Congratulations to Adam Beach (Titorenko lab) for receiving a Frederick Banting and Charles Best CGS Doctoral Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for his studies on the mechanisms underlying the ability of a natural longevity-extending compound to delay aging by altering mitochondrial composition, structure and function.
Dr. Bhupinder Mangat in 1993
The Biology Department is sad to announce the passing of Dr. Bhupinder Mangat. Dr. Mangat was a professor in the Department for over three decades. He completed his early academic training in England, being awarded his BSc., MSc. and PhD. Degrees from the University of London. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Botany at the University of Toronto, from 1969-71 and a Research Associate at Queens University in Ontario from 1971-72. He became an Assistant Professor at the University of New Brunswick in 1972 and then joined the faculty of Concordia, then Loyola University,in 1973. Dr. Mangat’s area of expertise was in plant science. He carried out research in plant tissue culture and development, a field that laid important ground work for subsequent advances in plant propagation, plant genetic improvement and genetic analysis. Throughout his career, he taught courses in plant biology and plant physiology. He gave courses to the great majority of students who have completed degrees in Biology at Concordia over the last 38 years. Dr. Mangat was appreciated by his students for his enthusiasm and approachability, and for his sense of humor. He will be missed.
The recent Genomics symposium ("Integrative Genomics: from Humans to microbes") hosted at Concordia University was a resounding success. Nearly 170 registrants from numerous institutions in Montreal attended. See the story in the Concordia NOW newsletter. The symposium was organized by Drs. David Walsh, Selvadurai Dayanandan and Michael Sacher.
Titorenko lab research on a novel anti-cancer compound and the mechanism of its action has been highlighted in the news media, including: The Montreal Gazette; Radio-Canada; The Vancouver Sun; La Presse; Métro Montréal; The Regina Leader-Post; The Windsor Star; The Edmonton Journal; Calgari Herald; MSN Technologie; Bio-Medicine; Medical Xpress; Biology News Net; News Medical; Food Consumer; Science Daily; ScienceNewsline; Canada.com; Cancer; Anti-Aging News; Herbal Treatment; Le Devoir; FierceBiotech; Drug Discovery & Development; BrightSurf.com; Psychomedia; mediLexicon; Walfadjri; Medical News Today; Sante log; La Tribune; Bioscience Technology; Concordia NOW; The Concordian and others. In addition, Dr. Vladimir Titorenko has been named “Personnalité de la semaine La Presse/Radio-Canada” (see articles here and here)
Vincent Richard (Titorenko lab) presented a paper as an invited talk at the 9th Euro Fed Lipid Congress in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The title of Vincent’s talk was "A novel anti-aging compound extends longevity by targeting a programmed necrotic cell death pathway triggered by the age-related buildup of free fatty acids".
The Biology Department extends its congratualtions to Michael Noonan upon receiving the distinguished Rhodes Scholarship (see Concordia NOW and Concordia press release for two articles on Michael). Michael, who is an Honours student in the Ecology program in the Biology Department, is one of only 2 Quebec students and 11 in Canada to receive this scholarship. He will pursue his DPhil at Oxford University in the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit.
Dr. Dylan Fraser has been selected to deliver the prestigious 2012 Stevenson Lecture at the annual meeting of the Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research. The Stevenson Lecture is presented annually as the keynote address at the Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research (CCFFR) in memory of Dr. J. C. Stevenson, the first full-time Editor of the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (CJFAS). The Lecturer is selected in recognition of Dr. Stevenson's dedication to fostering both the CCFFR and the development of young, emerging talent in the broad area of aquatic sciences.
Congratulations to the following faculty members who were recently promoted: Dr. Grant Brown was promoted to full Professor; Drs. Catherine Bachewich and Michael Sacher were promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure.
Dr. Dan McLaughlin will be presented with the Robert Arnold Wardle Award and will deliver a plenary lecture at the 50th Annual Canadian Society of Zoologists meeting, held this May 16-20, 2011, in Ottawa. The Robert Arnold Wardle Award is presented by the Parasitology Section to an individual in recognition of outstanding contributions to Canadian parasitology and/or outstanding contributions by a Canadian to parasitology.
Congratulation to the following investigators who received NSERC Discovery Grants in the most recent competition: Drs. Christopher Brett, James Grant, Patrick Gulick, David Walsh and David Greene (Dept. of Geography, Planning and Environment). Dr. Michael Sacher was awarded an NSERC RTI grant which will expand the tissue culture capabilities of the department. In addition, Dr. Christopher Brett received an FQRNT nouveau chercheur grant.
