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January_2011pdf1
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Newsletter
LSI Home Page > Newsletter
An e-bulletin for faculty members, staff, students and trainees in the Life Sciences Institute, this Newsletter is published quarterly. To post a notice,please send your information to [email protected].
Message from the Director - Dr. Christian Naus
Over the past year, as Director of the LSI, I have had the privilege ofworking with colleagues to advance the research environment anddevelop the LSI as “a place of discovery”. During the previous LSIOpen Forum held last year, we envisioned the LSI being built onparticipation and partnerships to produce outstanding research and anexcellent training environment. We felt it timely to provide an overviewof the initiatives and accomplishments over the past year in the form ofthis first edition of the LSI Newsletter.
I would like to begin by acknowledging those who contribute to theleadership, administration and operations of the LSI. Foremost, let methank Linda Matsuuchi as Associate Director who has worked with meon all these initiatives and accomplishments. Our administrative team,including Neera Vohra, Theresa Lung, Sharda Muni, Max Mitchel andKelsey Mauch, have each been committed to addressing themanagement of the LSI and, more importantly, your research needs.Tim Morgan and Pierre Tanguay have continued to ensure that ourwork environment is functional and safe. We have also worked closelywith the Steering Committee consisting of the Research GroupLeaders, Department Heads, LSC Operations and Safety, and GSAand Postdoc representatives. Finally, I’d like to acknowledge you, theLSI members, for your participation and partnership, and we all lookforward to an outstanding year ahead.
January 2011
Participate New Faculty in the LSI January 4, 2011 marked the arrival of 2 new Assistant Professors to the LSI. Dr. Calvin Yip, a member of the Diabetes Research Group andDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Dr. Michael Gordon, member of the Cell and Developmental Biology (CELL) ResearchGroup and Department of Zoology.
Dr. Calvin Yip, Diabetes Research Group
Dr. Yip completed both his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees here at UBC. During his postdoctoral training at HarvardMedical School, Dr. Yip was funded by fellowships from the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund and CIHR. His hobbiesinclude origami art, cooking, and snowboarding.
Office Rm #: 5301Email: [email protected]
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Dr. Michael Gordon, Cell and Developmental Biology (CELL) Research Group
Dr. Gordon received his B.Sc. from McMaster University in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, and Ph.D. from StanfordUniversity in Developmental Biology. As a Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Kristin Scott at University ofCalifornia, Berkeley, Dr. Gordon initiated studies on neural circuits in the fruit fly brain that process taste information andcontrol feeding behaviour. In his free time, Dr. Gordon enjoys going on hikes or to the beach with his wife Emilia and dogJake.
Office Rm #: 3352Email: [email protected]
New Research Group Websites on WordPress The Research Group websites have been revamped in ‘WordPress’ which is currently being promoted for use by UBC Public Affairs for its' easycontent management. These websites including the LSI homepage and graduate student pages are now also ‘branded’ i.e. aligned with the UBC‘Common look and feel’ (CLF) template. This enables Research Groups to easily update and modify their websites. Take a look at the newlyconstructed sites: Bacterial Adaptation & Response Networks (BARN)Cardiovascular Cell & Developmental Biology (CELL)Chemical Biology of Disease (CBD)DiabetesInfection, Inflammation & Immunity (I3)Molecular Epigenetics (MEG) In addition, we have generated Facebook sites for the LSI and the Cafe Scientifiques.
LSI “Landing Pages” for Fundraising
UBC Annual Givings has developed LSI ‘Landing Pages’ for fundraising. These pages are also linked on the LSI website by a new “Donate” iconand highlight specific research themes in the LSI. These pages will allow potential donors to direct funds to specific LSI research areas. Thescientific focus of these pages can also be modified as needed to best reflect the priority areas of the LSI and that of UBC. Click HERE to visit theLSI Landing Pages. The LSI is also currently involved in developing a series of directed mailing campaigns with UBC Annual Givings. The first will focus on "infectiousdisease" and is being mounted in collaboration with the Department of Microbiology & Immunology and the Faculty of Science Development office.
Produce Outstanding Research High Profile Scentific Papers
CSI at the LSI: The use of popular fiction to present a professional scientific environment to high school students.Published in Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education, December 2010
Authors: Caylib Durand PhD. and Santiago-Ramon Garcia PhD. and the Inaugural executive committee of the LSI-Grad Student Association
Students finishing high school have a daunting task of deciding on a successful and rewarding career. An absence ofinformation and experience, exposure to multiple career possibilities, lack of mentoring, and the social pressures tochoose a respectable career complicate the decision process. The popular fiction CSI at the LSI outreach program isa murder mystery involving a plot with real characters (grad students, post docs, and PI’s) to generate a fun andinteractive learning environment.
Structural Characterization of the DAXX N-Terminal Helical Bundle Domain and Its Complex with Rassf1CCover in 'Structure', December 2010
Authors: Eric Escobar-Cabrera, Desmond K.W. Lau, Serena Giovinazzi, Alexander M. Ishov, and Lawrence P.McIntosh -McIntosh Lab, Chemical Biology of Disease Research Group, Department of Biochemistry and MolecularBiology.
The authors describe a structure of a complex between DAXX and a peptide from the N-terminal region of themicrotubule-associated Ras Association Domain Family 1C (Rassf1C) tumor suppressor, which may be key to amitotic stress point. The cover shows DAXX as an extended polypeptide with the helical bundle domain, as well as asecond predicted helical domain, drawn to scale. The DAXX/Rassf1C complex is overlaid on images of cellsundergoing mitosis.
