Graduate Studies honours Professor Pat Armstrong with Postdoctoral Supervisor Award
Share
York University’s Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) honoured Professor Pat Armstrong with the Faculty’s inaugural Postdoctoral Supervisor of the Year Award. The newly established award recognizes professors who demonstrate exemplary support for postdoctoral scholars at York University, exceeding general supervisory expectations.
Armstrong was presented the award at the Postdoctoral Welcome Reception on Sept. 13, joined by friends and colleagues. The event also welcomed roughly 25 new postdocs to York University, in anticipation for National Postdoc Appreciation Week being held Sept. 18 to 22.
Fahim Quadir, interim dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, Professor Pat Armstrong and Postdoctoral Fellow Rachel Barken
“Postdoc Appreciation Week, like this event, is a chance for Canadian universities to pause and reflect in a more formal way on something we at FGS and at York are aware of year-round, but are always glad to have a chance to address more directly – that is, the outstanding and incredibly important role that postdocs play not just here at York, but across all Canadian universities and within academic culture more broadly,” said Fahim Quadir, interim dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
Armstrong was recognized for embodying a culture of support for postdoctoral scholars at the University. She is a Distinguished Research Professor in sociology and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Her research focuses on the fields of social policy, of women, work and health and social services.
“I’ve had the incredible privilege of learning so much from my postdocs over the years here at York,” she said.
Since 2000, Armstrong has supervised at least 14 postdocs, with another beginning their fellowship this month. Her former postdocs have a remarkable track record of going onto successful research careers in academia and beyond.
In her letter of nomination for her supervisor, Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Postdoctoral Fellow Rachel Barken noted: “Dr. Armstrong provides postdoctoral fellows with outstanding opportunities to build strong research and funding records as well as professional networks, thus positioning them well for excellence in their future careers. Her commitment to engaged co-learning allows postdoctoral fellows to learn how to write for funders, academic audiences and broader publics, to think through relationships between theory, methods and outcomes, and to build a strong, funded research program with impact.”
Armstrong added four lessons in her remarks that she thinks are valuable to current and prospective postdoctoral supervisors: work with remarkable people; sort out what your postdoctoral fellowship structure is going to be like; define writing, presentation and authorship procedures; and have fun.
She also had words for new postdocs in the room, and said: “This is a time where you really have an opportunity to write, to connect with people, and to explore additional ideas. You’ve got that thesis done, and now you can think about what you’re going to tell the world about it.”
The Postdoctoral Supervisor of the Year Award accepts nominations annually to recognize professors who: serve as role models for intellectual leadership and professionalism in research; provide an exemplary environment of support for professional skill development in research; promote and model a climate of respect and collegiality; and offer advocacy and guidance in long-term personal, professional and career development.
Five York U professors elected to Royal Society of Canada
Share
The achievements of five York University professors have been recognized by the Royal Society of Canada, which elected these five into its ranks as Fellows on Sept. 7.
“York is delighted to see that five Professors – Russell Belk, Richard C. Hoffmann, Lesley A. Jacobs, Marcel Martel and David McNab – have been recognized by the Royal Society of Canada, as Fellows,” said Robert Haché, vice-president research & innovation. “This reflects the high regard in which York University’s academics and researchers, and York research, are held.”
The Royal Society of Canada Division of Humanities
Richard C. Hoffmann
Historian Richard C. Hoffmann, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), is the rare scholar who established a new subfield in his discipline. Through his internationally-renowned, prize-winning and pioneering scholarship, his mentoring of emerging scholars, and his networking and organizational activities, he has built the environmental history of premodern Europe. His collaboration with Austrian aquatic ecologists had an impact on public policy regarding the protection and management of indigenous fish species in a number of European countries.