Congratulations to the following students who were awarded prestigious scholarships: Amandeep Glory (Bachewich lab) for receiving an NSERC Post Graduate Scholarship (PGS) award for her doctoral studies on mitotic progression and polarized growth in C.albicans; Matthew Yates (Fraser lab) for receiving an NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Scholarship for his Master's studies on adaptation to environmental change in fish; Vincent Richard (Titorenko lab) for receiving a Frederick Banting and Charles Best CGS Doctoral Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for his studies on aging using the yeast as a model system; Stephanie Brunet (Sacher lab) for receiving an FQRNT Doctoral Award in Cellular and Molecular Biology (Program B02) for her studies on protein secretion; Michele Burstein (Titorenko lab) for receiving an FQRNT Doctoral Award in Cellular and Molecular Biology (Program B02) for her studies on aging and age-related mitochondrial disorders using the yeast and cultured human cells as model systems.
Dr. Mary Maly was awarded Concordia’s Excellence in Teaching Award for a part time teacher. Mary joined the department in 1977 and has taught a range of courses in organism biology and ecology. She is especially known for maintaining the foundation in statistics for the department with the teaching of Biology 322. Mary approaches her courses with enthusiasm and a disarming humor that is deeply appreciated by biology students. The department thanks Mary for her valuable contributions to Biology’s program and congratulates her on a well deserved award.
Michelle Burstein (Titorenko lab) recently presented a paper as an invited talk at the 10th International Conference “Dose-Response: Implications for Toxicity, Medicine, and Risk Assessment” in Amherst (Massachusetts). The title of Michelle’s talk was "Xenohormetic, hormetic, and cytostatic selective forces drive the evolution of longevity regulation mechanisms within ecosystems: A hypothesis and its empirical verification".
Congratulations to the 2009-2010 Biology Scholars. These students represent the top 1% of undergraduates who have achieved GPAs placing them on the Dean's List. Pictured from left to right (top row): Patrick Gulick (Chair, Biology), Sevan Mattie, Michael Noonan, Mohamed Salah, Brian Lewis (Dean, FAS); (bottom row): Pierre Chuard, Marius Diaconescu, Nicola Smith.
Photo courtesy of PBL photography
Congratulations to Pavlo Kyryakov (Titorenko lab) who has been awarded a Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ) Doctoral Research Scholarship Award.
The Biology Department recently received a Chevrolet Venture from Montreal Auto Prix. We gratefully acknowledge the geneorosity of the owners Richard Martin and Sylvain Lamoureux, and Sales Manager Marc Lajeunesse, for this most appreciated gift in support of higher education. Graduate students in the department will benefit tremendously from this vehicle in their field work that takes place in Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario.
Alexander Goldberg (Titorenko lab) recently presented a paper as an invited talk at the MiP2010 Meeting “Mitochondrial Physiology – The Many Functions of the Organism in Our Cells” held in Obergurgl, Austria. The title of Alex’s talk was "A novel anti-aging compound extends longevity by altering the composition of mitochondrial membrane lipids, thereby influencing mitochondrial structure and function.
Dr. Elaine Newman has recently been recognized as a Distinguished Professor Emeritus by the Senate of Concordia University. This honor is given in recognition of Dr. Newman’s outstanding contribution to her field of study, our Department, the Faculty and to the University during her remarkable career.
Congratulations to the following students, all from Dr. Titorenko's laboratory, for being awarded externally-funded studentships: Michele Burstein and Vincent Richard have been selected as recipients of the Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master's Award by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). This scholarship is intended to provide special recognition and support to students who are pursuing a Master's degree in a health-related field in Canada and are expected to have an exceptionally high potential for future research achievement and productivity. Pavlo Kyryakov was awarded a Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies (FQRNT) Doctoral Research Fellowship Award.
Alexander Goldberg (Titorenko lab) recently presented a paper as an invited talk at the 2010 Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology Meeting in Vancouver. The title of Alex’s talk was "Chemical genetic screen identifies a novel anti-aging compound that extends yeast life span in a TOR-independent manner, by modulating housekeeping longevity assurance processes".
Page Title: News - Concordia University - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Page URL:http://biology.concordia.ca/news/index.php ...
Date Printed: Thu May 17, 2012
