UG News

Dave Hickey, a writer and art and cultural critic, will explain why bigger isn’t always better during the seventh annual Shenkman Lecture on Contemporary Art March 20, 6 p.m., in War Memorial Hall.

Held by the School of Fine Art and Music (SOFAM), the lecture is free and open to the public.

During his talk, entitled “It Takes a Village to Make Bad Art,” Hickey will discuss the downside of economies of scale in art practice and art education in an age of global art and the digital global village.

A former English professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and professor of criticism in the department of art and art history at the University of New Mexico, Hickey wrote The Invisible Dragon and Air Guitar: Essays on Art and Democracy.

He has written for Rolling Stone, Art News, Playboy, London Review of Books, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Harper's and Vanity Fair.

Hickey has served as art curator at galleries in New York City and Austin, Texas; executive director of Art in America magazine in New York City; and contributing editor for The Village Voice.

He has received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, an honorary degree from the Rhode Island School of Design and the Peabody Award for public journalism.

The Shenkman lectures are funded through a donation by Dasha Shenkman, a Canadian art collector living in the United Kingdom.

Free bus service will be provided from Toronto, leaving Mercer Union (1286 Bloor Street W.) at 2:30 p.m. and leaving Guelph at 9 p.m.

Also on March 20, SOFAM master’s students will open their campus studios from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. in Blackwood Hall, the Firehall and Alexander Hall. Visitors may view and discuss new works.

For more information, visit www.uoguelph.ca/sofam/shenkman.

Anita Stewart, the University of Guelph’s first Food Laureate, was a guest on TVO's The Agenda Thursday night. She was part of an episode on the future of rural Ontario. The Agenda, hosted by Steve Paikin, is TVO's flagship current affairs program.

Stewart, an expert on food and Canadian cuisine, is the University’s honorary food ambassador, providing advocacy and leadership and promoting initiatives. The founder of Cuisine Canada, she has authored or co-authored 14 books on Canadian foods and wines that include many U of G examples.

Julia Christensen Hughes, dean of the College of Management and Economics, had a column published Wednesday in the Globe and Mail. It’s part of a continuing series she is writing for the national newspaper on teaching in learning.

Wednesday's article looks at the effect technology is having in the classroom and on learning outcomes. She also discusses how research and teaching are becoming more integrated with community engagement. Monday’s op-ed explored whether it's the right time for fundamental paradigm shift within higher education, and what that shift might look like. Christensen Hughes is the former chair of the Department of Business and former director of Teaching Support Services.

History professor Linda Mahood appeared on the popular CBC radio program The Current Wednesday, discussing her research on hitchhiking.Mahood has been interviewing people between the ages of 50 and 65 about their experiences hitchhiking. She’s writing a book on the topic of youth tourism, which is part of a bigger biographical project about growing up in the 1970s.

Rene Van Acker, associate dean (external relations) in the Ontario Agricultural College is quoted in a story in Wednesday’s Globe and Mail on agribusiness and how universities cannot keep up with industry demands for skilled graduates. The article states that there is a boom in agriculture now, with graduates getting two or three job offers each.

Physics professor Ralf Gellert was quoted in a CBC news story about how the Curiosity rover has discovered that Mars once had all the right conditions to support living microbes. The rover analyzed a sample of rock that it had drilled out of an area in Mars's Gale Crater known as Yellowknife Bay. The rover's first drilling site was chosen and the samples alalyzed with the help of a range of instruments on its arm, including the APXS (alpha-particle-X-ray spectrometer) that was designed Gellert and an international group of scientists.

Gellert was also the lead scientist for APXS systems used on twin NASA rovers launched in 2003. The Guelph team also includes Prof. Iain Campbell, research associate Nick Boyd, graduate students Glynis Perrett and Scott van Bommel, and post-doc Irina Pradler.

John Cranfield, a professor and graduate co-ordinator in Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, was quoted in an article in Monday's National Post on how Canada should market its agricultural potential. Cranfield studies consumer behaviour and demand analysis among individuals, households and markets.

A discovery by University of Guelph researchers will help in understanding how horses develop recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) and offers hope of potential solutions for people with asthma.

In a paper in a recent issue of BMC Genomics, the researchers discuss their discovery that horses have three copies of a gene normally found as a single copy in mammals. This gene, called secretoglobin family 1A member 1 (SCGB-1A1), produces a protein secreted in large amounts in the airway.

RAO is a chronic inflammatory lung disease. It is especially prevalent during winter in horses kept in barns and fed hay. The researchers found that RAO-susceptible horses have much less SCGB1A1 protein in their airways, which enhances inflammation.

Symptoms in horses with RAO resemble those of humans with environmentally induced asthma.

The researchers found that two of the gene copies could play a significant role in treating RAO. The third copy has no recognized function and may have evolved into a pseudo-gene.

Lead author Olivier Côté, a PhD candidate in the Department of Pathobiology, says the study could have larger implications than treating horses.

