Alumni Insider Magazine - Vol. 5, No. 1 - Spring 2020

Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

Vol. 5, No. 1, Spring 2020

Strengthen familial bonds during COVID-19 PLUS + Toronto Blue Jays help develop future sport leaders + Brock researchers seek to eliminate allergy symptoms Alumni Insider

1

hand-heart Thank you to our frontline health care workers for your extraordinary efforts during this unprecedented time. #BrockUnited

FEATURES

DEAN'S MESSAGE

Faculty News PAGE 4

Alumni Feature PAGE 7

Strengthening families during COVID-19 PAGE 8

COVID-19: Adapting research during disruptions PAGE 10

Student Spotlight PAGE 11

SNAP provides online activities PAGE 12

Eliminating allergic inflammation symptoms PAGE 13

Toronto Blue Jays develop sport leaders PAGE 14

Faculty Focus: Stephen Cheung PAGE 15

ALUMNI INSIDER brocku.ca/applied-health-sciences EDITOR: Colleen Patterson COPY EDITOR: Michelle Pressé DESIGN AND LAYOUT: Kev Greene CONTRIBUTORS: Douglas Hunt, Cathy Majtenyi, Colleen Patterson, Michelle Pressé COVER PHOTO: Dana MacIntyre, Defining Moments Photography Special thanks to: Toronto Blue Jays Leadership Development Program, Jason Chow Photography, COVID-19 Assessment Centre in Midland, Ont.

Alumni and friends of Applied Health Sciences, I hope you are all managing well in these difficult times. The COVID-19 crisis has certainly changed the ways many of us currently live our lives.

Brock University and its students, faculty and staff have also had to adapt. We are currently working hard at preparing to deliver our high-quality educational experience to our students primarily online for the Fall Term.

Applied Health Sciences faculty, students and alumni have also been involved in many other activities related to COVID19, and this issue highlights some of the contributions.

In addition, this issue of the Alumni Insider will update you on some pre-pandemic activities that took place and several new research developments within the Faculty.

I hope you find much of this interesting and engaging.

Please stay safe and I wish you all good health. Stay in touch.

– Peter Tiidus Dean, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

We welcome your input. Send letters to the editor, articles or ideas to FAHSComms@brocku.ca Send correspondence to: Alumni Insider FAHS Marketing and Communications STH 434, Brock University 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1 For advertising inquires, call 905 688 5550 x5342 Alumni Insider

3

FACULTY NEWS Tiidus to begin new five-year term as Dean of Applied Health Sciences

P

eter Tiidus is set to begin his reappointment to a second five-year term as Dean of Brock University’s Faculty of Applied Health Sciences (FAHS) on July 1.

Tiidus was appointed Dean in 2015 when he came to Brock from Wilfrid Laurier University and focused on growing FAHS in terms of programming and its already-impressive research activity. The Faculty expanded its footprint by developing several new academic programs, including the Master of Applied Gerontology, as well as several others that are currently in various stages of development and approval.

He also placed an emphasis on experiential education and hands-on laboratory experiences for students, engaging alumni with students through departmental alumni days and the FAHS Alumni Insider magazine, and continuing to grow the Faculty’s popular undergraduate programs.

Before coming to Brock, Tiidus had been a professor, department chair and muscle and exercise physiologist in Laurier’s Departments of Kinesiology and Health Sciences. He had also served as Interim Dean of the Faculty of Science.

Brock University announced on May 15 that Peter Tiidus, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, has been re-appointed to a five-year term.

Brock educators recognized by Council of Ontario University Programs in Nursing

Brock’s Department of Nursing Clinical Instructor Stamatina Romas (left) and Professor Lynn McCleary (right) were recognized by the Council of Ontario University Programs in Nursing (COUPN) for being outstanding nursing educators in Ontario.

E

ach year, the Council of Ontario University Programs in Nursing (COUPN) recognizes some of Ontario’s most outstanding nursing educators, highlighting their excellence in patient care and critical role in strengthening the province’s healthcare system.

4

Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

For the second-consecutive year, Brock University faculty are among the seven recipients to receive awards for excellence in nursing education and scholarship. COUPN announced Friday, May 15 that Department of Nursing Professor Lynn McCleary received the Excellence in Teaching Award 2020 and

Stamatina Romas the Clinical Instructor Award 2020.