David McNab
David McNab, Department of Equity Studies, LA&PS, is a renowned Métis historian and a leading authority in Canada’s movement to Reconciliation. His significant and innovative research on Indigenous Treaties, land, and resource issues in Canada is facilitating substantial return of land and resources or fair value compensation to indigenous people by governments. A prodigiously prolific scholar, his acclaimed scholarly publications and technical reports promote First Nations’ and Métis’ stories in Canada’s narratives.
The Royal Society of Canada Division des Lettres et Sciences Humaines
Marcel Martel
Marcel Martel, LA&PS, is a renowned historian whose research on collective memory, identity formation and French Canada has redefined the traditional boundaries of these fields. He is the recipient of numerous awards, and holds the prestigious Avie Bennett Historica Canada chair in Canadian history at York University. Martel publishes original scholarship in both French and English and his research is widely recognized for both its quality and impact on public policy.
The Royal Society of Canada Division of Social Sciences
Russell Belk
Russell Belk, Schulich School of Business, is a world leader for his work on the extended self, the meanings of possessions, collecting, gift-giving, sharing, consumer desire, and materialism. In addition to more than 600 articles, books, and videos, he has received a number of international awards and honorary professorships on several continents. He helped found the field of Consumer Culture Theory, the Consumer Behavior Odyssey, and the Association for Consumer Research Film Festival.
Lesley A. Jacobs, LA&PS, is Professor of political science and law and society at York University
Lesley Jacobs
and Director of the Institute for Social Research. He is an internationally recognized expert on human rights, equality of opportunity, and empirical studies of access to justice. His work has significantly impacted human rights policy and anti-racism law in Canada. His current research focuses on race-related data collection and meaningful access to civil justice.
For more information, visit the Royal Society of Canada announcement.
York U rolls out a #WelcomeYU
Share
York u students cheer at the University’s #WelcomeYU ceremony
The numbers are in and they reveal that close to 6,000 first-year students took part in the 2017 York Orientation Day evening Welcome Ceremony and celebration on Sept. 6 at the York Lions Stadium on the Keele campus.
The photo gallery below offers just a taste of the energy and enthusiasm of the ceremony.
The event was a capstone to a full day of orientation events planned for the first-year students. The day was designed to ease students’ academic and social transition into life at university. Prior to the welcome ceremony, first-year students met others in their program, along with senior students from their major programs. They also heard from peer mentors and their program professors, and explored the University.
The ceremony began at 6pm with a parade of students wearing their college colours and led by their Orientation leaders into the York Lions Stadium on the Keele campus. The energetic crowd took part in a cheer-off before an official welcome from the executive of the York Federation of Students, the Aboriginal Students Association and the Indigenous Students Association of Glendon. Following the greetings, The Red Spirit Drum Group played a traditional First Nations welcome.
A key event for students was a live theatre presentation by actors from York University’s acclaimed Vanier College Productions of the play There Is No Maybe, a one-act play written by Kristen Da Silva, Katie Edwards, Alisse Lee Goldenberg, Brian Goldenberg and Theresa Noon-Hunter. Vanier College Productions student actors Trimaine Blake, Zaarin Bushra, Beatrice Campbell, Linda Ge, Stefan Porfirio and Danny Sylvan presented a variety of scenarios that explored the issues surrounding consent on campus between university students. There is No Maybe conveyed a key message to the first-year students: If it’s not clear, and it’s not enthusiastic, it is not consent.
The play is an important part of a pan-University initiative to combat rape culture, and to teach students what their options are when confronted with issues surrounding sexual violence. York University’s Sexual Violence Response Office worked with Vanier College Productions to ensure the play involved cases of sexual violence that can happen on campus as well as different ways students could support and/or intervene in situations. Accompanying the students were some 1,200 Orientation leaders who received Active Bystander Program training.
The student A Cappella group Wibi performed a number of songs.
To complete the Welcome Ceremony, members of York University’s academic leadership, accompanied by two bagpipers entered the stadium. York President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton delivered the official University welcome to the first-year students as they took part in a new student convocation into the University.
