A University of Windsor researcher has received international recognition for her presentation on chronobiology.

Kathyani Parasram, a doctoral student in the Department of Biological Sciences, was awarded first place for her talk “Green Guts: Development of the Circadian Clock in the Drosophila Intestine” at the Canadian Society for Chronobiology Meeting, held at McGill University, May 26 to 28.

The biennial conference included researchers from Canada, Europe, and Japan, with more than 100 graduate student and postdoc trainees presenting their work.

Her supervisor Phillip Karpowicz, assistant professor and chair of the biology graduate program, says this was a very prestigious award for Parasram.

“It was a great conference with many research groups from major scientific and medical insitutions,” says Dr. Karpowicz. “She did a terrific job competing with students from all over Canada and the USA.”

Parasram says the chance to discuss her work with some of the leaders in the field a great experience.

“Our research provides insight into the role of the environment in early development of circadian rhythms,” she says. “I’m very happy that this exciting work has been recognized, and that I was able to attend such an important meeting to share it.”

Chronobiology is the study of biological timing. Circadian rhythms are caused by an internal biological clock running throughout an organism’s cells at daily intervals, and determine sleep/wake cycles, reproductive and hormonal rhythms, as well as other changes in all living things.

The cellular and biochemical nature on the development of these rhythms in organisms is not understood. Parasram says she has found that the genes controlling these are absent until an animal starts to move around the world.

“Signals from the environment tend to act as cues to an animal,” says Parasram. “This brings timing to a system of genes inside the body known as the circadian clock. The genes themselves are not activated in the body until just before environmental exposure begins. This kick starts the daily process, which then continues throughout life.”

In addition to her presentation prize, Parasram also was awarded a travel prize to attend the meeting, and Karpowicz received the 2019 Junior Investigator Award from the Society for Chronobiology for his contributions to the field in Canada.

Both researchers are part of the Karpowicz Lab. Located in the Essex CORe, members use a variety of animal and tissue culture models to study the circadian rhythms in health and disease.

—Darko Milenkovic

U Sports and the Globe and Mail newspaper have recognized master of human kinetics candidate Alex Cyr as Correspondent of the Year for his work to promote university sports in Canada.

Cyr contributed reporting for the UWindsor sports information office while competing with the Lancers in cross country and track and field.

In announcing the award, U Sports cited the quantity and quality of his work, the diversity of his written portfolio, his punctuality, and his ability to find and pitch interesting stories. It called a piece on former Lancer track and field star turned country music sensation Kelsi Mayne one of the highlights of Cyr’s written portfolio; read “Sprinting to Stardom.”

Cyr tells the story of his senior year running with the St. Francis Xavier University X-Men in a book entitled Runners of the Nish, published in 2018. He plans to begin studies this September in the Master of Journalism program at Ryerson University.

Jessica Carmichael earned the story of the year award for an article she published in the McMaster University student paper, the Silhouette.

Both Carmichael and Cyr are part of the U Sports Correspondent Program, which gives student-journalists the opportunity to write human-interest stories and profiles on Canadian student-athletes and programs.

A June 25 class in Website Basic Training offered free to faculty and staff will be the last session before fall semester, advises instructor Rob Aitkens.

Web development team lead in Information Technology Services, he will teach the basics of the Drupal content management system: University and legislative guidelines for posting content, as well as how to create pages and events, upload graphics, and use menus and blocks.

The training is required for all employees responsible for maintaining UWindsor websites and is valuable for those with little previous experience with the system, for those upgrading their sites from version 6 to 7, or as a refresher. It will run 1:30 to 4 p.m. in G101, Leddy Library. Registration is required through this online form.

A five-time UWindsor grad will be remembered as a leader dedicated to helping students — and a scholarship in her name will carry on her legacy.

Mary Anne Johnston (ND 1958, BSc 1962, BA 1978, MA 1982, PhD 1986), who died in July 2018, was the founding director of the Student Counselling Centre.

Dr. Johnston took up a position as staff psychologist in the Psychological Services and Research Centre in 1986. In 1999, she founded the UWindsor’s Student Counselling Centre, where she served as director until her retirement in 2006.

Johnston continued to serve clients as a part-time staff psychologist until April 2016, as well as maintaining a private practice throughout her time at the University.

She is described by colleagues as being knowledgeable, ethical, absolutely reliable, and committed to her clients with unfailing discretion, as well as an ideal role model for students.

The Dr. Mary Anne Johnston Memorial Scholarship will support a mature student who identifies as female, returning to study at the University. It is open to undergraduate or graduate students in any academic discipline. The award mirrors the journey that Dr. Johnston took with her own academic career — returning to school to complete five degrees at the University of Windsor after marrying and starting a family.

To contribute, contact Melissa East Aspila at 519-253-3000, ext. 2093, or measpila@uwindsor.ca.

The airing of Spring Convocation video recordings on Cogeco cable will be delayed due to unforeseen production challenges.

Originally scheduled to begin today, the telecasts will instead take place at times to be announced in the future. Videos of all eight sessions are available for streaming through the Convocation website.