69´«Ã½

Throughout October, the Gairdner Foundation hosts a dynamic and interactive speaker series that welcomes the Canada Gairdner Award laureates and past awardees to schools across Canada. The Gairdner Foundation celebrates biomedical science research from coast to coast and prides itself on giving Canadians access to scientists from around the world.

Dr. King Holmes, the 2013 Canada Gairdner Global Health Award Laureate, will be on the 69´«Ã½campus Monday, October 27 to deliver the 2014 Gairdner Lecture. The lecture begins at 6:00 pm in room 246 of Don and Marion McDougall Hall and is free to the public.

The 2014 Gairdner Lecture is entitled 'STI Research: Major progress, current challenges and future opportunities.'

Dr. King Holmes is a Professor in the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington where he is the Director of Research and Faculty Development, a Professor of Medicine, and an Adjunct Professor of Microbiology and Epidemiology. He is the Director of the U of W's Center for AIDS Research, as well as the Chief of Infectious Diseases at Harborview Medical Centre.

The goal of the Gairdner Foundation's National Program is to contribute to Canadian science culture and innovation. It is the only program of its kind in the world of major awards as it brings awardees from around the world to all 10 provinces, while reaching 24 universities from Newfoundland to British Columbia and attracts nearly 6,000 people each year. Awardees speak with both faculty through the National Program and students through the Student Outreach Program. The 69´«Ã½ is pleased to welcome one of last year's laureates as he presents his seminal research. We are proud to partner with the Canada Gairdner Awards as they are a source of national pride helping inspire young people consider a career in science, and to increase their awareness of the value of scientific research.

The Gairdner Foundation: Making Science Matter

The Canada Gairdner Awards were created in 1959 to recognize and reward the achievements of medical researchers whose work contributes significantly to improving the quality of human life. They are Canada's only globally known and respected international science awards, and Gairdner is the only national organization that consistently brings the world's best biomedical researchers to Canada to share their ideas and work with scientists across the country. In so doing, it enlarges networks and enhances Canada's international reputation, while providing a realistic and unbiased benchmark for Canada's leading scientists.

Dr. Holmes will also speak to senior high school science students from across PEI at a morning lecture entitled: 'Choose an area you can work in for the rest of your life.'

For information:
Dave Atkinson, Research Communications Officer, UPEI
(902) 620-5117, datkinson@upei.ca

At the Atlantic University Field Hockey Championships last weekend, four 69´«Ã½players were named league all-stars, while 69´«Ã½Head Coach Charla Currie was named the league's Coach of the Year.

Katherine Koughan, a third-year business student from Stratford, who was named the Atlantic University Field Hockey Rookie of the Year in 2012, and league MVP in 2013, was once again named a league all-star. Koughan is a dominant player in many aspects of the game. She controls the back end with outstanding stick skills and has one of the hardest hits in the league. Koughan plays a major role on both offensive and defensive penalty corners.

Sydney Stavert, a second-year kinesiology student from Charlottetown was named an all-star for her outstanding play as a midfielder. Stavert plays with poise and control, sees the field, and makes great decisions, which resulted in five goals this season. Stavert is also a main contributor on both offensive and defensive penalty corners.

Joining Stavert as a midfield all-star is fifth-year player and biology major, Stephanie MacKinnon, from Grand Tracadie. MacKinnon is a major contributor in all aspects of the game. MacKinnon is UPEI's go-to player to mark the opposing teams' top players, and she has done a fantastic job on that front all season. MacKinnon plays first rusher on defensive corners, and first hitter on offensive corners.

Lacey MacLauchlan, a fifth-year player from Charlottetown, brought a wealth of experience, a strong work ethic, and overall determination to the young 69´«Ã½team. MacLauchlan's ability to score earned her the title of Atlantic University Field Hockey Top Scorer with 13 goals this season.
In addition to these four all-star selections, Currie was named as the Atlantic University Field Hockey Coach of the Year. Currie, who is in her second year of coaching at UPEI, coached the young team into first place in regular season play, with a record of nine wins and three ties. The 69´«Ã½team scored 51 goals, and allowed only four goals against. Currie is a physical education teacher at Colonel Gray High School, and also coaches the high school's field hockey team.
On Friday, October 24, the 69´«Ã½Field Hockey all-stars will be recognized at the 69´«Ã½Men's Hockey home game versus Dalhousie University at 7:00 pm. The field hockey all-stars will participate in a ceremonial puck drop.

