Thanks for subscribing to The Blusson Buzz, ICORD's weekly newsletter to keep you informed about events, funding calls, announcements, and interesting things. Want to contribute? Send us your news before Wednesdays at 12PM.
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August 2, 2018: the "oh hello, Rain" edition
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Please note that the ICORD Admin Office will have very limited service after noon on August 3.
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Do you recruit participants for research studies?
Come to this important Lunch & Learn at noon on September 18 in the BSCC Lecture Hall
The BC Health Research Connection Project will improve how patients and the public can find and connect to health researchers and research opportunities. The project will develop:
- a website for patients and the public to learn about health research in BC,
- a listing of active health research studies and other types of research engagement opportunities in BC, and
- an online research registry for patient and public volunteers to self-enroll in order to be matched to appropriate research opportunities for which they may be eligible.
At the Lunch + Learn on September 18, you can
- learn about what the project is about and how it can help your research
- find out how the project is being planned, and about upcoming project activities
Who should attend? PIs, research staff and trainees who recruit participants for health research studies. Click below to RSVP. The password is "REACH"
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Doing a beach afternoon, kayaking trip, or backyard barbecue with your lab mates, or just enjoying lunch outside on the lawn? Take some pictures and enter your best ones in our ICORD LOVES SUMMER photo contest! Your shots could be featured in the Summer ICORDian, and you could win a summer treat for your lab! Photos must include at least one ICORD trainee, volunteer, staff or faculty member (but more is encouraged!). Send your best photo of a summer activity or adventure (work-appropriate only!) to Cheryl.
Entry deadline: August 17.
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UBC's annual report is now available
Click here to download a copy
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Do you have a Michael Smith story to share?
 It's coming up on 25 years since UBC researcher Dr. Michael Smith and his colleagues won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
As part of the celebration, the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research is collecting stories and anecdotes from people who knew and/or worked with him. If you have a story to share, please fill out this very short form.
ICORD connection: this photo of Dr. Smith was taken by an ICORD staff member back in 1996 when she worked in the UBC Library and was asked to shoot Dr. Smith for a Science Library promotion. She said that Dr. Smith was a very patient model and great fun to work with.
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The ICORD Trainee Committee needs you!
The ICORD Trainee Committee (ITC) is an integral part of our research centre and undertakes exciting initiatives to enhance the training environment for our graduate students and post-doctoral fellows as well as to foster collegiality and networking opportunities among all ICORD members.
All ICORD trainees are invited to a meeting on Wed Aug 8 at 2 pm in the Lecture Hall in order to:
- Review the roles and responsibilities of the various leadership positions (detailed descriptions and anticipated time commitment of each leadership role were outlined in an email sent to you on July 25 at 3pm--contact us if you need another copy)
- Review nominations and elect (if necessary) trainees to each of the leadership roles.
- Outline other opportunities for trainees to contribute to the Committee’s activities.
In advance of this meeting, we invite nominations from anyone (trainees and PIs) for the various leadership roles available.
Nomination deadline: Aug 7. Self-nominations are welcome and you may also nominate as many people as you like to any of the positions. This will facilitate our discussion for our Aug 8 meeting.
We encourage ALL trainees to participate in the Trainee Committee, whether in a leadership role or not. Please come out on Aug 8 to learn how you can make the most of your ICORD Trainee experience!
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Meet Sarah Richter of PARC
Born and raised in Kelowna, Sarah moved to Vancouver for undergrad at UBC, where her parents had both studied. She completed her Bachelor of Kinesiology in 2017, and is now preparing to write the MCAT. She hopes to continue her education in UBC's Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Sarah first heard about ICORD in one of Dr. Tania’s Lam’s courses at UBC, Kinesiology 190. Sarah joined the Resource Centre as a volunteer four years ago, then transitioned to a role at PARC, where she volunteered for three and a half years.  Sarah is currently working behind the scenes at PARC to update the supervisor and volunteer training material, develop a soft skills module, and assist in creating an online training program for PARC volunteers. You can also find Sarah filling in the occasional supervisor shift down at PARC. “I love the meaningful engagement with research participants at PARC and the fact that exercise can be used in primary and preventative healthcare,” she explained.