York research pinpoints predictors of post-surgery opioid use
Share
Research York University
New research led by York University shows the strongest predictive factors for prolonged opioid use after a traumatic musculoskeletal injury and surgery are pain severity and a poor sense of control over pain. The study is published in The Journal of Pain, the peer-reviewed publication of the American Pain Society.
Scientists from York University, the University of Toronto and other Canadian centres hypothesized that pain severity measured in the hospital within two weeks of a musculoskeletal injury could predict use of prescription opioids four months after discharge. They also explored whether psychological distress would predict opioid use as much or more than pain severity.
The study is titled “Predictors of Prescription Opioid Use 4 Months After Traumatic Musculoskeletal Injury and Corrective Surgery: A Prospective Study.”
Brittany Rosenbloom
“Previous research has shown that people who sustain traumatic injuries are at higher risk than the general population for using and abusing opioids. Several studies have identified risk factors for persistent opioid use, such as a history of drug or alcohol abuse and taking medications for depression and anxiety,” said lead author Brittany Rosenbloom, a clinical psychology doctoral student at York University supervised by Professor Joel Katz. “However, the extent that acute post-surgical pain and chronic pain influence persistent opioid use is not clear.”
Results of the study, which employed secondary data analysis, showed that 35 per cent of 122 patients reported using a prescription opioid for pain relief four months following a traumatic musculoskeletal injury requiring surgery. These patients had significantly greater pain severity and pain interference scores than patients who were not using opioids.
“[The results support] the hypothesis that initial in-hospital pain severity would predict use of prescription opioids four months after surgery,” said Rosenbloom. “The data strongly suggest that pain severity and poor sense of pain control, not psychological distress, are the main factors associated with prolonged opioid use following musculoskeletal trauma and surgery. Further, when evaluating opioid use after injury, it is important to consider time since injury because factors associated with opioid use change over time.”
Sept. 22 Keele campus BioBlitz seeks citizen scientists
Share
The walkway adjacent to the Chemistry Building on York University’s Keele campus
Calling all citizen scientists!
Graduate students in the Faculties of Science and Environmental Studies are inviting York University students, faculty members and staff from any discipline to participate in the first ever York University BioBlitz on Sept. 22.
The walkway adjacent to the Chemistry Building on York University’s Keele campus
BioBlitz is a global initiative that brings experts and community members together to inventory all species found within a given area and time. The York University BioBlitz will focus on identifying species at the Keele Campus. Species identification experts, comprised of volunteer graduate students and faculty members, will train participants on how to identify a group of species before heading out and provide general information about biodiversity and conservation.
“The purpose of BioBlitz is to engage all York community members and give them the chance to get outdoors, learn something new, connect with nature, and become more familiar with species found right where we work, study and live,” says Amanda Liczner, PhD student in the Department of Biology in the Faculty of Science and the project leader for the event. “Some people may be surprised to find that urban environments, such as the York University campus, are home to many species of plants and animals.”
The species identification data collected during the event will be uploaded to a free open-access platform called iNaturalist. Participants are encouraged to download the iNaturalist app before the event; however, paper data sheets will also be provided. The data will then be uploaded to databases that may used for future research projects.
In addition to Liczner, the following graduate students are involved in organizing the event:
Data Coordinator: Alessandro Filazzola, PhD student in the Faculty of Science
Science Coordinator: Jenna Braun, MSc student in the Faculty of Science
Registration Coordinator: Shelby Gibson, MES student in the Faculty of Environmental Studies
Site Coordinator: Meagan Tompkins, PhD student in the in the Faculty of Science
For more details on how to participate as a volunteer or data collector, visit the York BioBlitz website.
New Gold and Silver Prizes in Finance encourage BCom students to shine
Share
Above: From left, Professor Chris Robinson stands with Jiangmeng Xie (BAS ’17), winner of the Silver Prize in Finance, and Ananya Mukherjee-Reed, dean of LA&PS, at the June 2017 convocation
York University Professor Chris Robinson has endowed two new merit awards for finance students in the School of Administrative Studies (SAS). The Gold and Silver Prizes in Finance are awarded to the graduating students with the highest and second-highest GPA respectively in the Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) honours program. The prizes were presented for the first time at the June 2017 convocation.