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Mutations in GNA11 in Uveal MelanomaPublished in New England Journal of Medicine, December 2010
Authors: Catherine D. Van Raamsdonk, Klaus G. Griewank, Michelle B. Crosby, Maria C. Garrido, Swapna Vemula,Thomas Wiesner, Anna C. Obenauf, Werner Wackernagel, Gary Green, Nancy Bouvier, M. Mert Sozen, GailBaimukanova, Ritu Roy, Adriana Heguy, Igor Dolgalev, Raya Khanin, Klaus Busam, Michael R. Speicher, JoanOBrien, Boris C. Bastian, Van Raamsdonk Lab, Molecular Epigenetics Research Group, Department of MedicalGenetics
GNA11, a heterotrimeric G protein alpha subunit, is a novel oncogene in human uveal melanoma. Somatic mutationsconferring constitutive activation were found in 32% of primary tumors and 57% of metastatic samples.
The N-terminal disease hot spot of ryanodine receptors forms a cytoplasmic vestibule.Published in 'Nature', November 2010
Authors: Ching-Chieh Tung, Paolo A. Lobo, Lynn Kimlicka, Filip Van Petegem - Van Petegem Lab, CardiovascularResearch Group, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular
Crystal structure of the ryanodine receptor N-terminal disease hot spot docked into the cryoEM map of the full-lengthchannel. Disease mutations are located at domain-domain interfaces and facilitate allosteric movements observedduring channel gating, resulting in leaky channels. Blue: crystal structure; gray: cryoEM map; red: disease mutations.
Identification of putative dental epithelial stem cells in a lizard with life-long toothreplacementPublished in 'Development', November 2010
Authors: Gregory R. Handrigan, Kelvin J. Leung and Joy M. Richman - Richman Lab, Cell & Developmental Biology(CELL) Research Group, Department of Dentistry.
Most dentate vertebrates, including humans, replace their teeth and yet the process is poorly understood. Here, weinvestigate whether dental epithelial stem cells exist in a polyphyodont species, the leopard gecko (Eublepharismacularius). Since the gecko dental epithelium lacks a histolologically distinct site for stem cells analogous to themammalian hair follicle bulge, we performed a pulse-chase experiment on juvenile gecko to identify label-retainingcells(LRCs)
Novel Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitor [18F]Marimastat-Aryltrifluoroborate as a Probe for In vivo Positron EmissionTomography Imaging in Cancer.Published in Cancer Research, October 2010
Authors: Auf dem Keller U, Bellac CL, Li Y, Lou Y, Lange PF, Ting R, Harwig C, Kappelhoff R, Dedhar S, Adam MJ, Ruth TJ, Bénard F, Perrin DM,Overall CM , Overall Lab, Department of Oral Biological & Medical Sciences, Centre for Blood Research (CBR)
First in vivo PET imaging of matrix metalloproteinases in murine breast carcinomas by 18F-labelled marimastat.
Origins and Evolution of Antibiotic ResistancePublished in Microbiology & Molecular Biology Reviews, September 2010
Authors: Julian Davies and Dorothy Davies - Davies Lab, Chemical Biology of Disease (CBD) Research Group,Department of Microbiology & Immunology
The development of antibiotic resistance continues to be the major impediment to successful treatment of infectiousdiseases. This review presents an historical viewpoint on the development of antibiotic resistance and discusses thevariety of biochemical mechanisms that are involved. One of the major questions at the moment is where do theresistance genes come from? We know they are here but how can we stop them!
Lipid serves as cells' built-in pH sensorPublished in 'Science', August 2010
Authors: Barry Young, John Shin, Jesse Chao, Shu Chen Li, Christopher Loewen, Loewen Lab, Cell &Developmental Biology Research Group, Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences.
A specific type of lipid present in cell membranes also serves as a cellular pH sensor. Using brewer's yeast as amodel, they found that, when deprived of nutrients, the resulting decrease in cellular pH affected the chemical state ofphosphatidic acid. This in turn altered gene expression and cellular metabolism. The new findings have importantimplications for understanding human metabolism and disease because lipid structure and function are very similaramongst all organisms. In Image: Barry Young, Chris Loewen and John Shin
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Prenatal alcohol exposure: Fetal programming and later life vulnerability to stress, depression and anxiety disorders.Published in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, August 2010
Authors: Kim Hellemans, Joanna Sliwowska, PamelaVerma and Joanne Weinberg - Weinberg Lab, Cell &Developmental Biology (CELL) Research Group, Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences.
Males from the three prenatal groups in the Non-CMS condition did not differ from each other, whereas Ethanol malesexposed to CMS spent significantly less time in the open arms compared to controls, and CMS significantly reducedthe frequency of open-arm entries among Ethanol, but not Pair-fed or Control, females.
Ras signal requires dynamic properties of Ets1 for phosphorylation-enhanced binding to co-activator CBP.Published in PNAS Journal, June 2010.
Authors: Hyun-Seo Kang, Gregory M. Lee, Desmond K.W. Lau, Lawrence McIntosh's Lab - McIntosh Lab, ChemicalBiology of Disease Reasearch Group, Departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Chemistry.
NMR spectroscopy revealed that MAP kinase phosphorylation of the transcription factor Ets1 at twophosphoacceptors shifts the conformational equilibrium of a dynamic helix flanking its PNT domain from a closed toopen state, thereby acting in concert with electrostatic effects to enhance binding to the TAZ1 domain of the co-activator CBP.
Preventing the Activation or Cycling of the Rap1 GTPase Alters Adhesion and Cytoskeletal Dynamics and BlocksMetastatic Melanoma Cell Extravasation into the Lungs.Published in Cancer Research, June 2010
Authors: Spencer Freeman, Sarah McLeod, Janet Dukowski, Pamela Austin and Crystal Lee, Labs of Mike Gold andCalvin Roskelley, Infection, Inflammation & Immunity (I3) and Cell and Developmental Biology (CELL) ResearchGroups.
This study elucidates a small GTPase-regulated pathway required for cancer cells to undergo critical steps involvedin tumor metastasis, specifically their ability to migrate across endothelial cell layers, exit the vasculature, and invadethe underlying tissue.
