Friday, May 29, 2020

Charmaine Dean named Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics

Charmaine Dean, vice-president, research and international and professor in Waterloo’s Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science has been named Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS). 

Professor Dean is one of 35 nominees selected for the Fellowship in 2020. Each nominee for IMS Fellow is assessed by a committee of their peers for the award.

Professor Dean received the award for "her scientifically important contributions to the analysis of count data, disease mapping, spatio-temporal data and more; for her outstanding leadership to the statistical profession, her record of mentorship and for her enormous work in keeping statistics visible at the center of science."

“Professor Dean has provided exceptional leadership to Statistical Science in Canada and internationally over many years,” says Professor Stefan Steiner, chair of the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science. “This includes serving as the President of the Statistical Society of Canada and the International Biometrics Society (Western North American Region) as well as on numerous grant selection committees.”

Established in 1935, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics is a member organization that fosters the development and dissemination of the theory and applications of statistics and probability. The IMS has 3,500 active members throughout the world. Approximately 12 per cent of the current IMS membership has earned the status of fellowship. 

Pharmacy alumnus talks volunteering in long-term care

This is an excerpt of an article originally posted on the School of Pharmacy's website.

When COVID-19 first hit Canada, Brad Murphy’s (PharmD ’19) job at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa continued as normal. As a research pharmacist, he supports projects in pharmacogenomics — using an individual’s genetic markers to make decisions about their medications — in oncology and mental health, and he was able to keep working on those projects with little disruption.

But then Brad’s director put out a call for help to the pharmacy department. Some long-term care (LTC) homes in the Ottawa area had been devastated by COVID-19, experiencing cases among both residents and staff. COVID-19 caused the needs of residents to escalate and the demand for care surpassed what existing staff could provide, especially with some employees in quarantine due to testing positive. The LTC facilities were seeking volunteers to help continue to care for residents.

“I had more flexibility since my work was primarily in research,” Brad says. “So, I decided to volunteer. I’m now deployed for two-week periods at a time. Because I’m volunteering with patients who are COVID positive, I’m no longer allowed back in the hospital, so my research work is continuing from home.”

Initially, Brad was the only pharmacist among about 80 volunteers. Most were paramedics and nurses. That group was broken down into smaller teams and given the task of testing all residents and patients in LTC homes throughout the Ottawa area. The goal was to get a clearer picture of how far COVID-19 has infiltrated these spaces.

After that testing was complete, the focus shifted to assisting staff members and providing care to their residents. Brad was sent to an LTC home with another pharmacist and two pharmacy technicians.

“Being in the homes has definitely pushed out the edges of my comfort zone,” Brad says. “But I had to help. I pictured if it was my grandparents and if they were going without being fed or bathed or socialized with, I would hope someone else would step up to the plate to help them. Doing this work has shown me a whole new side of health care.”

Read more on the School of Pharmacy website.

Life in Italy during the lockdown

By Esmeralda da Conceicao, BA ’96 Fine Arts, Co-op. This is an excerpt of an article published on the Faculty of Arts website.

The lockdown happened quickly. As an educator, the closure of schools on March 5 meant the situation was serious, but I don’t think everyone thought it was because most of everything else was still open. But within a week, the numbers of sick people skyrocketed in the province of Lombardia. Hospitals were instantly flooded with people with fever and inability to breathe.  With a lack of information, the majority of people still felt it was a virus that only attacked the elderly and those with weak immune systems. On March 10, Italy started its national quarantine lockdown.

The worst thing for me was the news coverage. Initially announcements by foreign governments was covered first, and many internationals living in Italy were receiving information from their home country before Italian authorities officially made their announcements. The first decree was also too vague. The statement said simply that you can go out for work, grocery shopping, and for health reasons – with social distancing of one meter.

However, many questions were raised about the restrictions: What kind of workplaces were allowed to be open, was going out to exercise okay as a health reason, and is one-meter social distance only for adults? As each week of the lockdown progressed, further restrictions were imposed. 

Parks were closed, we could no longer go for a walk or jog, we were only allowed to go to food shops within 200 meters from our home.

Very quickly, the streets became deserted. The security around the train station increased with many more police and soldiers patrolling. On weekends, you can occasionally hear helicopters flying around monitoring movements. Despite the severity, people also started to unite as a country. In the third week, the majority of Italians complied with the regulations. Panic shopping lasted only a day or so, and there has been no shortage of food. Most people have adapted to do a bigger shopping once a week. You see people taking their dogs for a walk.

Although, the city isn’t the same, you still see a bit of liveliness, particularly near the groceries store.  I noticed students offering their services to help out those who can’t go do their shopping or walk their pets.  Every so often there is a public display of solidarity, like clapping at noon. Recently on April 25, the country celebrated Liberation Day on the balconies, singing Bella Ciao at 3:00 pm.