In her free time, Sarah enjoys baking, cooking, and team sports. She has won thirteen UBC Rec championships in volleyball, ultimate, soccer, and flag football. In addition to league sports, Sarah likes hiking, kayaking, and catching a good sunset in her hammock. She was an Olympic torch bearer in 2010. She also has a unique talent and wants to add one more to her repertoire: “I can say the alphabet faster going backward than forward, and I want to memorize the periodic table alongside my dad, who's a chemist.”
One of Sarah’s favourite books is Open Heart, Open Mind by Canadian Olympic medalist Clara Hughes. “It’s a really frank discussion of family struggles and mental illness, but it’s also really inspiring.” Sarah also enjoyed the movie The Art of Flight, a mix of travel and sport, which features both BC and the Darwin region in Patagonia, where Sarah would like to travel.
If Sarah had to choose one scientist to have dinner with, it would be a hard choice between Santiago Ramon y Cajal and Don MacKenzie. “Dr. Ramon y Cajal has an amazing story: he worked blue-collar jobs, his dad wanted him to be a doctor, and he liked art, so he bridged art and medicine to make amazingly accurate pictures of neurons—they were featured at the Belkin Gallery last year. I also like Dr. MacKenzie, though, because he was a founding father of using exercise in rehabilitative medicine.”
If you see Sarah in the BSCC, let her know whose images of science have inspired you the most!
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Volunteer to be profiled! Or nominate someone. You don't even have to know them (that's the whole point of this column!) Send ideas to Max.
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  Applying for funding? Assistance is available with editing & proofreading, lay summaries, signatures, ICORD boilerplate, infographics and illustrations. Contact ICORD's Research Facilitator, Max Thompson. Email / phone 604-675-8879 / BSCC Admin Office.
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A full list of funding opportunities can be found here.
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CIHR Project Grants
CIHR's Project Grant program is designed to "capture ideas with the greatest potential for important advances in fundamental or applied health-related knowledge, health care, health systems, and/or health outcomes by supporting projects with a specific purpose and a defined endpoint." While applicants are eligible to apply for a CIHR Project and Foundation Grant in the same cycle, they must use different applications for each program. The success rate for Early Career Investigators will be equalized for this competition. Click on the following links for information on SPARC support, SPARC internal review, and CIHR webinars.
Registration deadline: August 15, 2018
ORS deadline: September 7, 2018
Full application deadline: September 12, 2018
CIHR Foundation Grants
CIHR’s Foundation Program is designed to “contribute to a sustainable foundation of established health research leaders, by providing long-term support for the pursuit of innovative and high-impact research programs” that will translate new knowledge into “improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health care system.” New/Early Career Investigators are not eligible to apply as Program Leaders, and Stage 2 application is by invitation only. Click on the following links for information on peer reviews, the application process, ORS deadlines, and CIHR webinars.
Registration deadline: August 15, 2018
ORS Stage 1 application deadline: September 14, 2018
CIHR Stage 1 application deadline: September 19, 2018
Weston Brain Institute Big Ideas: Canada
The Weston Brain Institute's Big Ideas: Canada program supports "a large-scale effort that would provide ~$5-20m in support for pivotal projects to significantly and sustainably advance research" in the field of neurodegenerative diseases of aging." Ideas that will establish Canada as the world leader in a particular area. Although ideas can be submitted after August 17, they will be reviewed at the end of August. Please see the Program Call for further information.
Recommended deadline: August 17, 2018
Other Opportunities:
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Attention: Speaker suggestions needed!
We want YOUR suggestions for speakers to come to ICORD to speak on SCI-related research in our monthly seminar series in Fall 2018 and Spring 2019. These speakers are invited to promote scientific exchange and collaboration. Students and trainees, please suggest names to your supervisors. Supervisors please send suggestions to Dr. McPhail: mcphail@icord.org
Who do you want to bring to ICORD?
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Join the ICORD Trainee Committee Writing Club!
 We all have something we need to write—proposals, theses, grants, papers—but it can be hard to set aside the time! Need a little help scheduling it? Or perhaps some peer pressure? Join the ICORD Trainee Committee Writing Club on Tuesday afternoons for a couple of hours of getting into the writing habit.
