2006 Award Recipients

Dr. Martha C. Piper

Dr. Martha C. Piper's commitment to the advancement of research and her influence as a champion of innovation has established her as a leader in the research community, provincially, nationally and internationally.

While at the helm of University of British Columbia as President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Piper steered the university to become one of the top 40 universities in the world. Notably, UBC expanded and enhanced its research capacity to attract unprecedented federal and provincial research funding and significant private contributions for research programs, labs and facilities. Total sponsored research increased by over $239 million during her nine-year tenure. Dr. Piper's outstanding achievements include playing a pivotal role in a medical school partnership between UBC, University of Victoria and University of Northern British Columbia that has garnered international attention for its innovative approach to distributed education.

A passionate advocate of research excellence and strategic research, Dr. Piper has inspired all levels of government to appreciate and invest in science and technology. Thanks in part to her efforts, national programs such as the Canada Research Chairs, the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Indirect Costs Program, which have fundamentally altered the landscape for university research in Canada, have been established.

Dr. Michael Hayden

Dr. Michael Hayden, Director and Senior Scientist of the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics (CMMT) at UBC, has combined outstanding science, clinical insight and entrepreneurship to fuel a stellar career. Dr. Hayden's landmark contributions to scientific knowledge span human genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, neurobiology and medicine.

Notably, his identification of the key steps in the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease (HD), a hereditary disorder of the central nervous system, has led to novel approaches for therapy. His ground-breaking evidence of a cure attracted worldwide attention when it was accepted in the revered Cell journal. His discovery of the ABCA1 gene, and the delineation of its mutations, is considered one of the most important research discoveries in the history of atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries caused by accumulation of fatty deposits and other substances. In addition, his pioneering use of gene therapy for Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) deficiency, a rare hereditary enzyme deficiency that results in abnormal breakdown of fats in the body, is currently in clinical trials. Dr. Hayden pioneered the development of predictive testing for HD, which has now been incorporated into the public health care system worldwide.

Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone

Internationally recognized as outstanding writers for children and young people, Ms. Shar Levine and Ms. Leslie Johnstone have made it their professional mission to present science clearly, cleverly and dynamically to children.

They have successfully translated this mission into the publication of award-winning science books of which more than one million have sold worldwide. Nine of their books have been translated into other languages including Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Flemish and Korean.

Through their engaging books, Ms. Levine and Ms. Johnstone demonstrate that science is fun without sacrificing clarity. Using their scientific background and educational experience, these authors have created a format which incorporates concepts with engrossing activities and dazzling visual appeal. Their books clearly convey scientific concepts with an innovative approach that draws on superb photography, experiments, kits and toys. Books such as 3-D Scary Bugs, Silly Science: Strange and Startling Projects to Amaze Your Family and Friends, Magnets, Your Body, and Kitchen Science encourage children to make use of simple household materials to explore a wide range of topics. Their recent book, Backyard Science, was one of five books short listed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science as the best book of the year in the Hands-on Science category.

Ms. Levine is a well known keynote speaker at early childhood educational conferences and a frequent guest speaker and presenter in kindergartens, elementary schools and libraries. She also established Vancouver's first award-winning dedicated science store, Einstein's the Science Centre where she taught hands-on science in a classroom at the back of the store prior to writing her own books.

Ms. Johnstone is currently the Science Department Head at Point Grey Secondary School in Vancouver. She is also an active reviewer of chemistry and science text books and a frequent presenter at professional development activities for science teachers. Ms. Johnstone was the 2006 recipient of the British Columbia Teachers' Association award for contributions to science education.

Dr. Luciana Duranti

Dr. Luciana Duranti, Professor of the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at UBC, is recognized as a worldwide leader in the field of archival studies.

Dr. Duranti's work involves the complex and important problem of ensuring, assessing, maintaining and preserving the authenticity of digital materials over the long-term. Electronic documents such as e-mail, e-voting ballots, research data, electronic reports, and digital art have become ubiquitous in every aspect of society. However, while the technology to facilitate the creation and use of electronic records has proliferated, the technology to ensure the lasting authenticity of such records and preserving them over time has lagged far behind. Already generations of electronic material have been lost due to changing technology and the consequent inability to either access them or demonstrate their identity and integrity. Dr. Duranti has led the way in addressing critical issues such as what should be preserved, how to preserve it and how to ensure that what is preserved is authentic.

Dr. Bruce McManus

Dr. Bruce McManus' pioneering efforts in health research have attracted world-wide attention. A Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UBC, Dr. McManus is also the Director of the James Hogg iCAPTURE Centre for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Research and Scientific Director of the Heart Centre at St. Paul's Hospital - Providence Health Care campus.

An innovative research leader in the field of cardiovascular sciences, Dr. McManus and his laboratory have made many breakthroughs that have catalyzed significant changes in clinical practice. Their revolutionary work has had an impact on areas ranging from the protection of transplanted hearts to prompting safer therapies for obesity. By showing for the first time the extent and mechanisms of enteroviral injury of heart muscle, Dr. McManus evoked a major paradigm shift in therapeutic approaches for fulminant infections that often affect infants. Moreover, he and his team have addressed diverse and complex data sets through leading edge technological initiatives. In one such initiative, Dr. McManus has collaborated with bioinformatics experts to initiate a novel computational environment for cardiovascular disease that captures research and clinical data with contextual meaning to allow researchers to accelerate and streamline experimentation.

Dr. Mu Chiao

Internationally recognized for his groundbreaking research at the age of 34, Dr. Mu Chiao, Assistant Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UBC, has broken new ground in the design and fabrication of microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS).

Seeking to establish a MEMS and nanotechnology-based platform that will produce tiny, mechanical transducers that will work effectively in the body, Dr. Chiao is considered an active researcher in this new area known as Bio-MEMS.

Implantable biomedical sensors and drug delivery systems will offer new hope to the chronically ill thanks in part to Dr. Chiao's innovative research that addresses size, power and reliability. Dr. Chiao is the first-in-the-world to demonstrate the feasibility of using Rapid Thermal Processing for aluminium-to-nitrate bonding, including hermetic sealing and vacuum encapsulations for significantly improved MEMS packaging. He has also pioneered the new research area of Bio-MEMS-based microbial fuel cell technology with the invention of a fuel cell that can harness the body's glucose to produce electricity. This new power source eliminates the need for conventional lithium batteries for implantable biomedical devices and lengthens their useful life from five to 10 or more years. A US patent is pending on this work and Dr. Chiao is developing a commercial prototype.