June 2003

NEW DEPARTMENT CHAIR FOR FALL

The 'new broom' sweeps all before it, and in our new Departmental Chair, Tony Williams, we have an enthusiastic, energetic leader prepared to give us his all, starting in September. Quite a guy, this pioneer of penguin biology and connoisseur of malt whiskies, and if he gives to the Department what he gives to life, we have a winner.

Not surprisingly, he was reticent to take on the job of running a Department with over 50 faculty and staff, some 150 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, and nearly 5,000 undergraduates taking biology plus an associated tight and ever tightening budget. The key fact that convinced him he should do so was that he was surrounded by a great group of people and he felt he could communicate and work with them to reach the goals that he has in mind for the Department. He has, as is appropriate for a new Chair, big ideas. He also states, as a smart Chair-elect, that he cannot achieve these goals alone but has to work as a member of the team. He values the democratic process (by that he means those committees, I guess!), and recognizes that on-going communication at all levels is a key to help ensure success. He will strive for an open-door policy.

A particularly important factor for him is the quality of the people around him. He believes that we have been very fortunate in the significant number of young, dynamic faculty and staff that we have hired in the last few years; they too are full of ideas. Their energetic drive combined with the major scientific strength of clusters of the more senior faculty promises a golden future for the Department. Under Tony's leadership, I sense too, that the bar will be set higher as he searches for sustained excellence in both research and teaching.

In reflecting on the options that lie ahead he also reminded me that, as members of the Department, we all have a stake in our own happiness and success as well as in the success of the Department. This goes for the staff that keep the system operating smoothly, the faculty that provide the challenges and opportunities of a good learning environment, and the great students who are the reason for us all being here. We look forward to welcoming him in the fall semester. J. Webster

 

Notice of official "retirement"...

When John Borden officially retires at the end of this semester, he will have spent 37 years at SFU as a researcher, advisor, and teacher. His accomplishments and contributions in all of these areas are impressive, and the following will no doubt fail to give an accurate picture of the breadth and significance of John's career.

John is a pioneer in the field of chemical ecology, the study of chemically mediated interactions between organisms. His work in this field ranges from the biochemistry of tree resin and insect muscle to the complex communication systems used by insects as they search for hosts, and his collaborative research has led to the discovery of pheromones for over 40 different insects. John has always worked to develop strong links with government ministries, the private sector, and other departments and labs here at SFU. He has 350 refereed journal publications, and innumerable bibliographies, book chapters, and books. A forest entomologist by nature, John is passionate and insatiably curious about the ecology of forest insects. It is difficult to keep up with him as he strides from tree to tree looking for evidence of insect colonisation, and discussions during long truck rides to and from field sites can range from evolution to history, but invariably turn to the behaviour of forest insects.

John also has a keen eye for developing the results of this basic research for practical use. His work spans the traditional divide between applied and basic biology, with significant contributions in both areas. He has gained international recognition for his research in forest and agricultural entomology, and has consulted for many governments and international agencies. In 2000, John was acknowledged with a special symposium at the joint annual meeting of the entomological societies of Canada, Quebec and America for his lifetime contribution to the study of insects. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and has had the rare honour of having a species of ambrosia beetle (Platypus bordeni) named after him for his accomplishments. As an advisor, John has supervised over 100 graduate students at SFU, and has guided each one with sensitivity, wisdom, enthusiasm, and a fine-tip red pen. And he still has more than enough energy to exhaust many of these students during long days in the field. In honour of his work as a mentor, an award was created in his name by the Entomological Society of Canada. As a teacher, John has worked tirelessly in SFU's Master of Pest Management Program, and has helped this degree earn its national and international reputation for providing a solid foundation in scientific research, and a wide range of knowledge and skills.

Although John retires at the end of this semester, he won't be disappearing from the halls of SFU. He will continue to work as Professor emeritus on numerous projects, and on the date of his "retirement" he is likely to be found out in the field, collecting data, and feeding his curiosity about the insects of B.C.'s forests. S. Campbell

 

Bio-Bull can be found on the biology home page - www.sfu.ca/biology/biobull/

NOT JUST ANY PLANT LAB

We are interested in all aspects of stress in plants. Plants are really cool organisms to study stress responses due to their sessile life-style, which forces them to directly deal with all forms of environmental stress. We use a molecular physiological toolbox to study stress responses, although we are now starting to explore these responses using genetic approaches. Two projects are ongoing at this time. One addresses stress responses in the roots of plants and the other focuses on defenses of conifers to insect attack.

