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Strategic Initiatives: Transformational Research
- The Faculty of Applied Health and Sciences (AHS) expanded its physical footprint with the opening of two new facilities: the AHS Expansion Building and the Toby Jenkins Applied Health Research Building.
- Professor Scott Leatherdale was awarded $1.6M in funding from Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to continue the COMPASS study— the world’s largest and most comprehensive longitudinal study of youth focused on using programs and policies to reduce the future cancer burden in Canada.
- The 2016 Patterns and Trends Report, published by the Propel Centre for Population Health Impact, included a special supplement on cannabis use in Canada. The report found that just as many teenagers use cannabis every day as smoke cigarettes, and there is a strong association between tobacco use and marijuana consumption.
- Professor Paul Stolee is project lead on a $2.6M grant from the Canadian Frailty Network to implement tools for risk screening, care coordination, and patient engagement in decision-making. Other AHS investigators include George Heckman, Jacobi Elliott, Samantha Meyer, and Justine Giosa.
- In another grant from the Canadian Frailty Network, Professors John Hirdes, George Heckman, and Heather Keller received funding to implement the standardized interRAI Acute Care Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment instrument in 10 Canadian hospitals. They will also work with other Canadian partners on a cluster randomized trial of targeted advance care planning in nursing homes.
- Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) ranked the University of Waterloo 13th in the world — and first in Canada — for Hospitality and Leisure Management Studies.
Students walk in the new Applied Health Sciences expansion building.
- In September, the Faculty released its first Impact Report, Health in 3D. The 32-page publication highlights research contributions across three different dimensions of health and seven impact areas.
- The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care appointed Professor John Garcia to two task forces: the Executive Steering Committee for the Smoke-Free Ontario Strategy, and the Standards Implementation Task Force for Modernized Ontario Standards for Public Health Programs and Services.
- Researchers from the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies received a 2017-18 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Connection Grant entitled “Canada 150: engaging leisure legacies/creating leisure legacies.”
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The Partnerships in Dementia Care Alliance (PiDC), led by Professor Sherry Dupuis and collaborators, performed nine shows of their research-based drama Cracked: New Light on Dementia — including one performance in conjunction with the Alzheimer Association International Conference in July. The manuscript for the play was also published in ReView: an anthology of plays committed to social justice.
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The Professional Practice Center in Health Systems, led by Professors Ian McKillop and Helen Chen, has completed over $1M in knowledge translation projects delivering IT solutions in settings such as dialysis, transplant, cardiac care, and public health. The process has also created new experiential learning opportunities for graduate students.
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The Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD) was selected by the Ontario Ministry of Labour to lead the redevelopment of provincial guidelines for the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders. The two-year $307K project involves multistakeholder, cross-industry sectors. CRE- MSD is also spearheading a national project to develop a Canadian standard to address issues related to paramedic equipment and emergency ground transport. Developed in collaboration with the Canadian Standard Association (CSA), Frontenac County, the Paramedics Association of Canada (PAC), and other industrial partners, the standard is the first of this kind in Canada. It received over $600K in cash and $500K of in-kind funding from Defense Research and Development Canada (DRDC).
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Professor Kelly Skinner and colleagues from three universities received a four-year SSHRC Insight Grant to explore the multiplicity of food and social economies and experiences for Indigenous people living in the provincial north and urban centres in Manitoba and Ontario.
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The Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) launched its third national report: How are Canadians Really Doing? The report found that while Canada’s economy has recovered from the 2008 recession, well-being has not. In 2014, household spending on culture and recreation was at its lowest point in over two decades and Canadians are spending less time away on vacation or participating in leisure activities.
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School of Public Health and Health Systems (SPHSS) faculty members and graduate students participated in a successful Ontario Coalition Institute Workshop on Global Health in September. The Global Health Group, led by Professor Susan Horton, is currently preparing a proposal for a Global Health Institute based in Applied Health Sciences. This initiative builds on the School’s existing strengths in the field. Current projects include the application of health informatics to enable local innovators to tackle challenges in Mongolia and building institutional capacity in Zambia to address linkages between climate change and health.
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Professor Joon Lee was one of four researchers from the province to participate in the Ontario-China Young Scientist Exchange Program.
Strategic Initiatives: Academic Programming
- Three new teaching fellows (one from each academic unit) were appointed to raise the profile of teaching and learning in the Faculty. The fellows are responsible for overseeing the annual Applied Health Sciences Teaching Award, which was awarded to Professors Joe Quadrilatero and Elham Satvat in 2016.
- On May 8, the Faculty kicked-off its 50th anniversary year with a special lunch and ceremony, followed by a Hallman lecture from the Hon. Anne McLellan. The lecture, which looked at the implications of legalizing marijuana in Canada, was hosted by the School of Public Health and Health Systems to mark their 40th anniversary. Over 225 people, including faculty, staff, alumni, and members of the general public attended the talk.
- The new course-based master’s program in Recreation and Leisure Studies welcomed its first cohort in September 2016.
- More than 150 students from other Faculties enrolled in AHS 100, Foundations of a Healthy Lifestyle, over two terms. The new course, a complement to AHS 107 (which is mandatory for all AHS students), promotes the basics of health, wellness, and disease prevention.
- With support from the Network for Aging Research (NAR), graduate students hosted the second annual Symposium on Aging Research (SoAR) to initiate trans-departmental collaborations and engage in conversations on aging research. This year, SoAR featured a keynote by NAR researcher John Lewis to open the day.
- Over 100 high school students competed in the 9th annual Brain Bee competition hosted by the Department of Kinesiology. The event winner advanced to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Brain Bee.
- In November 2016, the Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program hosted Hack4Health 2.0. The two-day event generated ideas for practical applications to improve the lives of those living with Alzheimer’s disease or multiple sclerosis. Winning concepts included a low-profile bracelet providing a display of the current state of household devices (windows open, doors unlocked) and a personalized medicated transdermal patch based on specific medication plans.
- A team of SPHHS students advanced as finalists in the Canadian Evaluation Society Student Case Competition in Vancouver and competed in the final round.