Implications and challenges of connexin connections to cancer.Published in Nature Reviews Cancer, June 2010
Authors: Christian Naus and Dale Laird - Naus Lab, Cell & Developmental Biology (CELL) Research Group,Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences.
The idea that the gap junction family of proteins, connexins, are tumour suppressors has been widely supportedthrough numerous cancer models. However, the paradigm that connexins and enhanced gap junctional intercellularcommunication is of universal benefit by restricting tumour growth has been challenged by more recent evidence thatsuggests a role for connexins in facilitating tumour progression and metastasis. Therefore, connexins might be betterclassified as conditional tumour suppressors that modulate cell proliferation, as well as adhesion and migration.
Whole-Genome Profiling of Mutagenesis in Caenorhabditis elegansCover in 'Genetics', June 2010
Authors: S.Flibotte, M.L. Edgley, I. Chaudhry, J. Taylor, S.E. Neil, A.R ogula, R. Zapf, M. Hirst, Y. Butterfield, S.J.Jones, M.A. Marra, R.J. Barstead & D.G Moerman - Moerman Lab, CELL Research Group and the Dept of Zoology.
The worm in the matrix.” Massively parallel short read sequencing technologies portend a revolution in genetic analysisand discovery. In Sarin et al. (Genetics vol 185 pp. 417–430) and Flibotte et al. (Genetics vol 185 pp. 431–441), thistechnology is used to describe, in exquisite and unprecedented detail, changes throughout the genome aftermutagenesis in the nematode Caenorhaditis elegans.
Proteome-wide Analysis of Protein Carboxy Termini: C-Terminomics.Published in 'Nature Methods', June 2010
Authors: Oliver Schilling, Olivier Barré, Pitter F. Huesgen, Christopher M. Overall, Overall Lab, Centre for BloodResearch (CBR), Department of Oral Biological & Medical Sciences
Chemical modification of free amino- and carboxy-groups before tryptic digest allows selective polymer-basedremoval of protein internal peptides. This new method provides access to protein carboxy-termini on a system-widescale, enabling analysis of proteolytic processing and other modifications at protein carboxy-termini in health anddisease. We describe a method for the enrichment of protein carboxy terminal peptides. With this method, proteincarboxy termini can be studied on a system-wide scale by mass-spectrometry. This allows us to analyze proteolyticprocessing events that we could not study before, e.g. carboxypeptidase activity, and may also help to identify yetunknown modifications at protein carboxy termini.
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Pseudopodial actin dynamics control epithelial-mesenchymal transition in metastatic cancer cells.Published in 'Cancer Research', May 2010
Authors: Jay Shankar, Anat Messenberg, Jackie Chan, T.M. Underhill, L.J. Foster, and I.R. Nabi - Nabi Lab, Cell &Developmental Biology (CELL) Research Group, Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences.
Study elucidates role of pseudopod enriched proteins, identified using microarray and proteomics approach, in tumormetastasis and epithelial and mesenchymal transition via modulating actin cytodynamics that can be prevented bystabilizing the actin.
UBC graduate student finds 'start/stop switch' for retrovirusesPublished in 'Nature', Feb 2010
Author: Danny Leung, Dr. Matt Lorincz's Lab, Molecular Epigenetics Research Group, Department of Medical Genetics
A UBC doctoral candidate has discovered a previously unknown mechanism for silencing retroviruses, segments ofgenetic material that can lead to fatal mutations in a cell’s DNA. The findings, published today in the journal Nature,could lead to new cancer treatments that kill only tumour cells and leave healthy surrounding tissue unharmed.
Visiting Scientist Award
The Life Sciences Institute is very pleased to announce that Dr. Timothy Machonkin, Assistant Professor of Analyticaland Inorganic Chemistry at Whitman College, Washington, USA, has been awarded the 2011 LSI Visiting Scientist Award. Dr. Machonkin will work in the Laboratory of Dr. Lindsay Eltis, a member of the Bacterial Adaptation & Response NetworksResearch Group, Centre for Tuberculosis Research and Department of Microbiology & Immunology. To look up therecipients of the past LSI Visiting Scientist Awards, click HERE
Coming Soon – New Tissue Processing Resources
LSI has purchased a cryostat as part of a developing Tissue Processing Facility that will be located in LSC room 3435. Demos of variousmicroscopes to add to this facility have been scheduled. Please contact Calvin Roskelley at [email protected] or the LSI for furtherinformation.
Expanded FACS Facility
The FACS facility at the LSI recently received new FACS machines obtained from CFI funding from PIs in the Department of Microbiology andImmunology including Ken Harder, and through the Faculty of Science. Now there are 3 designated rooms for FACS on the mainfloor of LSC –#1563, 1567 and 1569. If you would like access to this facility, please email Andy Johnson at [email protected]. Click HERE to visit the FACSwebsite.
GSA Research Day
The LSI-GSA organized its Fourth Annual Research Day on Friday, March 12, 2010. Held during the Celebrate Research Week at UBC, the LSI-GSA Research Day hosted 16 trainee talks in the morning and a poster session in the afternoon.
The event also had two very impressive keynote speakers to give seminars in the lateafternoon. The first speaker was Dr. Francisco Bezanilla from University of Chicago. Dr.Bezanilla is well reputed in the field of studying the structural-molecular function ofvoltage dependent ion channels and transport proteins. His pioneering work inunderstanding ion channels at the molecular level has made several contributions tohealth research. The second speaker was Dr. Victor Ling, the President and Scientific Director of TerryFox Research Institute. Dr. Ling is world-renowned for his discovery of the P-glycoprotein, one of the proteins that confer multidrug resistance in cancer patients. Hiscontributions to the field of cancer biology, have earned him several awards including theOrder of Brish Columbia and the Order of Canada.
