(April 22, 2009 --Thunder Bay, ON)
The Paleo-DNA Laboratory's 2009 Ancient DNA Training Program runs from May 11 to May 29, 2009. Lakehead's Paleo-DNA Laboratory is the only facility in the world that offers a training program in extraction, amplification, sequencing, and analysis of ancient nucleic acids (aDNA). Students will learn to isolate and analyze DNA, and can then apply this knowledge to further their studies in the field of DNA analysis. The program is an intensive 18 days of lectures and laboratory work, culminating in student presentations. Since 1999, 156 students from many scientific disciplines from around the world have completed this program. There are no pre-requisites required.

Lakehead University Professor of Anthropology Dr. Carney Matheson will be the main lecturer this year, with talks by Renee Fratpietro, Operations Supervisor, Steve Fratpietro, Technical Manager, and Kristin Stewardson, Laboratory Technician from the Paleo-DNA Laboratory. Guest lecturers include Dr. Alex Greenwood, from Old Dominion University, Dr. Marie Danforth of the University of Southern Mississippi and Dr. John Th'ng of the Northwestern Ontario Regional Cancer Centre.

Renee Fratpietro explains, "During the program, students work in small, independently supervised groups and proceed gradually through the various stages of aDNA analysis. Lectures by professors and senior analysts on a wide variety of aDNA topics are integrated with the laboratory sessions." The program concludes with a conference of student presentations followed by the awarding of certificates of completion to successful students.

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is found in almost all living cells, and carries the coded information that determines a person's characteristics. This code is inherited from a person's parents, and it can be used to examine genetic relationships. Biologically, DNA is essential to life. DNA is an increasing part of everyday lives, with immigration processes, the police, and the judicial system all relying on formal DNA testing as part of their fact-finding procedures.

Those interested in learning more about the study of DNA are encouraged to register for the 2009 Ancient DNA Training program. The course runs Monday to Friday from 9:00 - 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. for three weeks. For complete program details contact the Administrative Coordinator of the program, Cheryl Jaspers, at 343-8862, or e-mail cjaspers@lakeheadu.ca.


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Media: Renee Fratpietro and Dr. Carney Matheson are available for media interviews. For more information contact Lisa Pelot, Communications Officer, at 343-8177, or commun@lakeheadu.ca

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,900 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

(April 21, 2009 --Thunder Bay, ON)
On Friday, May 1, 2009, the Lakehead University Instructional Development Centre, and the Senate Teaching and Learning Committee will present the 4th Annual Teaching and Learning Symposium. The symposium will take place in ATAC 1001 in Thunder Bay, and videoconferenced in HP0008 at Orillia Campus. The theme of the symposium is "Teaching as Activism."

Teaching as Activism is an idea inspired by a book by the late Dr. Peggy Tripp, who taught on a wide range of issues including feminism, biology, and forestry. According to Tripp the reward of teaching is "in the creation of opportunities for expressing your values, and in the satisfaction of expressing them well." Leesa Fawcett, Associate Professor in Environmental Studies, and Science & Technology Studies at York University in Toronto, will give the keynote address at the symposium, entitled, Teaching As If the World Mattered. Fawcett's intellectual work is rooted in a commitment to social and environmental justice. She teaches courses in environmental education; nature, technology and society studies; human-animal relations; and research methods.

Symposium chair and Assistant Professor in Lakehead's Faculty of Education, Dr. Donald Kerr, says, "The idea of teaching as a form of activism can be explored from a variety of dimensions and perspectives, and that is what the symposium is all about. Reflecting on teaching as activism forces us to
think about our own values, and the relationship between these and our teaching."

Some of the topics covered will be how we define and understand activism in our teaching, teacher identity and activism, inquiry-based activism, hopeful activism, the local context of activism, and the limits and dangers of activism in teaching. Titles of presentations include,The Moral Obligations and Dangers of Activism in the Classroom, A Message from Middle-earth: Ecocriticism and Tolkien's Work, Teaching as Activism: Purpose, Process, and Product, Approaching Ecological Literacy Through Hopeful Activism, among others.

Attendance at the symposium is free of charge. To register, e-mail Cathy Ridley at cridley@lakeheadu.ca. For more information and the full agenda visit http://idc.lakeheadu.ca/wp/?pg=52


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Media: Dr. Don Kerr is available for media interviews. For more information contact Lisa Pelot, Communications Officer, at 343-8177, or commun@lakeheadu.ca

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,900 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

(April 20, 2009 --Thunder Bay, ON)
Lakehead University Social Sciences & Humanities researchers are ecstatic! The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) recently granted Lakehead's most substantial grants to date, totalling $2,456,394. This figure is almost triple the funding announced in previous years.

