Coordinator's Corner:
Course Announcements:
PATH 547 (3 credits) will be starting in January! Register now!
PATH 547 - Techniques in Molecular Biology and Experimental Pathology. Students will learn restriction enzyme digests, Northern and Southern blotting, cloning, DNA sequencing, polymerase chain reaction technology, electron microscopy, and fluorescein-activated cell sorting. Course Coordinator: Dr. David Ng
Course Objectives:
- To survey and use a range of molecular techniques (from old to new) that would prepare a researcher for molecular biology work.
- To focus on the biochemical principles in these techniques for best practices in troubleshooting and modifying experiments.
- To to provide an opportunity for public science engagement, in the form of science writing assignments that aim to engage a layman reader.
Job Opportunity:
AMBL, the teaching facility within the Michael Smith Laboratories, is looking to hire 2 Pathology Graduate students to participate in their outreach programming. Candidates will be hired to work with others on coordination and instruction activities associated with AMBL’s Grade 11/12 fieldtrip sessions (see http://www.bioteach.ubc.ca/portfolio/pcr-dna-fingerprint-assay-grade-12/ for more information).
Presently, we are hoping to re-open this field trip after a COVID pause, with a mind to host approximately 10 dates (schedule to be determined but will fall within the January 2022 to June 2022 timeframe, and subject to the availability of the AMBL lab, teacher schedules as well as the schedules of the graduate students hired). The two hires will work as a pair to deliver a 5 to 6 hour program to visiting Grade 11 and/or 12 classes. Hires will be appointed as Graduate Academic Assistants at a rate of $150 per session (or ~$25-$30 per hour).
Given the continued uncertainty around COVID, we are also hoping that in the event of having to further postpone the fieldtrips, the students hired would still be available as hires in September 2022.
Interested candidates should provide a cover letter and an updated CV to Dr. David Ng via email (db@mail.ubc.ca) on or before December 3rd, 2021 at 4:00pm. Relevant experience in working with high school students and/or science outreach programming for young people is a plus, as is strong interest in issues related to science education, science communication or science advocacy.
We are accepting feature photo submissions for upcoming newsletters! Email Heather with your photo at heather.cheadle@pathology.ubc.ca.
If you have changed your email address since the start of your Program, please email it to me to ensure you continue to receive Program Communications. Please also be sure to update your email in SIS to continue to receive important communications including awards notifications.
Awards:
PALM Trainee Virtual Conference Attendance Awards - Call for 2021 Applications
Due to COVID, these awards have been temporarily revised to reimburse students for virtual conferences where a registration fee was paid. The applications for 2021 are due by e-mail to heather.cheadle@pathology.ubc.ca by Friday, December 31st, 2021 at 4:00PM. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
Eligibility:
The competition is open to Pathology graduate students irrespective of citizenship or residency status in Canada who are registered in the PhD Program, and are entering the 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th year of their program.
The conference must be identified as an international conference, but it may take place in Canada.
If you have any questions about your eligibility, please contact Heather Cheadle for clarification.
A complete application includes:
1) Completed PALM Trainee Virtual Conference Awards Application found here
2) Submitted Conference Abstract.
3) Latest Annual Report.
4) Evidence of Abstract acceptance at Conference for Poster/Podium Presentation.
Reimbursement of this award will occur by funds transfer from G+PS Graduate Awards.
Applications will be adjudicated by a Departmental Awards Committee, and the results of this competition will be announced in late January 2021.
UBC Affiliated Fellowships-Master's
Application deadline: 1 December 2021 before 5:00 pm PT (8:00 pm ET). Note that the application deadline is set at the national level and is not flexible; late applications cannot be submitted in the system and extensions to the deadline are not possible. Please also set the deadline for your referees to submit references a few hours earlier to avoid any issues.
The UBC Affiliated Fellowships Master's competition runs in concert with the Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master's (CGS-M; see below) competition. Approximately 50 fellowship with values ranging from $175 to $16,000 are offered through this competition. Current and prospective full-time UBC-Vancouver graduate students can apply regardless of citizenship or visa status. Students who are eligible for the CGS-M must submit a CGS-M application in order to additionally be considered for Affiliated funding.
Detailed Affiliated Fellowships-Master competition information with links to application and reference forms is available at: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/affiliated-fellowships-masters-program.