“We’re able to use the horse as a model for asthma in humans,” said Côté. “We found through our research that horses suffering from RAO had reduced SCGB1A1 levels. Since an obvious suggestion for treating RAO is to increase protein levels of SCGB1A1, we made a synthetic version of it in the lab. We are currently testing the protein’s function. While it would not be possible to simply provide humans with this protein to reduce asthma, as humans and horses are different species, these findings do give hope that we can find novel treatments for asthma.”

Study co-author Prof. Dorothee Bienzle said it was challenging to isolate and assess the individual genes. The researchers also faced challenges because of the unusual nature of the gene triplication.

“Other mammals do not have multiple SCGB1A1 copies, except for some other equidae, such as Przewalski’s horses and donkeys,” she said. “So it is difficult to know where the gene came from. We can speculate that it was an evolutionary response that took place over many years. We don’t know why the pseudo-gene exists or what its purpose is. The distribution of the other two gene transcripts and proteins indicates they are extremely prevalent in the lung and reproductive organs.”

Looking at 24 horses, the researchers found that one gene variant was about 2.5 times more prevalent than the second copy in most animals. In horses with RAO, that ratio significantly increased, suggesting abnormal regulation of the two copies.

“We hope that our finding will lead to improved treatment of horses with RAO,” said Côté. “Future studies will assess the function of different SCGB1A1 proteins and attempt to uncover their anti-inflammatory properties. If the results are positive, this would comprise a stepping stone toward treatment of asthma in people.”

Microscopic image of a section of bronchiole and lung from a horse. The cells staining dark brown are the epithelial cells lining a bronchiole, and contain secretoglobin SCGB-1A1 as identified with an immunohistochemical stain. Cells surrounding the bronchiole are stained light blue, and do not contain SCGB-1A1.

This picture taken with an endoscope of the bronchi of a horse without recurrent airway obstruction or asthma.

This picture taken with an endoscope of the bronchi of a horse with recurrent airway obstruction or asthma. Note how due to bronchoconstriction the diameter of the bronchi is narrower in this image compared to the previous image.

For more information, please contact:
Olivier Côté
519 824-4120 x. 54634
ocote@uoguelph.ca

Dorothee Bienzle
Professor & Canada Research Chair in Veterinary Pathology
Department of Pathobiology
Tel 519.824.4120 x54351
dbienzle@uoguelph.ca

The selection committee for the University of Guelph’s eighth president and vice-chancellor is seeking input and advice from the University community. The information will be used to help develop the mandate and profile for hiring the next president.

Two town hall meetings are scheduled on April 4 to allow faculty, staff, students and alumni to share their perspectives. The meetings will be held at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m., each lasting one hour, in Peter Clark Hall. People are welcome to attend either or both of the meetings.

Specifically, the selection committee would like input on:
• Leadership, qualifications and personal characteristics desired in the next president;
• Strengths, opportunities and challenges that the University should build upon and address;
• The University’s uniqueness and ideas to enhance its differentiation; and
• Short- and long-term priorities of the president.

Comments and suggestions will be used to inform the selection process. Input may also be submitted electronically. An email address and additional information about the committee’s consultations may be found on the presidential selection website.The committee will communicate regularly with the University community via the website.

Members of the presidential selection committee are Board of Governors chair Dick Freeborough, chair of the presidential selection committee; Anita Acai, fourth-year B.Sc. co-op student; Graham Badun, a member of the Board of Governors; Prof. Julia Christensen Hughes, dean of the College of Management and Economics; Prof. Cate Dewey, chair of the Department of Population Medicine; Linda Hawkins, director of the Institute for Community Engaged Scholarship, College of Social and Applied Human Sciences; Lisa Kellenberger, a PhD student in the Department of Biomedical Sciences; Virginia McLaughlin, Board of Governors vice-chair and chair of the board’s governance committee; Brad Rooney, president of the University of Guelph Alumni Association; and Prof. Byron Sheldrick, chair of the Department of Political Science.

The group will recommend a presidential candidate to the Board of Governors. Under the University of Guelph Act, the board is responsible for appointing a president.

The new president is expected to be in place by summer 2014, when Alastair Summerlee’s second term will end.

The University of Guelph’s men’s track and field team won the Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) championship this weekend. The men finished with 114 points and 10 medals, including four gold. It’s the team’s third CIS banner in six years.

The women’s team finished third with 85.25 points and eight medals. The event was held at the University of Alberta.

Coach Scott-Thomas won the Bob Boucher Award as the CIS men’s track and field coach of the year. He is in his 15th season at Guelph and also led the Gryphons to OUA men’s and women’s titles this season.

On the men’s side, gold medals went to Tim Hendry in the shot put, 17.94; Anthony Romaniw, 600m, 1:18.20; Steve Holmes, 1000m, 2:26.32; and the men’s 4x800m relay team of Drew Anderson, Chris Hutton, Rob Jackson and Tommy Lecours, 7:31.62.

Silver medals went to Anthony Romaniw, 1000m, 2:26.48; Jorg Ahne, long jump, 7.54m; and Yves Sikubwabo, 1500m, 3:50.44. Sikuwabo was also named the CIS Rookie of the Year. The first-year arts student won two silver medals at the OUA championships (1000m and 1500m) and was on the OUA gold-medal winning 4x800m relay team. He was ranked first in the country on 1000m going into the CIS championships.