Romas’ role requires her to work collaboratively with the cardiac unit of the St. Catharines General Hospital while ensuring students integrate well into the clinical site.

“It is critical for a nursing clinical instructor to really solidify the partnership he or she has with their unit because we are guests from the moment we step onto their floor,” says Romas.

McCleary follows in the footsteps of Nursing Associate Professor Karyn Taplay, who was COUPN’s Excellence in Teaching Award 2019 recipient.

Relationships are important to McCleary. As a mental health nurse, this extends to getting to know her students and making learning meaningful for them.

“Through Brock Nursing students and graduates, we see the impact of our teaching.

Our department is doing everything we can to have excellent nurses which positively impacts the health care system overall,” McCleary says.

The Shape Your Life (SYL) non-contact boxing program is expanding to Niagara and Edmonton thanks to $320,000 in federal funding announced in February. Pictured from left are post-doctoral Research Fellow Amanda De Lisio (BEd ’08, BPhEd ’08), SYL Head Coach Melinda Watpool, St. Catharines MP Chris Bittle, Brock Professor of Kinesiology Cathy van Ingen, Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey and Research Assistant Amanda Lyn.

Funding for Brock boxing program supporting youth survivors of family violence

Y

outh affected by family violence in Niagara and Edmonton will benefit from Brock University’s expanded Shape Your Life (SYL) non-contact boxing program thanks to funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada announced in February.

A $320,000 contribution will allow SYL, which has worked with more than 1,800 female-identified survivors of violence in Toronto since its inception in 2007, to extend its support services to youth aged 13 to 18 affected by family violence in both the Niagara

region and Edmonton, Alta.

“I’m really excited for the next phase of Shape Your Life, which will provide us with the opportunity to leave a legacy in the communities we are collaborating with,” said Professor of Kinesiology Cathy van Ingen, who has been a driving force in ensuring the success and sustainability of the program since its inception.

The funding was part of more than $1.3 million for projects using positive parenting and sport to help prevent child

maltreatment and support young survivors of family violence announced by Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey and St. Catharines MP Chris Bittle on behalf of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health.

The new SYL project aims to reach 200 youth survivors of violence and to train 20 coaches and program leaders in collaboration with three community-based agencies that support under-serviced youth, including youth in foster care.

Alumni Insider

5

FACULTY NEWS Brock’s newly renovated space enhances community nursing care

T

he complex medical conditions of people who require nursing care in their home is the focus of Brock University’s newly From left, Brock Facilities Manager, Structural Services Bryan Cober renovated community apartment in the Nursing Simulation Lab holds a community nursing simulation baby while discussing the newly renovated Community Apartment with Nursing Lab Co-ordinator Kerry which officially opened at the end of January.

Shoalts during the Lab opening in January.

Fourth-year Nursing students are now engaging in experiential learning by responding to various scenarios in a safe space designed to look and feel like a patient’s home.

Individuals who receive nursing care at home often have acute “Caring for a patient in their home is very different than caring for and multifaceted needs. With an increasing amount of care being someone in a community agency or hospital setting,” says Associate provided to seniors and individuals of all ages in the home, there will Professor of Nursing Karyn Taplay. “The care is very personal, in their be more career opportunities in community nursing care requiring own environment and on their terms.” specialized skills.

The newly constructed community apartment, which includes a “People can often stay in their homes longer if they have the separate living/dining room, bedroom, bathroom and stairs, has the appropriate support, but from a nursing perspective, there are different capacity to mimic a wide variety of realistic scenarios. issues to be aware of,” says Nursing Lab Co-ordinator Kerry Shoalts.

Taplay, who began designing patient home care scenarios in 2012 “Our students are taught to assess safety, prioritize client’s needs and after observing a significant gap in the number of students with implement a plan of care including psychomotor skills. The newly experience caring for clients in their home, said the new space provides renovated community apartment will allow them to collaborate as endless teaching and learning possibilities. they learn in a practical and hands-on environment.”

Top researchers join FAHS

O

ne of the fastest growing Faculty’s at Brock University, in the past 12 months we have welcomed eight new researchers and will welcome 10 more for the upcoming 2020-21 academic year.

