Pharmaceutical
,
Clinical
Chemical
w w w. l a b o r a t o r y f o c u s . c a
Five Ways to Battle Information Complexity in Life Sciences Page 7
food
environment
May/June 2018 Volume 22, Number 2
The role of Mass Spectrometry in the evolving Cannabis Sector Page 13
R&D News.................. 1 Appointments............. 6 New Products........... 16 App Reviews.............. 18
Laurier researcher receives prestigious Early Researcher Award Diane Gregory. Photo: Nick Lachance
Wilfrid Laurier University associate professor Diane Gregory is the recipient of the prestigious Early Researcher Award from Ontario’s Ministry of Research and Innovation. “Diane’s innovative approach to solving problems that affect the lives of millions of Canadians is being recognized by the province of Ontario,” says Rob Gordon, vice-president: Research. “This funding will significantly contribute to growing Diane’s research efforts in innovative ways, and supporting her commitment to student-engaged research.” Gregory, who studies spine biomechanics and is an expert on low-back pain, injury and prevention – especially in the workplace, joined Laurier’s Department of Kinesiology in 2011. This research project, which received nearly $200,000 from the province, will examine two modes of how the spine can become injured or how it responds to injury. “One side will focus on the mechanical components of the spine, looking at how it twists or bends
and how it becomes injured,” says Gregory. “The other side takes a more novel approach, assessing the physiological reaction to spine injury. We’re looking at how inflammation effects the quality of the spine and if it makes people more susceptible to further injury.” Previous research has looked at the healing experience weeks after inflammation, but not during inflammation. Gregory runs two labs for students: a lab focused on tissue mechanics and a more applied lab. Established in 2005, the Early Researcher Awards program helps to attract and retain top talent in the province and help promising researchers build their teams. Since 2013, Ontario has committed investments of more than $621 million towards 1,092 research projects through the Ontario Research Fund and Early Researcher Awards programs. To see this story online visit https://laboratoryfocus.ca/laurierresearcher-award/
Mitigating mercury: Is your seafood toxic?
Publications Mail Registration Number: 40052410
At one point or another, most people have been told to be wary of how much tuna they consume due to excessive mercury content, but is there any truth in that? A study coming out of the University of Montreal’s Department of Biological Sciences decided to go fishing for the truth. The study combined data on the amount of mercury fished out of oceans and seas from 1950 to 2014 and the weekly consumption rate
of fish and seafood by the populations of 175 countries between 1971 and 2011. The findings left researchers more concerned than previously thought. With a vast quantity of populations around the world relying on food from the sea as their primary source of protein – 3 billion according to WWF – excessively high levels of methylmercury is particularly unsettling. Continued on page 3