The deadline by which Affiliated Fellowship applications for Master's-level funding must be submitted to the Program to the Graduate Program Coordinator at heather.cheadle@pathology.ubc.ca is Wednesday, 1 December 2021 at 5pm PT (same as the deadline for Tri-Agency CGS-M applications).
Tri-Agency Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master's (CGS-M)
Applicants for Tri-Agency CGS-M competition must be domestic students (Canadian citizen or PR) who are applying for or enrolled in graduate studies anywhere in Canada. Each applicant can select up to 3 universities with the same application. To be considered for a CGS-M at UBC, they must select The University of British Columbia as one of the 3 available institutions.
Details about this award opportunity, including eligibility and evaluation criteria, are available at http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/PG-CS/CGSM-BESCM_eng.asp and our site at https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/canada-graduate-scholarships-masters-cgs-m-program.
Students who apply for CGS-M awards will automatically be considered for open/un-restricted Affiliated Fellowships. To be considered for criteria-based Affiliated Fellowships, students should fill out and submit to their graduate programs the checklist available at https://www.grad.ubc.ca/forms/list-criteria-based-affiliated-fellowships.
ATTN: Tri-Agency Applicants: Be sure to separately email Heather your completed list of the criteria-based affiliated awards that you would like to be considered for by the deadline.
Our Cluster will host an invited lecture with Dr. David Clifton, University of Oxford. We would love to have you join, and please feel free to share with your networks who may be interested.
Date: November 30th, 2021 | 9:00 am (PST)
Speaker: Dr. David Clifton, Professor of Clinical Machine Learning, University of Oxford
Title: Advances in Non-imaging AI for Healthcare
Abstract: As healthcare data are acquired in ever-growing quantities, new classes of AI algorithm are required to help humans understand and model these complex datasets, which now include recordings from millions of patients. This seminar will introduce new developments in the rapidly-growing field of (non-imaging) "Clinical AI", demonstrating how data scientists can benefit from having "AI to help train the AI"; that is, machine learning networks involved in the construction of new machine learning networks. It will demonstrate successful projects that have been translated into healthcare practice, and highlight on-going international developments in the field, with examples from collaborative work between clinicians and data scientists.
Bio: David A. Clifton is Professor of Clinical Machine Learning in the Department of Engineering Science of the University of Oxford, and OCC Fellow in AI & Machine Learning at Reuben College, Oxford. He is a Research Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Visiting Chair in AI for Healthcare at the University of Manchester, and a Fellow of Fudan University, China.
He studied Information Engineering at Oxford's Department of Engineering Science, supervised by Prof. Lionel Tarassenko CBE, Chair of Electrical Engineering. His research focuses on the development of machine learning for tracking the health of complex systems. His previous research resulted in patented systems for jet-engine health monitoring, used with the engines of the Airbus A380, the Boeing 787 "Dreamliner", and the Eurofighter Typhoon. Since 2008, he has focused mostly on the development of AI-based methods for healthcare. Patents arising from this collaborative research have been commercialised via university spin-out companies OBS Medical, Oxehealth, and Sensyne Health, in addition to collaboration with multinational industrial bodies.
Prof. Clifton teaches the undergraduate mathematics syllabus and biomedical syllabus in Engineering Science. He holds a Grand Challenge award from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, which is an EPSRC Fellowship that provides long-term strategic support for "future leaders in healthcare". His research has been awarded over 35 academic prizes; in 2018, he was joint winner of the inaugural "Vice-Chancellor's Innovation Prize", which identifies the best interdisciplinary research across the entirety of the University of Oxford.
Register: https://datascienceandhealth.ubc.ca/news/dash-invited-seminar-series
We’re delighted to invite you to the next session of FoM TM Rounds to be held on Dec 6th at 9:30 am. This session is featuring speakers from UBC’s Centre for Brain Health. Details can be found here in the session program.
The Centre for Brain Health builds on UBC’s impressive legacy of brain research and brings together experts in the fields of neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry and rehabilitation in a hub for training, research and clinical care. For an overview of the Centre for Brain Health and the services and world-class research on dementia and more that is conducted in this highly translational research hub at UBC, tune in to the talk by the former Co-director of the Centre for Brain Health, Dr. Brian MacVigar.
Check Dr. MacVicar’s full profile
In the second talk, Dr. Haakon Nygaard will present his cutting-edge research on the use of stem cells for the treatment of dementia, and show preliminary data on the development of new 3D models of the disease.
Check Dr. Nygaard’s full profile