The combined expertise of these new hires reflects the FAHS commitment to fostering an active research culture, providing exceptional student experiences and advancing opportunities in Niagara and around the world to make a healthy difference in people’s lives.

New to each issue of the Alumni Insider will be an introduction to some of the faculty members bringing fresh perspectives to Brock.

MICHELE K. DONNELLY, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, SPORT MANAGEMENT Michele Donnelly’s qualitative research is focused on gender inequality in sport governance and the Olympic Movement, as well as alternative sport, including roller derby and skateboarding. Donnelly’s work also includes studying girls and women-only activities (e.g., women’s home improvement workshops, entrepreneur organizations, and sport and recreation groups) as sites of participation and cultural production.

She serves on the Social Sciences Research Ethics Board and studies the politics and ethics of research.

Michele K. Donnelly

ARNE STINCHCOMBE, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RECREATION AND LEISURE STUDIES AND MASTER OF APPLIED GERONTOLOGY* Arne Stinchcombe holds a PhD in Psychology and maintains expertise in the psychosocial aspects of health, aging and older adulthood. Stinchcombe is interested in ways to promote health and well-being among older Canadians. He has an interest in diversity and aging and holds a New Investigator award from the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada where he seeks to improve the quality of life for LGBTQ2+ persons with dementia and their care partners.

6

Arne Stinchcombe

*Gerontology is the interdisciplinary study of aging and older adulthood.

Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

ALUMNI FEATURE

Brock alumna leads COVID-19 response for Town of Caledon

By COLLEEN PATTERSON

B

rock University graduate Heather Savage (BRLS ’99) is no stranger to leadership roles.

But for Savage, who serves as the manager of Recreation for the Town of Caledon, navigating her community through the recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic means ensuring no one slips through the cracks.

Savage is one of 10 managers within the Town’s Community Services Department, and occasionally serves as acting general manager, a role – Heather Savage, Manager of Recreation, Town of Caledon she was in when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“We have all kinds of emergency preparedness plans in place for the municipality,” Savage says. “There were a lot of dots that needed to be connected and reactive problem-solving that needed to happen very quickly.”

Appointed chief of Logistics, Savage became a part of a small group of 14 senior leaders responsible for making decisions for 75,000 residents in Caledon and was given a spot at the Region of Peel Community Response Table.

Of this new high-pressure environment, Savage says, she is “often called upon because of her skills managing people,” an ability “that stems from my background in recreation and leisure and my early training as a lifeguard.”

Bringing a community development lens to her new role, Savage proposed a Community Connections Task Force to ensure no one falls through the cracks.

“We are putting resiliency plans in place now, before it is too late,” Savage explains.

Through the province’s Municipal Act, there are specific laws in place that guide the relationship between municipalities and other levels of government. This means response planning has jurisdictional implications that need to be considered as part of the implementation process.

“We are being challenged to find solutions for situations we would not normally be responsible for, but we recognize there are gaps,” Savage says. “For example, we have a team connecting people to social services.

Amidst the pandemic, human generosity is prevailing.”

Now that communities are moving into the recovery phase of the pandemic, Savage is relying on her experience to adapt and create the resources and systemic change necessary to overcome the next hurdles.

“Pragmatism and varying degrees of leadership skills are some of my biggest assets,” she says. “All the relationships Brock was able to foster for me has helped me with this. My education helped to shape my love Heather Savage (BRLS ’99), Town of Caledon Manager of Recreation was for recreation into a direction that is now having a positive impact on Appointed Chief of Logistics for COVID-19 response and serves on the Region of Peel Community Response Table. the community in which I live and work.”

“ We are putting resiliency plans in place now, before it is too late,”

Alumni Insider

7

Department of Sport Management Associate Professor Dawn Trussell strengthens familial bonds by playing with her daughters in their backyard.

Photo courtesy of Dana MacIntyre, Defining Moments Photography.

Quality time, structure important for families during COVID-19 pandemic

By COLLEEN PATTERSON

F

amilies are under incredible stress Management Dawn Trussell. right now. Despite being mentally, Amid pandemic fears and restrictions, physically and emotionally exhausted, Trussell affirms when families spend quality they are also being challenged to find new ‘play’ time together, it can build and strengthen ways to live together while letting go of old the family unit which in turn may alleviate expectations. some of the stress of the everyday.

