Ottawa Graduate Student Receives CIHR’s 2013 Synapse Mentorship Prize

Ms. Angela Alberga is being recognized for her exceptional outreach to youth regarding the merits of health research and physical activity

For immediate release –

2013-18

Ottawa (May 23, 2013) – The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is pleased to announce that Ms. Angela Alberga, a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Health Sciences at University of Ottawa, is the 2013 recipient of the CIHR Synapse Mentorship Award – Graduate Student / Postdoctoral Fellow.

The award, which is worth $5,000, recognizes the efforts of a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow who has made exceptional efforts to promote health research among Canada’s high school students. Through mentorship, the winner regularly motivates youth to consider both the value of health research as well career opportunities that exist within various scientific fields. The winner is nominated by someone who understands his/her direct scientific contributions to young people, and is chosen by the members of the CIHR Youth Outreach Advisory Board.

“I always find it impressive when researchers find time in their busy schedules to mentor youth about the values of science,” says the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health. “It demonstrates a devotion to education. I commend Ms. Alberga’s extensive scientific outreach efforts as she completes her PhD studies and wish her continued success as she embarks on her research career.”

Ms. Alberga has devoted her spare time to teaching high school students about the merits of health research. She created the first exercise physiology lab tour for Let’s Talk Science (LTS), a non-profit science outreach organization for youth. At this lab, teenagers get the opportunity to perform electrocardiograms on their classmates, understand the effects of climate change on heat stroke, learn how people with Parkinson’s disease can improve their walking and reaction time, and find out about how helmets should be designed to protect football players from concussions. She expanded the reach of these lab tours by collaborating with Canadian Association for Girls in Science, the Aboriginal Mentorship Program and Encounters with Canada. She created fun and educational scientific activity kits for youth regarding diabetes and the negative effects of stress. Ms. Alberga also developed the “I like to move it! Health Challenge” program to teach teenagers how physical activity and nutrition can improve academic performance. LTS has presented the program’s 10-page manual and Jeopardy-style quiz to youth across Canada. She has acted as a judge at Ottawa Regional Science Fair and been a bilingual facilitator for CIHR’s Synapse program at regional and national science fairs. She has also provided scientific outreach to rural and remote communities. In 2011, with the help of Science Travels, Ms. Alberga delivered a diabetes workshop to 412 Aboriginal youth who are at risk of developing the disease in Iqaluit and Igloolik.

“Ms. Alberga has been an inspirational leader in scientific outreach for Canadian youths,” says Dr. Robert Thirsk, CIHR’s Vice-President of Public, Government and Institute Affairs. “By creating lab tours and programs that show how research, nutrition and physical activity can be good for the health of Canadians, she’s motivating youth to consider careers that will be beneficial for the wellbeing of others.”

CIHR’s Synapse – Youth Connection initiativeacts as a meeting place, a scientific junction that brings together health researchers and young students. More than 8,500 CIHR-funded health researchers from across the country have already signed up to become CIHR Synapse mentors. Synapse, in collaborative partnership with national science outreach organizations, connects these mentors with high school students through hands-on training experience that will help create the next generation of Canadian health researchers.

Ms. Alberga’s award is one of three related to mentorship through CIHR’s Synapse initiative. Dr.  Sandeep Raha, from the McMaster University, won the Synapse Mentorship Award – Individual Researcher and the Program for Cancer Therapeutics, led by Dr. Michael McBurney, won the Synapse Mentorship Award – Research Group.

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About the Canadian Institutes of Health Research

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's health research investment agency. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened health care system for Canadians. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 14,100 health researchers and trainees across Canada.

About University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa is a cosmopolitan community of close to 45,000 students, faculty and staff who live, work and study in both English and French. At the heart of Canada's capital, uOttawa is one of our country's leading research universities.

Media Contacts:

David Coulombe
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E-mail: mediarelations@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Thalie Tremblay
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University of Ottawa
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Tel. (Mobile): 613 797-5367
Email: thalie.tremblay@uottawa.ca