January 2013

Drs. Drew Leidal, Microbiology & Immunology, and Kyle Phipps, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, recently published two of the top six cancer research papers in Canada. Both were awarded the Canadian Institute of Health Research’s Institute for Cancer Research (ICR) Publication Prize for demonstrating the cellular conditions that allow cancer to arise, and the factors that influence its spread.

Dr. Roger McLeod is exploring how some dietary fats encourage our bodies to store less fat, while others prompt us to hang on to fat – in the blood vessels and in deposits of adipose tissue. They do this in part, he says, through their effect on a key signalling protein called adiponectin, which is produced in the body’s healthy fat cells to regulate the storage of fats.

Class of 2016 president Elias Fares is enthusiastic about the Research in Medicine Program and the opportunity it presents for future medical students to get involved in and inspired by research. He knows research first-hand, having completed a PhD in cardiac electrophysiology at Dalhousie before embarking on medicine, and looks forward to applying his research skills throughout his career.