Key Notes - Issue 3
Friesen Lecture with Dr. Lorne Tyrrell: Contributions to Viral Hepatitis - vaccine Task Force and COVID-19
Join us on Thursday, November 17 at 11am for the Friesen lecture featuring Dr. Lorne Tyrrell, recipient of the 2021 Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research, awarded by Friends of CIHR.
Dr. Tyrrell is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Alberta with major interests in the prevention and treatment of viral diseases.
His multi-faceted career in academic medicine, virology, pharmaceutical enterprise, and dedicated advocacy for health research in Canada are being honoured with the 2021 Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research. Dr. Lorne Tyrrell is a gold medalist at the University of Alberta, where he obtained an MD in 1968 and a PhD at Queen’s University in 1972. He completed Internal Medicine and sub-specialty training in Infectious Diseases and post-doctoral training in Virology at the Karolinska Institute.
Dr. Tyrrell’s most celebrated life saving accomplishment in collaboration with Morris Robbins was the licensing of the first oral anti-viral drug for chronic HBV (Lamivudine) in 200 countries. This led to the establishment of the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology in 2010 at the University of Alberta, where Dr. Tyrrell is its Founder and Director.
Register here to attend the event in person or virtually.
Safety Abroad - Register Your International Travel
Did you know that the University of Waterloo has over 1000 students, faculty and staff currently travelling abroad? At any given time, large numbers of campus colleagues are on exchanges, internships, and field trips, going to conferences, and conducting research around the globe.
Waterloo International supports campus members travelling internationally through our Safety Abroad team. They are here to help you prepare effectively for international travel and to support you as you move around the world on university activities and business. To help support you travelling internationally, there are three steps you must complete to meet the University’s travel safety requirements:
- Obtain approval (students only)
Before travelling internationally and completing the travel registration process, students are required to obtain approval from the appropriate International Travel Approving Authority (fillable PDF). This approval must be documented on the International Travel Approval form (fillable PDF).
- Register travel
Students, faculty and staff travelling to a Level 1 or Level 2 destination must register their travel with Safety Aboard by completing the International Travel Registration form.
Exceptions are:
- Students travelling through a program or group activities (e.g., exchange, co-op, athletic competition, field courses, etc.) where their program supervisor has registered them as a group do not need to complete this form. Information will be provided by your program supervisor.
- Faculty and staff travelling within Canada, or the United States do not need to complete this form.
Travel to Level 3 or Level 4 destinations is not permitted without high-risk travel approval from the Provost.
- Complete pre-departure and travel risk mitigation activities
Once your travel is registered with Waterloo International, you will receive an email within 2-3 business days with instructions to complete the required pre-departure and travel risk mitigation measures which may include but not be limited to, completing a LEARN pre-departure training module and pre-departure travel checklist, reviewing and signing the International Mobility Program (Non-Co-op) Acknowledgement, Release and Waiver form, government registration and obtaining visas, updating your emergency contract information, verifying your travel and health insurance and ensuring your travel vaccinations are up to date.
In addition, all travellers who register will receive a Travel Risk Brief provided by Anvil Group, the University’s third-party provider of worldwide medical, security, travel, and emergency assistance for both University-related and personal travel. You are required to review the provided brief prior to travelling. Please note: Anvil Group is not a travel insurance company. Any costs associated with assistance you receive are the responsibility of you or your travel insurance provider.
By completing these steps, you will have a knowledgeable and experienced team support you while travelling. They provide critical information concerning inclement weather, political upheaval, and health risk mitigation, as well as assisting with personal safety measures should any risk arise. Your safety and security when going abroad is our mutual obligation and priority.
For more information and to register your travel, go to the Safety Abroad website. In the event of an emergency while travelling please visit Who to contact in an emergency.
Join Us for the Velocity $5K Pitch
The time is here for University of Waterloo’s ambitious student startups to compete at the Velocity $5K pitch competition. The competition will see early-stage student ventures battle it out onstage for a chance at one of four $5,000 awards. This term's $5K Pitch competition has seen one of the highest student participation rates in Velocity's history and is bound to be an exciting event!
The semi-finals were held on November 9th and 10th at South Campus Hall. 8 out of the 23 teams will then return to the stage for the finals on November 23rd.
Learn more and register to attend
The CBB Seed Fund is now open for applications!
Do you have a project idea to increase access to health data?
Are you inspired to create training materials for health and medical students or professionals?
Do you have a project that requires more exploration before you can apply for tri-agency or other funding?
The Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology (CBB) is very pleased to announce a call for applicants for our annual Seed Funding program. Eligible projects will work towards CBB’s strategic priority of driving scientific innovation, growth, and opportunity through the support of collaborative research across UW faculties.
In addition to the core stream, two priority funding pools are available in this round: the Health and Medical Professional Development priority funding pool and the Access to Data priority funding pool.
The CBB Seed Fund provides funding up to $15,000 for a one-year period. This opportunity is for all faculties at the University. Apply Now.
