February 18, 2016

IN THIS ISSUE:

 

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

 

Finally, I am learning what it’s like to experience a cold winter in Toronto.  But the warmth I feel in the Department more than compensates.

Monday February 29th will be the second Departmental meeting that I will be hosting since my term as Chair has begun.  The focus will be on graduate student matters.  This is, of course, a topic of vital importance to the Department. Major changes are being considered and I am delighted that Professor Allan Kaplan, Vice-Dean for Graduate and Academic Affairs, will be attending our meeting.  Allan will tell us about what is on the horizon for graduate education and will answer our questions.  Please make every effort to attend.

 

 

Best wishes.

Graham L. Collingridge, FRS, FMedSci, FRSB, FBPhS
Ernest B. and Leonard B. Smith Chair 
Department of Physiology

 

PHYSIOLOGY SEMINAR SERIES

~ Eligible for PSL1000H/PSL2000H Course Seminar Attendance ~

Speaker: Shernaz X. Bamji, PhD

Institution: Associate Professor, Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia

Title: “Regulation of synapse plasticity, learning and addiction by cadherin adhesion complexes”

Date: Thursday, March 3, 2016

Time: 4:00 p.m.

Location: Medical Sciences Building, Room 2172, St. George Campus, University of Toronto

Host: Neuroscience Platform

 

TEACHING IN PHYSIOLOGY WELL-RATED BY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

The most recent teaching evaluations posted by the Faculty of Arts & Science (for the Fall term of 2015) show that students are increasingly pleased with the courses offered by our Department. As compared to the entire Life Sciences Division, Physiology courses ranked higher with respect to intellectual stimulation and promotion of deeper understanding, while our lecturers ranked higher for their ability to create a positive learning environment - all of this was despite a perceived greater workload in our courses.

Well done to all who participated in our courses last fall!

Patricia Brubaker
Acting Undergraduate Coordinator

 

NEUROSCIENCE PLATFORM – BRAIN DAY 2016

Abstract submissions for BRAIN DAY are now open! 

BRAIN Day is an annual research day for the Department of Physiology’s Neuroscience Platform students, post-docs and faculty to share their research. This year, BRAIN Day will be held on Thursday, March 3rd, 2016.  It is strongly recommended that graduate students participate in this event.

This year’s top oral and poster presentation will each win the prestigious John F. MacDonald Award in Neuroscience prize of $250 to be presented May 11, 2016 after the Macallum Lectureship by Professor Tim Bliss FRS. 

Please also indicate if you are interested in presenting an oral talk (8-10 minutes + 3 min Q&A) or a poster presentation (9:30 am to 11:30 am).  Judges will review the abstracts and prizes will be awarded for a number of top poster presentations and oral presentations.

DEADLINE for submission is Thursday, February 25th, 2016 to eva.eng@utoronto.ca.

 

BRAIN DAY – Call for Judges

Dear faculty members & research associates of the Department of Physiology,

In order to continue to encourage students to share their research, we need your participation in judging these presentations.

Please volunteer and e-mail eva.eng@utoronto.ca by February 25, 2016.   Please indicate your availability: Poster or Oral Presentations

Poster presentations: 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Oral presentations: 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

 

GASP News

Thank you to everyone who came out recently to our bowling and monthly pub night event!  Remember to join us on the 1st Thursday of every month for some free food and good company!

honorarium.doc

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Also, elections for Governing Council and Graduate Election Council are happening right now!  Two of our GASP members, Sarah Wheeler and Melanie Markovic, are running in the respective elections. You can read the platforms of all the candidates as well as vote online at https://voting.utoronto.ca 

 

CPIN Distinguished Lecture

Speaker | Dr. Tim Bussey, Western Research Chair, Molecular Medicine Research Group, Robarts Research Institute & Dept of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada. The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Professor of Behavioural Neuroscience, Dept of Psychology, University of Cambridge UK

Title | Strategies for cognitive translation from animals to humans: neurogenesis, neurodegenerative and neuropsyhiatric disease

Date | Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Time | 11:00 am

Location | Rm. 2172, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, U of T

Host | Dr. Graham Collingridge, Chair and Professor, Department of Physiology, U of T

Co-sponsor | Department of Physiology, U of T

 

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We want to hear about the great things happening in Physiology.  Please share your accomplishments, awards….   Send news items to the Chair’s Office c/o e.katsoulakos@utoronto.ca