News

Tobacco is an epidemic and control is vital, researchers from Harvard’s newly formed Center for Global Tobacco Control told an audience at the University of Waterloo on Tuesday.

Speakers, including Ryan Kennedy–a scientist at Waterloo’s Propel Centre for Population Health Impact who’s doing a research stint at the Harvard centre, discussed issues ranging from children being encouraged to pick up the habit to people exposed to second-hand smoke, and the importance of using scientific research to influence tobacco-control policy.

See article in The Record

Men and women often have vastly different wants and needs; the same is true in retirement. Men and women have varying views and goals associated with the “golden years.” Lee Anne Davies of RBC and the RBC Retirement Research Centre at the University of Waterloo discusses gender differences in retirement.

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Food allergies have become widespread news in recent years, but a recent study by Waterloo’s  shows youth who have experienced anaphylactic shock often  different views on risks associated with their allergy.

Read article in the journal Risk Analysis.

Why is the roaring game still lacking ethnic diversity?

The sport of curling has grown in recent years but with 91% of participants responding that they are “Caucasian” it seems the sport is lacking to reach out to the ethnically diverse groups that belong to Canada. Waterloo’s Heather Mair has reported diversity issues in Toronto’s Curling Clubs for the Curling Association to get a better understanding.

Brand loyalty to cigarettes? Scientists at Waterloo’s Propel Centre for Population Health Impact surveyed more than 50,000 students from various age groups and provinces/territories and found that youth in secondary and elementary schools are already beginning to develop smoking preferences.

Read at marketwire.com

Andrew Robertson and Azra Premji honoured with Presidents Circle Awards for Leadership. Robertson has been labelled as a “tireless leader” and Premji an excellent and faithful volunteer for many years.

See full list of recipients

Research from the RBC Retirement Research Centre at the University of Waterloo demonstrates that spouses need and must collaborate on developing a solid retirement plan. Couples need to look beyond plans solely based on investments and returns, and take a more comprehensive approach to determining needs and wants prior to retirement.

Read article in The Globe and Mail

Four top researchers at the University of Waterloo, including kinesiology’s Jack P. Callaghan, Canada Research Chair in spine biomechanics and injury prevention, spoke at a conference in Toronto, positioning Canada as an international leader in research and development.

See news release

For his ongoing research on cigarette labelling and how it can be used to influence behaviour, David Hammond of the University of Waterloo has been awarded Canada’s Premier Young research award.

The award, a career development prize given to Canada's brightest young researchers at the beginning of their careers, is granted by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Full story published on the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CCIHR) website.

Education and enforcement: keys to preventing concussions

Pat Bishop, retired professor of kinesiology from the University of Waterloo, comments on the connection between concussions and sports equipment. Although helmet designs have improved, he explains, “The injury is caused by a rotational motion and acceleration of the head and at the present time there is no helmet that will protect against rotation of the head, or of the brain.”