Upcoming Event – 5th Annual LSI-GSA Research Day - March 11, 2011
In the spirit of Celebrate Research Week at UBC, the LSI-GSA has organized a great opportunity to showcase the cutting-edge researchtaking place at the LSI, build connections and collaborations and award the research achievements of graduate and undergraduatestudents within the building. This is also the first time that the LSI Undergraduate Research Day will coincide with the LSI-GSA Research Day.
The day will host opening and closing keynote speeches by two distinguished researchers: Dr. Robert A. Hegele, MD and Dr. William C. Aird, MD.Dr. Hegele is the Director of the Blackburn Cardiovascular Genetics Lab at the Robarts Research Institute. His laboratory has focussed on
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research on the genetic basis of diabetes, atherosclerosis, hypertension and obesity and has discovered the molecular genetic basis of 12 humandiseases. Dr. Aird is Director of the Center for Vascular Biology Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. His laboratory focuses on thestudy of vascular biology, and specifically on understanding how endothelial cell phenotypes are differentially regulated in space and time.
In between the keynote speeches, all 8 research groups within the LSI will be represented in the afternoon trainee talks and postersession (by undergraduate and graduate students). This is a great chance for research groups to showcase their latest research and congratulatetheir students’ achievements. Awards will be presented at an evening reception to the top undergraduate and junior and senior graduate studentsfor both trainee talks and posters!
For details on abstract submission for trainee talks or posters, contact [email protected]. Submission deadline is February25th, 2011.
PartnerLSI Café Scientifique
Café Scientifiques provide an opportunity for informal discussion about scientific subjects. They werenever intended to be lectures. For that reason, the Café Scientifiques are all about accessibility. Theyinvolve interaction between the public and experts in a given field at a café, pub or a restaurant. Theyprovide insight into health-related issues of popular interest to the general public, and in turn provokequestions and provide answers. LSI was the recipient of a CIHR grant to organize Café Scientifiques. With matching funds fromMichael Smith Foundation for Health Research and Faculties of Medicine and Science, LSI hasorganized a number of Cafés in 2010. Please click on the links below for the topics and moreinformation on past Cafés. January 26th, 2010 - “Diabetes: Causes, Consequences and Cures?” April 13, 2010 – “Inside the fight against the Flu pandemic” May 25, 2010 – “Electrical Signaling in the Heart and Body: Understanding CardiacDisease” August 10, 2010 - “Fingerprinting” Cancer for Personalized MedicineNov 16, 2010 – “What can be done about antibiotic resistance?”
Keep posted for the LSI Cafe Scientifiques for 2011 which will be supported by the Michael SmithFoundation for Health Research.
Join the LSI Cafe Scientifique on
CBR Earl Davie Symposium - November 2010 Dr. Earl Davie’s research has elucidated many areas of coagulation and led to effective treatments for patients with a range of bleeding disorders.He and his colleagues devised the revolutionary Waterfall Sequence for Blood Clotting. Dr. Davie applied cutting edge technologies to identify andcharacterize the coagulation proteins in detail throughout the 1960s and ’70s, and subsequently isolated, sequenced, and expressed the genes forthese clotting factors. For his many critical achievements, Dr. Davie has been widely acclaimed and has received numerous international awards.He is a member of the US National Academy of Science and is a Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Washington in Seattle. This annual 1-day symposium hosted by the Centre for Blood Research, in honour of Dr. Earl W. Davie, also featured presentations by localexperts in vascular biology, hemostasis-thrombosis, cardiovascular and neurologic disease. Guest Lecturers included Kenneth G. Mann and DésiréCollen, Leaders in Blood Clotting and Thrombolysis Click HERE to look at pictures from the event.
Dr. Donald R. Riddle Retirement Symposium -November 2010
A retirement event to honor Don Riddle, a major researcher in the C. elegans community,professor of Medical Genetics, member of the Michael Smith Labs, former Chief ScientificOfficer of Genome BC took place on Nov 5th. The event was organized by a consortiumof C. elegans researchers, with Don Moerman from the department of Zoology and amember of the CELL Research Group at LSI was the point person for UBC. The goal ofthis symposium was to highlight and honor Dr. Riddle’s many contributions to genetics,development, neurobiology and ageing. The speakers included the 2008 Nobel Laureate(Martin Chalfie), 2009 Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal winner (John Roth), Gairdner winners(Robert Waterston-2002 and Gary Ruvkun-2008) and a Lasker winner (also Ruvkun-2008), as well as Dr. Riddle’s former trainees (David Bird, William Wadsworth and PamelaLarson) and 3 local scientists who have worked with Dr. Riddle (Marco Marra, David Baillie and Michel Leroux). In the Picture: Speakers, from Left to Right: Dr. David Baillie (SFU), Dr. Robert Waterston (UW, Gairdner winner), Dr. Pam Larsen (U Texas SanAntonio, former Riddle-ite), Dr. John Roth (UC Davis, Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal winner), Dr. Gary Ruvkun (Mass General Hospital Harvard,Gairdner and Lasker winner), Dr. Don Riddle (the honoree), Dr. Bill Wadsworth (UMDNJ, former Riddle-ite), Mark Edgely (co organizer, Moermanlab and Worm KO Centre, former Riddle ite), Dr. Michel Leroux (SFU), Dr. Martin Chalfie (Columbia Univ, Nobel laureate), Dr. Don Moerman (LeadOrganizer, UBC, Director Worm KO Centre, LSI, CELL Research Group, ZOOL).