Bring your laptop, papers, pencils, or whatever else you need, and join your fellow writers in the fourth-floor meeting room on Tuesdays from 2PM to 4PM (or any portion of that time you can make it). All are welcome: trainees, researchers, and PIs, anyone who has something to write (that’s everyone)! If you have any questions please contact Diana at dianavhunter@gmail.com
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 What is ICORD researching?
Check out the Published Research page on the ICORD website.
This page highlights new papers by ICORD researchers and will be updated monthly. If you have a paper coming out soon, please let us know. We'll be really excited if you include a short—a few sentences—lay summary.
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Do you recruit participants for research studies?
If you do, and you want your studies to be posted on the ICORD website, you might be happy to know that you can submit your study information online.
Just log into the members section of the site (scroll down to the bottom of any page and click on ICORD user: login (contact Matt if you need a reminder of the login ID and password). Complete the form, and the ICORD communications team will create a new study page using the information you've provided.
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ICORD wants to recognize your achievements!
Have you or one of your trainees published a paper, won an award, a scholarship, a chili cook-off? Seriously, don't keep this to yourself. Send us your good news, so we can bask in your glory with you. If you’ve received an award and are missing from this list, please let us know, so we can add you. Send Max an email to share any achievement!
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What is the BICP?
You've likely seen the badge in our newsletter and the posters around the atrium, telling people about the Blusson Integrated Cures Partnership, but do you know about all of the different kinds of research and activities being supported by the BICP? ICORD and the Rick Hansen Institute have created a webpage to inform you about the work that we're doing together with the Rick Hansen Foundation through this unique collaboration.
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Purchase a Corning® Stripettor™ Ultra Pipet Controller and get $250 in FREE Corning plastics. Please feel free to contact Clare or Nadia if you need any further information.
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Don't get locked out!
Are access cards in your lab expiring soon? With up to six-week delays in processing renewal requests at VCHPhotoID, it's good to be aware of when your BSCC access is expiring. If you know your building access is going to expire soon, and you need it to continue, have your PI or lab manager email Matt with your pass number, name, and the new expiry date at least four weeks before your card expires to make sure you're not locked out.
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Maintenance issue in the BSCC? Let us know!
Is a faucet in one of the washrooms not functioning properly? Does a light in your lab need to be changed? Email bscc-maintenance@icord.org so we can get the VCH maintenance team to fix it. We're happy to help!
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Need logos?
We can help you with that!
Click the images to download full-size .png versions. Other logos and other file types are also available by contacting Cheryl at the ICORD Admin Office.
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Blusson Spinal Cord Centre contact list
• ICORD bookings (meeting rooms, AV, temporary parking requests): bookings@icord.org
• Building-related work requests + reports: bscc-maintenance@icord.org
• Email problems? Computer issues? Contact MedIT at 1-877-266-0666 or medit.servicedesk@ubc.ca.
• Lost items? Contact Paladin Security for lost and found items in BSCC: 604-677-3734
• For media inquiries, please contact Cheryl Niamath (niamath@icord.org)
• After-Hours *emergency only* maintenance for BSCC: 604-875-4111 x62601
• After-Hours emergency cleaning needs? Call Crothall at 1-844-372-1959
• Paladin Security Urgent: 604-677-3672 (from an inside line: 88)
**To subscribe to the Buzz send an email to sahl@icord.org
Have you ‘liked’ or 'followed" ICORD on Facebook or Twitter?
*Reminder: The BSCC is a scent free workplace. Please refrain from wearing scented products if you work in the building.
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The Blusson Buzz welcomes your submissions
Do you have something you would like to share with the Buzz readership? The Blusson Buzz welcomes submissions from everyone. If you have any announcements, congratulations, paper recommendations or interesting things you think belong in the Buzz, please submit a short blurb to mthompson@icord.org. Submissions received by 12 PM on Wednesdays will make it into the current week's issue.
You are subscribed because you work in the BSCC, are a member of ICORD, or signed up to receive this. To unsubscribe, click the link below.
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