Archived News & Events

Congratulations to Dawn Rault, who has been awarded a Graduate Student Entrance Scholarship from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Calgary.

Congratulations to Patrick Patterson for recently spearheading a successful research grant application to WorkSafeBC, titled '“What was he thinking?”: Cultural Factors in Manual Tree Felling Safety'

Congratulations to Jesse Matheson, who has been awarded a CIHR-funded postdoctoral fellowship from the Population Health Intervention Research Network (PHIRNET). http://www.phirnet.ca/96/Students_Trainees.phirnet

Chris Degeling is profiled in the latest issue of News Bulletin of the Australian Animal Studies Group

Prabh Lail and Adam Thomas have each been awarded a University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine bursary of $7,500 for the 2010/11 school year.

Karolina Kowelewski has been invited to complete a six month internship with the World Health Organization in Geneva starting in September - http://medicine.ucalgary.ca/about/kowalewski_WHO

Melanie Rock's research on diabetic pet care as a window into population health underpins a video available from the website of a key funder, Alberta Innovates - Health Solutions.
See: Fido can teach us a few tricks... Study recommends leveraging love of pets for better human health

Shanna Sunley, a former research assistant to Melanie Rock, has been accepted into the Epidemiologist Development Program with the Public Health Agency of Canada. After completing this assignment, Shanna will enter join the Government of Canada's Recruitment of Policy Leaders program, a highly competitive "fast-track" recruitment program into senior policy analyst positions.

Lindsay Bradshaw, Executive Assistant to the Population Health Intervention Research Centre, was nominated by her Centre colleagues for, and is a successful receipient of, the University of Calgary's "U Make A Difference" award.

Congratulations to Christopher Degeling, who has been awarded a Post-Doctoral Entrance Fellowship from the University of Calgary's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

Congratulations to Ann Toohey, who has been awarded a Graduate Entrance Scholarship from the University of Calgary's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

Congratulations to Duyen Nguyen and Ann Toohey, both successful recipients of Population and Public Health Studentships in Population Health Intervention Research awarded by this Centre.

Dan Dutton, PhD student in Community Health Sciences, has been awarded a Population Intervention Research scholarship funded by the Population Health Intervention Research Centre.

At the University of Calgary Leaders in Medicine Research Symposium held 20 November 2009, Prabh Lail and Adam Thomas each presented a poster based on their MSc theses in population and public health. This poster session allowed medical students who are also pursuing graduate degrees to present their research. Adam placed top runner-up in his group, while Prabh took top honours in her group.

Melanie Rock's paper comparing perceptions of Kraft Dinner in food-secure and food-insecure Canadian households was selected as a highlight in Research with Impact, the CIHR's annual report for 2008/9. This project would not have been possible without support from Dr Louise Potvin, who supervised Dr Rock's CHSRF/CIHR postdoctoral fellowship. Dr Rock, a CIHR New Investigator and AHFMR Population Health Investigator, co-authored this paper with Krista Rondeau, MPH, RD and with Dr Lynn McIntyre, who holds a CIHR Chair in Gender and Health.

The screenshot from the report is posted at www.melanierock.net

Cherie Nicholson, MSc student in Community Health Sciences, is the successful recipient of a Population and Public Health Studentship in Population Health Intervention Research awarded by this Centre.

Click here for a pdf version of the Canadian Population Health Initiative recently released report "Mentally Healthy Communities: A Collection of Papers", which includes a chapter written by Penny Hawe.

The Pan American Health Organization Guide to Economic Evaluation in Health Promotion, co-authored by Alan Shiell, is available online.

Gavin McCormack recently received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship which will enable him to continue his postdoctoral work on the EcoEUFORIA project as well as examining the influence of individual and area level socioeconomic status on the relationship between the built environment and neightbourhood-specific physical activity.

Read Melanie Rock's letter to the editor, re: Kraft Dinner, published in the Saturday Herald (Jan. 10, 2009).

Thank you to all who participated in the Calgary Neighbourhood and Physical Activity postal questionnaire in the Summer of 2008. For each completed questionnaire we received, the Population Health Intervention Research Centre made a donation to the respondents' choice of either the United Way of Calgary, the Calgary Humane Society or Kidsport Calgary. $500 in total was donated.

Human-animal connections in Population Health Interventions. See "Opportunities" tab above for more information.

Looking at how neighbourhoods promote health. Read how Alan Shiell and his research team are investigating the correlations between urban design, physical activity and health.

Kraft Dinner® not a comfort food for people who are forced to eat it, Melanie Rock's study has found.

Post Doctoral or PhD Fellowships in Intervention Research. Click here for details.

The inaugural Health Promotion at the Animal-Human Interface Graduate Research Stipend has been awarded to Prabh Lail, to support research on whether dog ownership influences physical activity patterns in Calgary neighbourhoods. This stipend was made possible by AHFMR and CIHR funds awarded to Melanie Rock, her MSc thesis supervisor. Prabh has also received a Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship, awarded on a competitive basis to graduate students enrolled at the University of Calgary, to support her master's research project.

Congratulations to Daniel Sperber, who has been chosen as the valedictorian of the graduating Bachelor of Health Sciences class. Daniel, whose thesis regarded the economics of automotive cellular phone bans, was chosen based on his academic record and the results of a short essay competition.

Congratulations to Patrick Patterson upon receiving a Queen Elizabeth II Doctoral Scholarship from the province of Alberta. Patrick’s project will use an anthropological approach to study variations in how employees in an Alberta petroleum firm view safety and health. The project will explore the implications of ideas about safety and health for employees’ potential responses to safety and health initiatives.

Congratulations also to Prabh Lail upon receiving the Queen Elizabeth II Masters Scholarship from the province of Alberta. Prabh's project uses survey methodology to investigate whether dog ownership influences seasonal variations in physical activity.

Congratulations to Dr. Gavin McCormack for receiving an AHFMR Fellowship Award for 2007. During his postdoctoral fellowship Dr McCormack will work on the EcoEUFORIA project. The project addresses two questions: what is the effect of the built environment on physical activity, and is improving the walkability of neighbourhoods a cost-effective means of increasing physical activity? In addition, Dr McCormack will investigate the influence of season on setting specific physical activity and how this impacts on the potential cost-effectiveness of investments in improving local environments.

Congratulations to Dr. Gavin McCormack for receiving a 2007 ‘outstanding postgraduate research student’ award from the Public Health Association of Australia. The award recognizes the excellence of Gavin’s PhD research, his contribution and commitment to advancing public health in Australia through his work for the Physical Activity Task Force, and his great potential as a public health academic and leader.

Congratulations to new graduate, Colleen Davison, on passing her PhD thesis defense recently. Colleen has been with the Centre since October 2003. The title of her thesis is "Engagement and the Northern School Setting: A critical ethnography among the Tlicho First Nation of Behchoko, NWT"

Congratulations to Alan Shiell who has been recently awarded a CIHR Chair in the Economics of Population Health.

Alan (and his dog Albert) was featured as "Mr. July" in the recently released calendar where the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research profiles its researchers. Click here to view the calendar.

The Centre hosted the CIHR Summer Institute for graduate students in Banff, Alberta on June 24-27, 2007. The theme was population health intervention research. For the press release on the Institute, click here . For a copy of the Institute Report, click here. Many thanks to everyone who took part.