Recipients 2013

Since its launch in 2011, the PDF Travel Awards have helped many UBC PDFs attend conferences to present their work, enriching their PDF experience and helping anchor them within the academic world. Please read below to find out more about past award recipients.

PDFO Travel Awards awarded in 2013:

Name Department, Faculty Conference - Date Attended Location
Quarter 1:      
Jane Lister Liu Institute for Global Issues, Arts International Studies Association Annual Conference, March 2013

San Francisco, CA, USA

Quarter 2:      
Walter Karlen Electrical and Computer Engineering, Applied Science Global Health and Innovation Conference, April 2013 New Haven, CT, USA
Bobby Fokidis Psychiatry, Arts North American Society for Comparative Endocrinology, May 2013 Queretaro, Mexico
William Nikolakis Forest Resource Management, Forestry 3rd IUFRO Lat Regional Conference, June 2013 San Jose, Costa Rica
Jaimie Veale Psychology, Arts International Conference LGBT Psychology, June 2013 Lisbon, Portugal
Quarter 3:      
Xing Chen Electrical and Computer Engineering, Applied Science 35th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, July 2013 Osaka, Japan
Ainara Garde Martinez Electrical and Computer Engineering, Applied Science 35th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, July 2013 Osaka, Japan
Ilker Hachihaliloglu Electrical and Computer Engineering, Applied Science MICCAI 2013, September 2013 Nagoya, Japan
Reem Hajjar Wood Science, Forestry New Challenges for Community Forestry: Sharing Scientific Knowledge in a South-North Perspective, September 2013 Remscheid, Germany
Genevieve LeBaron Liu Institute for Global Issues, Arts 8th Pan-European Conference on International Relations, September 2013 Warsaw, Poland
Sebastien Rioux Geography, Arts 8th Pan-European Conference on International Relations, September 2013 Warsaw, Poland
Quarter 4:      
Paula Duarte Guterman Psychology, Arts Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting San Diego, CA, USA

2013 Quarter 1 Recipients:

Dr. Jane Lister

International Studies Association Annual Conference - April 2013

I attended the international Studies Association conference in San Francisco. It is the main gathering of academics in my field of study regarding global environemntal governance. I presented a paper on a panel that we organized regarding the nexus of social and environmental concerns in global sustainability governance. The conference provided me the opportunity to receive very helpful feedback on my paper and to meet with and build my academic network with top scholars in my field.

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2013 Quarter 2 Recipients:

Dr. Walter Karlen

Global Health and Innovation Conference, April 2013

This was the 10th edition of the Global Health & Innovation Conference (GHIC) at Yale University. GHIC is one of the largest global health conferences and it attracted researchers, entrepreneurs and businesses from over 50 countries this year. It offers excellent opportunities to disseminate to a broader audience new findings and ideas that can impact health care in low resource settings.

This was the first time I attended GHIC and I was impressed with how many young students, full of positive energy and enthusiasm, attended and presented their high quality research or business ideas to experts in the field. Keynote speaker, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, highlighted the importance of information systems and mobile health for reaching the millennium development goals in approximately 1000 days.

I presented a novel idea on how the quality and safety of mobile health systems could be assured by integrating ethics consultation in the early device design process and consequently reducing the risk of failure when the device is deployed. The auditorium was fully subscribed and I received excellent feedback and questions.  It was good to get a view from entrepreneurs on this topic which certainly will help us in the next project steps. Overall, the conference was an excellent networking opportunity and highly recommended to anybody working in the field of global health.  

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Dr. Bobby Fokidis

North American Society for Comparative Endocrinology - May 2013

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Dr. William Nikolakis

3rd IUFRO Lat Regional Congress - June 2013

The Third IUFRO Latin American Congress brought together forest researchers from around the globe, with focus on issues affecting Latin America. There were various themes as part of the Congress, including Payment for Ecosystem Services. The poster presented by Nikolakis (co-authored by  Harry Nelson) looks at how Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) can support Indigenous livelihoods- a relevant topic in Latin America where small scale PES programs have/and are being developed. The posters were presented over 3 days and were drawn from a diverse group of disciplines.  The title of our poster "Fools Gold or a Diamond in the Rough? The promise and potential of Payment for Ecosystem Services in B.C" captured a lot of attention. Some of the crowd (of about 200 people at the poster session) required this to be clarified because English was their second language; but once this was described it created an important visual to the audience. Interacting with individuals from different backgrounds and disciplines provided fertile ground for thought and inspiration for Nikolakis's current research and how it may be applied in settings with weak governance.  The Conference was also an excellent networking opportunity to connect with cohorts and peers from around the globe.

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Dr. Jaimie Veale

International Conference LGBT Psychology - June 2013

My experience at the LGBT Psychology and Related Fields conference was a very good one. I was very pleased to be able to get an overview of the work that is being done in LGBT psychology, and the work that needs to be done in the field. The latter is very important to me as an early-career researcher in LGBT psychology. The conference had a strong health and wellbeing focus, with a lot of research on the impact of stigma - homophobia and transphobia - and resilience factors on the physical and mental health of LGBT people. This is also the area in which my research focus is going, so it was reassuring  to see this focus. I had two oral presentations accepted, and this allowed me to showcase the breadth of the research I have been doing at UBC. The talks were both well received. A major benefit from the experience for me was the networks I was able to make with other researchers in the field from all over the world (and also in Canada).  I am grateful for the opportunity to promote my work and believe I have advanced my career by building  networks for future collaborations.