“By rethinking recreation and sport this “Families are a primary source of summer there is an important opportunity to companionship and gratification,” Trussell strengthen familial bonds and create a sense says. “Now, more than ever, families are the of unity,” says Associate Professor of Sport primary pillar of support as summer recreation

8

Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

and sport leagues, programs and camps are cancelled or modified.”

The future may be unknown, but we do know that how sports and recreation activities will be produced and consumed will change.

This transitional period, according to Trussell, gives families an opportunity to rethink how they can ‘play’ together, but it doesn’t come without its challenges.

“The tension I am seeing through social

“ Research shows us that families need a sense of familiarity and stability in their lives and that these experiences can foster personal relatedness and feelings of family closeness.”

– Dawn Trussell, Associate Professor Sport Management

Dawn Trussell holds her daughter while in their backyard in the summer of 2017. Now, with cancellation of all their summer programs, including soccer leagues and day camps due to COVID-19, she regularly schedules quality time for activities to provide stability in their lives. Photo courtesy of Dana MacIntyre, Defining Moments Photography.

media right now is that COVID-19 is affecting families in different ways,” Trussell says.

“Regardless of their situation, it’s important that families reconceptualize how they can bring some fluid structure into their lives.”

As a mother of two elementary school-aged daughters, Trussell often draws on her 15 years of research experience on family leisure and family relations in youth sport in her approach to parenting.

“Research shows us that families need a sense of familiarity and stability in their lives and that these experiences can foster personal relatedness and feelings of family closeness,” Trussell says. “Recognizing there are differences in each family’s ever-changing reality, there are some things we can all be doing to help plan for the short- and longterm ‘new normal.’”

Trussell recommends planning a consistent hour or two everyday of ‘fun’ that everyone can look forward to.

“This time should be low-cost, home-based leisure activities that align with individual interests and require little planning,” Trussell says. “Ideas may include gardening or soccer in the yard, or reading together.”

At the same time, research suggests families

need novelty and change by providing new experiences for families to be challenged, develop and grow together. As restrictions are eased on outdoor recreational activities, Trussell says, “now may be the best time to try something new as a family unit or as an individual.” And for families with young children, this opportunity aligns well with the Canadian Long-Term Athlete Development model that promotes the sampling of activities to increase the chances of lifelong participation in physical activity.

Before COVID-19, parents often reported a sense of time famine in their daily lives as they tried to negotiate work demands and children’s schedules. At the same time, no other generation has seen children’s lives so highly structured in terms of extra-curricular activities.

“For parents in particular, creating a consistent strategy is essential as children look for structure,” Trussell says. “With the school year ending in March and sport and recreation leagues cancelled or modified for the summer, we can’t follow our expectations of who we used to be.”

Everyone’s stress looks different right now, but sharing activities can provide important

contexts to talk about the fears and sense of loss the family members may be experiencing.

“Difficult conversations can be softened when family members feel a moment of happiness together,” Trussell says. “Rather than talking about fears and uncertainties with partners and children at the kitchen table, a better context might be to go for a walk to have a difficult conversation or simply to get an escape from indoors.”

More time together may not be the answer, especially for families with children at home whose parents are trying to juggle work demands.

“Rather than thinking you have to be together all the time, recognize that quality, short, scheduled moments in a day are more meaningful for everyone and create shared expectations,” Trussell says.

Finally, Trussell urges the need for individual self-care as research suggests that parents (and specifically, mothers) often sacrifice their own leisure in support of their children.

“Prioritizing and scheduling even a short amount of time for yourself will help you navigate this difficult time and contribute to the collective well-being of the family unit.”

Alumni Insider

9

Health Sciences researcher adapts to COVID-19 disruptions

By CATHY MAJTENYI

M

easures to contain the spread of COVID-19 have impacted all areas of society, including research.

Collaborating in shared lab space and conducting face-to-face interviews are among activities suspended or curtailed at Canadian universities. Added to that was pressure on many researchers to switch rapidly to an online teaching format.

