News Category: Elsewhere
Watch Volunteers Director Linda Lanyon on YouTube 
Linda is featured on Volunteer Vancouver’s new YouTube channel.
SCWIST President Dr. Elana Brief and Honorary Member Hiromi Matsui Speak to the State of Science
Canadian Science Policy Conference 2009: State of Science
Physicist blasts science minister’s competitive outlook on innovation
International science is inherently collaborative, rather than competitive, but Canada’s science minister doesn’t seem to know that, says Elana Brief.
See Elana’s video here.
Should science be more democratic?
Democratizing science improves research by incorporating the voices of those who will be affected by it, say professors Elana Brief and Hiromi Matsui.
See Elana and Hiromi’s video here.
Worker shortage means longer wait times for breast cancer screening, treatment
By AMY O’BRIAN , VANCOUVER SUN October 7, 2009
Plenty of kids dream of growing up to become astronauts or ballet dancers, race-car drivers or surgeons. Some dream of becoming teachers or lawyers, bus drivers or chefs.
But it’s a safe bet there aren’t many kids out there dreaming of careers as mammogram or ultrasound technologists.
Professions related to breast cancer — and the diagnosis, treatment and screening of the disease — are suffering a worker shortage. That translates into longer wait times for women who need these important services, and an existing workforce that’s facing increasing stress and demand.
The health care professionals who conduct MRIs, ultrasounds, and mammograms, as well as the physiotherapists who work with post-operative patients and the radiation therapists involved in treating breast cancer cases, are all in high demand.
“They’re working to their limit and beyond,” said Reid Johnson, president of the Health Sciences Association of BC.
“In rural areas, they are exhausted — literally exhausted.”
The provincial government has committed to creating more spaces at universities and colleges to train doctors and nurses. But it has not made the same commitment to ensuring there will be enough trained professionals to operate the equipment required for screening, diagnoses, and treatment, Johnson said.
“In 2001, the Liberals decided to double the number of doctor and nurse training spots in B.C.,” Johnson said.
“But they haven’t had the same political will to do it with other professions.”
Equipment, such as digital mammogram machines, are routinely purchased with money raised by groups and individuals, but it’s up to the province to create seats in schools where people can be trained to operate that equipment.
“New equipment is great,” Johnson said. “But without the technicians, it’s just expensive furniture.”
Nancy Aldoff is one of B.C.’s valuable mammographers. She works at Mount St. Joseph Hospital, where she guides women through mammograms and operates the equipment. The most important part of her job, however, has nothing to do with technology.
“You can have all the training in the world, but you have to be the right person to do it,” she said.
“You have to be really confident and strong. . . And you have to be very respectful.”
Before she had children, Aldoff worked in the fashion industry. But when she was ready to go back to work, she wanted to do something more meaningful.
Like all other mammographers, she was initially trained as a medical radiation technologist and started her career working as an X-ray technician.
To begin with, she thought she would specialize as an MRI technician, but the impact of losing two people to breast cancer steered her towards mammography.
Aldoff lost both her mother-in-law and her best friend to the disease. Her mother-in-law passed away just as she was about to retire, and her best friend died at the age of 29, leaving behind a young daughter.
“I didn’t realize it at the time, but that had a big impact on me,” she said. “I really wanted to help people.”
Johnson agrees that it takes a unique kind of person to work in the field.
“You do need an aptitude for science and math, but you also need compassion,” he said.
“We’re looking for really special people.”
The training involved for these professions requires serious commitment. On average, Johnson said, members of the Health Sciences Association have four years of schooling specific to their profession.
“We’re the second most educated group [within the medical professions] after doctors,” he said.
Aldoff did her training at the B.C. Institute of Technology in the medical radiography technology program.
“It was incredible. The program is tough, but the skills and clinical training were invaluable,” she said.
Johnson and his colleagues have been pressuring the provincial government to add more training spaces at existing colleges and universities. There is mounting concern that as more health sciences professionals reach retirement age, and more British Columbians get older — and sicker — the worker shortage will mean even longer wait times for diagnoses that could potentially save lives.
To illustrate the severity of the worker shortage, Dr. Paula Gordon, senior radiologist at BC Women’s Hospital, notes that wait times are significant, even with just 50 per cent of eligible women going for annual screening mammograms. Breast cancer specialists would like to see that participation rate get up to 70 per cent within the next few years, but the extra load would swamp the system as it operates now. Wait times for screening mammograms are as high as 19 weeks in some parts of the province.
“The screening program couldn’t handle it if everyone came,” she said. “We don’t have enough mammogram technicians.”