Robinson has taught finance in SAS since 2004, after 21 years at the Schulich School of Business. His motivation for founding the prizes reflects the impact of education on his own life.
“My success is founded on my education, and that’s why I give,” said Robinson. “With these new awards, I am trying to encourage students to strive for excellence in their academic work. The BCom degree in SAS is an excellent program that continues to grow, particularly in finance, with about 700 majors. We must continue make it better by encouraging our students to reach higher.”
The BCom is an interdisciplinary program that builds students’ business skills through a range of concentrations, including finance. York’s historic Bachelor of Administrative Studies (BAS) program changed its name in 2016, and students will begin graduating with the new BCom designation in 2018.
“Graduates of SAS are extremely well regarded across a range of industries,” said Ananya Mukherjee-Reed, dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. “These awards help us further promote the excellence and rigour that help our alumni thrive in their professions.”
In supporting exceptional students, the awards have succeeded in inspiring its winners to strive for more. Now working in the finance department for an insurance company in Hong Kong, Ian Chun Sang Wong (BAS ’16), winner of the Gold Prize, says that the award is not only a financial boost, but a recognition of his hard work.
“I’m honoured to receive this prize,” said Wong. “It validates the idea that if you put your mind to something and follow through, you can achieve what you thought was impossible. It’s shown me that I can realize my goals.
“The prize is proof of my efforts in my studies,” echoed Jiangmeng Xie (BAS ’17), who won the Silver Prize. “It will continue to remind me of my past successes and be a strong source of support as I pursue new goals in the future.”
Robinson also recently established the Chris Robinson Personal Finance Prize. It will be awarded for the first time next June to the student who earns the highest GPA in the personal finance courses of the BCom program.
Welcome to Brainstorm for September 2017
Share
Brainstorm, a special edition of YFile publishing on the first Friday of every month, showcases research and innovation at York University. It offers compelling and accessible, feature-length stories about the world-leading and policy relevant work of York’s academics and researchers across all disciplines and faculties, and encompasses both pure and applied research.
In the September 2017 issue: York’s new President and Vice-Chancellor, Rhonda Lenton, reflects on the rising profile of research and innovation at the University and shares keen insights on research amplification. While researching highly toxic pokeweed, Professor Katalin Hudak’s lab makes an important discovery that could bolster the survival of agricultural crops. Professor Sherry Grace studies women-only cardiac rehab programs, and suggests we need to do more to engage women to participate. New research from Professors Jelena Zikic and Julia Richardson looks at two immigrant populations in Ontario, and finds roadblocks when these newcomers try to reenter their profession. Professor Alan Blum produces a new book in the burgeoning field of medical humanities, and proposes a novel and empowering lens through which to look at life.
Launched in 2017, Brainstorm is produced out of the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation in partnership with Communications & Public Affairs; overseen by Megan Mueller, manager, Research Communications; and edited by Jenny Pitt-Clark, YFile editor.
York’s new president shares her insights on research amplification
Share
President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton
Rhonda Lenton
On July 1, 2017, York University’s new President and Vice-Chancellor, Rhonda L. Lenton, took the helm of Canada’s third-largest university.
Lenton, who began at York in 2002, is deeply committed to achieving the highest levels of excellence for York as a leading comprehensive university, and to building on the University’s mission to deliver new ways of thinking that drive teaching, learning and research excellence.
She is dedicated to further developing York University’s commitment to innovative learning environments, diverse experiential learning, unique cross-disciplinary programs and community-engaged research opportunities.
In this Q&A with Brainstorm, Lenton outlines a future for York in which research and innovation continue to play a vital and ever-amplifying role.
Q: What is your vision for the future for research and innovation at York University?