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2013 Quarter 3 Recipients:

Dr. Xing Chen

35th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society - July 2013

The 35th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society is one of the most prestigious and largest biomedical engineering conferences. Attending this conference provides me a valuable opportunity to disseminate and share research information with biomedical scholars and entrepreneurs worldwide. Nearly 2000 participants gathered to spark their thoughts for advances in biomedical engineering and healthcare technology. Diverse disciplines gave me a chance to know plenty of specific techniques from experts at one time.

This conference demonstrated not only cutting-edge scientific results, but also fantastic industrial exhibitions. We got able to experience a variety of medical instruments in person, to know its fundamental principle, its functions, and hands-on diagnosis. Those clinic products inspired me and will push our current work toward a more practical target. I have also realized that research of biomedical devices should broaden its perspective, with more consideration of compatibility with clinic.

I gave an oral presentation on wirelessly addressable heater array for centrifugal microfluidics and Escherichia Coli sterilization. The novel heating method attracted wide interest of attendees. Some good comments on my work gave me some new ideas to boost my future work. Several scholars expressed hopes to do some cooperative work.  

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Dr. Ainara Garde Martinez

35th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society - July 2013

Attending as a presenter and chair to the 35th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC’13) that took place 3-7 July 2013, in Osaka, Japan allowed me to participate in this exciting gathering of biomedical engineers, clinical engineers, life scientists and physicians.

I had unique opportunities to interact and have input from international leaders from industry, government and academia, on research and development. This highly multidisciplinary meeting allowed me to consult experts from a wide range of specialties in biomedical engineering and medical science; gain visibility on a national and international scale in the field of medical device and healthcare.

Presenting my research work focused on the development of a sleep apnea screening device using the phone-oximeter at this conference with experts in the field of pulse oximetry technology and sleep-breathing disorders gave me valuable input about my data, methodology and results. The constructive comments will improve the quality of my research work.

Moreover, attending this conference gave me an overview of all of the new research developments this year in sleep medicine and in a wide variety of specialties in biomedical engineering, which will give me new ideas and new research objectives.

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Dr. Ilker Hachihaliloglu

MICCAI 2013 - September 2013

Attending MICCAI 2013 (16th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention) conference gave me the opportunity to present my work to the world leading scientist, engineers and clinicians from a wide range of disciplines associated with medical imaging and computer assisted surgery. Listening to the talks (oral and poster), participating in the workshops and tutorials given during the conference helped me fully understand the engineering challenges faced during the development of new technologies for image guided interventions. Talks given by the invited guest lecturers made me realize the big picture in biomedical engineering and what the future is holding. I realized that there is a lot to be done to get to that level. Furthermore, I have also made connections with colleagues from different countries who work on similar research topics. I am hoping to start collaborations in the near future. 

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Dr. Reem Hajjar

New Challenges for Community Forestry: Sharing Scientific Knowledge in a South-North Perspective - September 2013

From 23-25 September, I attended the conference entitled "New Challenges for Community Forestry: Sharing Scientific Knowledge in a South – North Perspective". This was a relatively small conference, with about 50 participants, but representing 15 different countries. Given the small nature of the conference, I had the opportunity  to meaningfully interact with participants from all over the world, including a few well-known specialists in my field of study. The conference was held in plenary sessions and in two parallel sessions, with presentations covering topics such as equity and empowerment, power and interests, climate change and innovations, all related to community forestry. I presented in the parallel session on climate change and community forestry, on advancing small-scale forestry in Ghana under REDD and FLEGT programs. My presentation was well-received and stimulated a good question and discussion period. In addition to the presentations, poster sessions were held that showcased the above issues in several different contexts and countries. All in all, the networking opportunities at the conference, as well as some enlightening presentations, made this conference well worth the trip.

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Dr. Genevieve LeBaron

8th Pan-European Conference on International Relations - September 2013

I attended the 8th Pan-European International Relations (PEIR) Conference in Warsaw. PEIR is one of the largest international relations conferences and this year, it facilitated one of the largest gatherings of Feminist International Political Economy scholars that has ever occurred in the field. I presented a paper on the corporatization of women's rights and equality NGOs as part of that section, and received very helpful feedback from leading scholars in my field.  Overall, the conference was an excellent network opportunity and I highly recommend it to other scholars in the field of International Relations.

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Dr. Sebastien Rioux

8th Pan-European Conference on International Relations - September 2013

I attended the 8th Pan-European Conference on International Relations in Warsaw, Poland. The conference is the most important gathering of scholars in my field in Europe and therefore represents a unique opportunity to meet and interact with leading scholars in my area of expertise. Apart from being an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas, discuss future works and build institutional bridges, I had the chance to receive critical and constructive feedback on my paper, thus providing with me important insights to move forward with my research.

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2013 Quarter 4 Recipients:

Dr. Paula Duarte Guterman

43rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience - November 2013

The Society for Neuroscience meeting is the most important and biggest venue for neuroscience researchers, attracting more than 30,000 scientists. The 2013 annual meeting featured hundreds of posters and talks ranging from basic neuroscience research, to medicine, teaching, and ethics. I presented a poster entitled “Activation of the membrane estrogen receptor GPR30 decreases cell proliferation in the hippocampus of adult female rats”. This work was done at UBC, with collaborators Stephanie Lieblich and Carmen Chow and my supervisor Liisa Galea, to investigate the role of this recently discovered estrogen receptor in regulating adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus. This was my first time attending and presenting at this meeting. My poster session which lasted 4 hours was a very productive and I received positive and constructive feedback for our work.  Overall, I met scientists and potential future collaborators doing similar research, I attended many posters sessions and symposia and learned about the latest research and methods in neuroscience.  Attending conferences such as Neuroscience is very important for networking and finding out about future job opportunities and I greatly appreciate the financial assistance from the PDF travel award.

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