woman transforming women's livesThe United Nations has adopted “Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives” as the theme of International Women’s Day 2018.

Campus events to observe International Women’s Day

Each year on March 8, people around the world celebrate International Women’s Day, set aside to recognize women’s achievements and acknowledge the challenges they continue to face in the quest for gender equality.

Several events on campus will mark the occasion:

  • Sexual Violence in Politics,” a panel discussion hosted by New Democrats UWindsor on Wednesday, March 7, at 5 p.m. in Katzman Lounge, Vanier Hall
  • Andi Zeisler at UWindsor,” a lecture by the founder of feminist non-profit Bitch Media, hosted by the Womxn’s Centre on Thursday, March 8, at 6 p.m. in Alumni Auditorium, CAW Student Centre
  • Slut or Nut:  the Diary of a Rape Trial,” a film screening hosted by Women and the Law on Thursday, March 8, at 6 p.m. in the Moot Court, Faculty of Law

In addition, the Women’s and Gender Studies program will host poet El Jones, Nancy’s Chair in Women’s Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University, to deliver a special talk on Wednesday, March 21. Find details on this and other events on its website.

University of Windsor professors Phillip Karpowicz and Christina Semeniuk received the Early Researcher Awards from the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science.University of Windsor professors Phillip Karpowicz and Christina Semeniuk received the Early Researcher Awards from the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science.

Science professors honoured with Early Researcher Awards

Two University of Windsor professors are among this year's recipients of the Early Researcher Awards, a provincial program that helps institutions build research teams.

Biology professor Phillip Karpowicz and Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research professor Christina Semeniuk were both awarded $150,000 over five years from the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science.

"The Faculty of Science is really proud of this achievement by two of our outstanding early-career researchers," said Dan Mennill, associate dean, graduate studies and research. "Dr. Karpowicz's research on circadian rhythms and Dr. Semeniuk's research program on animal responses to environmental change are cutting-edge investigations that will be dramatically enhanced by these prestigious awards."

The Early Researcher Awards will allow Karpowicz and Semeniuk to fund expenses for a research team of undergraduates, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, research assistants, associates, and technicians.

Karpowicz's team is studying intestinal stem cells and regeneration.

"We have discovered that intestinal regeneration occurs within a 24-hour rhythm, corresponding to normal sleep/wake cycles called circadian rhythms," he explained.

"In this research project, we will use genetics to test how changes to 24-hour sleep/wake cycles affect intestinal health."

Karpowicz said the breakdown of intestinal regeneration is associated with many illnesses, such as inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer. His team is focusing on advancing health technology, regenerative medicine and the prevention of disease.

Semeniuk's team is examining the ability of an animal to compete for food, exploit new habitats, and avoid predation in a setting increasingly affected by environmental change.

"Great Lakes freshwater fish are particularly impacted, given the multiple stressors they face," Semeniuk said.

While some populations are responding positively like the invasive brown trout others, like the brook trout, are in decline or extirpated like the Atlantic salmon.

Semeniuk said these outcomes can be attributed to the species' ability to cope and persist under new conditions through their intrinsic adaptive capacity.

"My (team) will study these systems with interdisciplinary lab, field, and modelling research projects in behavioural, integrative, and predictive ecology," she said. "They'll examine ways fish adjust their behaviours, physiology, and evolved responses to altered habitats, competitors and predators; whether these responses maximize growth, reproduction, and survival; and forecast impacts on populations and communities."

For more information about their research, visit their websites at www.karpowiczlab.ca and www.semeniuklab.com.


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Amy BuiPhilosophy major Amy Bui is one of the inaugural cohort of peer advisors in Career Development and Experiential Learning.

Applications open for student jobs as peer career advisors

Students interested in helping their schoolmates advance towards their career goals — while learning the most up-to-date methods of job search — may apply through Sunday for paid positions as peer advisors in Career Development and Experiential Learning for the 2018-19 academic year.

The Peer Advising Program, launched in September 2017, trains students to provide career-related support and act as ambassadors across campus for the service, says career consultant Krista Kelly.