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Perceptions of the Cell Seminar Series, ongoing
Perceptions of the Cell Seminar Series is an interdepartmental, multiple Institute lecture series sponsored by the Cell Biology Group and the LSICELL Research Group and co-sponsored by multiple Faculties, Departments, Research Centers, Institutes and Biotech Companies. Theoverarching theme of all of this special lectures is the idea that “The cell is the critical functional unit of life and the process of cellular interactionsallows for the existence of all higher life forms”. Recent advances in imaging, genomics and proteomics have provided an endless stream offascinating information which must ultimately find its understanding in the context of the living cell. The Lecture Series over the past few years hasprovided a number of interesting and distinct “Perceptions of the Cell”, delivered by a series of distinguished scientists. Some past speakersinclude such notable researchers as Dr. Peter Walter, Dr. Sydney Brenner, Dr. Freda Miller, Dr. Bruce Edgar, Dr. Jeff Dangl, Dr. Andy Fire, Dr.Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, Dr. Roger Tsien, Dr. Nabil Seidah, Dr. Martin Schwartz, Dr. Ari Helenius, and our most recent invitee, Dr. FrankGertler. Please click HERE to visit the Perceptions of the Cell Webpage.
Other Partnerships
LSI has also partnered on various other initiatives including 3rd Canadian IBRO School on “Degeneration and Regeneration“ ,ImmunoVancouver 2010, NorthWest Protein Crystallography Workshop, Rising Stars of Research, Year of Science andYeast Genetics and Molecular Biology Meeting.
Produce Excellent TraineesLSI Visiting Trainee Award
The Life Sciences Institute is very pleased to announce that Dr. Markus Klose has been awarded the first LSI VisitingTrainee Award. Dr. Klose is at UBC to develop electro-physiological methodologies and procedures to analyze behaviourin the Drosophila model system. He will work on collaborative projects in the labs of Dr. Douglas Allan, a member of theCell and Developmental Biology (CELL) Research Group and Dr. Eric Accili, a member of Cardiovascular Research Group(CRG). In addition, he will be interacting with the 5 other LSI labs with interest in Drosophila neurophysiology. For moreinformation, please click HERE
LSI Geek Olympiad
With games, free food and beverages, there was no better way to spend an afternoon at work! Geek olympiad favourites like tip racking and tug-of-war as well as some new games made this event a calendar must. To look at pictures, click HERE
LSI Graduate Student Recruiting initiative
Acting on a directive from the Steering Committee Retreat held in January 2010 to enhance the Graduate Student experience and recruiting at LSI,Kelsey Mauch was hired as the coordinator for this initiative. The goal is to assist and facilitate the Graduate Programs with students in LSI labswith advertising, development of promotional material, putting on career days and recruiting sessions etc. This will also involve reaching out tocurrent 3rd/4th year UBC students as well as soliciting local BC, national and international students. Visit the LSI Graduat Recruitment website byclicking HERE.
Following are highlights of a few high impact partnerships under the above initiative:
Rising Stars of Research, Aug 19-20, 2010
The idea for holding an undergraduate science poster competition that would draw participants from across Canadawas first proposed in 2007 by Dr. François Jean in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology (MIIM) at UBC.Dr. Jean had worked with many promising undergraduate researchers and thought a national event would be anexciting way to support and encourage their ongoing development as scientists.
LSI was again the venue of choice for the 2010 event and was one of the co-sponsors along with MITACS, MichaelSmith Foundation for Health Research, Genome British Columbia and Canadian Botanical Association.
Click HERE to visit the Rising Stars of Research (RSR) website.
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Innovation BC – Innovation Exploration Canada Wide Science Fair – BC & Yukon Participants, Oct 13, 2010
The LSI hosted an “ LSI Tour & Hands-On Experience” for about 30 Canada Wide Science Fair students on Oct. 13,2010. Volunteers from Dr. Moermon’s C. elegans knockout lab and the Cardiovascular Research Group (Drs. Accilli &Van Petegam Labs) participated in explaining their research and the impact it has. Students thoroughly enjoyedexploring Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) positive C.elegans and other mutants under the microscopes followed bydiscovering the process of protein purification and crystallization. Click HERE to look at pictures from the aboveevent. Lunch Panel and LSI Tour with Undergraduate Research Opportunities, Nov 17, 2010 LSI teamed up with the UBC Undergraduate Research Opportunities (URO) to organize an event designed forundergraduates to provide information on Grad Studies. A lunch panel of LSI members comprised of Full andAssistant/Associate Professors, Post Doc and Graduate Student representatives, Senior Instructors and GraduateAdvisors was organized along with a tour of four LSI Labs for a group of 35-40 undergraduate students. Click HERE to visit the URO website.
Year of Science – Health and Science Expo, Nov 25-26, 2010
The Ministry of Science and Universities has declared the 2010/2011 academic year to be the Year ofScience. This provincial initiative is designed to increase awareness and interest in the importance ofscience as well as encourage more students to pursue a career in a science discipline. The LSI participated in the first signature event November 25th&26th by having a table in the CareerRoundtables. High school students rotated through table learning about different career options there are.The LSI roundtable focused on research careers and other career options after graduate school.Click HERE to visit the Year of Science Website.
CSI at the LSI, Dec 1, 2010
The idea to use popular fiction to present a professional scientific environment to high school students was first thought of by the inaugural eecutivecommittee of the LSI-GSA. The goal was to give students hands on training, mentorship, career information, and answer any questions to facilitatea possible career choice in research. “CSI at the LSI” outreach program is a murder mystery involving a plot with real characters (grad students,post docs, and PI’s) to generate a fun and interactive learning environment. At this one day event, thestudents carry out experiments using modern scientific techniques to collect “evidences”. At the end of theday they share the results to identify the suspect. Most of the activities are designed with basic scientificresources so that they are replicable and suitable to be performed in other research institutes oruniversities. This event was written up as an educational paper and submitted by Dr. Caylib Durand (formerMicrobiology & Immunology Graduate Student and now a 2nd year UBC Med Student) and Dr. Santiago-Ramon Garcia (Research Associate in the department of Microbiology & Immunology) to the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education. Thepaper was publshed in Dec 20, 2010. Please click HERE to view the paper. Now in its 4th year, "CSI at the LSI" has become a most popular outreach event in the LSI. Thirty-two students from the Eric Hamber High Schoolparticipated this year. Click HERE for more information on the "CSI at the LSI".
