Acadia well represented at the NSHRF Awards Gala
Acadia was well represented both by Faculty and Student researchers at this year’s awards.
For the second year in a row, an Acadia Graduate Student was the recipient of the Quest Award. Amanda Williams-Cook, a Master’s student in Psychology, was recognized as the graduate student researcher who demonstrated the greatest promise and potential for excellence in health research in 2016. The 2015 recipient of this prestigious award was Patrick Bazinet, another MSc student from Acadia University’s Psychology Department.
Acadia students received a total of seven of the NSHRF Scotia Scholars Awards; three at the Undergraduate level and four at the Master’s level. These awards provide financial support to high caliber trainees engaged in health research related academic study at Nova Scotia universities. Applicants are evaluated based on their academic, leadership, and research achievements.
Undergraduate Scotia Scholars Award winners included: Sara Drisdelle, School of Kinesiology (Supervisor: Dr. Said Mekary), Hannah Gillam, Department of Biology, (Supervisor: Dr. Brian Wilson) and Katherine Redmond Department of Psychology, (Supervisor: Rick Mehta).
The four Graduate recipients of the Scotia Scholars Award were all from the Department of Psychology: Erin Clahane, (Supervisor: Dr. Michael Leiter), Jacqueline Glover, (Supervisor: Doug Symons), Kathryn Jenson, (Supervisor: Diane Holmberg), and Amanda Williams-Cook, (Supervisor: Susan Potter).
Dr. Said Mekary, Assistant Professor with the Department of Kinesiology, is a member of the team that was awarded the Development/Innovative Grant worth $15,000. This Grant supports the elevation of a submission to a peer reviewed provincial, national or international health research competition. The project, which is led by Dr. Derek Kimmerly of Dalhousie University, examines the effects of exercise programs in sedentary older adults.
Assistant Professor Dr. Anne Sophie Champod, from the Department of Psychology was recognized with the Establishment Grant for her work studying the neurocognitive processes underlying the effects of a home-friendly treatment for spatial neglect in healthy subjects across the lifespan. The Establishment Grant assists in building research capacity and provides support for new health researchers in Nova Scotia. Dr. Champod’s team includes two other researchers from Acadia’s Department of Psychology; Dr. Darlene Brodeur, and Dr. Randy Newman. The total value of their three-year award is $147,857.00
The NSHRF exists to improve the health of Nova Scotians through health research. Their goal is to assist, collaborate with, and fund individuals and organizations conducting health research in Nova Scotia by working with stakeholders, including provincial government, health authorities, and health researchers, on many initiatives and funding opportunities. To learn more about NSHRF and the projects they support visit http://www.nshrf.ca/
Congratulations to all the recipients for 2016!