Panther Action This Week

Friday, October 23
7:00 pm (M) Hockey vs. DAL (home game)
7:00 pm (W) Hockey @ UdeM (away game)

Saturday, October 24
1:00 pm (W) Soccer vs. MUN (home game)
3:00 pm (W) Rugby @ Acadia (AUS Semi-Final) (away game)
3:00 pm (M) Hockey vs. StFX (Eastlink Centre)
3:15 pm (M) Soccer vs. MUN (home game)

Sunday, October 25
1:00 pm (W) Soccer vs. CBU (home game)
2:00 pm (W) Hockey @ STU (away game)
3:00 pm (M) Soccer vs. CBU (home game)

All games are available on

For information:
Ron Annear
69´«Ã½Athletics and Recreation
(902) 566-0991, annear@upei.ca

69´«Ã½Women's Hockey Head Coach Bruce Donaldson and fifth-year player Keirstin Visser were named to the Canadian women's hockey roster for the 2015 Winter Universiade in Granada, Spain. The 27th biennial Games will be held February 4-14.

Donaldson was named an assistant coach alongside Jim Hunter from the University of Windsor, with Jon Rempel from the University of Manitoba leading the team as head coach.

Visser was added to the 20-player roster which features female hockey standouts from across the four CIS conferences, including seven from the OUA, five from Canada West, and four each from the AUS and RSEQ.

'This year's team represents a great mix of skill, speed, character and hockey IQ,' said Rempel in a CIS release issued on October 24. 'We are looking forward to representing the CIS and our country at this prestigious event.'

The schedule has yet to be announced, but Canada will be in Pool B with Russia and Kazakhstan. The team will depart Canada in late January to begin preparations for the Universiade. The opening ceremony is set for Wednesday, February 4, 2015.

Read the full CIS release

69´«Ã½students are going door to door in Charlottetown to collect non-perishable food items on Friday, October 31 from 5:00-7:00 pm in support of UPEI's food bank. The students will be visiting Queen Elizabeth Drive, Charlotte Drive, Prince Charles Drive, and Goodwill Avenue.

'Trick or Eat' is a national youth-led Halloween food drive event organized by Meal Exchange, a registered charity that empowers student leaders to address hunger in their communities. Since 1993, the charity has raised over $3 million worth of food and engaged over 87,000 youth across North America.

Suggested items include: pasta products/pasta sauce, rice, canned meats and fish, peanut butter, cereal, canned vegetables, dry and canned soups, fruit juices, canned/powdered milk, baby food, diapers, beans, and legumes.

Items can also be donated to the group organizers. All proceeds will support UPEI's Food Bank. Food items can be dropped off to the 69´«Ã½Residence Office, Bernadine Hall, 340 (first floor). The office is open from 9:00 am-8:00 pm.

Interested in canvassing for the campaign? Contact Aaron Patton at apatton@upei.ca or Mitchell McIntosh at mrmcintosh@upei.ca

Help support UPEI's food bank, and have a safe and happy Halloween!

Research on Tap returns for its sixth season of public discussion, debate, and ideas presented by researchers from the 69´«Ã½. Join our next conversation on Monday, November 3 at 7 pm at the Haviland Club in Charlottetown. Dr. Ron Srigley, professor of Religious Studies, will lead a discussion entitled: What does a university professor do all day?

The 2014/2015 season of Research on Tap is presented in cooperation with the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), Atlantic Chapter. The RSC is Canada's national academy and is the senior national body of distinguished scholars, artists, and scientists.

Research on Tap meets the first Monday of every month from October to April. The full schedule of speakers can be found at

On Thursday, October 30, and Friday, October 31, 7:00-11:30 pm, 69´«Ã½music students will be turning the Dr. Steel Recital Hall into a spooky three-story haunted house!

Admission includes a free cup of hot chocolate and is $5.00 per person, and $4.00 for 69´«Ã½and Holland College students-please bring a valid student ID. Proceeds for the event go towards music scholarships and awards, and to help support the 69´«Ã½Music Department's large performance ensembles.

All are welcome!

Richard Wagamese, award-winning Ojibwa novelist, journalist, and memoir writer will give a public reading on Monday, November 3, at 7:30 pm in the Confederation Centre Art Gallery.

His new novel, Medicine Walk, which follows his best-selling novel Indian Horse with its focus on Aboriginal hockey and residential schools, testifies to the redeeming power of love and compassion.

Among his honours are the 2013 Molson Prize for the Arts and 2012 National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Media & Communications.

Wagamese's reading is sponsored by the 69´«Ã½Department of English, with the collaboration of the Confederation Centre Art Gallery and generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

For information:
Dr. Richard Lemm
Winter's Tales Author Reading Series
(902) 566-0592, rlemm@upei.ca

The 69´«Ã½Panther Athletes of the Week for the week of October 20-26 are Alysha Corrigan, Women's Rugby; and Jared Murphy, Men's Soccer. 69´«Ã½Athletics and Recreation showcases these talented athletes to recognize their hard work and dedication to their respective sports. 69´«Ã½Athletes of the Week are also nominated to Atlantic University Sport and Canadian Interuniversity Sport for possible recognition in the region and/or country.