It’s now April 30 and day 46 of the lockdown. On May 4, Italy is starting a gradual reopening. People will be allowed to visit their immediate relatives in the same region, small funerals can be held, manufacturing and construction can restart and there will be a fixed price set for masks.

Since the full lockdown, life has been completely altered, and all are waiting patiently for further easing of restrictions.

Read the rest of the article on the Faculty of Arts website.

Friday's notes

Yesterday’s Academica Top Ten stated an inaccurate statistic about Waterloo’s co-op employment rate. It said “The employment rate for spring co-op students at the University of Waterloo is down approximately 88% in non-pandemic times.” This was an incorrect synopsis of a CBC article that was published Wednesday, featuring an interview with Norah McRae, associate provost, co-operative and experiential education.

The accurate statistic should read: “The employment rate for spring co-op students at the University of Waterloo is down to 68% from 88% in non-pandemic times.” The corrected article can be found on the Academica website.

The next session in the Office of Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion's "Ask Us Anything" series is set for June 4 from 1:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. "ASK US ANYTHING: The Reality, Risk and Responses to Virtual Communications" will be hosted by the Conflict Management and Human Rights Office.

"As an organization and community, University of Waterloo is now fully engaged in some form of electronic communication, often as a substitute for in-person interactions with stakeholders, students, colleagues, and friends," says a note from the event organizers. "This ASK US ANYTHING virtual session explores our need to be aware of, and respond to, the increased risk of challenging pitfalls as we communicate remotely and virtually. Short presentation, followed by open Q&A."

Students, faculty, staff, and community members are welcome to attend.

So long, and thanks for all the Good Buddies of the University

"Here’s Sullivan, my Good Buddy," writes Rebecca Gibbins, student services coordinator in the Science Undergraduate Office. "Sullivan’s not really into physical distancing. He prefers to be very close, touching is best. He is always right at my feet or behind my chair now that we are working from home. He has also been known to feature in, “My co-worker snores loudly from the floor”. #Sullivanthebarbet specializes in looking handsome."

"I have a couple of co-workers who are always sleeping (and snoring) on the job," writes Clare Bermingham, director of the Writing and Communication Centre. "They’re in their retirement years, so I suppose it’s unfair to expect them to join the workforce again. Louise the cat snuggles on her heating pad all day. Beebo the dog still maintains a perimeter watch to guard against squirrels and other four-legged intruders, but otherwise snores beside me. She breaks from snoozing for a tail-wagging and occasional belly-rub request."  

"This is Pippin," writes Cameron Shelley of the Centre for Society, Technology & Values. "He is demonstrating how to multitask: Guarding the territory via the window while also having a nap."  

"This is Pickles (full name Pickles Stephen Colbert)," writes Melissa McNown-Smith, manager, residence learning in Housing and Residences. "I'm currently on mat leave so she's not helping me with Waterloo related work, but she does "help" me wrangle a baby and a 4 year old. Here she has been dressed up as a princess. While not a fan of the crown, she agrees that she should be treated as royalty. She's very much looking forward to the day that we can get out of the house and stop interfering with her beauty sleep."

"Meet Sadie who has only been with us 7 weeks now and only knows her owners to always work from home," writes Anita O'Connor, operations manager in Co-operative Education. "She loves her playtime outside and as Boston terriers are known for she is a very affectionate companion and loves any chance she can to take a nap on my lap while working."

"Kermit the cat generally ignores me as I work from home but occasionally he decides to take away some of my privileges such as the use of my keyboard or printer," writes Alison Hitchens, associate university librarian in the Library. "He has also been caught trying to enter my password or look up a Skype for Business contact but so far has been unsuccessful."

And with the above submissions, after 43 business days of uninterrupted images, the Good Buddies of the University will be ending its daily run in the Daily Bulletin. The project began at the end of March with a huge outpouring of photo submissions, and with May coming to an end this weekend, the photo backlog finally worked through, and the flow of new submissions down to a more manageable level, it seems like the right time to transition the initiative. The response over the past 62 days has been astonishing: some 214 students, faculty and staff submitted more than 267 pictures of their very Good Buddies, and reader feedback has been, like so many things about the times we live in, unprecedented.

This has been a popular feature in the Daily Bulletin, and one that is not going away: you can continue to submit photos of your Good Buddies to bulletin@uwaterloo.ca and they will be featured in the Daily Bulletin on a weekly or twice-weekly basis, depending on the volume of submissions. Thank you to everyone who submitted photos of their cats, dogs, birds, reptiles and rodents, insects and wildlife, and even stuffed buddies. You've provided a window into your remote-working experience and given your colleagues something to smile about in these difficult times. So give your Good Buddy a scritch behind the ear, a pat on the head, or a special treat, and tell them they were very Good Buddies indeed.