Vice President (Research) at Lakehead University, Dr. Rui Wang says, "Everyone is delighted with the results given that nationally the quest for SSHRC funding is highly competitive. Lakehead has established research as a priority, and we have made consistent upward moves in research intensity, as indicated by independent research-intensity rankings. With researchers and administration working together toward this goal, success is inevitable."

"These grants for the social sciences and humanities exemplify the excellence in research done at Lakehead," says Dr. Fred Gilbert, President, Lakehead University. "I commend all of Lakehead's SSHRC winners. Their work adds to the rich diversity of the research culture on campus, and this round of achievements helps solidify Lakehead University's position as a leading-edge research institution."

Lakehead University will be holding a press announcement and reception next week to honour and recognize its full roster of successful SSHRC grantees, at which time SSHRC researchers will talk about their new research initiatives and impacts on the community.


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Media: For more information on SSHRC, contact Anne Klymenko at 343-8223 or anne.klymenko@lakeheadu.ca. For further information on the upcoming media event, please contact Lisa Pelot at 807-343-8177 or commun@lakeheadu.ca

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,900 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

(April 17, 2009 --Thunder Bay, ON)
This spring, Lakehead University - Orillia Campus is offering a unique learning experience. Dr. Dean Jobin-Bevans, Assistant Professor in the Department of Music at Lakehead University will be on site at the Orillia Campus to teach Opera: From Production to Performance. Those interested are encouraged to register for the course, which begins May 4, and runs until May 25.

The course is designed for the opera lover, or the opera-curious. Through listening and viewing of opera productions, students will examine all aspects of the world of opera, from its origins in Italy around 1600, to the greatest operas of all time; the productions (costumes, sets, and lighting), and the celebrity singers from Jessye Norman and Luciano Pavarotti, to Anna Netrebko and Juan Diego Flórez - the latter being two of the hottest names in the world of opera today.

Jobin-Bevans says, "The course is interactive, with a focus on listening, viewing, and discussing what makes opera opera, and contemporary society's changing views about opera in the context of musical theatre's rise in popularity. The 'business' aspects of opera will also be explored, which includes coming to understand why some operas are performed more than others."

Other spring offerings at Orillia Campus include Geography of Canada; Geography Field School in Simcoe County; International History; History of French Canada; Introduction to Social Welfare; Foundations of Social Work Practice; Sociology of Women; Grammar for Teachers; and The Psychology of Education. Interested students who lack prerequisites are strongly encouraged to call Student Services for permission. For a complete listing of additional Distributed Learning courses (online and print), please contact the campus for details, or visit the Continuing Education and Distributed Learning website at cedl.lakeheadu.ca.

Applications are still being considered for full-time and part-time study for September 2009.

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Media: Dr. Dean Jobin-Bevans is available for media interviews regarding Opera, and can be reached at 807-346-7748. Please contact Student Services staff regarding additional educational opportunities at the Orillia Campus, at 705-330-4019, or orillia@lakeheadu.ca. For more information contact Lisa Pelot, Communications Officer, at 807-343-8177, or commun@lakeheadu.ca

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,900 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

The Advanced Institute for Globalization + Culture (aig+c) proudly presents independent writer, curator, and art historian, Dr. Elizabeth McLuhan, on, "The Shaman's Garden: Anishnaabe Traditions and the Roots of Morrisseau's Global Vision." Everyone is invited to this, the second public lecture of the aig+c in 2009-10, which takes place April 17.

McLuhan is a founding Board member of the Norval Morrisseau Heritage Society, and was one of the first art curators to work with Morrisseau. While Curator at the Thunder Bay National Exhibition Centre, she co-curated with Tom Hill the ground-breaking exhibition and book, Norval Morrisseau and the Emergence of the Image Makers, which examined the context and development of Morrisseau's work and its resulting impact on the generation of artists that followed.

The aig+c was founded to provide a platform for advanced research on any subject of relevance to our transnational reality, including the roles that culture plays as inspiration, challenge, and economic stimulus. To become a member of the aig+c, click here.

For details on McLuhan's talk, visit http://theagency.lakeheadu.ca/images/stories/aig11x17200res.jpg

(April 14, 2009 --Thunder Bay, ON)
What is the role of human values in health care? Is health care ethics based on genuine human values? These are some of the questions that Dr. Tom Koch, Adjunct Professor of Medical Geography at the University of British Columbia, will address at his upcoming talks hosted by Lakehead University. Koch will present Is Health Care Ethics Really Based on Genuine Human Values? on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Joseph's Hospital, Conference Room 3, as part of Lakehead's Centre for Health Care Ethics' Encounters in Bioethics session.