A: I believe it’s important to talk about the vision for York University as a whole. York is quite unique. We are a university that provides a broad sociodemographic of students access to a research-intensive, high-quality learning experience. That’s very important when I think about where we are going with research intensification.
Historically, York is known for its incredible strength in the humanities and social sciences, environmental studies, business, law and health. But over the last number of years, we have been strengthening and amplifying research, so that today we are a comprehensive university that is strong in many different areas. So, for me, moving forward, our priority is to continue to strengthen that amplification across the entire University.
“York is quite unique. We provide a broad sociodemographic of students access to a research-intensive, high-quality learning experience.” – York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton
When I think about what that means for the University, we need to support faculty complement renewal and make sure that we are bolstering the entire breadth of scholarship, research and creative activities. This means including pure and discovery research, and thinking about applied research as well as opportunities for large, collaborative types of research that build on York’s established strengths in inter- and trans-disciplinary scholarship, research and creative activities.
York University is an internationally recognized research university
Q: Reflecting on research and innovation at York University, how would you characterize the last five years?
A: I would highlight the rapid and successful amplification of scholarship, research and creative activities over the last five years. This is due, in large measure, to the type of planning culture that we have at York. One important example of this is the development of our “Strategic Research Plan.” In terms of operationalizing that plan and helping everyone across the University to move forward and amplify our research efforts, the development of PIER or the “Plan for the Intensification and Enhancement of Research,” has been incredibly important.
“I would highlight the rapid and successful amplification of scholarship, research and creative activities over the last five years.” – York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton
PIER provided recommendations as to how we can increase and strengthen our activities, how York can establish itself as a leader in research, and where the opportunities are for us to do that. PIER considered the pressing research problems of the day, and how York can best leverage our strengths to contribute to those challenging, complex issues.
I have seen, over the last five years under the leadership of our Vice-President Research & Innovation, Robert Haché, a real vision of purpose around our research. We are keenly focused on impact, and how we can ensure that the research activities we are undertaking have a broad impact on social, cultural, economic and other wellbeing of society, both locally and internationally.
We have been on a trajectory ̶ one that I fully expect we will see strengthening in the future.
York University has one of the highest growth rates in scholarly output in Ontario for the last decade
“I have seen a real vision of purpose around our research. The research activities we are undertaking have a broad impact on social, cultural, economic and other wellbeing of society, both locally and internationally.” ̶ York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton
Q: What kinds of successes illustrate the amplification of research and innovation at York?
A: There are many examples. One of the reasons York has had so much success is because we are supporting scholarship, research and creative activities right across the board, in a very comprehensive way.
Let me give you a few examples: York has one of the highest growth rates in scholarly output in Ontario for the last decade. This is hugely significant because it reflects our upward trajectory. York also leads in terms of the collaborative research publications that involve international scholarship. York is establishing a global network of international partnerships, which is key.
York is also well-known for the contributions we make in the areas of business and public policy, from the Schulich School of Business and Osgoode Hall Law School. We are also first in Canada and third in the world in biological and computational vision research. This, undoubtedly, was a major factor in York’s success in receiving an unprecedented investment from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) and partners. We are also very strong in social science research, as I mentioned – for example, bullying research and refugee migration studies.
So, much of what characterizes York’s success goes back to that strength in inter- and transdisciplinary research. We need to continue supporting this vital work as we go forward.
Q: You mentioned York’s success in securing research funds. Can you elaborate?
A: Yes, our researchers have been successful. As I mentioned, last fall, the Vision: Science to Application (VISTA) program received an unprecedented $120 million investment from CFREF and partners. Speaking more broadly, in 2016 and 2017, York researchers received more than $14 million from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC); over $11 million from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); and more than $3 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
York researchers secured a $120 million investment in the VISTA program. Photo credit: Jenny Pitt-Clark, YFile
Q: What programs or centres support scholarly excellence at York?