Ross Proudfoot won two bronze medals, in the 1500m (3:52.72) and 3000m (8:11.11). Tim Hendry also won a bronze in the weight throw (18.51).

On the women’s side, Andrea Seccafien won the gold medal in the 3000m with a time of 9:35.12. She also won a silver medal in the 1500m (4:26.33).

Julia Wallace won silver medals in the long jump (5.97) and triple jump (2.39m). Carise Thompson earned a silver medal in the 3000m (9:41.76) and a bronze medal in the 1500m (4:29.46). Bronze medals also went to Rachel Aubry, 600m (1:30.02) and to the 4X800 relay team of Rachel Aubry, Lydia Frost, Nadine Frost and Geneviève Lalonde (9:00.80).

Complete results are available online.

About 4,000 colourful pinwheels will appear on Branion Plaza Tuesday to mark Sexual Assault Free Environment (SAFE) Week, which runs March 11 to 16.

SAFE Week is intended to raise awareness of sexual assault and the importance of personal safety and consent and respectful relationships. It’s sponsored by U of G’s Wellness Centre and the Awareness of Sexual Assault and Prevention Committee.

The pinwheels represent statistically the number of undergraduate students who could be affected directly or indirectly by sexual assault. According to Statistics Canada, one of every four women and one in 10 men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetimes.

“Sexual violence against women is not just a ‘women’s issue,’ it’s a human rights issue,” said Melanie Bowman of the Wellness Centre. “It affects all of us, and we need to work together in a mutually respectful way to eradicate it.”

Other SAFE Week events will include a T-shirt campaign, displays and presentations.

Starting March 11, students may pick up free T-shirts as part of a week-long campaign to support the elimination of sexual assault. Prizes will be awarded to the student who collects the most “solidarity signatures” on their shirts. The shirts will be available at the Wellness Centre, located on the second floor of the J.T. Powell Building (above Student Health Services), from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

T-shirt decorating will take place March 13, 5:30 to 7 p.m., in the Macdonald Hall fireplace lounge.

“The Rose Project,” a one-woman theatre performance about a sexual assault survivor, will be presented March 14 to 16, 8 p.m., in Lower Massey.

For information about campus initiatives to address sexual assault, contact Bowman at mbowman@uoguelph.ca or Ext. 56046.

Corn could offer a solution to vision problems that many people face as they age, according to a new study from the University of Guelph.

Researchers at Guelph bred a new strain of corn to contain the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which protect eyes. The corn was fed to chickens that laid eggs rich in these helpful carotenoids. The researchers speculated that the carotenoids in the egg yolk would be more concentrated and absorbed better than those ingested directly from corn.

In age-related macular degeneration, a progressive eye disease that is the leading cause of blindness in older adults, the eyes are low in lutein and zeaxanthin. Doctors routinely recommend eating leafy greens, the only other vegetables rich in these antioxidants.

In the paper published in the journal Crop Science, plant agriculture professor Elizabeth Lee reported that the high-carotenoid diet produced eggs containing the antioxidants. Eggs from hens fed this corn contained less lutein than those of hens fed marigold petal extract, the current way of producing high-lutein eggs. But the researchers believe that it is possible to make a new breed of corn that contains more lutein and zeaxanthin, leading to eggs with more of these beneficial compounds, and providing benefits to both egg consumers and corn producers.

Prof. Barry Shelp, Plant Agriculture, also worked on the study. “Elizabeth had theorized that it was possible to breed corn with increased lutein and zeaxanthin, and we wondered whether it was possible to get these antioxidants to people?” he said. “Since most hens are fed corn, the best solution seems to be egg yolks where the carotenoids would be accompanied by oils, which may facilitate absorption by the human body. We found that lutein and zeaxanthin contents of the eggs were increased in hens ingesting this novel corn, so this gives us something to work with.”

The researchers crossed Argentine Orange Flint maize with standard North American corn. The new breed contains more lutein and zeaxanthin than any other corn known.

“This was something that we felt had potential for not just egg producers but also Ontario corn farmers,” said post-doctoral researcher Andrew Burt. “The goal for our team was to take our concept and create products that would be beneficial to farmers and which consumers will want. We still have some work to do, but we proved the concept is a valid one.”

Lee and her team are encouraged by the findings, which show that researchers can breed plants to produce functional foods.

“This is a way in which crop scientists can produce items that have improved nutritional benefits for human health,” she said. “It seems likely that we can achieve greater results in the future, and provide lasting benefits for farmers and consumers.”

For more information:
Elizabeth Lee
Professor, Dept. of Plant Agriculture
University of Guelph
519.824.4120 x. 53360
lizlee@uoguelph.ca

Barry Shelp
Professor, Dept. of Plant Agriculture
University of Guelph
519.824.4120 x. 53089
bshelp@uoguelph.ca

More than 30,000 people are expected to visit the University of Guelph March 16 and 17 for the 89th annual College Royal weekend.

The free two-day event is North America's largest student-run university open house.

“We are excited to have an incredible variety of events and fun activities for the whole family, future students and those graduates looking to return,” said volunteer Mike Whiteside.