Although conducting most research under pandemic circumstances is difficult or even impossible, there are cases where longrunning research can continue, albeit in a modified format.

Health Sciences Professor Ana Sanchez shared how she’s managing to continue her research in a COVID-19 world.

Sanchez conducts field and laboratory research on neglected parasitic diseases (NTDs), with a major focus on soiltransmitted helminths. Research study sites are in Honduras, where NTDs undermine the health and well-being of the population. In October 2019, Professor of Health Sciences Ana Sanchez rode a horse in exchange for teaching local She also researches capacity building and children about preventing intestinal worms while carrying out a clinical trial in Las Lomitas, Honduras. increasing research proficiencies in developing This was one of the strategies the research team used to interact with children enrolled in the trial. countries, leading her to work with national and international organizations to develop the second village where the student had gone. particular aspect of the study.”

With regards to her other research projects, research systems.

But all is not lost, says Sanchez, noting Parasite expert Sanchez’s mid-February that, although the RCT ended short of the Sanchez says without access to their lab at vacation to Chile ended with the initial targeted sample size, statistic analysis Brock, her graduate students are for now appearance of COVID-19 in South America. As showed they still have enough participants focused on data analysis and scientific writing.

Sanchez was flying home, Gabriela Matamoros, to draw sound conclusions. At the same time, This intense work is paying off. “We have her PhD student in Honduras was able to carry Sanchez is optimistic as “we should be able several ongoing international collaborations,” out the first round of testing on children in a to tweak some secondary objectives and still she says. “During this shelter-in-place period, remote village to see if a combination of two do something with the samples and the data we have been able to publish two papers on different de-worming drugs would be an we gathered.” genetic markers of head lice resistance and effective treatment for children with parasites.

Specifically, Sanchez and her team will be one on molecular detection of parasites. We But right afterward, the country went into isolating DNA from the samples collected are also waiting to hear back from reviewers lockdown. To complete the study, Matamoros so far to predict whether or not the drug on a very important work on the health impact would have had to return to the same village combination would be an effective treatment. of the dog round worm in children.” two to three weeks later to take another The method is not perfect, she says, as Sanchez is optimistic lab work will resume sample, which became impossible to do. “genetic analysis is not guaranteed to predict in a not too distant future. In the meantime, Luckily, the randomized controlled trial expression of efficacy, but we can say with she is busy as always, mentoring students and (RCT) was in its advanced stages, having fully some degree of certainty the treatment may keeping her international research network tested some 120 children in another village. have worked. I think that could still make strong and productive.

The team needed an extra 52 children from valid recommendations or predictions on that

10

Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Medical Sciences students help with COVID-19 screening

By DOUGLAS HUNT

T

wo Brock University students took their health training to the frontlines of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medical Sciences students Kate Scully and Sarah Trudel completed the final semester of their undergraduate studies while also offering much-needed support and expertise in their home communities.

Scully became the administrative co-ordinator for the COVID-19 Assessment Centre in Midland, Ont., where she said her studies and Brock’s two-year Interprofessional Education for Quality Improvement Program (I-EQUIP) — where students work on projects with local health-related organizations — prepared her for her job assisting local health-care professionals by screening potential patients on the phone.

“I believe as a future physician and employee of the health-care system it is my duty to support our frontline staff who are helping patients every day, especially when everyone else needs to stay home,” said Scully. “These individuals were there for me when I first started as a student at the hospital, so I want to help them as best I can so they can help our community.”

As an aspiring nurse practitioner, Trudel felt a similar pull to provide necessary assistance and put her studies and I-EQUIP training to work as a screening clerk at a long-term care home in Beaverton, Ont., where she said the need to maintain resident safety is paramount.

“It is important that everyone who walks through the doors of the

nursing home is screened — staff and visitors alike — to ensure patients are safe,” she said. “By screening everyone entering care homes, we reduce the burden of the COVID-19 virus on the health-care system as a whole and ensure our residents are receiving the very best care.”

Having begun the transition from student life to the workforce, both students said their time working on I-EQUIP projects about patients’ experiences in health-care settings eased the changeover.

I-EQUIP Director and Associate Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning Madelyn Law said the students’ commitment to helping in whatever way they can is inspiring.

