at a critical time in the development of cardiovascular medicine in Calgary,” says Dr. Eldon Smith, chair of the Strategic Advisory Board of the Libin Institute and a former dean of the Faculty of Medicine. “Under his leadership, Mitch has brought cardiologists and cardiac surgeons in Calgary together into a cohesive group.”

To read the rest of the article, click here

To see the UCalgary Medicine photo gallery, click here

To contribute to the Dr. L. B. Michell Fellowship Research Fund, click here