The theme of this year’s event is “Welcome to Royal Country.” Whiteside, who is heading College Royal’s public relations efforts this year, said the theme was chosen to allow people to enjoy traditional events and to showcase new offerings and celebrate Guelph’s diversity.

Activities will include livestock shows, square dancing, campus tours, a lecture series, logging competitions, dog and cat shows, photography and art, synchronized swimming demonstrations, a flower-arranging competition and a pancake flipping contest.

For kids, there will be Old MacDonald’s New Farm, a junior tractor rodeo, face painting, teddy bear surgery, a chemistry magic show and food science milkshakes.

U of G student clubs and classes have designed displays and exhibits.

For a complete schedule of events, visit the College Royal website. For more information, send an email to: colroyal@uoguelph.ca or call 519-824-4120, Ext. 58366.

University of Guelph professors and researchers are making international and national headlines this week.

Food science professor Keith Warriner appeared on CTV’s national news Tuesday night, talking about contaminated lettuce. In a first-ever large-scale study, Health Canada researchers tested how clean pre-washed packages of leafy greens really are and found parasites in dozens of samples purchased in Ontario.

A sought-after food-safety expert, Warriner discussed how consumers can reduce the risk of illness, including keeping leafy greens refrigerated, which stops the growth of pathogens. He and his research team have developed decontamination methods to improve food safety and tested the effectiveness of a sanitizing system aimed at neutralizing bacteria on food and surfaces.

Psychology professor Benjamin Gottlieb was on Global National TV March 3. He was interviewed for a series on heart health and talked about the health benefits experienced by older adults who volunteer.

Gottlieb studies the health effects of volunteering for seniors, including how activities associated with volunteering, such as bending, lifting, carrying and walking, and route navigation affect physical and mental well-being.

Profs. Paul Hebert and Dirk Steinke, along with forensic technician Chris Weland, all of the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO) at U of G, were interviewed by CNN and had their work on DNA barcoding and food products showcased Feb. 25.

The BIO has been at the forefront of identifying mislabelled food and foods that have had ingredients substituted that differ from what is on the list of ingredients. Reporter Paula Newton conducted the interview for CNN International, giving viewers in North America and around the world a look at the BIO.

Prof. Sylvain Charlebois, associate dean in the College of Management and Economics, was interviewed by CTV News Channel Feb. 27 for a report on budget cuts to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Charlebois is an expert on food supply, inspection and pricing. He was also interviewed by Global National for a story on increasing food prices by reporter Robin Gill on the same day.

The author of two books and numerous articles, Charlebois belongs to the CFIA's national expert advisory committee.

School of Environmental Studies (SES) undergraduate student Jacob Cecile, former SES graduate student Lucas Silva, and SES professor Madhur Anand had a letter published in the Feb. 22 issue of Science on global tree declines. See the "Letters" section for the entire debate.

More than 30,000 people are expected to visit the University of Guelph March 16 and 17 for the 89th annual College Royal weekend.

The free two-day event is North America's largest student-run university open house.

“We are excited to have an incredible variety of events and fun activities for the whole family, future students and those graduates looking to return,” said volunteer Mike Whiteside.

The theme of this year’s event is “Welcome to Royal Country.” Whiteside, who is heading College Royal’s public relations efforts this year, said the theme was chosen to allow people to enjoy traditional events and to showcase new offerings and celebrate Guelph’s diversity.

Activities will include livestock shows, square dancing, campus tours, a lecture series, logging competitions, dog and cat shows, photography and art, synchronized swimming demonstrations, a flower-arranging competition and a pancake flipping contest.

For kids, there will be Old MacDonald’s New Farm, a junior tractor rodeo, face painting, teddy bear surgery, a chemistry magic show and food science milkshakes.

U of G student clubs and classes have designed displays and exhibits.

For a complete schedule of events, visit the College Royal website. For more information, send an email to: colroyal@uoguelph.ca or call 519-824-4120, Ext. 58366.

A new potential target for battling disease-causing bacteria – especially deadly bugs that resist current antibiotics – may result from a study by University of Guelph researchers.

The study has shown for the first time the workings of a common bacterial enzyme that may prove vulnerable to drug treatments, said Prof. Anthony Clarke, Molecular and Cellular Biology.

The enzyme might offer a new target for drug companies looking for new ways to fight antimicrobial drug resistance, a growing health threat worldwide, Clarke said.

Published online last month in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the study was flagged by Global Medical Discovery Ltd. for drug companies and other researchers. GMD highlights journal articles offering promise for new drug discoveries.

The paper’s lead author is John Pfeffer, who completed a PhD in late 2012 and is working this semester as a post-doc researcher in Clarke’s lab. Their co-author, Joel Weadge, completed his doctorate with Clarke in 2006 and is now a biology professor at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Said Clarke, “This new research follows a study where we showed this enzyme might be a new target. If so, then the more information we have on how it works, the better placed we are to design or search for inhibitors.”

Bacteria have evolved many variations of defensive enzymes. Knock out one target with an antibiotic, and the bug often deploys a different protein to elude treatment.

