The latest debates on the controversial relationship between genes, behaviour and social environment will be the focus of the Royal Society of Canada's annual meeting next month, held at the U of A for the first time in its 125-year history.
"I think (the symposium) is a really good example of the Royal Society stepping up and getting involved in a contemporary, important issue that can inform not only the public, but also policy-makers and the science agenda," said professor of health law Timothy Caulfield, one of 12 U of A professors who will be elected to the society at the meeting, which runs from November 15 - 18.
"Research has shown that the public is skeptical of individuals that have some kind of vested interest, whether it's Greenpeace or a pharmaceutical industry," said Caulfield. "The public's pretty clever, so having an entity like the Royal Society weigh in is tremendously important."
Organizers of the Nov. 16 symposium, which is open to the general public with registration, say the discussions will go "beyond the popular 'nature vs. nurture' arguments to examine new findings, political and ethical questions, and the latest research applications."
RSC President Patricia Demers, a U of A professor of English and Film Studies, calls the symposium "very timely," as it will explore the effects of genetic inheritance and social environment on everything from "race to culture to family dynamics to bullying in the schoolground." She adds that McGill/Queens University Press has agreed to publish papers presented at the symposium.
Newly named RSC: The Academies, the society is in the midst of an extreme makeover, updating its somewhat dusty image for the 21st century, providing expert advice on issues of importance to Canadian society, encouraging its members to serve as public intellectuals and helping to improve access to post-secondary education for young people across the country.
"To increase our outreach activities is really one of the objectives of the RSC over the next few years," said President-elect Yvan Guindon. "We want to concentrate on three groups: improving access to education for native people, access to science and technology for young girls and making a difference in terms of decreasing the drop-out rate that we see among young people."
The oldest and most prestigious scholarly organization in the country, RSC has recognized Canada's most accomplished scholars since its inception in 1882. But in recent years, partly under Demers' watch, it has also begun welcoming artists into the fold, such as celebrated architect Douglas Cardinal, Saskatchewan author Guy Vanderhaeghe, Quebec poet Nicole Brossard and Vancouver choreographer (and U of A alumnus) Grant Strate.
"I'm very happy that we have actually established a division of the arts," said Demers, who will complete her term as president at next month's AGM. Artists, she said, "capture the cultural pulse of the nation and tend to articulate public discourse in ways that a whole variety of people listen to."
In addition to Arts and Humanities, RSC now includes two bilingual academies of Sciences and Social Sciences.
This year, the U of A has the highest number of new fellows - 12 of a total of 80 across the country.
"The society is proud to celebrate the intellectual achievements of the new fellows," said Demers. "We wish to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of persons of talent, expertise and creativity in all fields, from experimental and applied sciences to health and medical sciences, and from social sciences and humanities to the various artistic domains."
The U of A's new fellows will be celebrated at an induction ceremony, also open to the public, on Saturday, Nov. 17 at the Winspear Centre. They include:
Sarah A. Carter (Department of History and Classics) is a renowned Western Canadian historian. She has transformed the field with her award-winning books, which have contributed to a rethinking of Canada's western past. Her work is used in university courses, in land claims and treaty-rights research and as resources to assist the public to understand the history of race relations in the West.
Wiktor L. Adamowicz (Department of Rural Economy) is an international expert in resource and environmental economics. His research spans many aspects of consumer behaviour, particularly with respect to environmental goods and services. In the context of forestry his research contributes to issues of sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation and forest policy. In the context of human health his research includes economic valuation of health-risk reductions from improved environmental quality.
Timothy Caulfield (Faculty of Law) is an international leader in the field of health law. His influential research, particularly his analysis of the legal and social issues associated with emerging technologies, has been cited by numerous provincial, national and international policy-makers, including the Supreme Court of Canada and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health. He has been closely involved in the production of many influential policy documents, including several by the Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee, the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the Royal Society of Canada.
Larry M. Heaman's (Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences) studies on the timing of magmas produced from Earth's mantle have revolutionized understanding of large-scale connections between mantle dynamics and crustal tectonics. Heaman is a world leader in the field of geochronology - the science of precise and accurate determination of geologic time.
Philip F. Halloran (Department of Medicine) is an international leader and pioneer in organ transplantation. He has significantly advanced clinical transplant medicine through the study and optimization of immunosuppressive therapy resulting in improved outcomes for transplant patients worldwide.
Gary D. Lopaschuk (Department of Pediatrics and Pharmacology) is a scientific leader in the area of how energy metabolism is controlled in the heart under both normal and pathological conditions. He has shown that modifying fatty acid oxidation is a novel approach to treating various forms of heart disease.
Ronald M. McElhaney (Department of Biochemistry) is an international leader in research on the roles of lipids in biological membranes. His research has provided key insights into the mechanisms by which antimicrobial peptides disrupt bacterial membranes, providing the basis for design of effective anti-microbial agents.
Marek Michalak (Department of Biochemistry) is a recognized world authority in the field of protein folding, calcium homeostasis and their role in pathology of human diseases. He has had a major impact on our understanding and treatment of many protein folding disorders including congenital heart diseases, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and prion diseases.
A. Richard Palmer's (Department of Biological Sciences) research lies at the crossroads of three central lines of biological inquiry: development, functional morphology, and evolution. Palmer's landmark contributions have yielded major insights into both biology (how development evolves) and science culture (how scientists publish their research).
Keir G. Pearson (Department of Physiology) is a leading authority on the neurobiology of locomotion. His research has identified key principles related to the neural control of walking in invertebrates and vertebrates. These contributions have been germane for developing strategies for enhancing functional recovery after spinal cord injury and for the design of walking robots.
Diane E. Taylor (Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology) is an internationally recognized microbiologist whose major contributions include the application of genetics and molecular biology to understand bacterial antibiotic resistance. Her work led in the discovery of genetics behind the virulence and disease mechanisms of two bacteria: Helicobacter pylori, responsible for gastric ulcers and cancer, and Campylobacter, found in food and drinking water, and an important cause of gastroenteritis.
Jonathan Schaeffer (Department of Computing Science) is Canada's leading researcher and world leader in research on artificial intelligence applied to games. In 1986 his Phoenix program tied for first place in the World Computer Chess Championship. Chinook in 1990 was the first program to earn the right to play for the human World Checkers Championship, earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first program to win a human world championship in a non-trivial game of skill.
Also being elected to RSC is Ian Stirling of the Canadian Wildlife Service, a long-serving adjunct professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. One of Canada's best known polar scientists, Stirling has published extensively on Arctic environments.
