Deadline looms for accessibility training

"By January 1, 2012, all employees, who have not yet done so, must complete training required under the Access for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)," says a memo from Associate Provost, Students Bud Walker that was sent out across faculties and departments last Thursday. This applies to full-time, part-time, temporary, contract staff and faculty.

Continues the memo: "The AODA is an Act that provides for accommodation for persons with disabilities. The first area of the Act that needs immediate attention is known as the "Customer Service” requirement. It refers to the consideration people must have when interacting with a person who has a disability. The other four areas come into play beginning next year."

Customer Service training is available in one of two ways. Employees can complete a set of three online modules, a commitment of approximately two hours, or they can read a 13-page document, which should take about 20 minutes.

These options can be accessed by the links above or from the website of the Office for Persons with Disabilities. WatIAM credentials are necessary for logging into the modules and confirming completion of training.

In addition, Organizational and Human Development is providing training and awareness to staff without computer access in Plant Operations and Food Services.

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Countering disease with lifestyle changes

by Kirsten Bell

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer among Canadian women. Although survival rates are high — 89 per cent of newly diagnosed patients will achieve 5-year survival — patients tend to develop secondary diseases, like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even cancer reoccurrence, once they recover from breast cancer. (At left, a breast cancer cell.)

Traditionally, cancer research has focused on tumour elimination and paid little attention to overall patient health. A new study in the Nutrition and Metabolism Laboratory in the Department of Kinesiology is looking into ways to counter the secondary diseases that tend to develop after recovery from breast cancer. The laboratory, led by Dr. Marina Mourtzakis, is currently involved in a randomized control trial that is comparing the effects of an exercise training program combined with nutrition consults, to usual care for breast cancer, on the body composition and metabolism of breast cancer patients who are receiving treatment.

The lab takes a unique and integrative approach to breast cancer research. The research team, consisting of three graduate students, assesses the changes in fat mass and muscle mass (i.e. body composition) that occur in breast cancer patients over the course of treatment.

The laboratory is interested in examining how these changes in body composition may be associated with changes in metabolism, nutrition and exercise capacity. This approach extends not only to breast cancer, but the lab’s studies in prostate cancer, ICU patients, and an upcoming study in renal cancer.

Although all patients are expected to gain fat and lose muscle over the course of treatment, it is thought that patients who participate in the exercise and nutrition consult program will gain less fat and preserve more muscle, and thus have a healthier metabolism compared to patients receiving usual care. The laboratory’s findings regarding the effect of exercise and proper nutrition on metabolism will be helpful in countering the secondary diseases that tend to develop after recovery from breast cancer.

The results of this study will be useful in designing effective and appropriate training programs and nutrition advice for breast cancer patients to improve disease-free survival rates. The research will also help improve overall patient health using lifestyle changes that are accessible to the general population.

Students in the laboratory are currently embarking on the next phase of the study, which examines the differences in nutrition, metabolism and body composition between breast cancer patients and healthy women who are of similar age and body mass index. The laboratory is currently recruiting healthy women between the ages of 30 – 65 to participate in a nutrition, metabolism, body composition and exercise evaluation. Participants will receive the results of all their assessments (valued at over $100) and feedback on their nutrition and exercise habits. Women interested in the study may contact Kirsten Bell (MSc Candidate) by email ke2bell@ uwaterloo.ca or phone 519-888-4567 ext. 38588.

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IQC Director named APS Fellow

For his pioneering contributions to quantum information science, Institute for Quantum Computing Executive Director Raymond Laflamme (right) has earned a fellowship in the American Physical Society.

The selection committee recognized Laflamme “for his visionary leadership in the field of quantum information science, and for his numerous fundamental contributions to the theoretical foundations and practical implementation of quantum information processing, especially quantum error correction and linear optical quantum computing.”

The American Physical Society is the world’s second-largest association of physicists, and publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including Physical Review and Physical Review Letters.

“It is a great honour to be named an APS fellow, and I am delighted that my work has been recognized by the scientific community of the American Physical Society,” said Laflamme. “But such work would not be possible without the vital collaborations I’ve had with colleagues including the faculty, postdoctoral fellows and students at IQC, as well as within the university and abroad.”

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And finally a correction to note: yesterday it was reported that the "Mental Health Issues in the Workplace" event held Friday was organized by the Office of Human Development. In fact, OHD was but one party involved: Occupational Health, Human Resources, the faculty association, the staff association, CUPE 793, and benefit carrier Great West Life were also organizers and supporters of the initiative.

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