“Our Brock students never cease to amaze me,” said Law. “I am proud and inspired to see them engage in their local communities to support health organizations at this difficult time. It’s a moving reminder of the importance of what we teach, in person or online, and the many ways students and graduates use that knowledge to impact the lives of those around them.”

Both Scully and Trudel were awarded their diploma in June. Scully is returning to Brock for the Master of Applied Gerontology program and has plans to apply to medical school. Trudel completed her screening job in May and transitioned into another frontline role within the same long-term care home. In September, she will begin the accelerated nursing program at Western University.

Fourth-year Medical Sciences student Kate Scully began work in March as the administrative co-ordinator for the COVID-19 Assessment Centre in Midland, Ont., while also completing the remainder of her Winter courses online.

Fourth-year Medical Sciences student Sarah Trudel completed the final semester of her undergraduate studies online while also offering muchneeded support to a long-term care home in Beaverton, Ont. Alumni Insider

11

Supporting Neurodiversity through Adaptive Programming (SNAP) participant Carter Smith receives one-on-one support from Brock University student volunteer Larry Nie (MEd ’19) during last year’s Autism Spectrum Disorder Summer Movement Camp. Due to COVID-19, this will be the first time in 17 years Smith will not attend camp.

Supporting Neurodiversity through Adaptive Programming provides online activities

By COLLEEN PATTERSON

F

or the first summer in 17 years, 22-year-old Carter Smith “We wanted to develop a resource for a population that is underwon’t be able to participate in Brock University’s Supporting resourced and where no resources exist,” says Experiential Education Neurodiversity through Adaptive Programming (SNAP) and the Co-ordinator, Inclusive and Adaptive Physical Activity Elyse Lappano.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Summer Movement Camp due to “Our regular volunteers have meaningful relationships with our COVID-19 — but SNAP is still striving to make a difference. participants and have created thoughtful, educational movement With in-person spring and summer programming cancelled to videos that can be used in several different ways.”

Each video can be played so the participant and parent or caregiver maintain physical distancing measures, SNAP is alleviating stress and keeping participants active and in routine with online home workouts. can do the activities with them and repeat over and over, or they can be “Similar to Carter, most of our participants have been attending our previewed and then embedded into the daily activities of the household.

Brock-led inclusive and adaptive programs since 1996,” says SNAP The video content is created with consideration for who is in each Founder and Kinesiology Professor Maureen Connolly. “For those who participant’s household. This may include parents who work, siblings joined SNAP in its fledgling years and grew along with us, this will be who are at home and people who no longer have respite. the first time they are not a part of our summer programs.”

“One of the first things we needed to ask ourselves was, ‘How do we SNAP and the ASD Camp provide developmentally appropriate do this in a way that is not laboursome, but embedded into a daily movement education-based embedded curriculum to children and routine?’” Lappano says. youth ages five and up experiencing disability in the Niagara region.

To incorporate activities in a seamless way, Connolly suggests Since June, home workouts will be posted online on the first and examples of the participant being active while helping a parent in the laundry room or transporting items from one room to another. fifteenth of each month until the end of August.

“This population of our community rely on structure and predictability,” “This is called embedding,” Connolly says. “The beauty of embedded Connolly explains. “We understand how these individuals process logic curriculum is that it can happen everywhere.” and the COVID pandemic is not logical for them.”

The creation of the home workout videos is entirely volunteer-driven Concerned for the health and well-being of SNAP participants and and goes above and beyond what is expected of Brock students. their support systems, the Brock team reached out to their dedicated “We want our participants and their families to know we have not student volunteers for assistance in creating video content in five abandoned them and are still trying to stay connected,” says Inclusive categories which support skill and motor development while mimicking and Adaptive Physical Activity Specialist Demi Toms.

For more information visit: familiar activities. brocku.ca/applied-health-sciences/kinesiology/snap-home-workouts

12

Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

Brock team identifies protein leading to allergic inflammation symptoms

By CATHY MAJTENYI

S

pring and summer air bring a welcome freshness for most, but also other things that cause many noses to run and eyes to water.

