MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

You're Invited to DoM's Annual Celebration Dinner!

Friday, June 19  |  Holiday Inn Edmonton South

Join us for an evening of celebration, connection, and community at the Annual Celebration Dinner. Tickets are now available for all DoM members. Come out and support your colleagues, learners and award recipients. Space is limited, so purchase your ticket before they’re gone!

Note to Honourees: We look forward to celebrating this special occasion with you and your guest. No ticket purchase is necessary. Please check your email for your official invitation.

Spend Time in the DEC and Enter to Win!

Whether you’re meeting with a colleague, enjoying a quiet moment, or catching up on work, each visit to the Department Enrichment Centre is a chance to win. Scan the QR code in the DEC, and let us know how you used the space to enter our monthly draw for DoM swag or dining gift cards.

Congratulations to our May contest winner, Vida Dehghan Niestanak, Research Assistant, Division of Nephrology!

DoM RESEARCH

Research News

Thank You to Everyone Who Made Research Day a Success!

A heartfelt thank you to all the research students who presented posters and oral presentations—your work and enthusiasm were truly inspiring. We’re also deeply grateful to all the keynote speakers, judges, and supervisors for your time, support, and dedication. Your contributions made this event a meaningful celebration of research and discovery.

Research FAQ

How Do I Request Research Support?

You can request assistance by contacting:

1. General Research Support. The Divisional Program Support (DPS) Team offers many administrative support services for researchers including:
   • Canadian Common CV (CCV) support.
   • Securing signatures and arranging meetings for grant applications, particularly multi-centre grants in which a DoM faculty member is the principal applicant.
   • Securing other necessary documents usually required for grants, particularly multi-centre grants, such as ethics approvals, operational approvals, or letters of support from external institutions.
     
     You should first contact the DPS team at dpsadm@ualberta.ca.
     
     For any specialized requests related to general research support or request for significant support, please contact RaeAnne Barkhouse, Academic Divisional Administrator, at 780-492-8787 or raeanneb@ualberta.ca, who will direct you to the appropriate support team.
      
2. DoM Research Office. A full-time, PhD-trained, support person can be allocated for larger grants driven by a DoM member, requiring several weeks or months of preparatory work. Contact Eleni Karageorgos, Team Lead of the DoM Research Office, at 780-248-1491 or eleni.karageorgos@ualberta.ca or Dr. Evangelos Michelakis, Associate Chair of the DoM Research Office, at 780-407-1576 or evangelos.michelakis@ualberta.ca.

Faculty Funding and Awards

CIHR Fall 2025 Applications

• DoM CIHR Internal Review Notice of Intent to Participate | Tuesday, June 3 (extended)

Department of Medicine Translational Research Implementation Fund (TRIF)

The TRIF is designed to support research to generate preliminary data or pilot data with the expectation that it would be used for future applications, particularly Tri-Agency (CIHR). The fund will distribute $70,000 each year to successful applicants:

• up to one $30,000 award, and
• up to two $20,000 awards

NSERC Discovery Grant  |  Aug. 1. The NSERC DG supports ongoing research programs with long-term goals rather than a single short-term project or collection of projects. These grants recognize the creativity and innovation that are at the heart of all research advances. 
Deadlines: Pre-application: Aug. 1, RAS: Oct. 22, Sponsor: Nov. 3

Trainee Funding and Awards

Now Accepting Applications

This year, the department is pleased to offer one award of $25,000 to an outstanding prospective PhD student. 

The scholarship will be awarded based on superior academic achievement and research potential, as demonstrated by a GPA of 3.5 or higher, awards, and publications.

2025 Alberta Innovates Postdoc Recruitment Fellowship (AI RF) | July 7. The AI RF assists with the strategic recruitment of top postdoctoral fellows (“Trainees”), with health-related work, to the University of Alberta and the province of Alberta. Value: $70,000 per year for up to two years.

Neuroscience Research Training Scholarship | Sept. 9. This award will consist of a commitment of $65,000 per year for two years, plus a $10,000 per year stipend to support education and research-related costs for a total of $150,000. Recipient must be interested in an academic career in neurological research with an MD, PhD, or equivalent doctoral-level clinical degree.

For more Funding and Award Opportunities, see:

Members' Research Publications

Stewart JJ, Robinson JL, Chen JZ. Nitrites for Urinary Tract Infection—Time to Say Goodbye? JAMA Intern Med. Published online May 05, 2025. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.0973  

DoM NEWS

Dr. Glen Jickling (Associate Professor, Division of Neurology) and Dr. David Wishart (Science, FoMD) receive $4.79 million grant to examine how genes interact with environmental factors to affect stroke risk and stroke outcome. (Folio)

Dr. Neesh Pannu (Professor, Division of Nephrology) co-leads the new interdisciplinary CHS hub that aims to turn research into solutions for everything from disease diagnosis to hospital management and drug discovery. (Folio)

A discovery by Dr. Philip Halloran (Professor, Division of Nephrology) could lead to new treatments to prevent organ rejection. (Folio)

Congratulations to Dr. Carrie Ye (Assistant Professor, Division of Rheumatology) on receiving the CIHR Fall 2024 Early Career Researcher in Cancer Award. 

Congratulations to Dr. Heather Armstrong (Associate Professor, Division of Gastroenterology) on receiving the 2024 Terry G. Falconer Memorial Rh Institute Foundation Emerging Researcher Award in Health Sciences. 

