Chair's Blog

In honouring Orange Shirt Day this past September 30th, I believe it is important to think about the pivotal role healthcare academies play in advancing reconciliation, fostering trust, and ultimately, promoting health equity for all. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the work many of our DoM faculty are doing in the pursuit of healing historical wounds through research and innovation with our Indigenous community partners.

Dr. Sangita Sharma, the Canada Research Chair in Population Health, has spent nearly 20 years studying and developing culturally appropriate, community-based health intervention programs in partnership with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities world-wide, and now in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Her most recent work focuses on the impact of COVID-19 and prevention strategies on these remote and isolated communities. You can read more about her work in a recent Folio Article.

Dr. Aminu Bello, recently elected into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, has spent years building relationships and trust within Indigenous communities to address health inequities in kidney care. With the support of Elders and other community members, the team developed the Kidney Check program using each community’s beliefs and cultures to aid with early detection and prevention. You can read more about his work in our DoM 2022 Annual Report and watch the short video posted below.

Dr. Quentin Durand-Moreau, Assistant Professor in the Division of Preventive Medicine, studied the unique occupational health challenges faced by Indigenous people in Canada, focusing on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit populations. These Indigenous groups have long endured significant socioeconomic and life expectancy disparities stemming from historical factors like colonization and the traumatic legacy of residential schools. The paper concludes that initiatives promoting empowerment, like signatory industrial projects, may improve Indigenous occupational health, but further study is required to explore the issues and compare with Indigenous populations in other regions. His work was published in Lancet Global Health.

There are many others in our Department who have accepted the call to action in recognizing the importance of Indigenous health research for addressing disparities and improving well-being.

On this day in particular, we salute and celebrate this important work and thank you.

Dr. Narmin Kassam, Professor and Chair
Department of Medicine

Saturday, September 30 was National Truth and Reconciliation Day
Enhance your knowledge and understanding with these helpful resources.

• Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute
• ‘Fire keepers’: Women elders share advice for healthy aging
• First People's House
• Historic agreement between Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta and U of A aims to enhance public education opportunities for students
• Sharing the University of Alberta’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Report to Community
• Supporting Indigenous Language Revitalization
• Together4Health - AHS Indigenous Wellness Core has organized a series of virtual education sessions
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action (pdf)
• Understanding Land Acknowledgements (AHS 50-min. video)
• Young Indigenous Women’s Circle of Leadership

Indigenous Partnership for Health...Kidney Care in Indigenous Communities

Indigenous individuals living in remote areas, not only face limited access to quality kidney care, but also confront a significantly heightened risk of kidney disease often necessitating relocation for essential dialysis treatments. Find out how Dr. Aminu Bello, a Professor in the Division of Nephrology, is leading an initiative addressing kidney health disparities in Indigenous communities.

Read more in our 2022 Annual Report.

Please join us in welcoming the following new staff:

• Dr. Matthew Church, Clinical Lecturer, Division of Cardiology
• Dr. Lillian Du, Clinical Lecturer, Division of Gastroenterology
• Dr. Angela Fu, Clinical Lecturer, Division of Cardiology
• Dr. Imhokhai Ogah, Clinical Lecturer, Division of General Internal Medicine
• Dr. Aseel Othman, Clinical Lecturer, Division of General Internal Medicine
• Dr. Laura Soong, Clinical Lecturer, Division of Dermatology
• Dr. Mamdouh Yousef, Clinical Lecturer, Division of General Internal Medicine

Research: 

Grants

• Kidney Foundation of Canada: Allied Health Kidney Doctoral Fellowship
  RSO deadline: October 23

• Tri-Agency Institutional Programs Secretariat: New Frontiers in Research Fund - Transformation Competition
  Pre-application deadline: October 24 

• Alzheimer Society Research Program (ASRP) - Postdoctoral
  Sponsor deadline: November 3

Many more grants are listed on the Research News web page.  

Journal Publications

• Dr. Kevin Bainey (Associate Professor, Division of Cardiology) - Short dual antiplatelet therapy duration after percutaneous coronary intervention in high bleeding risk patients: Systematic review and meta-analysis
   
• Dr. William Gibson (Assistant Professor), Dr. Adrian Wagg (Professor), (Division of Geriatric Medicine) - A scoping review of risk factors for urinary incontinence in older men
   
• Dr. Jacqueline Hebert (Professor, Division of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation) -Technology-based balance performance assessment can eliminate floor and ceiling effects
   
• Dr. Frank Hoentjen (Associate Professor, Division of Gastroenterology) - Cumulative thiopurine dosing and keratinocyte skin cancer in inflammatory bowel disease: a case-control study
   
• Dr. Irvin Mayers (Professor, Division of Pulmonary Medicine) - Cost-effectiveness of tezepelumab in Canada for severe asthma

See DoM Publications for a complete list of journal publications.

• Dr. Justin Ezekowitz (Professor, Division of Cardiology) leads a multidisciplinary team to harness AI to analyze cardiac images for precision health. (Folio)
   
• Kudos to Dr. Deena Hinshaw (Associate Clinical Professor, Division of Preventive Medicine) who will be receiving the 2023 U of A Distinguished Alumni Award on October 25.
   
• Dr. Lynora Saxinger says Moderna's updated COVID-19 vaccine covers most of the important mutations (CBC News).  Also, the differences between the new vaccines are extremely small (Hamilton Spectator).
   
• Congratulations to Dr. Sebastian Straube (Division Director and Professor, Division of Preventive Medicine) on receiving the Canadian Board of Occupational Medicine Award of Merit. Read more.
   
• Alberta particularly hit by new cases of Alveolar Echinococcosis spread by wild canines and dogs to humans. Dr. David Waldner (Assistant Clinical Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases) says the slow infection often goes to the liver and forms a mass. (CBC News)

If you missed a previous session, visit our MGR Library to watch the recordings.

• Alberta Transplant Institute Seminar Series

  • Enhancing transplant function through islet graft targeted drug delivery (Oct 4) - Speaker Andrew Pepper, PhD, Canada Research Chair in Cell Therapies for Diabetes and Assistant Professor, Dept of Surgery

  • Liver transplantation for autoimmune liver diseases (Oct 11) - Speaker 
    Dr. Aldo Montano-Loza, Professor, Division of Gastroenterology, Dept of Medicine

• The Office of Lifelong Learning has plenty of opportunities on a wide range of topics. Check their website often for courses and seminars to spark your learning.
   
• Upcoming Faculty Development Workshops - visit the FoMD calendar.

• CIHR Institute of Gender and Health's (IGH) Listening Tour (Oct 10) - Share your views on research around sex and gender on health, to help create a new strategic plan. 
   

• The Climate Change and Health Working Group brainstorming workshop (Oct 12) for the New Frontiers in Research Fund 2024 Transformation Competition. Contact asilveir@ualberta.ca for more info.

• Research Impact 101: Part 2 (Oct 23) - The Office of Research will be hosting Dr. Kathryn Graham and Jasper Buys from Impact Action Lab, as they showcase ways to effectively demonstrate and communicate the impact of your research.

U of A continues rapid rise in Times Higher Education global rankings
University now ranks among top six per cent of institutions included in the respected rankings and moves up to fifth in Canada.

Read the October 2023 MD Culture Shift, an AHS publication created by physicians for physicians. 

Support Resources: 

"How-To" Safety Series by Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) for you, your team or your lab:

• Oct 5: Hazard Assessments, Demystified
• Oct 26: Unpacking the Lab Closeout Process