Antihistamines and decongestants can usually bring some temporary relief to the annoyance, pain and in some cases, danger arising from allergic reactions, but what if an allergic reaction could be stopped before symptoms start to appear? Or if the swelling, redness and tissue damage typical of the late phase of an allergic reaction could be prevented?

A Brock University research team has discovered that blocking a particular protein early in the process leading to an allergic reaction could essentially eliminate allergic symptoms.

“A major novelty of the finding is that this protein, which is pretty well-known and has

been looked at in a number of other cells and activated and sends out a signal that splits into contexts, happens to affect both the early and two. The research team found that one signal late phase of an allergic reaction,” says PhD leads to a process called degranulation, where student Colton Watson. cellular ‘packages’ called granules release The protein, called TAK1, is found in a molecules that lead to the hives, itchiness, number of cell types including mast cells, swelling and other immediate ‘early phase’ which are immune cells found in tissues such symptoms of an allergic reaction. as the skin, respiratory tract, digestive tract The other signal sets off two additional and other areas that are in contact with our pathways that produce proteins called cytokines and chemokines, designed to external environment.

Mast cells, like other immune cells, protect promote inflammation and recruit additional the body from infections caused by pathogens immune cells to fight off infection.

But what if there is no infection? such as parasites, bacteria and viruses, maintaining healthy tissue in the process.

Because the allergen itself is not a But strangely, mast cells can also react to dangerous pathogen, the proteins end up innocuous substances in the environment – causing further unnecessary inflammation pollen, animal dander, certain foods, among and tissue damage several hours later in the others – that should pose no real threat. These ‘late phase.’ are known as allergens.

“Mast cells are not evolutionarily This sets off a process in which TAK1 is programmed to do this,” says Adam MacNeil, Associate Professor of Health Sciences, who is Watson’s supervisor. “Allergens like peanuts or shellfish pose no real threat and as such, the aggressive immune response is misguided and harmful. It’s an inappropriate manifestation of the immune system; an overreaction to something that is innocuous and not dangerous.”

What’s unique about the team’s research compared to earlier studies is that they showed that TAK1 plays a profound role in bringing about allergic reactions through processes in mast cells and that inhibiting TAK1 stops the allergic events in their tracks preventing them from proceeding to the early and late stages of allergic reactions.

Watson and MacNeil stress that it’s too early to determine if drugs modelled from these findings can mitigate allergic reactions, saying that they and other researchers can build upon what they found in this study.

“The next step is to use the knowledge gained from this study to take rationale and Brock University PhD student Colton Watson, pictured, and Associate Professor of Health Sciences targeted strategies for novel therapeutic Adam MacNeil are heading up a research team that has discovered a new cellular mechanism design,” says MacNeil. responsible for allergic symptoms.

Alumni Insider

13

ALUMNI NEWS

Brock University Sport Management (SPMA) graduate Evan Gwartz (BSM ’15, MA ’17) returned to campus in February representing the Toronto Blue Jays Leadership Development Program for SPMA's annual Alumni Day.

Brock teams up with Toronto Blue Jays to develop future sport leaders

By COLLEEN PATTERSON

F

or Evan Gwartz, working for the Toronto Blue Jays means being a part of a learning culture that encourages professional and leadership development.

“Our motto is, ‘Get better every day,’” says Gwartz (BSM ’15, MA ’17). “Our leaders always encourage us to contribute and share ideas.”

Gwartz, who is the Co-ordinator, Client Services - Executive Suites for the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club, returned to campus in February for the eighth annual Department of Sport Management (SPMA) Alumni Day. “It is very empowering to work in such a respectful environment and I enjoyed being able to share and connect with Brock Sport Management students,” he says.

Representing the Toronto Blue Jays Leadership Development Program (LDP) in collaboration with the department’s Student

14

Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

Council, Gwartz provided students with the opportunity to experience what it’s like to work on a Blue Jays project through the second annual SPMA student case competition that was part of the Alumni Day agenda.

It was an opportunity for SPMA students to pitch proposed solutions to a real-world problem, showcasing what they’ve learned in the classroom and tips they’ve picked up while working in the field.

This year’s competition gave students three days to develop a solution to a scenario presented by the Toronto Blue Jays LDP, a 12-month opportunity for top talent to develop their professional skill set, including leadership skills, while contributing to shaping the Blue Jays culture.