• Dr. Justin Ezekowitz (Professor, Division of Cardiology) 
  •  Heart failure isn't the 'death sentence' diagnosis it once was (Ottawa Citizen)
     
• Dr. Mark Joffe (Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases)
  • Alberta's measles case count surges above 200 (CBC Calgary)
    ​
• Dr. Lynora Saxinger (Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases)
  • 'Things are perilous right now': Measles cases in Alberta rise to 313; experts endorse vaccine (Calgary Herald)
  • Alberta And Manitoba Face Measles Outbreaks As Cases Surge (The Pinnacle Gazette)
  • Why are measles case counts climbing so high in Alberta? Experts weigh in (CBC Calgary)
  • Measles likely to ‘grumble’ into summer as cases continue to surge (Global News)
  • As measles cases surge across Southern Alberta, officials abandon site-specific alerts in favour of standing advisory (The Globe and Mail)
     
• Dr. Valerie Sim (Associate Professor, Division of Neurology)
  • Mysterious brain diseases in Canada weren't a mystery after all (NBC News)

DoM ACCESS, COMMUNITY
AND BELONGING

From Distance to Understanding:
Choosing Empathy Over Sympathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person by putting yourself in their position and experiencing their emotions as if they were your own. In contrast, sympathy involves feelings of sorrow or pity for someone else's misfortune.

Empathy requires a deeper emotional response than sympathy. It isn't just about recognizing someone's hurt or pain — it involves feeling it alongside them. While empathy fosters connection, demonstrates caring, helps build relationships and validates other's emotional experiences, sympathy can create distance between people.

By putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes, we can reduce conflict, create more supportive communities and build a more understanding culture.

Here is a short video describing the difference between empathy and sympathy, and why empathy is important.

Read other ACB definitions and topics on the DoM ACB site.

HAPPENINGS IN DoM

Note: change of venue until June 20, 2025 
Classroom D - 2F1.04 WMC, University Hospital.

In Case You Missed It

Dr. Janet Pope, Professor of Medicine & Rheumatology from the University of Western Ontario, is an international rheumatology superstar and gave a lively presentation on Scleroderma: The Hard Facts. (MGR, May 9)

Upcoming MGRs

Join in person for coffee or click on the links below to register on Zoom.

• June 6 — Research Grand Rounds: Epigenetics and the Human Life Course. Dr. Michael Kobor, Edwin S.H. Leong UBC Chair in Healthy Aging and Canada Research Chair in Social Epigenetics. Note: change in location to Bernard Snell Hall, University Hospital.
• June 13 — "Ask Your Doctor About …" - facts and fictions about GLP-1s (like ozempic and mounjaro). Dr. Peter Senior, Professor, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, U of A
• June 20 — TOPIC: Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Dr. Peter Kannu, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Medical Genetics, U of A
• June 27 — No MGR. The Medicine Grand Rounds will break for the summer and resume at the beginning of September.

Are you passionate about improving the lives of older adults? Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with experts, enhance your skills, and stay updated on the latest advancements in geriatric care.

Save the Date

Department of Medicine Welcome Back Picnic

September 12, 2025

11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

FACULTY OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY

• Faculty Annual Report (FAR) Information Session | June 25. If FAR is new to you or if you would like a refresher, attend this online session.
   

•  Demystifying Academic Integrity Reporting: From Concern to Action | Jun. 17, Jul. 31 or Aug. 21. Find out more about the University’s updated Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA NEWS

Scheduled Network Maintenance

IST will begin network upgrades from June to August, mostly overnight, which may affect the Internet, AHS access, VPN, etc. 

• Check the building-specific maintenance schedule. E.g.,
  • WMC - Jul. 3  |  MSB - Jul. 10  |  HMRC - Jul. 15  | KATZ - Jul. 24
  • CSB - Aug. 7  |  ZLC - Aug. 14  |  College Plaza and UT - Aug. 21
• Restart your printer after the update, if needed.

• Updated U of A Brand and Merchandise Guidelines are now available on Canto:
  • 2025-26 Master Brand Guidelines (updated)
  • Branded Merchandise Guidelines for Licensed Vendors (new)
  • Student Group Merchandise Guidelines (new)
    
    For Canto access, login to SSO with your CCID.
     
• Excellence in Leadership Award | due June 30. The award is intended to recognize outstanding leaders or leadership teams for their awareness of and attention to issues and concerns that impact the quality of the work and learning environment. Nominees must be performing a leadership role (e.g., College Dean, Dean, Director, Chair or Manager) for a period of at least 12 consecutive months.

ALBERTA HEALTH SERVICES NEWS

• Connect Care's Between the Charts newsletter summarizes key news, Epic system updates, efficiency tips and extras to help prescribers improve their Connect Care experience. Bookmark the Connect Care Bytes blog to receive update notices. 
   
• Alberta Enhancing Women’s Health by Improving Testing for Vaginal Infections. Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL) has introduced new molecular testing technology that can accurately identify common vaginal infections (also known as vaginitis) in women, sooner.

HELPFUL SUPPORT & TIPS

• Navigating Change | June 17. Explore the personal aspects of change, focusing on factors that influence acceptance, commitment and emotional connection, and gain strategies to stay grounded in difficult moments.
   
• Mindsets and Skills for Today’s Problem Solver | July 3. This session is for those who want to solve problems differently. In this interactive session, you will learn about the fundamentals of human-centered problem solving.  
   

• Google Tip: Can't create a Form in a Shared Drive? You can create a Google Form in a Shared Drive — unless the form requires respondents to upload files (e.g., documents or images). Because respondents don’t have permission to your Shared Drive, the form won’t work. Instead, create the form in My Drive if you require uploads.