Undecided on her career goal, Rita Watterson decided to spend a couple of years globetrotting after completing her undergraduate degree.

What she witnessed in those travels would come to shape her academic path. Her journey reaches a landmark on Thursday, May 9, when she graduates from the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine and begins a residency in psychiatry.

Currently, there is no cure for fibromyalgia but the guidelines set out the most appropriate management strategy.

A team of researchers at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) have discovered that adult brain cell production might be determined, in part, by the early parental environment. The study suggests that dual parenting may be more beneficial than single parenting.

Three University of Calgary researchers — David Hall, Dylan Pillai, and Ed Nowicki — were among 102 researchers from around the world awarded Grand Challenges Canada Stars in Global Health funding on Monday.

The University of Calgary has played a large role in a new collaborative study, published in Nature Genetics earlier this week.  Researchers identified twelve different genes believed to be the key players in the development of an autoimmune liver disease known as primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). PSC affects approximately 10 per cent of those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and there is currently no cure. The study’s discovery could lead to a stronger understanding of the disease as well as more effective personalized treatment options.

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Dr. Joseph (Joe) S. Davison who passed away on April 13, 2013.

Dr. Davison joined the Faculty of Medicine in 1982 as a professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics. He served as head of the department from 1988 through 1998, and was a founding member of the Gastrointestinal Research Group. Dr. Davison was most recently a professor in the departments of physiology and pharmacology, and medicine.

In memory of Dr. Davison, the Dr. Joseph S. Davison Memorial Award will be created at the University of Calgary to assist graduate students in the study of gastrointestinal physiology. Donations can be made online via: netcommunity.ucalgary.ca/davisonaward. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 10:30 a.m.

In the year 2000 there were about 10 cases of malaria in the city compared to 2011 when there were over 50 cases detected.

Four years ago, Michael Lang worked as a ski patroller, adventure guide, and was self-proclaimed as being fit and eating healthy (most of the time). Today, the University of Calgary Master of Science student has taken his life in a different direction, shifting his focus to young adults affected by cancer

Researchers at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute have discovered that stress circuits in the brain undergo profound learning early in life. These discoveries culminated in the publication of two back-to-back studies in the April 7 online edition of Nature Neuroscience, one of the world’s top neuroscience journals.

Dr. Beattie is currently Assistant Dean, Graduate Science Education, director of education for the Southern Alberta Cancer Research Institute (SACRI) and an associate professor in the departments of biochemistry and molecular biology, and oncology.

Research teams across Canada, including from the University of Calgary, will be working to develop personalized approaches to treating diseases with funding from the federal government.

A new study from the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine has shown there is a significant link between vitamin D insufficiency and adverse health outcomes in mothers-to-be and newborns. The study is published in the British Medical Journal today. Researchers carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of all existing evidence on the effect of vitamin D concentration on pregnancy and birth outcomes. Observational data has suggested a link between low vitamin D and increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, risk of infections, caesarean section, and fetal growth restriction such as low birth weight. Knowledge of these associations is however limited.

Medicine is associated with the sciences such as chemistry, biology and physiology; however, many medical professionals will say that the liberal arts and humanities, such as art, history and communications, also have a vital role in medicine and medical education. Earlier this month, the Faculty of Medicine hosted the first annual Humanities in Health Care symposium designed to promote greater use of the humanities in medical education, subsequently influencing practice.

Researchers investigated the appropriateness of low back and head MRIs and concluded many requests for these scans are not needed. In a joint study led by the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta, using methodology developed at the RAND Corporation, 2,000 MRI requisitions placed in Edmonton and Ottawa were examined to determine if they were appropriate. “We had suspected that MRI scans might be overused but we had to do the study to be sure,” says Dr. Tom Feasby, a neurologist at the University of Calgary and a member of the Institute for Public Health and the Hotchkiss Brain Institute. “We wanted to gather evidence to help make the health system safer and more effective.”

Individuals with developmental disabilities often face limited educational and employment opportunities, discrimination, and are subsequently more susceptible to live lives of poverty, social isolation, abuse and loneliness. The University of Calgary’s Anne Hughson, PhD, has dedicated the past 25 years of her work to initiate and implement inclusive post-secondary education opportunities for those with developmental disabilities in hopes that it will help them secure better employment opportunities. In February she was invited to attend the second annual ZeroProject conference held in Austria to present the work. The purpose of the conference was to discuss ideas, policies and practices that have been shown to help in overcoming barriers to people with disabilities securing employment.

