Nanoparticles a sight for sore eyes

For the millions of sufferers of dry eye syndrome, their only recourse to easing the painful condition is to use drug-laced eye drops three times a day. Now, researchers from the University of Waterloo have developed a topical solution containing nanoparticles that will combat dry eye syndrome with only one application a week.

The eye drops progressively deliver the right amount of drug-infused nanoparticles to the surface of the eyeball over a period of five days before the body absorbs them.  One weekly dose replaces 15 or more to treat the pain and irritation of dry eyes.

The nanoparticles, about 1/1000^th the width of a human hair, stick harmlessly to the eye’s surface and use only five per cent of the drug normally required.

“You can’t tell the difference between these nanoparticle eye drops and water,” said Shengyan (Sandy) Liu, a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Engineering, who led the team of researchers from the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Centre for Contact Lens Research. “There’s no irritation to the eye.”

Dry eye syndrome is a more common ailment for people over the age of 50 and may eventually lead to eye damage. More than six per cent of people in the U.S. have it. Currently, patients must frequently apply the medicine three times a day because of the eye’s ability to self-cleanse—a process which washes away 95 per cent of the drug. 

“I knew that if we focused on infusing biocompatible nanoparticles with Cyclosporine A, the drug in the eye drops, and make them stick to the eyeball without irritation for longer periods of time, it would also save patients time and reduce the possibility of toxic exposure due to excessive use of eye drops,” said Liu.

The research team is now focusing on preparing the nanoparticle eye drops for clinical trials with the hope that this nanoparticle therapy could reach the shelves of drugstores within five years. Liu’s research article, co-authored by eight others including Professors Frank Gu of Chemical Engineering and Lyndon Jones of the Faculty of Science's School of Optometry & Vision Science recently appeared in Nano Research, the leading publication on nanotechnology and nanoscience. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and 20/20: Ophthalmic Materials Network supported the research.

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Take Mental Health Wellness Day for a spin

A message from Sandra Gibson and Jennifer Yuen, Mental Health Wellness Day Co-Chairs.

Mental Health Wellness Day is Tuesday, October 21– Get out your orange t-shirts as our campus community rallies together to support mental health initiatives and resources for students, staff and faculty.

The sea of orange is a visual representation of the supportive environment here at University of Waterloo. Our key messages for on-campus support remain the same:   

• 1 in 5 Canadians will be affected by mental illness in their lifetime
• uWaterloo is a caring community and is a safe place to ask for help
• We have the resources to help you

To provide additional support to students, Mental Health Wellness has partnered with Good2Talk, a post-secondary student helpline available to Ontario students 24/7/365. Representatives from Good2Talk will be at the Student Life Centre on October 21st. Feel free to drop by and show your support for this important resource available to students. 

Students, staff and faculty are invited to support the Mental Health Wellness Day main event “Spin for Mental Health”. To reinforce the value of physical activity, fifteen stationary bikes will be set up in the Student Life Centre Great Hall from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the 21st. There are two ways to participate:

1. Register for a 15 minute session as a team or on your own.
2. Register for a 50 minute spin class at 4:00 p.m.

Following the main day kick off, eight weeks of mental health promotion activities are available for students to take part in. Visit uwaterloo.ca/1in5 for activities, dates and times. The calendar is being updated daily. 

Staff and faculty that are new to campus and need a t-shirt can email Sandra Gibson. Please include shirt size (S,M,L,XL,2XL) and delivery location.

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VP Research committee seeks feedback

A message from the Secretariat & Office of General Counsel.

Pursuant to Policy 68, a committee on the position of vice-president, university research has been established. The incumbent, Dr. George Dixon, is currently serving his second term in the position, and that term is due to expire in June 2015.

Policy 68 can be reviewed by following this link.

In accordance with paragraph 3.B of Policy 68, the committee is of the view that compelling reasons exist for appointing the incumbent to an additional two-year term, to expire 30 June 2017. The committee is interested in determining if there is strong support throughout the university for this reappointment.

According to the committee, the following are compelling reasons sufficient to justify reappointment:

• When the incumbent’s term was renewed in 2012, evidence gathered during the consultation process indicated exemplary performance by the incumbent.
• The university is in the midst of significant change in leadership positions, with a new vice-president, academic & provost, the prospect of four new deans by 1 July 2015, a search for a new associate provost, graduate studies, and the continuing process to identify a new vice-president, university relations. There is a compelling need for stability in the Office of Research in these circumstances.
• With the possibility of the Canada First Research Excellence Fund, and many other important research programmes, the university is presented with opportunities that are unique to this generation and hold transformational potential. It is vital to the university’s future that an experienced, dedicated leader be in place during this time.

All members of the university community are invited to submit their views on the reappointment of Dr. George Dixon as vice-president, university research for a two-year term to expire 30 June 2017. 

Send your comments to University Secretary & General Counsel Dr. Logan Atkinson, secretary to the committee, at logan.atkinson@uwaterloo.ca, not later than Friday 24 October 2014. Alternatively, you may correspond or speak with any member of the committee. Names of committee members and contact information can be found by following this link.

All submissions will be kept in the strictest confidence.

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Building a vibrant and thriving city

This is the latest in a series of #UWCommunity weekly features that highlight Waterloo in the community

Culture is a vital part of a thriving economy and impacts the quality of life of a city's residents. The City of Waterloo recently sought to create a 10-year culture plan, which was approved by Council nearly a year ago.  The City's plan is the culmination of a broad public consultation process and now depicts a collective vision for culture in our community.   

The ultimate goal is to position Waterloo an even more vibrant and creative city in which to live, work, learn and play. Students, faculty and staff at the University of Waterloo contributed to the development of the Culture Plan and look forward to working with the City to implement many of the recommendations.

Our community identified one such recommendation - to work more closely with post-secondary institutions and stakeholders to break down barriers between campuses and the community.

One barrier identified is limited opportunities for post-secondary students to connect with their community and for the community to connect with students. By facilitating opportunities for connection between students and our community, we hope to foster a greater sense of belonging and community pride that would see larger numbers of post-secondary students choose to remain in Waterloo long after they graduate.

The Culture Plan also saw our broader community acknowledge a lack of opportunity to connect with the post-secondary institutions. By increasing community access to UWaterloo events and cultural assets, such as concerts, lectures, art galleries and museums, we hope begin to break down this perceived barrier between our campus and local residents.

With a goal of strengthening a sense of connectedness between our students and community, UWaterloo is working collaboratively with the City of Waterloo, community members and other stakeholders to improve opportunities for our broader community to access campus, and for our students to continue to become active participants in our vibrant and thriving city.

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Long Weekend closings and other notes

LEARN will be down on Sunday, October 12 from 1:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. for maintenance. In a perfect world, however, students would be too busy enjoying the Thanksgiving Long Weekend to worry about their course management system. That's right, Monday is a holiday, and so University offices and most services will be closed, and classes will not be held. To summarize:

The Physical Activities Complex and Columbia Icefield are open from 11:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and are closed Monday.

The Dana Porter and Davis Centre libraries will be open normal hours on Saturday and Sunday, and from noon to 6:00 p.m. on Monday.

All Retail Services stores and media.doc locations will be closed Saturday and Monday.

Most Food services outlets are closed, with the exception of Mudie's in Village 1, whose weekend hours are:

• Saturday, October 11: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
• Sunday, October 12: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
• Monday, October 13: 9:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. (Tuesday, October 14)

In addition, the Tim Hortons in the Student Life Centre will be closed on Saturday, Sunday, and Thanksgiving Monday.

As always, the university police (519-888-4911 or ext. 22222) will be at work, the Student Life Centre (519–888-4434) will be open, and the central plant will monitor campus buildings (for maintenance emergencies call ext. 33793). The campus should be back to normal on Tuesday morning. Enjoy the long weekend, everyone!

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