Professor honoured at Chinese university

Last fall, Professor Susan Cole was appointed an honorary professor at Jinan University in Guangzhou, China.

Dr. Cole was deputy provost between 2010 and 2012, and currently teaches in the department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, as well as Biomedical and Molecular Sciences. She is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Cancer Biology, and Bracken Chair in Genetics & Molecular Medicine.

Dr. Cole has worked on projects with researchers in Australia, France, Korea and the United States, and has been making connections with academics in China.

Her appointment is part of an endeavour to attract more foreign-trained scientists to China to help further Chinese research in biomedical and clinical sciences.

Dr. Cole’s principal research focuses on drug sensitivity and why some tumor cells are drug-resistant.

Her research team discovered MRP1, a protein that acts to pump drugs out of cells so the cells don’t die. This protein is relevant to certain cancers including neuroblastoma, a common childhood cancer that develops in the adrenal glands.

Dr. Cole has been working with the Children’s Cancer Institute in Sydey for 20 years, where she works on basic biology and the institute’s scientists perform translational and clinical work. Through this relationship she gains access to more funding and graduate students, something

she’s also hoping to gain from her honorary professorship in China.

— Chloe Sobel

Conference looks to attract research

In September, 160 students from 14 Canadian medical schools will visit Queen’s to attend the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS).

Queen’s hosting the event means increased exposure for the University. A keynote speaker from the School of Medicine will discuss what makes Kingston an ideal place for a residency.

The hope is that there will be more spots for Queen’s students. The coordinator, Branden Deschambault, plans to have as many as 20 spots open for Queen’s students.

The conference will review the initiatives of the CFMS, vote on member resolutions and listen to guest speakers and mentors.

There will also be a Lake Ontario boat cruise and a social at Confederation Place Hotel.

Deschaumbault hopes that guest speakers from the Kingston Economic Development Corporation and opportunities for the students to engage with Kingston’s amenities will attract the Kingston community to the conference.

Global health representatives from each attending school will have an internal conference to decide their priorities for the upcoming year.

The conference will take place from Sept. 19-21.

— Chloe Sobel

Sports group looks to raise awareness

On Jan. 11, the Queen’s Varsity Leadership Council (VLC) hosted a Mental Health Awareness Day. The event was funded by The Jack Project @ Queen’s Student Initiative Fund. The Jack Project provides grants for mental health events and activities.

Four student-led groups received the first round of grants from the fund: the VLC, the Canadian Undergraduate Conference on Healthcare, the AMS’s Mental Health Awareness Committee (MHAC) and the Peer Health Educator Mental Health Team.

Involved in the event alongside The Jack Project were MHAC, the Peer Support Centre and Frontenac Community Mental Health and Addiction Services.

The Mental Health Awareness Day coincided with women’s and men’s volleyball games against University of Waterloo.

Information booths were set up at the ARC, presenting mental health information and resources available on campus and in the Kingston community.

Applications for the next round of funding from The Jack Project are due Feb 1.

— Chloe Sobel

Historic letter on display

A limited edition illustrated copy of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter From Birmingham City Jail is now on display at Stauffer Library.

Activist Faith Ringgold visited Queen’s in September as the keynote speaker at the 20th anniversary celebration of the Queen’s Human Rights Office.

She gave HRO advisor Stephanie Simpson the book during her stay.

Letter was written by King in 1963.

The illustrated book was published by the Limited Editions Club in 2008.

Ringgold illustrated the book for the LEC, creating eight serigraph prints illustrating the struggles of the civil rights movement. The copy she gave to Simpson came from her private collection.

There are only 420 copies of the book, and their individual value is estimated over to be $5,000.

After receiving the book, Simpson immediately contacted librarian Barbara Teatro. She hopes the book will be used as a discussion point by Queen’s.

The book is now displayed at Stauffer Library, in front of the circulation desk.

— Chloe Sobel