Montreal (June 24, 2008) - Mr. Anteneh Argaw, a PhD candidate at Université de Montréal, is the 2008 recipient of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Synapse Award - Graduate Student / Postdoctoral Fellow.
The award, which is worth $5,000, recognizes the efforts of a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow who has made exceptional efforts to promote health research among Canada's high school students. Through mentorship, the winner regularly motivates youth to consider both the value of health research as well career opportunities that exist within various scientific fields. The winner is nominated by someone who understands his/her direct scientific contributions to young people, and is chosen by the members of the CIHR Youth Outreach Advisory Board.
Mr. Argaw studies the molecular mechanisms of axon guidance during brain development, and has encouraged youth to understand the value of the brain, its role and its function as one of the principle organizers of Montreal's Chapter of Brain Awareness Week (BAW), and other youth outreach programs.
"It is important for health researchers to motivate youth to appreciate the values of both science and health research," says Dr. Pierre Chartrand, Acting President of CIHR. "Mr. Argaw deserves this Synapse award due to his unwavering effort to pass on knowledge to others. His work is truly commendable and accessible. Along with the other Synapse award winners, he is encouraging today's students to be tomorrow's scientific leaders and collaborators - which could lead to better health and treatment for those who suffer from various diseases."
CIHR's Synapse - Youth Connection initiative acts as a meeting place, a scientific junction that brings together health researchers and young students. More than 4,000 CIHR-funded health researchers from across the country have already signed up to become CIHR Synapse mentors. Synapse, in collaborative partnership with national science outreach organizations, connects these mentors with high school students through hands-on training experience that will help create the next generation of Canadian health researchers.
"We can't imagine a more deserving recipient of the 2008 CIHR Synapse Award than Anteneh Argaw, since he has dedicated himself to infusing youth with an appreciation of health science", say his supervisors Dr. Maurice Ptito, holder of Colonel Harland Sanders Chair in Visual Sciences, and Dr. Jean-François Bouchard, professor at the School of Optometry. "It is students such as Anteneh Argaw who help advance medical research by inspiring tomorrow's scientists, which is a boon to the School of Optometry, the Faculty of Medicine and the Université de Montréal."
Mr. Argaw's award is one of three related to mentorship through CIHR's Synapse initiative. Dr. Lisa Robinson, from The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and Dr. Jane Roskams, from the Brain Research Centre at the University of British Columbia, tied for the Synapse Award - Individual Researcher and the Toronto Teen Survey research team, co-led by Drs. Sarah Flicker from York University and June Larkin from the University of Toronto, won the Synapse Award - Research Group.
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About the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's agency for health research. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to catalyze its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health-care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 11,000 health researchers and trainees across Canada. http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/
About the Université de Montréal
Deeply rooted in Montreal and dedicated to its international mission, the Université de Montréal is one of the top universities in the French-speaking world. Founded in 1878, the Université de Montréal today has 13 faculties and together with its two affiliated schools, HEC Montréal and École Polytechnique, constitutes the largest centre of higher education and research in Québec, the second largest in Canada, and one of the major centres in North America. It brings together 2,500 professors and researchers, accommodates more than 56,000 students, offers some 650 programs at all academic levels, and awards about 3,000 masters and doctorate diplomas each year. http://www.umontreal.ca/ (only in French)
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Attached Biography
Media Contacts:
David Coulombe
CIHR Media Specialist
Tel. (Office): 613-941-4563
Tel. (Mobile): 613-808-7526
E-mail: mediarelations@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
Julie Gazaille
Attachée de presse
Relations avec les médias
Université de Montréal
Tel.: 514-343-6796
E-mail: www.umontreal.ca/medias (only in French)
