Jan. 23, 2018
The 5th Annual HPI Research and Curling Day 2018
The most awaited HPI Research talks and curling day was finally underway. Despite the cold, everyone was excited for a day off the lab, books and presentations! The 2018 HPI Research talks and curling event was held on January 23rd at the Calgary Curling Club. This was the third year that the HPI research day was held together with a curling event (this was the 5th year for curling). The program started at 9.30 AM, but beforehand, trainees slowly trickled in and warmed themselves to a hot cup of tea or coffee while socializing and having some scientific discussions.
This research talk event provided the opportunity for principal investigators to present their ongoing research, their achievements and for the HPI trainees to learn more about HPI member’s research fields. Each PI introduced the members of their team and their area of interest during 15 minutes presentations. They specifically talked about their research goals and the progress made during past year. In addition, The PIs had the chance to introduce new HPI members who recently joined their labs.
Research presentations included some fascinating and diverse projects presented by Drs. Andre Buret, Derek McKay, John Gilleard, Susan Kutz, Kris Chadee, Amanda Melin, Ian Lewis, Jocelyn Poissant, Nathan Peters, Jamie Rothenburger. Research from Dr. Patrick Hanington’s lab was presented by Michelle Gordy, a PhD candidate from the Hanington lab.
We were all famished by the end of the last research talk and was looking forward to a sumptuous lunch in readiness for the exciting part….curling! The lunch time was great as we were able to get know each other and welcome trainees from University of Alberta and University of Lethbridge, who were able to make it to this event.
The curling event was super fun even though there were so many first time "curlers". We were given some instructions on how to curl and the rules of the by the curling club staff before Dimitri (our social events TOC lead) announced the teams. There were 8 teams of three to four people on each team. Experienced players were very helpful to the newbies as they were willing to demonstrate or share their tips on how to stay balanced on ice. Some of us were excited to practice the skills developed from last year’s curling. It was great to see everyone stepping out of their busy schedules to enjoy the curling event.