University of Calgary microbiologist Carla Davidson, PhD, came in second on the reality television show, Canada’s Greatest Know-it-All. Davidson specializes in vaccine development and science outreach. She was one of 10 contestants competing for the title on the Discovery channel program

“It was a very unique group of people and we all approached problem solving in different ways,” says Davidson.  “It was a rare gift to be able to have that big of an adventure, and pit yourself against other people who think they're too smart for their own good.”

Three members of the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine are among those chosen by a peer-review panel of Canadian and international experts for the impact of their work on the health and well-being of Canadians and others worldwide.

Faculty of Medicine researcher Aaron Goodarzi is a new recipient of the Canada Research Chair in Genome Damage and Instability Disease. Canada Research Chair funding was also renewed for Deborah Marshall, Derek McKay, both from the Faculty of Medicine, and Masaki Hayashi, from the Faculty of Science.

Clinician researchers are offering help to expecting women who suffer from IBD. A new clinic at the Foothills Medical Centre has opened to offer advice, counseling, and specialized care for women with IBD who are pregnant or are looking to become pregnant.

A leading sports medicine researcher from the University of Calgary is the co-author of a just-published international report that offers a consensus view among scientists and doctors about the treatment of concussion.

Dialysis patients using catheters to access the blood have the highest risks for death, infections, and cardiovascular events compared with patients using other types of vascular access, according to an analysis appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The authors note that more research is needed to determine individual patients’ risks, however.

Corrine McDonald lost one of her best friends to cancer six years ago. So when the first-year medical student at the University of Calgary had a chance to help raise funds for cancer research, she volunteered — head-first, so to speak.

McDonald was one of 17 students who shaved their heads in support of medical research. The event, organized by the first-year medical school class, raised $21,500 for the Canadian Cancer Society towards the research and treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers.

While mindfulness may be practiced in many teachings of Buddhism, it’s a relatively new concept in terms of health-care application, and a new study from the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine has found that its practice may help breast cancer patients cope with their diagnoses.

Eight undergraduate students from the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine received funding as part of the Markin Undergraduate Student Research Project (USRP) in Health & Wellness, during the Fall 2012/Winter 2013 session.

Thanks to routine childhood immunization, Calgary is among the first cities in the world to record the near eradication of some of the more serious forms of illness caused by a common bacterium.

A new book addresses that question from the perspective of donor-conceived people. The Right to Know One’s Origins is a collection of essays from ethicists, legal scholars, heath scientists and donor conceived people that argues there should be a legal right to identity disclosure.

An Alberta research team is making significant advances in recognizing and treating the least understood and toughest-to-diagnose form of heart failure. Diastolic heart failure occurs when the heart fails to fill with enough blood because the heart muscle has become stiff. About 40 per cent of heart failure patients – roughly 32,000 Albertans – have diastolic heart failure but it can only be confirmed through diagnostic imaging exams, such as echocardiography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

Researchers in Calgary have launched the first gene therapy clinical trial in the world for Fabry disease, a rare inherited enzyme deficiency that can shorten the lifespan of people who have it by as much as 40 years.

Canada’s Greatest Know-It-All returns to the Discovery Channel for a second season and features a University of Calgary microbiologist as one of the contestants. Carla Davidson, PhD, specializes in vaccine development and science outreach. She is one of 10 contestants competing in the reality television show for the title of Canada’s Greatest Know it All.

Calgary hospitals are pushed to more than 100 per cent capacity with recent spikes of influenza and Norovirus cases. University of Calgary infectious disease experts indicate various reasons for the recent surge in both influenza and Norovirus-associated hospitalizations this year.

A funding injection of $4,739,000 from the Government of Canada through the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) will help complete the new Mobility and Joint Health research clinic at the University of Calgary. The facility is a cross-campus success story, with a multidisciplinary team of researchers representing several different faculties including medicine, engineering and kinesiology, working in one shared space.

The Faculty of Medicine will be hosting a unique wall-sized photo montage honouring Calgarians affected by dementia, their family members and care partners. The Unforgettable Tribute mural created by the Alzheimer Society of Calgary will be on display in the Health Research Innovation Centre atrium from Jan. 7 to 11 near the On The Go coffee area.