This particular enzyme – called O-acetylpeptidoglycan esterase, or “Ape” – studied by the Guelph researchers has little redundancy, Pfeffer explained.

So drugs might be more effective or doctors might be able to outwit the bugs longer – although he added that bacteria will eventually find a way around potential new treatments.

“It’s an arms race essentially.”

They studied bacteria that cause gonorrhea. Out of more than one million new gonorrhea infections in the United States in 2009, up to three-quarters involve antibiotic-resistant strains, he said.

Pfeffer said their work might help in treating other organisms, especially drug-resistant strains that pose a greater health threat for people in hospitals and long-term care facilities. “We have to come up with new ways to combat disease.”

Early this month, Clarke attended a meeting of the Canada/U.K. Partnership on Antibiotic Resistance, a collaboration of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the British Medical Research Council. He is co-leader of a research team studying infectious organisms that are increasingly impervious to drug treatments, including bacteria that cause tuberculosis.

The gathering attracted experts from industry, universities and governments to consider a strategic approach for addressing antimicrobial resistance, he says. “It was a meeting of the minds to look at how we might deal with this serious problem.”

Pfeffer started working with Clarke as an undergrad. He completed that degree in 2005 and started grad studies that year.

Art in Guelph has a new home with the opening of the inaugural Boarding House Gallery exhibition in downtown Guelph.

The exhibition “1,” which has its opening reception Thursday, February 28 at 7 p.m. at the Boarding House for the Arts at 6 Dublin St. S., marks the launch of a new public art gallery. The gallery is an artistic partnership between the University of Guelph’s School of Fine Art and Music (SOFAM) and the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre (MSAC). The two organizations say this helps fulfill their mandate of presenting contemporary art exhibitions in a space which is accessible and free to the public.

“I am thrilled that SOFAM is spearheading this important collaboration with MSAC,” says John Kissick, SOFAM director. “The Boarding House Gallery is a venue for the exhibition of work by practicing professional artists and for bringing the work and ideas of our best and brightest students to the downtown core. We hope to make a meaningful contribution to the downtown community's active cultural sector.”

The premiere exhibition “1” features 13 contemporary Canadian art works by SOFAM faculty artists Diane Borsato, James Carl, Susan Dobson, FASTWÜRMS, Christian Giroux, Will Gorlitz, John Kissick, Nestor Kruger, Jean Maddison, Martin Pearce, Sandra Rechico, Monica Tap, and Laurel Woodcock.

The show also features a number of works selected from the MSAC’s permanent collection, as well as works that are on special loan for the Boarding House Gallery premiere exhibition.

“The Boarding House Gallery is the result of a fruitful partnership,” says Judith Nasby, MSAC director and curator. “The gallery enables us to extend our programming to engage the public and to reach out to the community in new and interesting ways.”

The gallery plans to host a number of exhibitions. After “1” concludes its run on March 24, the gallery plans to feature works by nationally and internationally recognized artists who will showcase contemporary art practice both in Guelph and beyond its borders.

University graduates in applied and professional programs such as business and engineering are more likely to pay back their student loans than their counterparts in liberal arts or in similar college programs, according to a new study from the University of Guelph.

The study found that university students are generally more likely to repay loans than their college counterparts despite higher university tuition fees. It also found that, starting salaries being even, students in certain fields, including business, health or engineering, were more likely to repay their student loans than those in the liberal arts.

It was authored by Guelph sociology professor David Walters and Laura Wright, who wrote the paper while completing her MA at U of G, along with David Zarifa, a sociology professor at the University of Nipissing. They analyzed student data from Statistics Canada’s most recent version of the National Graduates Survey, with about 40,000 responding graduates from all provinces and territories.

The study controlled for a range of factors, including starting salaries. It excluded those in graduate programs and those who took additional schooling after completing a degree or diploma.

“Since college graduates earn less on average than university graduates, and graduates of liberal arts fields typically earn less than graduates of applied fields, we expected that the former would be more likely to default on their student loans,” said Wright, the lead author and now a PhD candidate at Western University.

“Our results confirmed this probability in general, but what was surprising was that this pattern was evident regardless of earnings. Conceptually, if you compare two individuals who both work full-time, have the same earnings, and have the same amount of student debt, the individual who graduated from a liberal arts program or with a college diploma is still more likely to default than the individual who graduated from an applied program or with a university degree.”

Why? Walters said there are a number of possibilities and that further study is required.

“We don’t know for certain at the moment,” he said. “First-year university students tend to have higher entrance grades than their college counterparts, so it could be said that they are more conscientious. It could also be a matter of lifestyle. It could also be argued that universities are better preparing their students in life skills. And graduates of applied fields may have stronger numeracy skills that help them understand and manage debt.”

Student loan default is a growing concern with rising costs and more students depending on loans. In 2004, the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) distributed more than $1.9 billion to 330,000 students. Three years earlier, defaulted loans cost the program more than $400 million.

Default rates for university loans range from two per cent to eight per cent, with some programs doing better than others, said the researchers.

The study offers ideas to improve repayment rates.