A: York is home to 25 research centres that conduct ambitious, groundbreaking work. Our Research Chairs also support scholarly excellence. The Canada Research Chairs, or CRC, program stands at the centre of a national strategy to make Canada one of the world’s top countries in research and development. York has an allocation of 36 CRCs in diverse areas, including Indigenous environmental justice, health psychology, atomic physics and entrepreneurial innovation.
The York Research Chairs (YRC) program is the University’s internal counterpart of the CRC program. Importantly, the level of support and recognition provided to YRCs aligns with supports and recognition provided through the CRC program. As of August 1, 2017, York is home to 22 YRCs in a wide variety of fields, including women’s reproductive health, genomics, space technology, global digital citizenship, bioanalytical chemistry, planetary science, big data analytics and fine art.
Q: How important are partnerships, collaboration and community engagement to York’s research?
A: These are very important. Our researchers work extensively with academic partners, community groups and commercial partners in building their research programs.
Innovation York, the innovation office for the University, plays a vital role in providing services to faculty members, trainees, students, industry and the community. Innovation York’s accelerator spaces, such as the LaunchYU BEST Hub on York’s Keele Campus, YSpace Markham, and the IBM Innovation Space–Markham Convergence Centre, are thriving hubs for entrepreneurs and community members. In 2015-16, Innovation York, which also includes a Knowledge Mobilization Unit, created relationships with more than 100 companies, approved 500 agreements worth nearly $30 million, supported 20 commercialization projects and launched five start-up companies.
IBM Innovation Space – Markham Convergence Centre, co-founded by Innovation York
I am very interested in strengthening our connectedness with the community. Further examples of this important work would include our plans for the Markham Centre Campus and our valued relationships with our partners in this region, the subway extension, as well as our deep connections with the Franco-Ontarian community.
Connectedness is vital. My vision for the University involves connecting our academic and research excellence with our accessibility agenda, our diversity with our inclusivity. I would like to seize the opportunity to think big and to reflect on how York can be the model for the connected university in the 21st-century global knowledge economy.
To learn more about Research & Innovation at York, watch the York Research Impact Story, see the infographic poster or visit the YouTube playlist. For an overview the York’s innovation office, watch the Innovation York video. For compelling research stories about the world-leading, policy-relevant work of York’s researchers and academics, visit the newsletter Brainstorm.
By Megan Mueller, manager, research communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, muellerm@yorku.ca
Virus resistance in plants holds promise for agricultural crops
Share
In searching for ways to improve crop production and, ultimately, address food security in an era of climate change, three intrepid biologists from York University – Professor Katalin Hudak, researchers Kira Neller and Alexander Klenov (who are based in the Hudak Lab) – focused their research on the American pokeweed plant. Why? This plant is recognized for a protein that inhibits the replication of several plant and animal viruses. What the trio found was how the genes in the plant work in concert to stave off viruses.
This discovery, if applied to agriculture, has great potential. “We anticipate the discovery could improve the resiliency of agricultural crops,” Hudak explains. “Our research has become increasingly relevant given the impacts of climate change,” she adds.
American pokeweed. Image: Wikipedia
This vital work, published in Frontiers in Plant Science, was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and scholarships from the Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s (CGS-M) Program.
Climate change and food production are intimately connected. A long, hot summer without rain or a spring with too much rain and extreme flooding will have a profound effect on crops and livestock. Warmer weather also expands the habitat of insect pests, which are important vectors ̶ organisms that don’t cause disease but spread infection by conveying diseases from one host to another ̶ for plant diseases.
“Our research has become increasingly relevant given the impacts of climate change.” – Katalin Hudak
Concern over climate change and its impact on food production have increased our need to develop crops plants better able to survive stress. Some plants are remarkably hardy, being able to produce dozens of defense compounds essential for their survival. These factors help the plants respond to environmental changes and to fend off viruses. For example, American pokeweed, native to the eastern United States but also found in southern Ontario, has potent defence proteins against a range of viruses, fungi and insects.