Other News
Dr. Vanessa Auld, CELL Research Group, Department of Zoology has been appointed the Associate Dean of StrategicInitiatives and Faculty Affairs in Faculty of Science.
Dr. George Mackie, Bacterial Adaptation of Response Networks (BARN) Research Group, Department of Biochemistry& Molecular Biology is the new interim Executive Associate Dean, Research in the Faculty of Medicine since Jan 2011replacing Dr. Alison Bhuchan who has left for a senior position at the University of Toronto.
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Annual LSI Golf Tournament - July 2010
The second annual LSI Golf tournament was organized at the Musqueum Golf Course onFriday, July 9th. Various Scientific Vendors came through again and generously donateda variety of exciting prizes for the draws including 2 tickets to the Canucks game. LSIwould like to acknowledge contributions from Bio-Rad Laboratories (Canada) Ltd., GEHealthcare BiosSciences. BD Biosciences, Centre for Blood Research (CBR), FisherScientific, Beckman Coulter, Fine Science, Life Technologies – Applied Biosystems,Eppendorf, BHC Medical, Varsity Computers and Services Inc., VWR International,Diamed Lab Supplies Inc., Sigma Aldrich, Sarstedt, Medical Alumni Association & VectorLaboratories. The proceeds from the 50/50 draw were donated to Doctors withoutBorders (MSF). To look at more pictures, click HERE. The next Tournament will be inJuly 2011.
In the picture - 'Team MacGillivray'- 1st place Winners. from Left to Right: Mark Bleackley, Ross MacGillivray, Eric Jan and Alex MacGillivray.
Nan Cheney Art
A recent donation of $7500 from Justice Grant Burnyeat, Dr. William Webber, Sydney Friedman and Ken Morton enabled the preservation framingand displaying of the 41 Nan Cheney Anatomical drawings at the LSC. These drawings are part of the collection held by the Department of Cellular& Physiological Sciences.
Nan Gertrude Lawson Cheney (1897-1985) was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia andstudied “Art as Applied to Medicine” at Johns Hopkins University from 1921 to 1923.She moved to Vancouver in 1937 where she became a well-known portrait andlandscape painter. Nan Cheney was a medical illustrator in the Department of Anatomy at UBC from1951 to 1956, and continued to work as a medical illustrator until her retirement in1962. The Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences currently owns overfifty original works of art by Nan Cheney some of which are exhibited here. Each oftheworks was created from an anatomical dissection done by staff in the Departmentof Anatomy at the time. The person who did the dissection is indicated on eachpiece of artwork, and all pieces are signed and dated by Nan Cheney. This Art Collection is now mounted inside 4 separate glass cabinets in the LSC Colonnade.
United Way Pancake Breakfast- October 2010
A big Thank you to everybody for turning out in large numbers and making the annual LSI United Way Pancake Breakfast a success again thisyear. This has become an LSI Tradition and quite an event that everybody looks forward to.
LSI raised a total of $2,062 this year for United Way which wouldn’t have been possiblewithout the support of all the volunteers including our ‘Celebrity Chefs’, ‘CelebrityEntertainers’ and in-house artists Mary Pines and Julia Pon who donated their art forsale. Proceeds from this sales also went to United Way. Your generous gifts of your timeand contributions are gratefully appreciated. Click HERE to look at more pictures fromthe event. In the Picture, from Left to Right: Care-y, Dr. Charles Shuler (Dean, Faculty of Dentistry), Dr. Geroge Mackie (Interim Executive Associate Dean - Research, Faculty ofMedicine), Dr. Simon Peacock (Dean, Faculty of Science), Dr. Ed Conway (Director,Centre for Blood Research), Dr. Tony Farrell (Associate Dean, Postdoctoral Fellows,Faculty of Graduate Studies)
LSI Tree Trimming Party, Dec 9, 2010
Thank you all for attending the LSI Tree Trimming Party on Dec 9th. We are happy to report that we raised
$371 for the Canuck Place Children’s Hospice. The LSI Food Drive for the Vancouver Food Bankended on Dec 23rd and we are ecstatic to report that we surpassed our last year’s contribution of 16 boxes. We contributed 20 boxes to the Vancouver Food Bank this year. The goal for 2011 is 25 boxes! Our heartfelt gratitude to all the vendors for their generous contributions, to the volunteers for their time andongoing support and to the participants for participating in the LSI Tree Trimming Ornament Contest.
Here are the winners of the Tree Trimming Contest: 1st Prize Winner - ‘Snowglobe’ by Moerman Lab, Zoology 2nd Prize Winner - ‘Skier’ by Fernandez Lab, M&I
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3rd Prize Winner – ‘Star’ by Eltis Lab, M&I Please click HERE to view the pictures from the event.
Operations Update – By Tim Morgan, LSC OperationsManagerRead More
Safety Update – By Pierre Tanguay, LSC Health, Safety &Environment Officer Read More
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Operations Update - By Tim Morgan
Card Keys
Access to individual floors is through a white card key.This key not only gets you upstairs on the elevators, butalso up the stair wells in case the elevators are notworking. In addition, they get you into the main HealthSciences Mall entrance, the East entrance to the buildingand the B1 North entrance after hours (before 7 am andafter 6 pm).
If you have problems with your key, contact NeeraVohra, LSI Administrator at [email protected], Phone:604-827-3935
NOTE:
All new lab members are required to complete the online LSCSafety Orientation before they are assigned a key card andkeys. For more information, contact Neera Vohra, LSIAdministrator at [email protected], Phone: 604-827-3935.Be advised that Elevators # 3 and #4 are the only elevators youcan use to access the core services areas on Floor B2 (i.e.,LSC Stores and Receiving, LSC Equipment Services Workshop,and Waste Management) .