Who: Alysha Corrigan, Women's Rugby; and Jared Murphy, Men's Soccer

What: 69´«Ã½Panther Athletes of the Week

When: Week of October 20-26

Where: 69´«Ã½Turf Field

Why: Corrigan, a first-year business student from Charlottetown, PEI, had a strong performance for the Panthers during the rugby team's AUS semi-final 39-12 loss to Acadia University. Corrigan scored two tries on huge 50 m runs. Corrigan was physical the entire game, driving the Axewomen out of bounds, and saving the team many times. Corrigan was named an AUS Player of the Game.

Murphy, a fifth-year business student from Charlottetown, PEI, continued his strong performance for the Men's Soccer Panthers as they finished the regular season with two final wins, a 2-0 win over Memorial University and a 3-0 over Cape Breton University. Murphy scored three of the teams five goals in the two games.

For information:
Ron Annear
69´«Ã½Athletics and Recreation
(902) 566-0991, annear@upei.ca

Alysha Corrigan, Women's Rugby

A recent forum in Charlottetown brought together students, teachers, and community partners participating in unique research, which examines school-based health promotion projects in Prince Edward Island schools. Dr. Donna Murnaghan and Dr. Jo-Ann MacDonald, researchers from the 69´«Ã½'s School of Nursing, received funding from the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute (CCSRI), for the (S)chools (A)gainst (C)ancer: Using a (K)nowledge to Action Process (SACK) project. SACK is aimed at translating local evidence into school-based health initiatives.

The SACK project used data from the School Health Action, Planning, and Evaluation System-Prince Edward Island (SHAPES-PEI), which monitors key health indicators of PEI students from grades 5 through 12, and has done so since 2008. SHAPES-PEI provides health profiles to individual schools so that health promotion activities may be tailored at each school, based on identified needs.

'Funding from the CCSRI for the SACK project has been instrumental for us to partner with schools to better understand how knowledge exchange works between researchers and schools,' said Dr. Donna Murnaghan, co-principal investigator of SHAPES-PEI and SACK. 'Most importantly we are better able to understand the complexities of what works and what does not work, for both researchers and schools, when evidence is being used to inform action on prevention.'

SACK was able to proceed thanks to the cooperation and participation of schools, the PEI English Language School Board, and La Commission scolaire de langue française.

'Through SHAPES-PEI, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development has been generating local health evidence to help inform school-level policy and planning,' said Sterling Carruthers, School Health Specialist. 'Research projects like SACK provide opportunities for PEI schools to leverage additional resources and supports in their efforts to create healthier school communities.' Since 2009, the government has provided funds for schools to act upon their SHAPES-PEI data through the School Health Grant.

SACK was funded through a CCSRI Knowledge to Action (KTA) Grant. KTA Grants are designed to support projects capable of closing the gap between what health research tells us, and what we do with that knowledge. Accordingly, the SACK projects undertaken by PEI schools address chronic disease prevention by helping young people to understand modifiable risk factors and get an early start at living healthy lives. One school project had students pair with teachers to lead various activities including geocaching, a scavenger hunt, Zumba classes, and arm wrestling; this project was also supported by community partners in the region, including Go!PEI.

The SACK project explored how a knowledge to action process can be tailored most effectively within individual schools. This research will help support PEI schools in using evidence and building community partnerships to create healthier school communities.

For information:
Dave Atkinson
Research Communications Officer, UPEI
(902) 620-5117, datkinson@upei.ca

Veteran broadcast meteorologist Peter Coade will join authors Don Jardine and Adam Fenech for the launch of 'Some weather we're having!' The 2015 PEI Weather Trivia Calendar. The event takes place Tuesday, November 4 at 6:30 pm at The Pourhouse, above The Old Triangle Irish Alehouse in Charlottetown. Proceeds from calendar sales go to UPEI's Climate Research Lab.

Prince Edward Island history comes to life in this first ever PEI weather trivia calendar of 365 stories about PEI weather and its impact on Islanders' everyday lives. Meet the authors, Don Jardine and Adam Fenech, as they visit eleven libraries (and one pub!) across the Island during the month of November.

Come for the launch with Peter Coade, stay for music from singer/songwriter Patrick Bunston.

The 2015 PEI Weather Trivia Calendar brings stories from North Cape to East Point, West Point to Murray Head-and all points in-between over the last 150 years. Calendars are sold at each reading tour event, at all Murphy's Pharmacies, and online at .

For information:
Dave Atkinson
Research Communications Officer, UPEI
(902) 620-5117, datkinson@upei.ca