Celebrating International Women's Day

March 8 is International Women's Day, which celebrates women and girls as catalysts for lasting change and raises awareness around gender-based discrimination. It is also a call to action that encourages everyone to take an active role in seeking gender equality. 

This year’s theme is Strength in every story. To mark the occasion, the College of Health Sciences is highlighting some of the incredible work our inspirational faculty, staff and students have done in the past year to advance health sciences, enrich our communities and lead with purpose.

Engagement with purpose

Every child needs the wisdom of a grandmother
A group of five Indigenous grandmothers across Alberta is collaborating with researchers, led by Stephanie Montesanti from the School of Public Health, to develop digital stories and a booklet to share traditional teachings and cultural practices with their communities and beyond.

New website provides pregnant women with much-needed info on medications
Nearly 70 per cent of pregnant women take medications, but there is little clinical trial evidence available about their impact on this population because pregnant women are usually excluded as clinical trial subjects, according to Alberta principal investigator Padma Kaul, a professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry.

U of A project could help children in daycare breathe easier during wildfire season
Recommendations, dashboard tool designed by U of A experts including Anne Hicks, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics, to help child-care centres protect their tiny clients when air quality is poor.

New research hub focuses U of A expertise on how climate change affects health
First interdisciplinary group of its kind in Canada, led by Sherilee Harper of the School of Public Health, will create more opportunities for collaborative research, learning and advocacy.

Education with purpose

Study uncovers disparity between how textbooks and self-advocates discuss autism
Educational materials could be perpetuating outdated perspectives, say researchers An Nguyen and Danielle Peers. 

Lofty goals: Nepali grad focuses on helping children and youth reach their full potential
Through her experiences and community involvement, Binita Jirel, a master’s student at the School of Public Health, is bringing together the theory and practice of youth development. 

Missed periods due to exercise could spell heart-related complications during pregnancy or later in life: researcher
Nursing PhD candidate studies how secondary amenorrhea caused by physical training may be linked to pregnancy complications and cardiovascular issues.

New nurse practitioner sets up clinical practice in small-town Alberta
The Village of Consort has hired Christie Brulhart, a recent graduate of the Master of Nursing program, to provide desperately needed primary care. 

Conversations between pharmacists and patients reveal factors behind pneumococcal vaccine hesitancy
“Knowing why individuals choose to receive vaccines or not can be really important in terms of being able to meet patients where they’re at and provide them with the best possible information to make an informed decision,” says Danielle Nagy, a PhD student in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and co-author of a study exploring reasons for pneumococcal vaccine refusal.

Research with purpose

Why being bilingual could help keep your mind sharp as you age
Knowing more than one language — or learning a new one — may give you a cognitive advantage, says Tanya Dash, a neuroscientist in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine.

U of A experts rank among world’s most influential researchers
Physical activity researcher Valerie Carson of the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation was named for the sixth consecutive year. 

For people with Parkinson’s, moving is a mental challenge as well as a physical one
“Even when people with Parkinson’s think about movement, it’s different for their more affected side,” says Kathryn Lambert, PhD candidate in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine and lead author of the study. 

New imaging test could improve how we diagnose and treat lung cancer
“Instead of exposing the patient to an invasive biopsy, they can go and get an injection and then we can use a PET scan to help see the tumour and help physicians to determine the best course of therapy,” says study co-author Afsaneh Lavasanifar, professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.