Access to Research Floors
Access to the Research Floors 2 through 5 and 1East isthrough key card.
Visitors (including students not working in labs) mustreport to the Reception in the 1st Floor Administrationsuite in order to obtain a Visitors Card Key. A validpicture ID, such as a Driver’s License must be left asdeposit for return of the card key.
Waste Management
All Bio-waste and radiation waste facilities are located inthe Waste Management facility on Floor B2. Each labhas designated at least one individual to be permittedaccess to this facility. Each lab has one key that openseach of the three Waste Rooms, and authorizedindividuals have card key access to the facility.
Room B2213 - Chemical Disposal, Glass Disposal,Sharps Disposal and Solvent Disposal
This room contains locations for chemical disposal(including ethidium bromide disposal), solvent disposal,sharps disposal (please put a label on the box identifyingthe lab source) and glass waste disposal (Place yourbagged waste in the room and take your bucket backto your lab with you). Please refer to the wall signs forthe appropriate storage location for each category.
Gas Cylinder Storage Room
A gas cylinder storage room on level B2 in room B2221 hasbeen made available for temporary storage of nonflammablegas cylinders .This is the location that PRAXAIR will delivernewly ordered cylinders and pick-up empties.
Liquid Nitrogen Pick-up and Drop-Off
Praxair provides a Liquid Nitrogen fill service to occupants ofthe LSC. Please contact Praxair to order Liquid Nitrogen andthen bring your dewar to the B2 Loading Dock. Praxair comesonce a day to fill dewars and to deliver bottled gases. Pleaseensure that your dewar is labeled with the name of the lab andthe department name.
Building CO2
The LSC offers CO2 piped directly to Tissue Culture Rooms inthe LSC.
Courier Shipments
All Courier shipments should be dropped off at LSC Receivingfor pick-up by couriers. Please ensure that you sign theappropriate log sheet.
Building Fire Alarm
The Life Sciences Centre is on a single stage alarm process.This means that once an alarm is triggered, notification of thealarm goes via the alarm monitoring company to the Fire Stationimmediately. You should evacuate the building immediately.
The alarm is a horn sounding throughout the building at a rate oftwenty beats per minute.
Fume Hood Alarms
There are two different alarms that you may hear related to theoperation of fume hoods in the building. The first is related to thefailure of air supply to the fume hoods, potentially leading to theescape of extremely hazardous fumes/vapours into lab areas.An extremely loud klaxon horn will sound, and strobe lights willcommence operation in all labs in the building. The strobes willcontinue until the air flow has resumed.
The klaxon will continue until the red button located below thestrobe lights in your lab is pressed and held for severalseconds. It is very important to immediately stop working infume hoods and to lower the sash. Do not open the sash untilthe strobe light stops flashing.
The second alarm (an annoying beeping sound) is caused whena fume hood sash is left open more than a few inches and a
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Room B2212 - Radiation Decay Room
This room is the official LSC storage facility forradioactive waste. Any lab using this facility is required toadvise the UBC Radiation Officer that they are using thisfacility. Please ensure that you complete the provided logdetailing the material being stored, the date and theresponsible lab.
Room B2211 and B2211a - Autoclaved Waste andRefrigerated Waste
These rooms contain locations for storage of autoclavedbiowaste, biomedical waste, and pathological waste.
Building Glass Washing Facilities
Glass washers for each of the Research Floors arelocated in the 12 Autoclave/Glass Washing rooms oneach wing of Floors 2 through 5. It is the responsibility ofusers to provide detergent and acid neutralizer.
LSC Stores and Receiving Facility
The LSC Stores and Receiving Facility is located onFloor B2 in room B2.226 and can be accessed by usingelevators 3 and 4. It operates from Monday to Friday,from 8:30 am to 4 pm.
The Stores offers a range of core services including shipping and receiving, ordering, providing gasses andstocks of frequently used reagents andlabconsumables/supplies.
LSC Equipment Services Workshop
The LSC Equipment Services Workshop is located onFloor B2 in room B2.518a and can be accessed by usingelevators 3 and 4.
Its mission is to provide service support for all theoccupants of the LSC in the areas of repair &maintenance, design, fabrication & modification, andconsultation.
Mail ServiceMail appropriately addressed to the Life Sciences Centre iscurrently being delivered by Campus Mail Services to the MailRoom in the main Administration suite, room 1340.
Each Lab has been assigned a mail box in the buildingMail Room, which is accessible through the Receptionarea in 1st Floor Administration suite.
Outgoing mail should be brought to the Mail Room forpickup by Campus Mail Services.
All occupants should notify their contacts of their mailchange as follows:
(Addressee’s name – e.g. Dr. Christian Naus)(c/o Lab Group – e.g. c/o Naus Lab)Office room # and/or Lab room #Life Sciences CentreThe University of British Columbia2350 Health Sciences MallVancouver, BC V6T 1Z3 Canada
Lab Windows facing either the East or West Atria
The building's fire occupancy permit requires that nothingbe placed on the window sills or on the windows that arein laboratories facing the East and West Atria.
Items found in those locations will be removed withoutnotice.
sensor indicates that no one is in the fume hood location (i.e., amotion/heat detector does not detect any movement or heat fora specified time and turns off the lights as an energy savingmeasure).
Cold Rooms and Environment Rooms – Personal Alarm
All Cold Rooms and Environment Rooms on each lab floorcome equipped with a personal alarm.
Should you need to initiate the alarm, you should press the redbutton located in the room on the wall near the floor next to thedoor. An alarm will sound and the red light above the affectedroom will illuminate. To turn off the alarm you need to turn thebutton clockwise and pull the button out.
NOTE:
There is also an emergency door latch release should you be stuckinside a cold room. Turn the black knob next to the door. This turns thedoor latch which releases the door handle.