“The program is designed to help peers attain a set of well-defined core competencies overseen by professional staff members while providing support to fellow students and engaging in promotional events across campus,” she says.

She encourages faculty and staff to promote this paid opportunity to students who display excellent leadership and mentorship skills. Students are asked to submit an application through mySuccess by Sunday. Find more details on the program website.

Watch a video on the benefits of joining the team.

Tahir Chowdhry, Soham Mitra, and Gopal Kotwal hold awards statuettesTahir Chowdhry, Soham Mitra, and Gopal Kotwal emerged atop the rankings in the iSpeak debate competition held Thursday by the Centre for English Language Development.

Students argue with themselves to demonstrate verbal facility

Students working to improve their English language skills rose to the occasion March 1 at the Centre for English Language Development.

Debaters in the iSpeak competition engaged in the “turn-coat” style of argumentation, which required them to present ideas both in favour of and against a given proposition.

“This self-debate is a challenge even for native speakers,” says Katia Benoit, acting director of the Centre for English Language Development. “We were very pleased to see students demonstrate their ability to present and transition between both sides of an argument.”

The competitors were UWindsor and English Language Improvement students at level three of their training. The top three finishers are all graduate students of engineering: champion Tahir Chowdhry, second-place Soham Mitra, and third-place Gopal Kotwal.

Industry collaboration to advance supply chain capacity in health systems

A collaboration with a global healthcare IT market intelligence, research, and standards organization will help to accelerate the work of the World Health Innovation Network (WIN) and the Supply Chain Advancement Network (SCAN Health) to develop tools to support supply chain transformation in global health systems.

WIN chair and SCAN Health CEO Anne Snowdon announced the partnership with HIMSS Analytics on Tuesday at the firm’s conference in Las Vegas.

Dr. Snowdon, a professor in the Odette School of Business, has developed “Health - Supply Information Maturity Management,” a ground-breaking tool to help health organizations assess their progress towards a strategic supply chain infrastructure that contributes to quality, safety, and sustainability.

HIMSS Analytics will collaborate with Snowdon and her research team to validate the innovative tool, disseminate the findings, and launch the resulting product.

“Partnering with HIMSS gives us tremendous reach into healthcare systems to accelerate the adoption of leading supply chain best practices and to amplify knowledge exchange to improve performance, safety and health outcomes,” she says. “Building on our combined strengths we can create exceptional capacity to scale supply chain innovation generating value for global health systems and populations.”

HIMSS president Hal Wolf calls the partnership an extraordinary opportunity.

“As technology solutions become increasingly integrated, the ability to leverage supply chain tools, processes, and information across global health systems becomes essential to improve performance and population health outcomes,” he says.

Read the formal announcement on the WIN website.

Love and Human Remains poster imageUWindsor staffer Daria Milenkovic won tickets to the University Players production of Love and Human Remains.

Support staffer triumphs in dramatic trivia contest

Daria Milenkovic, IT support administrator in the Odette School of Business, won Tuesday’s DailyNews trivia quiz and its prize of two tickets to the current University Players production, Love and Human Remains.

Milenkovic’s entry was drawn from all those which correctly identified Denys Arcand as director of the 1993 film adaptation, Brad Foster as the playwright, and Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love as the play’s original title.

The University Players’ show runs through Sunday in the Jackman Dramatic Art Centre’s Hatch Studio Theatre. Note: This production is for mature audiences only due to nudity, coarse language, sexuality, and violence.

Performances Wednesday through Saturday are at 8 p.m.; matinees Saturday and Sunday are at 2 p.m. Order tickets online at www.UniversityPlayers.com or by phoning 519-253-3000, ext. 2808.

two podiums with micsCandidates in the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance general election will debate at noon Friday.

Student council candidates to debate Friday

Campus media have teamed up to host a debate Friday, March 9, for candidates running in the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance general election.

The event is open to a live physical audience at noon in Studio A, Lambton Tower. For those unable to attend, it will also live stream on the following channels:

Organizers encourage audience members to come prepared with questions to ask candidates and engage in a civil dialogue. Balloting will take place March 14 and 15. Learn more on the UWSA website.