Director of the Australian Telethon Institute for Child Health Research Delivers 2009 Alan Bernstein Distinguished Lectureship
Vancouver, November 23, 2009 — Professor Fiona Stanley, AC, Director of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research; Chair of the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth; and Professor, School of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Western Australia, will deliver this year’s Alan Bernstein Distinguished Lectureship for 2009 at St. Paul’s Hospital, part of Providence Health Care.
Professor Stanley is trained in maternal and child health epidemiology and public health. Professor Stanley has spent her career researching the causes of major childhood illnesses such as birth defects. Her research includes the gathering and analysis of population data for epidemiological and public health research; the causes and prevention of birth defects and major neurological disorders, particularly the cerebral palsies; patterns of maternal and child health in Aboriginal and Caucasian populations; various ways of determining the developmental origins of health and disease; collaborations to link research, policy and practice; and strategies to enhance health and well-being in populations.
Professor Stanley’s presentation, “Does Science have a Soul? Research for Children in a Complex World” will be held on November 23, from 9:00am to 10:00am in the New Lecture Theatre at St. Paul’s Hospital.
The Lectureship, which is sponsored by the Heart + Lung Institute at St. Paul’s Hospital and the James Hogg iCAPTURE Centre for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Research, provides the opportunity for the BC scientific community to learn from recognized international research leaders.
Note: Media attending the Bernstein Lecture on November 23 are requested to meet at the St. Paul’s Hospital Information Desk by 8:30 am.
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Melanie Hanson
Operation Leader
The iCAPTURE Centre
Phone: 604-806-9266
www.icapture.ca
Mr. Justin Karasick
Communications
Providence Health Care
Phone: 604-806-8460
Pager: 604-252-4261
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Professor Fiona Stanley AC
Professor Stanley is the Founding Director of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research; Chair of the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth; and Professor, School of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Western Australia. Her major contribution has been to establish the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, a unique multidisciplinary independent research institute focussing on the causes and prevention of major problems affecting children and youth. She sits on the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council as well as the Australian Statistics Advisory Council. For her research on behalf of Australia's children, she was named Australian of the Year in 2003 and in 2006 she was made a UNICEF Australia Ambassador for Early Childhood Development.
Alan Bernstein Distinguished Lectureship
Dr. Alan Bernstein, past President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and an internationally renowned molecular biologist, delivered the inaugural Alan Bernstein Distinguished Lectureship in 2002. The Lectureship, presented by the UBC-affiliated iCAPTURE Centre at St. Paul’s Hospital, provides local researchers and trainees with the opportunity to learn from recognized leading researchers. Dr. Alan Bernstein is known internationally both as a researcher and as a scientific leader. His pioneering research in the area of cancer, hematopoiesis, and gene therapy remain landmarks in their field. He has also made key contributions to our understanding of embryonic development and formation of the cardiovascular system, and his work has been important in advancing techniques for gene therapy and the genetic analysis of mammalian development.
The James Hogg iCAPTURE Centre for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Research
The iCAPTURE Centre; a member of the Providence Heart + Lung Institute at St. Paul’s Hospital, has nearly 270 personnel, including 31 nationally funded principal investigators and numerous trainees and staff members working to solve the unknowns of heart, lung, and blood vessel diseases. The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the BC Knowledge Development Fund and their partners have awarded over $20 million to the iCAPTURE Centre at St. Paul’s Hospital for infrastructure that will help propel the team to a new level of discovery. The purpose of the iCAPTURE Centre is to link recent breakthroughs in genetic sciences to abnormal gene expression and to changes in the structure and function (phenotype) of cells, tissues, and organs related to the development of heart, lung, and blood vessel diseases.
Heart + Lung Institute at St. Paul’s Hospital
Launched in June 2007, the Heart + Lung Institute at St. Paul's Hospital merges and integrates all of Providence’s heart and lung research, education and care programs under one umbrella. Its mandate is to transform cardiovascular and pulmonary research and care—transferring new care solutions from the laboratory to the clinics and communities to improve the lives of British Columbians.