Electrical Circuit in Cold Rooms and Environment Rooms
Please note that all the electrical outlets in the smaller coldrooms are on one circuit (two for large rooms) and that circuit isground fault protection based circuit. Also note that there is onlyone receptacle that houses the reset button. Should the circuitblow, you must reset the circuit by pressing the red reset button.
Autoclaves
There are LSI owned Amsco autoclaves in the 2nd, 3rd, 5thfloor and 4 East Autoclave/Glass washing Rooms.
Please ensure that only trained personnel from your lab usethese units. There have been a number of recent incidents ofproblems caused by incorrect use of the machines.
Should problems arise while using an autoclave, please contactNeera Vohra, LSI Administrator at [email protected] forassistance.
Training sessions can be organized though the appropriate WingManager. Please visit the LSI website athttp://www.lsi.ubc.ca/LSIC/wingMgrs.php for thecomplete list of Wing Managers.
Office Sensor Lights
Offices are equipped with sensor lights that can be turned onand off by using the sliding bar located on the light switch.
Deliveries/Pick-ups
All Deliveries/Shipments to/from occupants of the building canonly be received/shipped through the building’s Loading Docksat the north side of the building. Access to Loading Docks 1, 2,3, 4, and 5 is off Health Sciences Mall.
To contact the LSC Receiver, please call 604-827-3978.
Deliveries will only be accepted between 8 am – 4 pm Mondayto Friday.
Under NO circumstances can items of large dimension or weightbe brought into or be removed from the building other thanthrough the Loading Docks located on the North side of thebuilding (facing UBC Hospital).
You should be sure that your shipment is FOB a specific roomin the building and not the building itself. You may find yourselfin a position where the cartage firm will deliver to the loadingdock but no farther. In this case your lab will be responsible formoving your shipment to its final destination.
Please note that your lab is responsible for the immediatedisposal of all packing materials, pallets, crates, etc. related todeliveries to your lab. It is recommended that you arrange with
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Transportation of Hazardous Materials
The LSC Safety Steering Committee has established apolicy that the transportation of cryogenic material (DryIce-maximum of 2 kg & Liquid Nitrogen) and OtherHazardous Material is only permitted using Elevators 2and 4
It is not permitted to transport more than 2 kg of Dry Icein the building's elevators.
the cartage agent making delivery to take all pallets, crates, etcwith them as they leave, or have the installer do that at the timeof uncrating and installation.
Neither uncrated equipment nor packing material is permitted tobe placed at any time in corridors, building alcoves or any publicplace in the building. Should such material be found in any suchlocation, the responsible lab will be asked to immediatelyremove it to their lab or other suitable location. Failure to complywill result in the material being moved at the labs expense.
LIFE SCIENCES INSTITUTE2350 Health Sciences MallTel: 604.827.3977E-mail: [email protected]
Emergency Procedures | Accessibility | Contact UBC | © Copyright The University of British Columbia
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Safety Update - Pierre TanguayThe Life Sciences Centre is a safe place to study and work, but incidents and accidents can happen. Should you or a colleague have an accident atwork, there are a number of important things to know and to keep in mind. Should you have any questions or concerns regarding a workplaceaccident - or anything relating to health and safety - please call Pierre Tanguay (LSC Health and Safety Advisor) at 604-827-4127 or email [email protected]
INCIDENT / ACCIDENT REPORTS AND INVESTIGATIONS AT UBC
~ What all UBC employees should know ~
Incidents and accidents are reported and investigated in order to prevent similar situations from happening again in the future. Reports andinvestigations never seek to assign blame.
To meet WCB and University requirements, UBC Departments report and investigate any incident or accident that resulted in:
A death or critical condition with a serious risk of deathThis report must be made immediatelyA work-related injury requiring treatment by a medical practitionerA time-loss injuryAn occupational disease or allegations of an occupational diseaseA major structural failure or collapseThe major release of a toxic or hazardous substanceA near miss (did not result in an injury but had the potential for causing serious injury)
NOTE: All incidents, accidents and WCB claims must be reported to Health, Safety and Environment (using an Incident/Accident Report Form), within 24hours. Accident Investigation Forms must be submitted to HSE within 72 hours. HSE is responsible for reporting this information to the WCB.
Who conducts the Accident Investigation?
SupervisorWorker representative from the local safety committeeOther knowledgeable persons
QUALITY INCIDENT/ACCIDENT REPORTS AND INVESTIGATIONS
In order to meet the WCB quality standards, accident reports and investigations must:
1. IDENTIFY ALL CAUSES OF AN ACCIDENT including;
Immediate causes (example: Worker tripped on a piece of debris)Underlying (root) causes (example: Housekeeping did not remove debris)Organizational / systemic causes (example: No housekeeper on duty at the time)
Note: Accidents are usually caused by multiple factors, some of which may not be immediately obvious . Unidentified problems or causes cannotbe corrected.
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2. CONTAIN SPECIFIC AND APPLICALBLE CORRECTIVE RECOMMENDATIONS, including:
Determine effective corrective actions (What is to be done)Note Corrective actions must seek to prevent a reoccurrence for all potentially affected persons, not just those involved in the incidentDelegate responsibilities for corrective actions (Who is to do what)Determining time lines (When is action or task to be completed by)Note: The best way to ensure that a problem gets fixed is to delegate a specific task to a specific person, within a specified time frame.Recommendations, responsibilities and timelines are to be recorded in the report.
3. INCLUDE PROVISIONS FOR FOLLOW-UP, including:
Means to determine if recommendations were implementedMeans to determine if recommendations were effective
LIFE SCIENCES INSTITUTE2350 Health Sciences MallTel: 604.827.3977E-mail: [email protected]
Emergency Procedures | Accessibility | Contact UBC | © Copyright The University of British Columbia