Health & Wellness
Health
The therapeutic value of clowning around
Melissa Holland, BEd’98, is the co-founder and co-artistic director of the Dr. Clown Foundation. Their troupe of trained therapeutic clowns (and that includes her) bring comfort, compassion, and plenty of laughs to hospitalized children and seniors in care facilities.
People
From McGill to the Stanley Cup and the Super Bowl
Jean-Philippe Darche and Mathieu Darche were award-winning student athletes at McGill, and both managed to transition from Canadian university sports to careers as pro athletes. Their playing days are over, but they continue to have an impact in the world of pro sports – and they have the championship rings to prove it. (Cet article est disponible en français.)
Health
New non-profit targets under-researched diseases
McGillians are playing key roles in Conscience, a new non-profit initiative that hopes to use artificial intelligence and a “team sport” approach to encourage research into the rare diseases and potential threats that Big Pharma tends to ignore.
Webcasts
Is COVID on the rise again?
Wastewater doesn’t lie. COVID-19 cases are rising once more, just as many of us prepare to celebrate the holiday season with friends and family.
Health
An influential scientist (inside and outside his lab)
Michel Chrétien, MSc’62, hasn’t just been a witness to the evolution of medical science in Quebec and Canada. He has also been a major player. (Cet article est disponible en français.)
Health
Betting big on open science
The Neuro and its Tanenbaum Open Science Institute are committed to making its research as freely available and transparent as possible, while encouraging other neuroscience institutions to do the same.
Health
Helping Montreal prepare for the next public health emergency
As the deputy medical director at Montreal Public Health, David Kaiser, BSc’03, MDCM’09, MSc’13, oversees emergency preparedness. His holistic perspective on health issues was forged, in part, during his environmental sciences studies at McGill.
Culture
Some summer reading options
Summer is here and the beach (or your balcony or your backyard) beckons. If you are on the lookout for book suggestions, a number of McGill alumni have recently published new works that you might be interested in digging into.
People
The one and only Sheila Kussner
Sheila Kussner, BA’53, LLD’90, is the driving force behind Hope & Cope and its innovative approach to supporting cancer patients, an indispensable ally in McGill’s efforts to create a Department of Oncology, and now, the subject of a new book.
Health
Exploring nutrition through a high-tech lens
McGill’s Clinical Nutrition Research Unit, a key part of the School of Human Nutrition at Macdonald Campus, has a new home and vastly improved infrastructure for cutting-edge studies. The CNRU is pursuing a wide variety of projects with one common ingredient – the instrumental role that nutrition plays in keeping us healthy.
Discovery
Exploring the complexity of ecosystems
As McGill’s Canada Research Chair in Sustainability Science, Elena Bennett is one of the country’s most respected experts on the nature of Canada’s ecosystems – the varied benefits they offer, as well as their vulnerability to change.
Webcasts
Spiders – A Tale of Fear, Loathing and Fascination
Earlier this year, a scientific study suggested that the reason many of us are afraid of spiders can be traced to one thing: bad press. But was that explanation enough to convince the most extreme arachnophobes to overcome their fears?