To hear Aldoff talk about her career, you’d think young people would be lining up to enter her field.
“A lot of jobs make us happy, but this gives a real feeling that you’re contributing,” she said.
But until more training spaces are available and word spreads about the benefits of such a career, Aldoff will continue to quietly make a difference out of the public eye.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. Who are some of the less recognized professionals involved in breast cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment, and what are their roles?
A. Ultrasonographers, who define breast lumps. Cytotechnologists and laboratory technologists, who perform preliminary diagnostic procedures on tissue biopsies. Nuclear medicine technologists, who perform tests to determine whether the disease has metastasized or spread. Radiation therapists, who plan and deliver radiation treatment to help prevent the spread of the disease.
Q. In what professions related to breast cancer are there serious staff shortages?
A. There are critical shortages for laboratory technologists, ultrasound technologists and pharmacists.
Q. How many years of training does it take to become a health science professional?
A. Reid Johnson, president of the Health Sciences Association of BC, says his members have an average of four years of specialized training. It takes three to five years of specialized training to become a mammogram technologist.
Q. Are steps being taken to allow people trained in other countries to practise their skills in British Columbia?
A. One example of the work being done to address this issue is at BCIT, which is developing a program to upgrade foreign-trained health science professionals to B.C. standards.
Read SCWIST President Dr. Elana Brief’s article on Research in the Community
Research in the Community: Posing an answerable and meaningful research question
By Elana Brief and Colleen Reid(1)
Volunteer Vancouver’s Vantage Point October 2009
We all conduct research constantly in our lives. We have a question that we want to answer (e.g., where is the best daycare for my child?) and, by speaking to others, and reading, and watching, we acquire data, analyze the data, possibly reject some data, and gradually narrow in on an answer to our question. The success of the process is hinged on asking a clear question.
When doing research in the community – whether it’s assessing the value of a program offered by a not-for-profit or examining the consequences of a government policy change – one starts with defining the research question. An answerable and meaningful research question will help the researcher in many different ways. An answerable research question will provide the researcher with a clear goal. Answerable research questions also enable potential funders to know what they are supporting. With clarity in the question, potential partners and collaborators will feel more engaged and will find ways to contribute to the research process.
A meaningful research question is one that leads to action (not just to publication for dissemination, or worse, the creation of a document that sits in a shelf). The research process starts with developing the question and concludes with actions that change things for the better. The process itself sparks more research questions.
Where does one start? In our free downloadable book (2): “Our Common Ground: Cultivating Women’s Health through Community Based Research” (reviewed by Brian Fraser in this issue of Vantage Point) we describe the process of developing research questions. A researcher will ask herself questions about her passions and her observations (at work or in the community). This will connect the researcher to what is valuable to her. The researcher will continue the conversation with others (co-workers, neighbours) to learn what is valuable to them and possibly start working with them as collaborators. At the end of these many conversations, a researcher will likely have a few directions for the research. Now that the researcher looks at the broader context: what is possible?
Defining an answerable and meaningful research question involves expanding and focusing one’s thinking: thinking big and thinking small. A research question that is too broad may be unanswerable. Early in the process of developing a research question, a researcher may feel overwhelmed by the complexity of what they are concerned with. Perhaps a researcher feels passionate about supporting women fleeing violence. The researcher may not know where to begin because there are so many things to think about: policy, housing, psychology, safety, law enforcement, access, children, additions and mental health… A researcher may feel paralyzed because the problem is so large. To research one small aspect of a large problem to the exclusion of others may feel like a betrayal to the complexity of the problem. Yet finding answers to one part of a complex problem contributes to what is known about a particular phenomenon. It is helpful to be aware of other research so that one can position their research project within the larger whole.
Another problem that a researcher may face is that her first question is too focused. Eventually one wants to have a focused, clear question. But to focus too early in the process may hinder a researcher from finding collaborators, generating funding, and determining a question that leads to action. A question too narrowly defined from the outset can also dull the researcher’s curiosity and openness to uncovering new or unexpected findings.
In “Our Common Ground”, we created an exercise (p. 18) that can be done individually or collectively to expand and focus one’s thinking. We pose questions like: “What things keep (not) happening?” for expanding thinking, and “Where am I beginning to see changes I want to pursue?” for focusing.
Developing a research question can be a deeply satisfying process – one that connects people to their values, rekindles their dreams, attracts their collaborators, and gives structure to their vision. An answerable and meaningful research question can be the first step to creating the change one wants to see in their communities, and inspire others to ask questions that need to be answered.
(1) Elana Brief, PhD and Colleen Reid, PhD are the research directors of the Women’s Health Research Network.