“The intent of this case competition scenario was to create an environment where students

experienced working on a project that participants of the Blue Jays LDP would be a part of,” Gwartz says. “Everyone who works at Rogers Centre contributes to solving problems and achieving our business goals, and for an afternoon these competitors did too.”

The top teams delivered a 10- to 15-minute presentation about their case analysis to a panel of judges comprised of Blue Jays staff and Sport Management faculty and alumni.

“I value our organization’s learning culture,” says Gwartz. “Our leaders share with us and encourage us to contribute. Even if something doesn’t click, they still want to hear from us.

This competition connected with our program and was really about the process, learning and thinking critically about organizational issues.”

The winning team received a unique Blue Jays experience prize package.

FACULTY FOCUS

Stephen Cheung’s life has come full-cycle

By MICHELLE PRESSÉ

W

hen Stephen Cheung’s parents taught him how to ride a bicycle in their native Hong Kong, they likely had no idea where it would take him.

Cheung, a Professor of Kinesiology at Brock University and former Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Environmental Ergonomics, led a circuitous academic path. He got his first degree from the University of British Columbia in Oceanography and Zoology, neither of which have anything to do with humans and exercise.

“Once I decided I wanted to really pursue academics, I wanted to figure out how to make myself faster,” he says.

Cheung never thought of cycling as a sport until the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where Niagara’s Steve Bauer captured Canada’s first-ever road cycling Olympic medal — and Cheung’s attention — when he took silver.

It was a defining moment in Cheung’s life.

“I didn’t even know people raced bikes,” says Cheung. “I sat in front of the TV transfixed for three hours and then jumped on my old $100 department store bike and rode 35 km. I came home completely destroyed and exhausted but with a stupid grin on my face.”

Cheung says he owes everything good in his life to the sport. It’s how he met his wife, Debbie, with whom he has two sons.

“I played high school basketball, but I always tell my boys I was the star benchwarmer,” he says. “Nobody sat on the bench as long as I did.

With cycling, I thought, ‘You’re telling me there’s a sport with no coach telling me I can’t play? Okay, sign me up.’”

“ I took myself much further than I would’ve if someone was telling me exactly what I had to do. Brock trusted that I would push myself.”

– Stephen Cheung, Professor of Kinesiology

Stephen Cheung, Professor of Kinesiology at Brock University and former Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Environmental Ergonomics, describes his path as being somewhat circuitous. Photo courtesy of Jason Chow Photography.

Cheung’s first academic job was at Dalhousie University before being recruited to Brock with a CRC offer.

He recalls a meeting with then-Dean of Applied Health Sciences John Corlett, who told Cheung something that immediately made him feel at home.

“He basically said, ‘As a CRC, you may think that the University expects certain things from you, but we love what you do and just want you to do it here,’” says Cheung. “I took myself much further than I would’ve if someone was telling me exactly what I had to do. Brock trusted that I would push myself.”

And he certainly has.

One memorable study simulated an arctic survival situation in his lab’s temperature-controlled chamber, which involved participants shivering for 24 hours straight while eating survival rations and no water.

“What’s really fun about environmental physiology is that it’s intuitively obvious why it matters,” says Cheung. “Everybody has been cold; everybody’s been hot. This field allows you to use extreme temperature to push humans to extreme levels. People are inherently interested in seeing how far they can go.”

Life has come full circle for Cheung, who now often rides with Bauer.

They both belong to the St. Catharines Cycling Club, and the Steve Bauer trail winds its way behind Cheung’s Fonthill home.

“I started in kinesiology thinking I’d be a cycling scientist,” he says.

“Since early in my career, I’ve been writing a lot of sports science pieces about cycling for a website and also two books. Now I’m equally, if not more known, for my cycling science writing than my actual real science.

I’m not any faster on the bike, but am doing what I originally wanted to do going into grad school. It’s kind of funny how life works out.”

Alumni Insider

15

GROW YOUR NETWORK WITH TEN THOUSAND COFFEES Now available to all Faculties Today’s job market is largely about who you know. Thankfully, you have the whole Badger family in your back pocket.

Connect with fellow alumni or begin mentoring students today.

brocku.ca/alumni/ten-thousand-coffees