DR. AINE L. PLANT – Aine was born in England but is mostly Irish. She did all her formal education in England at Nottingham University/John Innes Institute. Following a postdoctoral stint at Cambridge University, Aine left for the culture shock of Southern California and UC-Riverside. It was in the hot, dry heat of California that she became interested in stressing plants! Meanwhile, she married a Canadian guy (Darwin) that she met in Cambridge. Aine arrived at SFU in 1994 following a period acclimating to the Canadian climate at the University of Calgary. Her hobbies are her two small children (Aislinn and Aidan). Aine used to be a very keen gardener but is now learning new crazy things so that she can keep up with her kids!

DR. ASHLEY BYUN-McKAY - Ashley was born in South Korea and then moved Canada where she spent the next seven years in Flin Flon, Manitoba. She did her undergraduate degree at York University and received her Ph.D. at UVIC in the area of biogeography and evolution. She is currently doing a postdoc on the molecular response of conifers to insect attack. She enjoys walking her two dogs by the beach, camping, mountaineering, and playing games with her 18-month-old son. Always eager to learn new things, she has been trying to teach herself guitar (with very little success), and this year, is finally trying to get her driver's license.

ANANCHANOK (NANNE) TIRAJOH - Nanne did her B.Sc. (Hon.) in Manado, Indonesia. She is currently doing her Ph.D, studying the molecular responses of tomato roots to salinity stress. The sad part of her research is that she has to stress the plants before actually killing them. Nanne has an eight-year-old son who is constantly asking her the WHY question for everything... and she can make good marble cake (at least that's what her lab mates say).

THEINGI AUNG - Theingi's Ph.D. research focuses on regulation of α-dioxygenase gene expression in tomato and Arabidopsis roots under salinity and pathogen stresses. Theingi moved to the winter wonderland, Winnipeg, from tropical Burma (Myanmar) after high school. After living in Winnipeg for eight years and completing her undergraduate and Masters degrees, Theingi thought she missed the rain and decided to move to Vancouver. Theingi doesn't have a particular hobby but if given a chance would like to travel all over the world and also study cultural Anthropology.

 

SFU Alumnus wins prestigious Canadian science prize for Algal research

Dr. Gary Saunders, Professor in Biology and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Molecular Systematics and Biodiversity at the University of New Brunswick, has been awarded the prestigious Steacie Fellowship – a top Canadian science and engineering honour from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). This award recognizes Dr. Saunders' outstanding contribution to algal systematics. For the past decade, he has pioneered the use of new genetic analyses to reinterpret the evolutionary history and familial relationships of algae. During his NSERC Steacie Fellowship, Dr. Saunders aims to identify new genetic markers to "plug holes" in his ongoing gene-based reassessment of red algal relationships. For more info, see NSERC news: http://www.nserc.ca/news/2003 . A. Henderson

 

BIOBULL NOTES…

- Moe Mahjoub, a PhD student in the Quarmby lab, has recently been awarded a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Doctoral Fellowship. The foundation, funded by endowments and partnerships in the field of health, attracts, trains and retains health researchers in BC. The fellowship runs for 3 years awarding $20,000/year plus a $2,500 research/travel allowance and will fund Moe's investigation of microtubule severing and how it affects the cell cycle.

- Alejandro Frid, a PhD student in the Dill lab, received $172,000 US from the North Pacific Research Board for a study of diving behaviour of harbour seals in Prince William Sound, Alaska.

- Aaron Wirsing, another PhD student from the Dill lab, received $22,500 US from the Expeditions Council of the National Geographic Society for his work on the foraging ecology of dugongs in Shark Bay, Western Australia.

- Rutger Vos, an MSc student in the Mooers lab, has won a Graduate Student Award from the Society of Systematic Biologists, the publisher of Systematic Biology, the premier journal in its field.

- Tracy Chandler, an undergraduate student in biology, is one of two Governor General Silver Medal recipients at convocation this year. These medals are awarded awarded to graduating undergraduates who have the highest cGPA among their cohort.

- The Biology Grad Caucus held elections in March. Caucus reps for 2003/2004 are: Allison Henderson, Chair; Andrea Pomeroy, Treasurer; Jeff Ball and Kim Mathot, Secretary; Jeff Ball, Graduate Scholarships Committee rep; Shelly Hoover and Joline King, Departmental Graduate Studies Committee (DGSC) reps; Raul Ursic Bedoya, Graduate Issues Committee (GIC) rep; Michelle Morrow and Danielle Simenot, TSSU reps.

- The summer Biergarten has begun. Every Friday at 4:30 you can find grads, faculty, the occasional staff and the odd undergrad socializing in the green space between biology and physics. Some come to talk shop, others to avoid talking shop and everyone definitely comes for the cheap beer. Many great things have started here: a night on the town dancing, collaborations, and even a friendship or two. Everyone is welcome! L. Dodd