SPRING 2016 BEYOND THE BOX Alumni, faculty and staff share insights on creativity and CANADA POST PUBLI CANADA POST innovation C ATIONS: MAIL ATIONS: DR. GWYNEDD PICKETT (BSc’92, MD’98), FACULTY OF MEDICINE P M41901013 PLUS / GOING GLOBAL / BOOSTING CHILDREN’S HEALTH / dedicated to DIVERSITY Visit our website at dal.ca/dalmag CONTENTS SPRING 2016 DAL RESEARCH EATING & MOVING KIDS’ ZONE “Healthy behaviour is actually abnormal in our culture,” says Sara Kirk. The Canada Research Chair and profes- sor at the School of Health and Human Performance notes how our modern society has undermined health be- Dalhousie’s internationally recognized research has real-world haviours, leading to increasing rates of chronic disease in adults and children. With cities designed for cars and en- impact in a host of areas, including the physical, mental and emotional ergy-dense processed food easily available, healthy, active health of children. It’s important work. By Dawn Morrison living is challenging for many of us. Dr. Kirk’s research is FEATURES 1 focused on finding ways to create healthier communities. BIG SMILES Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Dentistry operates free pediatric dental clinics to improve low-income children’s access to oral care in Dartmouth and North Preston. Clin- ics are staffed with a pediatric dentist and dentistry and HEALTHY BODIES dental hygiene students. “The clinics are one of the main places dentistry students will get experience in pedadon- tics while they are in dental school, so they gain valuable experience.” says Janice Ruppert, a dental assistant who 2 manages one of the clinics. SEEING PAIN kids’ zone Aboriginal children experience high rates of pain-related conditions, but appear least likely to be treated for them. Developing culturally-safe strategies to diagnose and treat pain is at the heart of the Aboriginal Children’s Hurt & Healing Initiative (ACHH). Recently the ACHH initiative Dalhousie’s internationally recognized research has real-world impact was invited to lead the Aboriginal stream of a $12.5 million 3 CIHR SPOR grant to research chronic pain. in a host of areas, including the physical, mental and emotional health HEALTHY MINDS BOUNCING BACK ducting ongoing work in countering violent Chair in Adolescent Mental Health at the IWK Recently named Canada Research Chair in extremism by understanding how communi- Health Centre. Dr. Kutcher has developed a Child, Family and Community Resilience, ties remain resilient despite marginalization. mental health resource to help students make Michael Ungar continues to develop interna- “We are excited that so many service provid- the transition from high school to post-sec- tional projects to investigate child and youth ers and government agencies are seeing our ondary education. Available in a book or free of children. See how Dal is making a difference in the lives of children resilience through his Resilience Research work as relevant to both practice and policy,” iPhone app, Transitions provides information10 Centre at Dalhousie. Dr. Ungar says the cen- he says. on everything from study strategies, to mental GILAD FRIED FROM THE NOUN PROJECT tre positions Dal as a world leader in under- illness, addictions and suicide. A recent Dal- standing how young people develop resilience. TRANSITIONING WELL based study found that reading Transitions Among other projects, the centre is planning Stan Kutcher, professor in the Dalhousie Fac- improved student knowledge about mental ill- in Nova Scotia and beyond. By Dawn Morrison a conference in South Africa in 2017 and con- ulty of Medicine, is also the Sun Life Financial ness and decreased the stigma surrounding it. RECENTLY, DR. SARA KIRK’S WORK EXPLORED HOW FAMILIES PRIORITIZE RECREATIONAL SPORTS AND OTHER SCHEDULED PHYSICAL DR. STAN KUTCHER’S TRANSITIONS IS THE ONLY EVIDENCE-BASED RESOURCE FOR MENTAL HEALTH ON CANADIAN UNIVERSITY ACTIVITIES OVER HEALTHY EATING. CAMPUSES. IT’S BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL, DR. KUTCHER IS DEVELOPING A VERSION FOR GRADE 12 STUDENTS. page 10 GEMMA GARNER FROM THE NOUN PROJECT; CAREN WATKINS DAL SPRING 2016 DAL SPRING 2016 14 15 THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX Some of Dal’s most notable alumni and faculty share their insights on how to expand your mind, get creative and come up with innovative solutions for work and life challenges. By Matt Reeder page 12 Thinking outside the BEYOND BORDERS LEARN TO TRIAGE è box Brain surgeon GWYNEDD PICKETT specializes in treating aneurysms and Dalhousie embraces internationalization by teaming up and sharing tumours and teaching Dal med students how to navigate the tricky emotional and technical challenges that can arise for neurosurgeons both in and out of the clinic. “I was having a conversation recently with a student who was trying data, infrastructure and best practices the world over. By Alison DeLory to decide if this was the career for him or not, and one of the things he said was, ‘Oh, I like the adrenalin of the trauma cases and the high stress.’ I said, ‘Absolutely.’ Sometimes, especially Some of Dal’s most notable alumni and faculty—from a with the patients that were just on the page 18 edge, you come out of the operating Nobel Prize winning physicist to the co-creator of Trailer room and you’re just sparking.” Park Boys—share their insights on how to expand your BREAK OUT OF THE BOX: What happens mind, get creative, and come up with innovative solutions when everything in life seems stressful for work and life challenges. By Matt Reeder or urgent? You triage, says Dr. Pickett. “Be able to identify what is important and what is urgent. These are not always the same thing. People will sometimes 12 bring problems to you that are urgent in their minds and are important to them, but may not be as critical. This is DANNY ABRIEL one of the skills you learn in medicine: what needs to be done right now, what can wait and what may be optional.” DAL SPRING 2016 DAL SPRING 2016 12 13 REGULARS ON THE COVER 3 Dal News 12 Beyond the box 27 Dal Alumni 18 Going global 28 Building a Better World 10 Boosting children’s health 30 Spotlight 8 Dedicated to diversity 31 Donor Profile 32 Sports 34 Class Notes BEYOND BEYOND BORDERS Dalhousie embraces internationalization 39 In Memoriam by teaming up and sharing data, infrastructure and best practices the 18 world over. By Alison DeLory 40 Dal DNA International connections mean student research can span the globe. DAL SPRING 2016 DAL SPRING 2016 18 19 COVER: DANNY ABRIEL Contact us at [email protected] MASTHEAD CONTRIBUTORS EDITORIAL ASSIST NT VICE-PRESIDENT, ALISON DELORY is an author, freelance COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING journalist, editor and part-time Catherine Bagnell Styles instructor at Mount Saint Vincent JOIN US ONLINE EDITORIAL COMMITTEE University. She left her family home on Brian Leadbetter, Hope McCallum, Dalhousie Street in 1989 to study and I’ll admit it: I’m a paper person. I love the feel Ryan McNutt, Julia Watt work in Toronto, returning to Halifax of the page in my hand, the relaxation that CONSULTING EDITOR eight years ago. comes with curling up with a magazine or a Kim Pittaway book on the couch, in bed or on the back deck JENNIFER MOORE is a communications on a sunny afternoon. But as much as I love pa- ADVERTISING MANAGER officer for the Faculty of Engineering at Patty Baxter, Metro Guide Publishing Dalhousie. She is also a proud hockey per, I also have an affection for the efficiency of ART DIRECTOR and dance mom to her seven-year-old scrolling through stories on my iPhone, catch- Fran Ornstein daughter, Graciana, and enjoys playing ing up on the latest news in the micro-breaks PUBLICATION DESIGN with her active three-and-a-half-year-old of my day: between meetings, in transit (not Watkins Communication and Design son, Beric. behind the wheel of course!) and while waiting PRODUCTION ASSISTANT in line-ups. Jane Lombard DAWN MORRISON is a digital Now, whether you consider yourself pas- communications consultant, and owner of Too Many Words Consulting sionate about paper or have a preference for pixels, we’re delighted to offer you access to CLASS NOTES [email protected] (toomanywords.ca). When not helping people write great web content, she DAL Magazine’s stories in the format that IN MEMORIAM [email protected] loves hanging out with her teenaged suits your needs, with the launch of our new ADDRESS CHANGES twins Olivia and Max, and finding new mobile-enabled website, dal.ca/dalmag. You’ll Tel: (902) 494-6855; 1 (800) 565-9969 trails to hike with her husband, James. Email: [email protected] get the latest from the magazine’s pages, along with easy links to other Dalhousie University Alumni Records, Office of Advancement, MATT REEDER spent more than three Dalhousie University, PO Box 15000, years as senior online editor at the and Alumni sites and pages. You’ll also find it Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2 Financial Post and four years in the easier than ever to submit a Class Note—and PUBLISHED AND PRODUCED BY digital newsroom at Reuters prior to please do so, because we’d love to know what Dalhousie University Communications joining Dalhousie’s Communications & you’re up to!—and stay current with campus and Marketing Marketing team. and alumni news. We’ll be adding to our online offerings in CANADA post publications: MAIL PM41901013 the coming months, so stay tuned. And you’ll RETURN UNDELIVERABLE ITEMS to: ALUMNI OFFICE, DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY, PO BOX 15000, also see some tweaks to our print pages as HalifaX, NS B3H 4R2 well, as we integrate the feedback many of you gave us in response to our online reader sur- vey.