Above: From left, Katalin Hudak, Kira Neller and Alexander Klenov
Pokeweed foliage and fruit are highly toxic to animals and humans. The compounds it contains can cause nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure and possible death due to arrhythmia of the heart. Interestingly, pokeweed has been used in traditional medicine to treat a variety of ailments from tonsillitis to mumps to acne. It was even used as a weight loss drug in the 1890s.
Hudak, Neller and Klenov were interested in this plant, which can grow up to 8 feet tall, because of its unique properties – particularly, the ability to fight viruses.
Researchers treated plants with jasmonic acid, a stress hormone
In this study, the researchers sprayed plants with jasmonic acid, a plant hormone important in defense against viruses and insects. Twenty-four hours after treatment, the researchers harvested leaves from the plants. Samples were sent to Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children for RNA sequencing ̶ a new and revolutionary technology that determines the genetic sequence, letter by letter, of every ribonucleic acid (RNA) message in the plant. This essentially provides a snapshot of the gene regulation, and stress response, going on at the time when the plants were harvested. Remarkably, the trio of researchers was able to examine over 400 million reads using sophisticated computer algorithms.
The researchers used a new and revolutionary technology that determines the genetic sequence, letter by letter, of every ribonucleic acid (RNA) message in the plant.
Findings could lead to improvements in agricultural crops
The researchers discovered that while the untreated plants had relatively balanced gene expression, the jasmonic-acid-treated plants had a significantly higher abundance of defense proteins. “We identified genes that are significantly affected by jasmonic acid and could mediate defense against disease, and herbivores, in American pokeweed,” Hudak explains. This was a first.
The trio believes this discovery of beneficial genes in this plant could improve the resiliency of agricultural crops. It may be especially promising for sugar beet production because sugar beets are closely related to pokeweed.
Sugar beets
Hudak’s research team intends to undertake further research on pokeweed. “A wealth of genomic knowledge remains unknown in this species, as large-scale sequencing projects have not been reported for pokeweed or any other members of its plant family,” Hudak says.
By Megan Mueller, manager, research communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, York University, muellerm@yorku.ca
York U talent featured at Toronto International Film Festival
Share
An image from Woman Walks Ahead featuring York University Professor Michael Greyeyes and Jessica Chastain
Talent out of York University will be highlighted at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which runs Sept. 7 to Sept. 17. Work by York University students, faculty and grads is featured in a slew of films screening at TIFF.
This year, TIFF will present 340 films from Canada and around the word with 238 screenings that are world, international or North American premieres.
Here’s a look at this year’s contributions from members of the York University community.
An image from Disobedience featuring York University alumna Rachel McAdams and Rachel Weisz
• Daniel Cockburn (BFA ’99, MFA ’17) directs and edits the short film The Argument (with annotations), which was his MFA thesis film. Find details, showtimes and tickets here: http://www.tiff.net/tiff/the-argument-with-annotations/. Watch the trailer for The Argument (with annotations):
• Wayne Wapeemukwa (York student 2008-2009) directs and edits the feature film Luk’Luk’I, which is a York/Telefilm microbudget production. Also working on the team is co-producer Spencer Hahn (BFA ’14). Find details, showtimes and tickets here: http://www.tiff.net/tiff/lukluki/. Watch the trailer for Luk’Luk’I:
• Lina Roessler (MFA ’17) is Part of the TIFF Talent Lab, which is a competitive artistic development program designed for aspiring filmmakers. The TIFF Talent Lab only accepts 20 emerging directors and screenwriters, who are immersed in an intensive learning experience. Find details here: http://www.tiff.net/industry/talentlab17/.
Brainstorm, a special edition of YFile publishing on the first Friday of every month, showcases research and innovation at York University. It offers compelling and accessible, feature-length stories about the world-leading and policy relevant work of York’s academics and researchers across all disciplines and faculties, and encompasses both pure and applied research.
