An award-winning genetics scientist will speak to local high school students about his research on Rett syndrome.
WATERLOO, Ont. (Monday, Oct. 24, 2011) - An award-winning genetics scientist will speak to local high school students about his research on Rett syndrome at a talk hosted by the University of Waterloo on Tuesday, Oct. 25.
Adrian Bird will give a morning talk entitled A scientific journey: from blue skies research to neurological disease. He will also give a scientific lecture in the afternoon entitled CpG Signalling in health and disease.
Bird is one of this year's recipients of the Gairdner International Award, regarded as Canada's most prestigious medical research prize. As part of the Gairdner's mandate to communicate the work of medical researchers to others, Gairdner awardees visit universities across Canada to provide lectures on their areas of expertise.
"We are pleased to welcome Adrian Bird to the University of Waterloo," said Terry McMahon, dean of science. "Professor Bird has made significant discoveries in his research and his talk will encourage students to consider continuing their studies in science."
His morning talk will focus on DNA methylation and its importance in the regulation of gene expression. DNA methylation is a biochemical process that plays a crucial part in the normal development for higher organisms.
Bird will also talk about how he followed this DNA methylation research to understand a significant neurological disease called Rett syndrome, which affects the grey matter of the brain almost exclusively in females. His laboratory established a mouse model of Rett Syndrome and showed that the resulting severe neurological phenotype can be cured.
He holds the Buchanan Chair of Genetics at the University of Edinburgh and is director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology. He graduated in biochemistry from the University of Sussex, United Kingdom and obtained his PhD at Edinburgh University.
Primary sponsor for both talks is the Gairdner Foundation, which was created to recognize and reward the achievements of medical researchers whose work contributes to significantly improving the quality of human life.
Out of the 298 individuals from 13 countries who have received the Gairdner Award, 76 have gone on to win the Nobel Prize.
Additional sponsors for the high school talk include the Government of Ontario, Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the University of Waterloo. The afternoon lecture is sponsored by the Government of Ontario, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the University of Waterloo.
On Tuesday, the talk for high school students begins at 10:30 a.m. in the Humanities Theatre, located in the J. G. Hagey Hall of the Humanities. His scientific lecture will begin at 2 p.m. in Hagey Hall.
Both lectures are open to the public and organized by Waterloo's faculty of science. Admission is free. For more information or to register, please visit: gairdner-student-lecture.eventbrite.com or call 519-888-4567 ext. 38804.
Image: Adrian Bird, Gairdner Award recipient.
About the University of Waterloo
In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's Technology Triangle, has become one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with 30,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Waterloo, as home to the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. For more information about Waterloo, visit www.uwaterloo.ca.
Contacts:
Joanna Magee, communications officer, faculty of science, 519-888-4567 ext. 38983 or jmagee@uwaterloo.ca
John Morris, Waterloo media relations, 519-888-4435 or john.morris@uwaterloo.ca
Waterloo news release no. 60