(2) Reid, C., E. Brief, R. LeDrew (2009). Our Common Ground: Cultivating Women’s Health through Community Based Research. Vancouver: Women’s Health Research Network. Free to download at http://www.whrn.ca/our-common-ground.php
Removing ovaries in hysterectomy can boost risk of lung cancer
Researchers surprised by findings about one of the more common surgeries
By Sharon Kirkey – Vancouver Sun – July 22, 2009
Surgically removing a woman’s ovaries during a hysterectomy may nearly double her risk of developing lung cancer, according to a new Canadian study that surprised even the researchers.
The finding may help explain why only about 15 per cent of smokers eventually develop lung cancer, and it suggests hormones might play an important role in the leading cancer killer of women in Canada.
Hysterectomy—removal of the uterus—is the second most frequently performed surgical procedure for Canadian women after cesarean sections. More than 36,000 women had a hysterectomy in 2007-08, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, and about 30 per cent had both ovaries removed as well.
About 90 per cent of hysterectomies are done for benign or non-cancerous problems such as irregular menstruation and fibroids.
“We found that women who experienced non-natural menopause are at almost twice the risk of developing lung cancer compared to women who experienced natural menopause,” Anita Koushik, a researcher at the University of Montreal’s Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, said in announcing her team’s findings Tuesday.
“This increased risk of lung cancer was particularly observed among women who had non-natural menopause by having had both their ovaries surgically removed.”
It’s the second study this year to associate removal of both ovaries with higher odds of developing lung cancer. A study published in April involving more than 29,000 women participating in the U.S. Nurses’ Health Study found that removal increased the risk of lung cancer, as well as fatal and non-fatal coronary heart disease—compared to women whose ovaries were intact.
Researchers are at a loss to explain the findings.
“Many things, if not most things in medicine are found by serendipity,” said Dr. William Parker, lead author of the American study and a faculty member at the John Wayne Cancer Institute at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif.
“The smart people go, OK, we don’t understand it, but let’s try to figure it out. It may be true, it may not be true,” Parker said. “But now that you’ve got two papers within a six-month period saying the same thing, you have to pay attention to it.”
Doctors have long recommended removal of the ovaries at the time of hysterectomy to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.
“People thought, you go through menopause, your ovaries stop working, you don’t need them and you could get ovarian cancer,” Parker said.
But ovaries make hormones after menopause that are converted in the body to estrogens. “There’s mounting evidence those hormones protect your heart to some degree,” and possibly the lungs, he said.
“Ovarian cancer is a terrible disease,” he said. “But heart disease and lung cancer are the major killers of women.”
His team’s study found that removing both ovaries decreased the risk of ovarian and breast cancer, but at no age was it associated with increased survival.
For women not at high risk for ovarian cancer, “There is no question the ovaries should stay in,” Parker said.
The Canadian study, published this week in the International Journal of Cancer, involved 422 women with lung cancer and 577 without at 18 Montreal-area hospitals that together diagnose 98 per cent of all lung cancers that occur in the greater Montreal area. The team looked at income, age, gender, occupational risk factors, medical and smoking history, menstruation and pregnancy histories.
SCWIST member Adele Diamond wins YWCA Woman of Distinction award!
Dr. Adele Diamond, Professor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, UBC, and Canada Research Chair received the YWCA Woman of Distinction award for Technology, Science and Industry at the YWCA’s awards gala on June 3. A pioneer in the fields of cognitive development and neuroscience, her discoveries have significantly improved our understanding and medical treatment of phenylketonuria, autism and ADHD.
SCWIST members Dr. Judy Illes, Dr. Margo Moore and Dr. Elizabeth Croft were also nominated in this prestigious category. The recognition is truly well-deserved. Congratulations!!
SCWIST celebrates National Volunteers Week
SCWIST celebrated National Volunteers Week thanking its volunteers on YouTube and launching a “shape your own program” project. Over 100 SCWIST volunteers invest their time in making science fun for girls, hosting workshops for women in science and engineering, and creating events for scientific women who have immigrated to Canada.
During National Volunteers Week (19th-25th April 2009), SCWIST surveyed over 100 volunteers to learn their vision for the volunteer program. SCWIST Volunteers Director, Dr. Linda Lanyon, says “During 2009 SCWIST is committed to designing a meaningful Volunteer Program that recognises, empowers and supports its community of highly talented volunteers. We wanted to ensure our volunteers have a strong voice in the development of this Program.”
