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Submission guidelines
Ask Me Anything about graduate studies at Waterloo
Well, not me personally. But you know what we mean.
Graduate students have been invited to join Julian Surdi, President, Graduate Student Association, University of Waterloo (GSA-UW), and Jeff Casello, Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs, to ask them anything, related to graduate studies at the University of Waterloo!
There are two options for students to participate in the Ask Me Anything events:
- Tuesday, April 25 at 10:30 a.m. – Ask me anything about graduate studies at the University of Waterloo (virtual)
- Thursday, April 27 at 5:00 p.m. - Ask me anything about graduate studies at the University of Waterloo (in-person)
Coastal wetlands video selected as a SSHRC Storytelling Challenge finalist
By Chantal Vallis. This article was originally published on the Faculty of Environment website.
“Look beyond the beauty of our coastal wetlands, and you’ll find this habitat is hard at work,” starts the short video by Navya Vikraman Nair, PhD candidate in Sustainability Management (Water). Her work has been selected as one of this year’s top 25 Storytelling Challenge finalists; a national competition run by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
The annual contest, now in its 10th edition, challenges postsecondary students from across the country to show Canadians, in up to three minutes or 300 words, how social sciences and humanities research is affecting our lives, our world and our future for the better. Navya submitted a video about her current research on linkages among water quality, blue carbon ecosystems and coastal fisheries.
"I am beyond thrilled and honored to be selected as a finalist among the Top 25 in 2023 SSHRC Storytellers challenge” she said. “It's an honour to have the opportunity to share my research and its importance with a wider audience, and I am grateful for the chance to inspire others to take action towards a more sustainable future."
The top 25 storytellers were selected from a pool of nearly 200 applicants and represent 14 postsecondary institutions. Each finalist is awarded a cash prize and will compete for a top five spot in this year’s showcase.
Finalists will present their story at the Storytellers Showcase at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences on Monday, May 29, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. E.T. at York University. The final five winners will be chosen from among the 25 finalists and will be revealed at a Big Thinking event the same day.
Congratulations to all the finalists and best of luck to Navya as you prepare for the showcase!
Time of day, patient's sex may alter effectiveness of blood pressure medication
New research from a team based at the University of Waterloo suggests that the time of day and a patient's sex may alter the effectiveness of certain blood pressure medications.
Biological sex and the body's circadian clock are critical factors in managing blood pressure. The circadian clock is a natural, internal process that regulates things like the sleep-wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours. Among its many other functions, the circadian clock also regulates kidney function. The kidneys play a crucial part in regulating blood pressure by managing fluid and electrolyte levels in the body.
"One important class of blood pressure medication is diuretics, sometimes called water pills," said Anita Layton, a professor of Applied Mathematics at Waterloo and the study's corresponding author. "Diuretics lower blood pressure by targeting kidney function to increase the amount of urine the body excretes. If they don't work correctly, they can negatively impact blood pressure."
Layton's team used mathematical models to simulate kidney function in male and female mice to assess the effectiveness of various kinds of diuretic drugs: loop diuretics, thiazide diuretics, and potassium-sparing diuretics.
First, the researchers simulated active – nighttime for a nocturnal animal – and inactive – daytime – cycles of each mouse's circadian rhythms. Then they measured the predicted urine output and sodium excretion for each kind of medication, at each time, in male and female mice. They found that, for each category of diuretic, sex and time of day impacted drug effectiveness differently.
Even though humans typically have the opposite circadian clock – we are active during the day and inactive at night – the results suggest that people can make their blood pressure treatment plans more effective by choosing the right time to take their medication.
"Chronotherapy, which is the tailoring of drug administration to match the body's circadian rhythms, can play a major role in improving modern personalized medicine," Layton said.
The study, Influence of administration time and sex on natriuretic, diuretic, and kaliuretic effects of diuretics, is forthcoming from the American Journal of Physiology Renal Physiology.
Inclusive Physical Space Framework Survey deadline extended to April 28
A message from Human Resources.
The deadline for the survey of our physical campus environment survey – grounds, buildings, infrastructure, and experiences of the Waterloo community – has been extended to close on midnight on Friday, April 28, 2023.
The purpose of the survey is to understand your views on how you experience the UWaterloo campus and how we might improve its physical accessibility, how it can be designed to promote health and well-being, and how sustainable development continues on campus. You also have the opportunity to be included in a draw for $50.00 on a WatCard.
Your feedback will help to develop an Inclusive Physical Space Framework, a performance-based, open-resource document used to guide and empower post-secondary institutions to plan and build physical spaces on campus, address accessibility needs, environmental sustainability, and well-being.
If you have any questions about this project, please contact us at inclusive.space@uwaterloo.ca.