LFS Today Nov 6, 2020

SOIL 500 Graduate Seminar Series – Today

Date: Friday, November 6, 3:00pm
Title: Long Term Forest Soil Productivity: effects related to organic matter removal and compaction on soil nutrient pool & microbial activity
Speaker: Jordy Kersey, PhD student (supervisor Sean Smukler)
Abstract & bio available here.

If you have registered previously for one of our seminars, you do not need to register again – the weekly zoom link is the same.
If you need registration information, please email sandra.brown@ubc.ca.

Student Leadership Conference Awards

Each year, the Student Leadership Conference (SLC) honours students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership within the UBC community and beyond. The nominations for the following leadership awards are now open and we encourage you to nominate an LFS student (either undergraduate or graduate):

• The Nestor Korchinsky Award recognizes one individual who has made significant impact in the community and demonstrated outstanding leadership through their initiatives.
• The Showcase Awards recognize four student groups or organizations for their contributions and impacts on or off campus.
• The Faces of Today Awards recognize eight individuals who have had extensive involvement and commitment to student leadership.

Click here to access the nomination form for all awards. Applications are open until Friday, November 20.

Please email Thilini, Student Engagement Officer, thilini.leitan@ubc.ca if you have any questions.

Random Acts of Recognition

Congratulations to Random Acts of Recognition recipients:

Imelda Cheung for her hard work on updating the LFS intranet (my.landfood.ubc.ca). These changes have greatly increased the functionality, appearance and ease of use. With the COVID-19 situation resulting in many changes to the operational procedures, this portal adds clarity and helps keep the LFS community informed.

Candice Rideout for always giving 100% and going above and beyond to provide her first year LFS 100 students a welcoming university experience. From the music added to the opening lecture slides to the support she provides the TAs, it’s clear that a lot of thought is being put into the class. Working with her has been a pleasure!

To nominate a faculty member, staff or graduate student that’s been doing an outstanding job or has gone above and beyond in some way, send an email to lfs.recognition@ubc.ca and tell us why this person should be recognized. We’ll send them a $6 Starbucks gift card and acknowledge their good work in LFS Today.

Affiliated Fellowships-Master’s and CGS-M Competitions

Please let Lia know about your intention of applying by Nov 15, 2020 (lia.maria@ubc.ca).

UBC Affiliated Fellowships-Master’s
The UBC Affiliated Fellowships Master’s competition runs in concert with the Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s (CGS-M; see below) competition. Approximately 50 fellowship with values ranging from $175 to $16,000 are offered through this competition. Current and prospective full-time UBC-Vancouver graduate students can apply regardless of citizenship or visa status. Students who are eligible for the CGS-M must submit a CGS-M application in order to additionally be considered for Affiliated funding.

Detailed Affiliated Fellowships-Master competition information with links to application and reference forms is available at:
https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/affiliated-fellowships-masters-program

Tri-Agency Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s (CGS-M)
Applicants for Tri-Agency CGS-M competition must be domestic students (Canadian citizen or PR) who are applying for or enrolled in graduate studies anywhere in Canada. Each applicant can select up to 3 universities with the same application. To be considered for a CGS-M at UBC, they must select The University of British Columbia as one of the 3 available institutions.

Details about this award opportunity, including eligibility and evaluation criteria, are available at:
http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/PG-CS/CGSM-BESCM_eng.asp
and on the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Graduate Studies at:
https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/canada-graduate-scholarships-masters-cgs-m-program

Students who apply for CGS-M awards will automatically be considered for open/un-restricted Affiliated Fellowships. To be considered for criteria-based Affiliated Fellowships, students should fill out and submit to their graduate programs the checklist available at:
https://www.grad.ubc.ca/forms/list-criteria-based-affiliated-fellowships

UBC Deadlines for the Tri-Agency CGS-M / Affiliated Fellowships Master’s Competitions
Applicant deadline: 5:00 pm PST on Tuesday, 1 December 2020
Graduate program nomination deadline:  4:00 pm PST on Friday, 29 January 2021

Important notes:

• Importance of the application deadline.  CGS-M applications cannot be submitted or edited after the application deadline.  Late applications will be ruled ineligible.  The CGS-M application deadline is set nationally by the CGS-M funding agency and is not flexible.
• Please ask for reference letters early and send the instructions to your referees: http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ResearchPortal-PortailDeRecherche/Instructions-Instructions/CGSM_REF-BESCM_REF_eng.asp
• Check early if you have all of the official transcripts for all previous studies (including transfer credits).
• Note that although the SISC academic history document is accepted for UBC CGS-M applications, it may not be accepted by other universities in Canada, so students applying elsewhere in addition to UBC should order official UBC transcripts.

It would help us greatly if applicants used the same email in their CGS-M Research Portal login as in eVision or SIS. This is absolutely not a requirement, but it helps route the applications to correct programs quicker after the application deadline.

The Code of Life: A Genome BC Podcast

Join host Randene Neill for episode eight of Genome BC’s podcast, the Code of Life, as she interviews Drs. Beth Simpson and Sheila Singh to learn how game changing genomics technology could make a difference toward curing two incurable diseases.

Two scientists recently shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for transforming an obscure bacterial immune mechanism, called CRISPR, into “genetic scissors” – an editing tool for re-writing the code of life. The two female Nobel Prize winners accomplished this through collaboration – which is exactly how two Canadian scientists – also women – are working to crack the code on two incurable diseases – a type of congenital blindness in children, and a deadly form of brain tumours.

You can view all episodes in the podcast here.

Health Canada’s 2020 Virtual Stakeholder Meeting on Health Products

In the face of this challenging pandemic, Health Canada is inviting participants to a discussion on their current regulatory response to COVID-19. Health Canada leaders will share their perspectives on regulatory agility and opportunities for future regulatory modernization.

When: December 4, 2020, from 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM (PST)
Register here by November 25.

Agenda

• Health Canada’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic – Dr. Stephen Lucas, Deputy Minister, Health Canada
• Keynote Address: COVID-19 Impacts for the Health and Biosciences Sector – Karimah Es Sabar, Chief Executive Officer and Partner, Quark Venture, and Chair of the Health and BioSciences Economic Strategy Table
• Presentation and Panel Discussion: Regulatory Agility in Health Canada’s Response to COVID-19
• Audience Question and Answer Period

Land Economics Society Research Grant

The LAI (Land Economics Society), Vancouver Chapter has put out a call for proposals for a $5,000 research grant in the field of Land Economics.

‘Land economics’ is regarded by LAI in a broad sense – including disciplines such as land development, planning, economy, land law, valuation, tax policy, housing, transportation, sustainability, resilience, environment, and the economic impacts of urban design, architecture, reconciliation, arts, culture, and social programs. Considering current concerns, research on COVID responses to land economics issues are welcomed.  Research studies should be relevant to the Lower Mainland Region of British Columbia.

Applicants may be academics, professionals, or graduate students engaged in research in land economics. Deadline to submit proposals is December 4, 2020 (4:30 pm PST).

For further information please review the proposal call and application or contact Dr. Ann McAfee (amcafee@shaw.ca).