SCWIST’s National Volunteers Week celebrations concluded with the posting of a video message of thanks to its volunteers, including features about some of its current volunteers. SCWIST President, Dr. Elana Brief, says “Our volunteer resource is truly vital to the success of SCWIST in achieving its current and future aims. All the work we do in promoting math, science and technology as possible career paths to girls, and in supporting and empowering women in science and technology is due to the commitment of our wonderful volunteers. During National Volunteers Week we send them our special thanks”.
SCWIST member Mya Warren receives UBC Faculty Science Achievment award
Congratulations to Mya Warren – a recipient of this year’s Faculty Science Achievement Awards at the University of British Columbia.
Mya led the team that developed the Teaching Assistant Training program in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, which has become a model for such activities across the faculty of Science.
SCWIST President Dr. Elana Brief featured in JADE newsletter
SCWIST President Dr. Elana Brief’s article Dancing Equations in Uppsala is featured in the February 2009 JADE Newsletter. You can read the article here.
SCWIST gratefully acknowledges it has been the recipient of JADE Project funding over the past 3 years. To learn more about the JADE Project, visit http://www.jadeproject.ca.
SCWIST President Elana Brief writes about attending a recent Women in Physics conference
In the January 2009 issue of the University of British Columbia’s Physics & Astronomy News, Dr. Elana Brief describes her experience at “Crossing Perspectives on Gender and Physics” a joint meeting of the Nordic Network of Women in Physics (NorWiP) and the Centre for Gender Research at Uppsala University.
You can find the article on page 8 here.
Profile of Board member Dr. Kim Hellemans
Animal allergy leads professor to true calling
Developing a lab allergy may have been devastating news to most PhD researchers, but for Kim Hellemans it was a blessing in disguise that allowed her to focus on her true calling – teaching.
“It feels like my spirit lights up inside me,” says Hellemans of teaching.
She was completing her second post-doctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia when she developed an allergy to lab rats used in her research. Hellemans explains that she developed an acquired lab allergy which often happens to people with pre-existing allergies. She became extremely sensitive to the rat dander and urine to the point where she found it extremely difficult to breath.
It was this and the constant feeling of being unfulfilled that pushed her to leave research to pursue a full-time teaching career and she couldn’t be happier. “I love the interaction and dynamism that comes from teaching,” says the professor who is now a member of Carleton’s psychology department.
Despite the fact that Hellemans’ focus is no longer research, she is still continuing to publish. Just last month, along with four other colleagues, she published a paper entitled, Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Increases Vulnerability to Stress and Anxiety-Like Disorders in Adulthood.
The study used an animal model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) to explore whether the offspring of mothers who consumed alcohol during gestation increases depressive symptomatology when these rats are tested in adulthood. In humans, ninety-four per cent of adults or children born with FASD show some form of mental illness, including depression and addiction. In the Hellemans study, both males and females exposed to alcohol in utero showed significant increases in anxiety, which may be a symptom of depression (rather than its own disorder), particularly in women. Prenatal alcohol-exposed rats have a huge response to stress, and stress is a large factor in mental illness and addiction. The neural system responsible for mediating the stress response, and producing the hormone corticosterone (cortisol in humans), becomes hyperactive in these animals.
An important aspect of their research is that they studied both male and female rats, which isn’t the norm due to the complexity of the female ovarian cycle. According to Hellemans, in humans and other species (including rats), resting cortisol levels are much higher in females than males, and this may be one reason why women are more at risk for depression. As well, and based on the results from her study, females experience depression differently than males. She argues this is why it is important to study both sexes.
Hellemans says the next step of their study will examine the possibility of administering anti-depressants to pregnant female rats that consume alcohol throughout gestation, and whether this could offset the anxiety and depression which they observed in their earlier studies.
While Hellemans is dedicated to teaching and her career, she admits that a position in this field can be difficult for a woman. To help change this reality, Hellemans is entering her second term as a board member of the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST) which is a non-profit association established to promote, encourage, and empower women working in science and technology. Hellemans says that women in this field often feel isolated and face many gender issues. The society is designed to support women through a series of workshops and brown bag seminars.
Hellemans explains that some of their SCWIST volunteers go into grade schools to discuss these issues and also have mentoring programs for young women in high school and at the undergraduate level. “We want to support these women when they begin as undergrads so they will stay and complete their degree and perhaps go onto grad studies,” says Hellemans.
While SCWIST is mostly active on the West Coast, members of the society are hoping to expand into Ottawa now that Hellemans is there.
Board member Linda Lanyon interviewed on CBC Radio 1’s “On The Coast” programme
Board member Linda Lanyon was interviewed on CBC Radio 1’s “On The Coast” programme about SCWIST and volunteering opportunities
Please find a link to the interview here.