“It might be valuable for government and institution officials involved in the CSLP to consider making additional courses or workshops relating to financial planning available, if not mandatory, for students who require financial assistance,” the study concluded.

For more information, please contact:
Prof. David Walters
Dept. of Sociology
dwalters@uoguelph.ca
519-824-4120 x. 52198

The largest-ever market study on mislabelled seafood now making headlines around the world has roots at the University of Guelph.

DNA analysis showing mislabelling of 33 per cent of fish sold in grocery stores, restaurants and sushi bars in the United States was conducted at the Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding based in U of G’s Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO).

The Guelph centre was commissioned to conduct the testing by Oceana, the largest international oceans advocacy group. Overall, the study found 44 per cent of all retail outlets sold mislabelled fish.

Since Oceana released its findings Thursday, stories have appeared on CNN news and in newspapers, including the Globe and Mail, Boston Globe, USA Today, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and San Francisco Chronicle.

“DNA Barcoding has ‘arrived’ as a standard method for food ingredient authentication,” said Prof. Bob Hanner, associate professor at BIO, who was consulted by Oceana on the design of its study and interpretation of its results.

“The technology was developed here — it’s a Guelph innovation," he said. "We are recognized as the premier service provider for this type of work, which is allowing us to capture this emerging market. We’ve expanded an incredible research innovation to the point where we can provide a much-needed commercial biospecimen identification service. That’s another thing that the University of Guelph is known for — capitalizing on a demand.”

DNA barcoding is a technique developed by Guelph integrative biology professor Paul Hebert. The method allows scientists to identify species of organisms using a short standardized region of their DNA.

DNA testing for the Oceana study took more than two years. “It took a lot of time for them to collect all of the samples, which kept coming in from numerous venues in 21 states,” Hanner said.

More than 1,200 fish samples from almost 700 retail outlets were tested. Researchers found seafood fraud in every region tested, Oceana’s report said.

The highest mislabelling rates were in sushi venues (74 per cent), followed by other restaurants (38 per cent) and grocery stores (18 per cent).

By region, the highest rates of mislabelling occurred in southern California (52 per cent), Austin and Houston (49 per cent), Boston (39 per cent) and New York City (39 per cent).

The study looked at fish with regional significance and species frequently mislabelled in previous studies, such as red snapper, cod, tuna and wild salmon. Snapper and tuna were most frequently mislabelled (87 and 59 per cent, respectively).

Among the report’s other key findings:
• Only seven of the 120 red snapper samples collected nationwide tested correctly.
• Eighty-four per cent of the white tuna samples were escolar, a fish species that can cause serious digestive issues in some people.
• Cheaper farmed fish had been substituted for wild fish. Pangasius was sold as grouper, sole and cod; tilapia, as red snapper; and Atlantic farmed salmon, as wild or king salmon.

The results resemble those in a 2008 study by Hanner. Looking at about 100 samples from restaurants and markets in Toronto, Guelph and New York City, he found about 25 per cent of fish were mislabelled, and the majority were sold as species of a higher market value.

Hanner co-ordinates the Fish Barcode of Life campaign, an international research collaboration that is building the barcode reference sequence libraries needed to identify the world’s fish species.

Regulatory agencies have used DNA barcoding to identify other mislabelled foods, including meat, and other consumer products.

In addition to identifying known species, scientists have used the method to discover hundreds of overlooked species of animals, plants and even marine algae. All of these data are maintained on the Barcode of Life Data System, an international mega-science project that aims to establish a DNA-based identification system for all life.

A lifelong diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids can inhibit growth of breast cancer tumours by 30 per cent, according to new research from the University of Guelph.

The study, published recently in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, is believed to be the first to provide unequivocal evidence that omega-3s reduce cancer risk.

“It’s a significant finding,” said David Ma, a professor in Guelph’s Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, and one of the study’s authors.

“We show that lifelong exposure to omega-3s has a beneficial role in disease prevention — in this case, breast cancer prevention. What’s important is that we have proven that omega-3s are the driving force and not something else.”

Breast cancer remains the most common form of cancer in women worldwide and is the second leading cause of female cancer deaths.

Advocates have long believed diet may significantly help in preventing cancer, but epidemiological and experimental studies to back up such claims have been lacking, and human studies have been inconsistent, Ma said.

“There are inherent challenges in conducting and measuring diet in such studies, and it has hindered our ability to firmly establish linkages between dietary nutrients and cancer risk,” he said. “So we’ve used modern genetic tools to address a classic nutritional question.”

For their study, the researchers created a novel transgenic mouse that both produces omega-3 fatty acids and develops aggressive mammary tumours. The team compared those animals to mice genetically engineered only to develop the same tumours.

“This model provides a purely genetic approach to investigate the effects of lifelong omega-3s exposure on breast cancer development,” Ma said. “To our knowledge, no such approach has been used previously to investigate the role of omega-3s and breast cancer.”

Mice producing omega-3s developed only two-thirds as many tumours — and tumours were also 30-per-cent smaller — as the control mice did.

“The difference can be solely attributed to the presence of omega-3s in the transgenic mice — that’s significant,” Ma said. “The fact that a food nutrient can have a significant effect on tumour development and growth is remarkable and has considerable implications in breast cancer prevention.”

