Conference & Meetings World Supplements Canada Supplement | Page 16

Saskatoon
Fresh approach
C
anada’s vast
hinterland state
of Saskatchewan
has hosted several
conferences in Life Sciences,
including One health Platform 2018
and 3rd Emerging Technologies for
Global Food Security in Saskatoon.
Internationally recognised
environmental and health pioneer
Dr Ingrid Pickering (PhD) was one
of 10 research leaders from the
University of Saskatchewan (USask)
recognised by the Saskatchewan
Health Research Foundation (SHRF)
for its 2018 Achievement Awards.
Dr Pickering, Acting Vice-Dean
Research in the College of Arts
and Science, and Canada
Research Chair in Molecular
Environmental Science, is a global
leader in employing synchrotron
technologies to study the impact
of heavier metals on human
health and the environment. Her
pioneering work in synchrotron
technologies has led to numerous
studies on topics such as mercury
in fish, plant uptake of metals, and
the connection between selenium
deficiency and arsenic poisoning
in places such as Bangladesh.
The knowledge is also being
passed on effectively. Dr Pickering
has been training and mentoring
students since 2003, including 90
graduate students and research
associates in the Training Grant in
Health Research Using Synchrotron
Techniques (THRUST) programme.
Dr Pickering was appointed
this year as Chair of the Canada
Foundation for Innovation, the first
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CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
woman to hold the post in the
independent agency that invests
in leading-edge infrastructure that
helps scientists across Canada
advance research and innovation.
SHRF’s Impact Award, which
recognises research that builds
capacity, advances knowledge
and informs decision-making in
healthcare, was awarded this
time to Dr Brenna Bath (PhD),
Associate Professor in the School
of Rehabilitation Science at the
College of Medicine, for her work in
improving the delivery of effective
care to rural patients with chronic
low-back pain.
Her research team found a
‘telehealth’ system, which connects
a city-based physical therapist with
a community’s local nurse, was
feasible to treat back pain.
It’s the first known application
in the world of such a team-and-
technology model to enhance
back-pain therapy. The work has
led to other research, including
employing telehealth systems that
link teams of urban rheumatologists
and physical therapists in treating
rural dwellers with rheumatoid
arthritis, and investigating how the
approach can enhance care for
other chronic health conditions.
Below left:
Saskatoon,
Canada
Below right:
Saskatchewan
researchers
World vaccine firsts
The University of Saskatchewan is
also working to develop human
and animal vaccines and
scientific, public health and policy
approaches that integrate human,
animal and ecosystem health.
At the University’s VIDO-
InterVac centre, experts have
commercialised eight animal
vaccines, including six world firsts.
When the Porcine Epidemic
Diarrhea virus spread to North
America in 2013, the centre
developed an improved vaccine
before the virus infected Canada.
The vaccine has now been
licensed to a commercial partner,
which is manufacturing the