Applications are to be submitted to cbb@uwaterloo.ca by Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at 11:59pm EST. Primary applicants will receive written notice of the decision by Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
Research Data Management Town Hall
A message from the RDM Working Group.
Save the date: The Institutional Research Data Management (RDM) Strategy town hall will take place on Monday, November 21 at 10:00am as a hybrid event in EC5 1111 (Enterprise Theatre) and via Microsoft Teams.
Co-chairs Alison Hitchens (associate university librarian, collections, technology and scholarly communication) and Ian Milligan (associate vice-president, research oversight and analysis) will be presenting the university’s draft RDM institutional strategy on behalf of the RDM Working group.
This is responding to the Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy, which mandates that all institutions must have an institutional RDM strategy by March 2023. The “agencies believe that research data collected through the use of public funds should be responsibly and securely managed and be, where ethical, legal and commercial obligations allow, available for reuse by others”. Here at Waterloo, we see an opportunity to help foster research excellence by developing an RDM strategy that meets the diverse needs of Waterloo researchers.
This is your chance to be heard. At the town hall, the co-chairs will present the draft strategy, followed by a question-and-answer period. All University of Waterloo community members will have an opportunity to provide feedback and share their thoughts and ideas about the future of RDM on campus.
Please register for the event. The event will conclude with a complimentary light lunch for those attending in-person. Should you have any questions in the interim, please contact nichola.harrilall@uwaterloo.ca.
CIHR Health Services Evaluation & Interventions Research virtual information session
You are invited to a Health Services Evaluation & Interventions Research (HS) Information Session on Wednesday, November 23, from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm EDT. The purpose of this virtual information session is to give potential applicants to the HS Peer Review Committees of the CIHR Project Grant program an opportunity to hear first-hand about the committee ‘culture’.
This session will cover what sort of proposals are regularly seen in the three HS committees, what aspects are generally well-received by reviewers, what factors are considered particularly important, how the committees’ mandate is interpreted, what types of proposals are transferred to or from other committees, and how the 3 committees are different.
The current Chairs, Drs. Paula Rochon (HS1), Robyn Tamblyn (HS2) and Andrea Gruneir (HS3) will be available to make comments on these issues and to interact with potential applicants on their questions.
Spotlight on Indigenous Research at the University of Waterloo
Event: The Indigenous Speakers Series presents Dr. Talena Aftfield
Date: Thursday, December 1
Time: 3 p.m.-4 p.m.
In-Person at the Theatre of the Arts (ML) or via Livestream (link to follow).
The Indigenous Speakers Series is honoured to present Dr. Talena Atfield, member of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation of the Six Nations of the Grand River. Focusing on her work with Hodinohso:ni basket weavers, Dr. Atfield will speak about Western notions of the origins of Indigenous artistic practices versus the importance of arts and creation within the community. Her presentation will be followed by a roundtable discussion and Q&A hosted by Sara Anderson (Office of Research) and Savannah Sloat (Faculty of Science).
Dr. Talena Atfield is an Assistant Professor in History at the University of Waterloo and was previously curator of eastern ethnology at the Canadian Museum of History. Grounded in community-based knowledge sharing and creation, she works with tangible and intangible Indigenous knowledges held in museums, galleries, and community centres, with a special focus on Hodinohso:ni material culture.
For more information, please visit the Arts event calendar for event details.
Demystifying Commercialization - A provocative micro symposium on what it takes to effectively commercialize research
Date: Friday, December 2
Time: 11am-3pm
FREE | IQC 0101 | Lunch & refreshments provided
Are you ready to commercialize your research? Are you unsure but curious about what it takes? Are you looking for funding?
Find out how you can maximize your odds for success and turn your research into a startup at this Up Start micro symposium. The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Velocity and the Waterloo Commercialization Office (WatCo) will deliver all you need to know to effectively commercialize your research. This is an opportunity to connect with BDC Capital’s Deep Tech Venture Fund partner Duncan Stewart and technical director, Jackson Hamilton. You will also learn about new funding opportunities at the University of Waterloo from John Dick, director of Velocity campus and Scott Inwood, director of commercialization at WatCo.
Speakers:
Jackson Hamilton, BDC Technical Director, Ottawa
Duncan Stewart, BDC Partner, Ottawa
Scott Inwood, Director of Commercialization, WatCo
John Dick, Director of Velocity Campus
Throughout the day you can expect to hear about the following:
- The journey from researcher to founder – a map of the steps needed to create a successful spinout company
- How WatCo and Velocity help with this journey
- How to be strategic with patents and other types of intellectual property
- How non-dilutive funding plays a role in commercial development
- When to raise investment from angels and VCs
- Insights into how investors think – directly from the investors themselves
- Common pitfalls to avoid
- Commercialization myths and factual insights on what is required to spinout a company
- An experienced view of what it takes to be a successful founder
Please RSVP by Nov 25.
Research Horizons – Research funding in the Social Sciences and Humanities: Past, Present and Future
Join Ted Hewitt, President of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), on Thursday, December 8, 2022 at 12pm, for a Research Horizons presentation on research funding in the social sciences and humanities: past, present, and future. Register to attend in person or virtually.