Known as an expert on how fats influence health and disease, Ma hopes the study leads to more research on using diet to reduce cancer risk and on the benefits of healthy living.

“Prevention is an area of growing importance," he said. "We are working to build a better planet, and that includes better lifestyle and diet. The long-term consequences of reducing disease incidence can have a tremendous effect on the health-care system.”

The study also involved lead author Mira MacLennan, a former U of G graduate student who is now studying medicine at Dalhousie University; U of G pathobiology professor Geoffrey Wood; former Guelph graduate students Shannon Clarke and Kate Perez; William Muller of McGill University; and Jing Kang of Harvard Medical School.

Funding for this research came from the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance/Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Research Fund.

Two University of Guelph professors and a researcher were featured on the Discovery Channel and in Time magazine this week.

Physics professor Joanne O’Meara was featured Tuesday night on Discovery's popular science show Daily Planet , where she demonstrated how some amusement park rides such as the Drop Tower at Canada’s Wonderland rely on electromagnetic induction to go from a free fall to a sudden halt. (watch the video: 6:25 into the segment)

She also demonstrated the strength of eggs on the show Feb. 6. She used a special device to show co-host Ziya Tong how an egg’s shape makes it incredibly strong, in this experiment withstanding a weight equivalent to about 27 watermelons before breaking. (7:10 minutes into the segment)

O’Meara makes regular appearances on the show as a resident science expert. She does demonstrations and explains science, physics and engineering to viewers in an understandable and interesting fashion. It’s part of her ongoing science education outreach programs, which also include workshops and physics shows for both elementary school teachers and students. She also researches effective ways to improve physics education in university classrooms.

O’Meara’s education outreach is among the reasons she was awarded the Medal for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 2011 from the Canadian Association of Physicists. It recognizes teachers who possess an exceptional ability to communicate their knowledge and understanding.

Atsuko Negishi, a research associate in the Department of Integrative Biology, was featured on Daily Planet Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. The segment focused on her work on a novel and unlikely source of natural fibres that may one day lessen our dependence on petroleum: hagfish slime.

Hagfishes are an ancient group of eel-like, bottom-dwelling animals that have remained relatively unchanged for more than 300 million years. When threatened, hagfishes secrete a gelatinous slime containing mucous and tens of thousands of protein threads. These threads belong to the “intermediate filament” family of proteins, have remarkable mechanical properties and are incredibly strong.

Hagfish slime protein threads have the potential to be spun and woven into novel biomaterials, which could provide a sustainable alternative to oil-based polymers.

Negishi is exploring the potential of making synthetic protein-based fibres using hagfish slime threads. Her collaborators include integrative biology professors Douglas Fudge and Todd Gillis and food science professor Loong-Tak Lim.

Research by U of G biomedical sciences professor Neil MacLusky was mentioned in an article in Time magazine.

The Feb. 19 story looks at Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius’s defence in the shooting death of his girlfriend and the possible role steroids may have played. The article looks at several studies that have found connections between changes in hormone and brain chemical levels and increased tendency torward violent behaviour, including one by MacLusky.

His study found that high levels of testosterone in mice, for example, suppress the brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which is involved in depression and inappropriate reactions to stimuli in humans. The results suggest that increased testosterone, which belongs to a family of steroid hormones called androgens, can alter mood, in some cases perhaps even promoting more aggressive tendencies, the article states.

MacLusky is quoted as saying: “These are hypothesizes, of course, and absolutely not proven for people. Just as people vary a great deal in the extent to which they are predisposed to depression, this may be why people vary a great deal in their response to androgens.”

Roland Walton, president of Tim Hortons Canada, has been named executive-in-residence in the University of Guelph’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) for the winter semester.

Walton will share his three decades of food service experience with students Feb. 26 to 28 during classes and special events.

HTM’s executive-in-residence program has brought industry leaders and prominent corporate executives to enhance student learning and careers for more than 10 years.

The school will celebrate its 45th anniversary in 2014.

“Students, faculty and staff have enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Tim Hortons and its local franchisees for more than 25 years,” said Kerry Godfrey, HTM director.

Students have contributed to the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation, and Tim Hortons has been featured in several case studies in the school’s management development programs, he said. In addition, Tim Hortons executives have served on HTM’s policy advisory board for many years.

A 1978 HTM graduate, Walton joined Tim Hortons in 1997 as executive vice-president of operations for Canada and the United States. In 2008, he was appointed chief operations officer for Canada; in 2012, he was named president of Tim Hortons Canada, responsible for overseeing all aspects of Canada’s top Quick Serve Restaurant.

He has also worked for Wendy’s Restaurants Canada, Pizza Hut® Canada and Pizza Hut U.S.A. Before joining Tim Hortons, Walton was division vice-president for Pizza Hut U.S.A.’s central division.

A new director has been appointed to the University of Guelph Arboretum. The largest and most comprehensive sanctuary of its kind in Ontario, it is home to more than 18,000 specimens in more than 30 plant collections as well as gardens, wetlands, nature trails and forests.