Topics for discussion during the address include:

? Re-thinking recent cases: Terry Schiavo and Samuel Golubchuk
? Should limited economic assumptions be used to deny life-saving interventions?
? Are all human beings cared for, or only those labelled "persons"?
? Can individual choices be denied in the context of human rights rhetoric?

Dr. Jaro Kotalik, Director of the Centre for Health Care Ethics says, "Health care ethics is relevant to the lives of everyone; the importance of having open dialogue about this topic cannot be underestimated. Dr. Koch brings us an opportunity to examine, or re-examine, difficult questions related to health care, and thereby, to bring ethically sound practices to our citizens and our community."

Dr. Koch will also be presenting, "Disease Cartography: Revisiting the John Snow Cholera Map," hosted by the Department of Geography on Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. in ATAC 1007.

This talk is related to Dr. Koch's work on a book on the Geography of Disease over the last 300 years. Part of that research involves a reanalysis of the famous Broad Street map of John Snow, a British Medical Doctor who mapped the cholera outbreak in London, England in 1854, which showed the common cause to be a drinking water well.

Koch poses the question, why was John Snow unable to convince the people of his day? Why was his map, so convincing to us, unconvincing to his contemporaries? Koch's reanalysis, which makes use of 19th century data and technology, as well as GIS, is meant to answer that question.

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Media: Dr. Tom Koch and Dr. Jaro Kotalik are available for media interviews. For more information contact Lisa Pelot, Communications Officer, at 343-8177, or commun@lakeheadu.ca

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,900 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

(April 9, 2009 --Orillia, ON)
The Mariposa Folk Foundation and Lakehead University - Orillia Campus have partnered to offer two days of creative arts workshops on July 2 and 3, 2009, just prior to the Mariposa Folk Festival. Registration for the workshops opened April 1, and those who sign up early may take advantage of a substantial EarlyBird discount.

Participants can choose from a selection of 2.5 hour workshops in photography, singing, songwriting, and printmaking. EarlyBird fees are $24 per workshop. After May 24, workshop prices will be $35. All classes will be held at Lakehead University - Orillia Campus, located at 1 Colborne St. West.

"We have an incredible array of very experienced and dynamic facilitators, and I can't wait to see people expand their horizons," said Lakehead University instructor Linda Rodenburg. "This is set up so that people can develop an existing interest or try something completely new."

Innovative professional photographer Peter Stranks will assist participants in exploring inventive photographic techniques using their own cameras. Singer-songwriter Alyssa Wright, well-known chanteuse, cellist, and half of the folk-duo "The Brights," will encourage both beginning and more experienced singers to take their voices to the next level.

Local artist Juliana Hawke will use a variety of lino-print techniques to help students produce art prints. Accomplished singer-songwriter, and established songwriting instructor Paul Court (Blood and Fire: the Donnelly Project), will lead aspiring and veteran songwriters in songwriting strategies. This workshop is sure to get songs started and finished, and to help overcome writers' block.

Those interested are encouraged to visit www.mariposafolk.com for more information. Information will also be available at the Mariposa Folk Foundation office at 37 Mississaga Street West, Orillia, or by calling (705) 326-2655.


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Media: Linda Rodenburg is available for media interviews. For more information contact Carolyn Rimkey at 705-330-4088 or Lisa Pelot, Communications Officer, at 807-343-8177.

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,900 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

(April 8, 2009 --Thunder Bay, ON)
Lakehead University has rewarded high school students who have shown inventive use of software skills. In a move to identify and recruit local talent, the Department of Software Engineering "invented" an annual contest open to high school students, called Software Innovate. The call for submissions went out to high school students in the region last February, and the judging took place recently.

Dr. Rachid Benlamri, Associate Professor in the Department of Software Engineering and contest organizer, says, "We are impressed with the submissions we have received from the high school students. They show great ingenuity and promise, and we would be pleased if these students would consider attending Lakehead University for their post-secondary education."

Third place winners are Andrea Warywoda and Craig Macsemchuk of Sir Winston Churchill Collegiate and Vocational Institute for their project, JNetProtect, which filters web traffic by IP, location, and other factors. The prize was a $200 Gift Certificate for Future Shop.

Second place went to Christopher Syposz of Saint Patrick High School, whose submission Servo Motor Control is controlled through the conversion of an analog and digital signal. A Servo is a small device used in radio controlled airplanes to position control surfaces like the elevators and rudders. Christopher took home a $300 Gift Certificate for Future Shop.

First place was nabbed by Timothy Schonberger of Sir Winston Churchill Collegiate and Vocational Institute with his project, A Game Simulator: The Adventures of Mr. Hat. This is an interactive game with excellent visual effects, and good computer graphics animation. The Adventures of Mr. Hat is a platform/sideshooter-based game in which the user, as Mr. Hat, makes his/her way through levels. When hit by an enemy or obstacle, Mr Hat loses health, eventually dying, when he runs out of health entirely. The user encounters power-ups in the form of hats, which grant Mr Hat health, and therefore, more chance of finishing the level.

