2011 Milestones

Jerry Spiegel, an associate professor in the School of Population and Public Health, received $1.9 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to lead a program examining the health effects of the global food system through five interconnected projects in Ecuador and Canada. Called “Think, Eat and Grow Green Globally,” it will examine the effects of pesticide exposure on banana workers in Ecuador and grape pickers in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley; healthy eating in schools in Vancouver and in Quito, Ecuador’s capital; and the changing livelihoods among indigenous communities in the Andes and in rural Canada.

The team includes UBC researchers Jennifer Black, Gwen Chapman, Alejandro Rojas, Ann Marie Nicol and Annalee Yassi, as well as collaborators from institutions across Canada and in Ecuador.

Six of our faculty members received 5-year NSERC Discover Grants in 2011 – Prof. David Kitts, Prof. Eunice Li-Chan, Adj Prof. D’Ann Rochon, Prof. Dan Weary, Asst. Prof. Vivien Measday and Dean Murray Isman.

Dr. David Fraser, who has had a distinguished 40-year research and teaching career in applied animal behaviour and welfare, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on May 27 in Vancouver. The BC SPCA’s Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes and honours individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the lives of animals in BC and across Canada.

“David Fraser is one of the most dedicated and influential advocates for animal welfare in the world today,” said Craig Daniell, chief executive officer for the BC SPCA. “He has been, and continues to be, an inspiration to us for his work in helping millions of animals around the world.”

Dr. Fraser was appointed professor and NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Animal Behaviour at UBC in 1997, where he co-founded the internationally respected Animal Welfare Program.

Advising and Recruitment Officer Winnie Ng and Global Partnerships Coordinator Roxana Quinde each received the AMS and Alumni Associations Just Desserts Award in 2011. This award recognizes those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Its purpose is to honour faculty, staff and students who have shown exceptional service to the students of all AMS constituencies.

The Canadian Network for Innovation in Education (CNIE) recently awarded Associate Prof. Maja Krzic the CNIE Award of Excellence in Innovation in Web Design for her Virtual Soil Science Learning Resources website (soilweb.landfood.ubc.ca/promo/) , which showcases our existing and in-development web-based teaching resources related to soil science. This award recognizes web-based technologies that support learning.

Associate Professor Maja Krzic broke a world record at the 2011 Canadian Masters Swimming Championship in Montreal in May 2011. Krzic’s relay team (4 X 50m. medley) set a new world masters swimming record– and a new Canadian record – for the event in their age class. She was inspired to compete by her colleague, Associate Professor Art Bomke, a two-time silver medal champion in basketball (World Masters Games, 2005 and 2009).