Prof. Shelley Hunt, a forest ecologist and faculty member in the School of Environmental Sciences (SES), has been named director of the Arboretum, effective Feb. 11. Prof. Jonathan Newman, director of SES, has served as interim director since Prof. Alan Watson stepped down from the position in 2012 after more than 20 years at the Arboretum.

Hunt completed her B.Sc. and PhD at Guelph. She highlights that the 165-hectare green space was one of her favourite places to visit on campus while a student at the University.

“When I was living in East Residence as an undergraduate student, the Arboretum was our backyard, the go-to place for walking, running and occasional late-night cross-country skiing,” she says. “It was also wonderful to have a place on campus to hone my tree identification skills. Since becoming a faculty member, I've visited the Arboretum regularly when I need a break from my desk and some inspiration.”

Hunt has used the sanctuary as a field site for undergraduate research projects and led classes on walk-and-talks through the space to reinforce lecture concepts.

Each year more than 73,000 people visit the Arboretum, and more than 6,000 people participate in workshops, guided tours and special events.

“The Arboretum offers a combination of plant collections and natural areas such as woodlands and meadow,” says Hunt. “It provides opportunities for teaching and research and extensive outreach to the broader community, with dedicated volunteers from on and off campus. This is important green space on campus and part of the City of Guelph's natural heritage system.”

Hunt will continue to teach and conduct research at the University, where she has been on faculty since 2006. Her research currently focuses on forest restoration in southern Ontario.

The chance to work with the Arboretum team convinced her that this was the right opportunity.

“I am thrilled to make a contribution to the great work being done by the Arboretum in fulfilling the mandate of promoting education, research and teaching,” says Hunt. “My first steps as director will be listening to and learning from the staff, visitors and the community. I hope to increase awareness on campus of the wonderful work being done at the Arboretum in biodiversity conservation and environmental education, and to strengthen its role as a research hub.”

The University of Guelph, the United Way of Guelph and Wellington and the Volunteer Centre of Guelph/Wellington are calling for nominations for the sixth annual William Winegard Exemplary Volunteer Involvement Awards.

Named in honour of former U of G president and Guelph MP Bill Winegard, the awards recognize members of the University community who have devoted volunteer time and effort in Guelph and Wellington County.

Current staff, faculty and students who volunteer with community organizations, including municipal boards, community fundraising, non-profits and community social health and service agencies, are eligible for the awards.

Nominators can be peers, colleagues, supervisors or organizations that benefit from the volunteer efforts of the nominee.

The deadline for nominations is March 1. Nomination packages are available online or by calling the Volunteer Centre at 519-822-0912. The awards will be presented March 28.

Winegard was U of G’s president and vice-chancellor from 1967 to 1975 and served as Guelph’s MP from 1984 to 1993. Besides being named Canada’s first minister of science, he chaired the House of Commons standing committees on external affairs and national defence and external affairs and international trade. He also served as parliamentary secretary to the minister of international trade. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1998.

A University of Guelph professor is part of a new national network intended to help protect Canada’s wetlands, lakes and rivers.

Paul Sibley, a professor and associate director of graduate studies in the School of Environmental Sciences, belongs to the Canadian Network for Aquatic Ecosystem Services (CNAES), which just received $4.4 million from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). Partner organizations will provide an additional $4.3 million.

Sibley is among 27 researchers from 11 universities in the network, which will address research issues in large northern wetlands, connections between healthy forests and healthy rivers, and lake ecosystems in Canada. Members include experts in remote sensing, biogeochemistry, fish ecology, modelling and hydrology.

Based at the University of Toronto, CNAES also includes federal government scientists, industrial partners, and environmental and technology associations that conduct research and training in aquatic ecosystems.

Canada's aquatic ecosystems are tremendously varied,” Sibley said. The network will take a watershed-based approach and focus on understudied systems such as northern wetlands and the boreal forest - areas targeted for increased resource development - to identify and address knowledge gaps in understanding of the types and range of ecosystems services they provide, he said.

“A key goal is to determine how the properties of ecosystem services associated with these systems vary in space and time, and to use this information as a basis for developing appropriate policy aimed at protecting those services," Sibley said.

The new knowledge will help government, industry and other stakeholders make informed decisions about development and environmental protection, said Don Jackson, CNAES director and an aquatic ecologist and interim director at U of T’s School of the Environment.

"Canada is subject to significant global environmental stressors as well as pressures to develop its natural resources,” Jackson said.

"We look forward to addressing the challenges facing Canada and the international community in generating the science to inform policy development, and to training the next generation of leaders in this field.”

The funding comes from NSERC’s Strategic Network Grants program for large-scale, multidisciplinary, collaborative research projects intended to improve Canada’s economy, society and environment.

Other universities in the network are the University of British Columbia, Laurentian University, McGill University, University of New Brunswick, Nipissing University, Université du Québec à Montréal, University of Toronto, Trent University, University of Waterloo and Western University.

Partner organizations include Alberta Innovates Technology Futures, DeBeers Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Kongsberg Maritime, Le ministère des ressources naturelles et de la faune du Québec, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario Ministry of the Environment and NRCan – Canadian Forest Services and Parks Canada.