"Timothy Schonberger has demonstrated excellent programming skills and creativity in the game design," says Dr. Benlamri. Schonberger collected a $500 Gift Certificate for Future Shop for his efforts.

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Media: Dr. Rachid Benlamri and Timothy Schonberger are available for media interviews. For more information contact Lisa Pelot, Communications Officer, at 343-8177, or commun@lakeheadu.ca

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,900 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

(April 07, 2009 --Thunder Bay, ON)
Researchers in Canada and Australia have responded positively to graduate student Carissa Isaac's MSc thesis entitled, Stable isotope (N, O, H) geochemistry, petrology and compositions of biotite of the Musselwhite Mine, Ontario: implications for mineralisation. Not only will they be pursuing the project, which involves gold mineralisation at Musselwhite Mine located on the southern shore of Lake Opapimiskan, in northern Ontario, but they will be doing so with $15,000 in funding provided by Musselwhite.

"The project involves investigating how gold deposits such as in Musselwhite form," says Dr. Pete Hollings, Associate Professor of Geology at Lakehead University. "The applications of this kind of research were immediately clear to me, as it also was to my Australian colleague Dr. John Walshe." Dr. Walshe is a geochemist with CSIRO, and Chief Research Scientist at the Australian Resources Research Centre (ARRC) at Kensington, Perth, Western Australia (WA).

Dr. Hollings explains, "The planned research will build on the preliminary data set collected by Carissa to see if her ideas and models can be extended throughout the deposit. The long-term objective is to determine the source for the gold, and identify fluid pathways. By identifying the pathways we hope that we can assist Musselwhite in their exploration for more gold both within the mine and in adjacent areas."

Isaacs says, "I am thrilled that my research is going to be followed up by Dr. Hollings and Dr. Walshe. Obviously, this signifies that my research is on the right track." Isaacs is currently preparing a paper for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, and applying to the PhD program in Geology at the University of Western Australia.

Musselwhite Mine is a fly-in fly-out, 4,000 tonne per day underground gold producer. Beginning commercial production in 1997 with almost two million ounces in reserves and a nine-year mine life, Musselwhite has since reached production milestones of a quarter of a million ounces of gold annually. With existing mineral reserves, Musselwhite has an expected mine life through to 2013.



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Media: Dr. Pete Hollings, and Carissa Isaacs are available for media interviews. For more information contact Lisa Pelot, Communications Officer, at 343-8177, or commun@lakeheadu.ca

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,900 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

(April 6, 2009 --Thunder Bay, ON) The 7th Annual TD Canada Trust Northwestern Ontario High School Mathematics Competition takes place Thursday, April 23, at 9:00 a.m., in the Ryan Building at Lakehead University. The contest has two parts: an individual contest which takes place in the morning, and a team competition taking place in the afternoon. Many high school students from the region have signed up to participate.

The applications of Mathematics are manifold, says Associate Professor of Mathematics at Lakehead University, Dr. Razvan Anisca. "Mathematics is the backbone of our quantitative and technological advances. Increasingly, it is becoming clear that math makes an impact in the life sciences as well as outside the sciences, in economics, sociology, and business," he says. "Mathematics gives industry the edge."

The TD Canada Trust Northwestern Ontario High School Mathematics Competition tests students' ability to solve challenging problems related to their curriculum. Winners of the contest will receive medals and cash prizes. An Entrance Prize for the top Grade 12 student attending Lakehead University in September 2010 is also up for grabs. Last year, the competition had more than 160 participants, including some students from the Geraldton, Terrace Bay, Wawa, and Atikokan.

"The purpose of this particular math contest is to stimulate and develop the mathematical talents of these students, boost their confidence, and invigorate Mathematical interest overall," explains Dr. Anisca. "Mathematics is a group, and social activity, and this competition emphasizes these aspects through concentration on team problem solving. In my experience, those who participate particularly enjoy the team aspect."

In preparation for the contest, tutorials are held at Lakehead University every Wednesday from 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. in Ryan Building 2023.

"Northwestern Ontario has been home to many talented young people who, over the years, have done well in the established Mathematics contests run both nationally and internationally. They have developed successful careers in Mathematically related fields."

To find out how you can participate, contact Dr. Anisca at 343-8681.


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Media: Dr. Razvan Anisca is available for media interviews. For more information contact Lisa Pelot, Communications Officer, at 343-8177, or commun@lakeheadu.ca

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,900 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca