A bank of lithium-tellurium batteries is tested at UBCO’s Advanced Materials for Energy Storage Lab.
UBCO doctoral student Yue Zhang holds up a sample of tellurium, while Dr. Jian Liu shows a tiny and powerful disc battery that uses the mining waste product.
UBCO’s Jeannette Armstrong has many roles on campus, from marshalling students at convocation, to being a Canada Research Chair in Okanagan Indigenous Knowledge and Philosophy.
Putting an Okanagan lens on the trauma of colonization on local Indigenous populations has led to national recognition for UBC Okanagan’s Dr. Jeannette Armstrong.
Dr. Armstrong admits she never planned on pursuing a life in academia. After graduating from university with her bachelor’s degree, she worked for local Indigenous organizations before coming to the realization that she could make the most change from inside the academy.
She returned to university, earning both her master’s and doctorate, and began teaching Indigenous Studies in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. After many years serving as an associate professor, while also writing, researching and being active in her community, Dr. Armstrong was recently elected to the Royal Society of Canada.
The Royal Society of Canada is a scholarly body founded in 1882 by John Campbell, the ninth Duke of Argyll. Its purpose is to promote Canadian research and recognize those who have made remarkable contributions in their respective fields.
To be honest, I’ve never been someone looking for recognition. I care deeply about my work and my focus has always been on how my research can help support the Syilx Okanagan Community. With that being said, I am honoured that my peers from across the country see the value in the work I do, and chose to elect me. I’m really looking forward to engaging with fellow scholars in the society. For those who don’t know a lot about the organization—it’s very active in addressing the most critical issues facing Canadians today, and I am incredibly excited to be a part of it.
My research began organically—after university, I began working in my community alongside members who were not academics, but had so much knowledge in regards to what parts of our history were erased and what happened during those early years of colonization. I really wanted to try and identify what the legacy of this trauma was from an Okanagan perspective, and figure out what our people lost.
I was persistent—I just wouldn’t leave it alone. There was this huge gap between what non-Indigenous people knew about us, and what we knew about ourselves. I wanted to ensure our students were learning the true history, so that’s what really motivated me to return to university.
Aside from my own research, another motivation was that I wanted to attract Syilx and BC interior Salish graduate students to join me and research their own histories, cultures and languages. Developing these relationships is really what I’ve enjoyed most—working in collaboration to advance knowledge in our schooling and health systems, and bringing awareness to the legal history related to administration and management of our resources.
It’s very intertwined. To give a bit of background, the chiefs of our seven reserves in the Okanagan Nation Alliance and UBCO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Indigenous Knowledge Protocol Agreement in 2020—this, to me, was really the first of its kind in Canada. The agreement meant that anything classified as Okanagan or related to our history, knowledge or culture would be appropriate and truthful.
My role as the CRC acts as a bridge to ensure the MOU is being respected and implemented correctly in all disciplines, specifically when conducting research that is needed by our nation. It’s a commitment to reciprocity—we do our research and give it back so the community can benefit from it—this process for me is sacrosanct. If I do nothing else in my life, it’s this idea of giving back knowledge through research that I am most proud of.
While I don’t speak for anyone who is a legacy of trauma, I think the public must understand the foundation of oppression our country was founded on. Not only colonization, but socially and legally, too. There’s a continuously strong position by Canada that Indigenous rights are something that can be manipulated to enhance their understanding of the wider society. Moving forward, we need to elect leaders who can resist this narrative and help educate the public on our legacy.
I look forward to contributing to a dialogue about how this can be accomplished with my new colleagues at the Royal Society of Canada. Reconciliation cannot be achieved without the public knowing and acknowledging the truth—no matter how uncomfortable it may be.
UBC Okanagan Assistant Professor Dr. Sepideh Pakpour, along with student researchers Enrique Calderon and Rita Lam, examine a sample beside the natural light experimentation chamber. Their research suggests light through smart windows can work as a natural disinfectant against many illnesses including E.Coli and methicillin-resistance Staphylococcus aureus.
Daylight passing through smart windows results in almost complete disinfection of surfaces within 24 hours while still blocking harmful ultraviolet (UV) light, according to new research from UBC’s Okanagan campus.
Dr. Sepideh Pakpour is an Assistant Professor at UBC Okanagan’s School of Engineering. For this research, she tested four strains of hazardous bacteria—methicillin-resistance Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa—using a mini-living lab set-up. The lab had smart windows, which tint dynamically based on outdoor conditions, and traditional windows with blinds. The researchers found that, compared to windows with blinds, the smart windows significantly reduce bacterial growth rate and their viability.
In their darkest tint state, Dr. Pakpour says smart windows blocked more than 99.9 per cent of UV light, but still let in short-wavelength, high-energy daylight which acts as a disinfectant. This shorter wavelength light effectively eliminated contamination on glass, plastic and fabric surfaces.
In contrast, traditional window blinds blocked almost all daylight, preventing surfaces from being disinfected. Blinds also collect dust and germs that get resuspended into the air whenever adjusted, with Dr. Pakpour noting previous research has shown 92 per cent of hospital curtains can get contaminated within a week of being cleaned.
“We know that daylight kills bacteria and fungi,” she says. “But the question is, are there ways to harness that benefit in buildings, while still protecting us from glare and UV radiation? Our findings demonstrate the benefits of smart windows for disinfection, and have implications for infectious disease transmission in laboratories, health-care facilities and the buildings in which we live and work.”
The pandemic has elevated concerns about how buildings might influence the health of the people inside. While particular attention has been paid to ventilation, cleaning and filtration, the importance of daylight has been ignored. According to research shared in a recent Harvard Business Review, office workers are pushing for “healthy buildings” as part of the return to work and consistently rank access to daylight and views among their most desired amenities.
“Our buildings need to go beyond sustainable and smart to become healthy and safe environments first and foremost,” says Dr. Rao Mulpuri, Chairman and CEO at View, the company partnering with UBC for this research. “Companies are grappling with how to bring their people back to the office in a safe way. This research provides yet another reason why increased access to natural light needs to be part of the equation.”
The research was sponsored with joint funding from View Inc. and the Canadian government through MITACS, a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with research solutions from academic institutions.
The results of the research are particularly important for laboratories and health-care facilities. Sterile spaces are critical in labs, where sensitive materials must be protected from UV radiation and environmental contamination.
Extensive studies have shown that pathogenic bacteria and fungi can persist on inanimate surfaces for prolonged periods, leading to disease transmission. This is especially concerning in health-care settings, says Dr. Pakpour, where health-care-associated infections and outbreaks are often linked to contamination of curtains, windows, medical devices and other high touch surfaces despite current cleaning protocols.
“With the rise of antimicrobial resistance, antibiotics are no longer a silver bullet in treating health-care-associated infections, which cause tens of thousands of deaths in the US each year,” says Dr. Tex Kissoon, Vice Chair of the Global Sepsis Alliance, UBC Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair in Acute and Critical Care for Global Child Health. “The potential for daylight to sterilize surfaces and avoid these infections altogether is promising and should be factored into health-care facility design.”
Dr. Pakpour presented her findings earlier today at the international Healthy Buildings Conference, organized by the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate. The research paper will be published shortly in Life Sciences and can be accessed at: biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.14.476401v1
“Passive environmental strategies, like allowing daylight through windows without blinds, can help keep the risk of infections down,” says Dr. Pakpour. “Our findings demonstrate the benefits of smart windows for disinfection, and have implications for infectious disease transmission in laboratories, health care facilities and the buildings in which we live and work.”
Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with research solutions from academic institutions.
View is the leader in smart building technologies that transform buildings to improve human health and experience, reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, and generate additional revenue for building owners. View Smart Windows use artificial intelligence to automatically adjust in response to the sun, increasing access to natural light and unobstructed views while eliminating the need for blinds and minimizing heat and glare. Every View installation includes a cloud-connected smart building platform that can be extended to reimagine the occupant experience. View is installed and designed in over 90 million square feet of buildings including offices, hospitals, airports, educational facilities, hotels and multifamily residences. For more information, please visit view.com.
UBCO research has determined that during the pandemic, online grocery shopping habits have changed considerably, but only for certain demographics. Photo by Pickawood on Unsplash
It’s mid-January, it’s cold and blustery outdoors, but the kitchen cupboards are bare. And new research from UBC Okanagan suggests instead of braving the cold, this year’s consumer is going to fill an online grocery cart instead.
Indeed, Dr. Mahmudur Fatmi, an Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering, says online shopping habits spiked across the globe during the pandemic—mostly as a result of social distancing measures, business closures and travel restrictions. But he also wonders if the online trend will continue.
“Prior to COVID-19, online shopping was largely done by young, well-educated and high-income individuals,” explains Dr. Fatmi, who is the principal investigator at UBC Okanagan’s Centre for Transportation and Land Use Research (CeTLUR). “We decided to look into a crystal ball to investigate how shopping habits will evolve as a result of the increase in online activities since the pandemic began.”
The crystal ball is, in fact, an empirical analysis to understand the future of online and in-store grocery shopping and meal consumption activities post-pandemic. For example, are consumers likely to return to the pre-COVID era of more in-store shopping and eating-out activities? Or will they continue the pandemic trend by shopping and ordering meals online?
Or perhaps newer behaviours will evolve as people prefer to do both?
Dr. Fatmi wanted to explore how in-person and online activities for a particular purpose, such as grocery shopping, complement or perhaps substitute each other. To answer these questions, he used data from a transportation survey conducted between November 2020 and January 2021. He tested the effects of population demographics, their access to different travel modes, and then built environment attributes of their neighbourhoods such as land use pattern and accessibility to different destinations such as workplace and urban cores. He then compared online and in-store shopping and meal consumption activities.
It turns out, urban dwellers are more likely to do in-store grocery shopping compared to those in the suburbs. People with a driver’s licence and access to a vehicle are less likely to use an online grocery service or take out meal ordering. The research also determined that frequent transit users are more likely to order online groceries and they mostly prefer going out for meals.
Lower-income people were found to continue in-store grocery shopping and eating out activities.
“So many things have changed with the way we lead our lives since the start of the pandemic,” says Dr. Fatmi. “Our findings suggested that the ‘new normal’ when it comes to shopping will likely look a bit different than pre-pandemic.”
“Our model showed that people who frequently order food online are also likely to dine-in at the restaurants at a higher frequency, meaning they simply prepare fewer meals at home. And people who frequently purchase their groceries online, are likely to visit grocery stores less frequently.”
According to Dr. Fatmi, these findings pointed to what he called complementary and substitution effects for grocery shopping and meal consumption activities.
He says the behaviour in the way people go about their day-to-day life has undoubtedly changed during the course of the pandemic and he plans to monitor whether these shifts will be permanent.
“Although these are early estimates, the findings suggest that increased online shopping might not indicate a general decrease in travel. Rather, it might increase travel demand, congestion and associated emissions by increased passenger and freight vehicles on the road,” he explains. “It also indicates the need for better data collection and the updating of transportation planning models with the explicit incorporation of different types of online and in-person activities for developing equitable and sustainable transportation policies post-pandemic.”
The research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and was presented last week at the Transportation Research Board Conference in Washington, DC.
Dr. Neil Cadger, UBCO associate professor of creative studies, views the projection of The Collective Body, outside the Rotary Centre for the Arts. Photo credit: Chloe Chang.
Artwork from UBC Okanagan’s public art collection will be on display for the first time in Vernon, giving North Okanagan residents a sampling of the largest public art assemblies in the region.
The Ramble On exhibition, currently at the Vernon Public Art Gallery, presents a variety of artistic mediums—sculptures, paintings, prints and video artworks. The work on display has been created by a diverse roster of emerging and established artists including UBCO faculty, alumni, local Indigenous creators as well as international, figurative and abstract creators.
Ramble On is an exhibition of artworks from the UBCO’s public art collection which introduces some of the newest acquisitions including works by Judith Schwarz, Sheldon Louis, Tania Willard and Neil Cadger.
“We are excited to see some of the works from our collection out in the community,” says Dr. Stacey Koosel, curator of UBC Okanagan’s Art Gallery and the public art collection. “This is the first time works from our public art collection are being shown at the Vernon Public Art Gallery.”
Ramble On also features a few well-known Okanagan Indigenous artists.
“Our gallery’s mandate is to prioritize working with Indigenous contemporary artists. At the moment, Indigenous art is under-represented and only makes only seven per cent of the collection,” explains Dr. Koosel. “We’re hoping to improve this number in the coming years.”
Recent acquisitions featured in the exhibition include works by Syilx artists Sheldon Louis and David Wilson, and Secwepemc artist Tania Willard.
UBCO’s public art collection is one of the largest in the region, with a focus on Canadian contemporary art and the Okanagan’s emerging local artistry, says Dr. Koosel. Artwork comes to the collection primarily through donations.
“This exhibition is also the first chance for the public to see brand new works, such as Louis’s cax̌alqs (red dress) and a new acquisition by Judith Shwarz, Grid and Grid II, which just arrived from Toronto this year,” she says.
The exhibition was inspired by UBC Okanagan alumnus Clinton McDougall’s wooden sculpture of a car tire entitled Reinvention (2005). The tread on the tire forms a pattern based on the utilitarian principle of adding grip or traction to move forward. All the works in the exhibition continue this theme using patterns, grids or repetition.
Ramble On includes work by nine artists: Moozhan Ahmadzadegan, Neil Cadger, Sheldon Pierre Louis, Takesada Matsutani, Clinton McDougall, Ida Shōichi, Judith Shwarz, David Wilson and Tania Willard.
A public reception takes place at the Vernon Public Art Gallery on January 20 from 6 to 8 pm, celebrating the opening of four new exhibits at the gallery, including a solo show by UBCO fine arts alumna Coralee Miller. Ramble On runs until March 9.
“This exhibition, with work created anytime between 1968 to 2021, will provide visitors with insight towards a variety of different artists, their practices and the various media used to create their thought-provoking, insightful works,” adds Dr. Koosel
For more information, visit: vernonpublicartgallery.com/current-exhibitions-1
UBCO researchers suggest something as simple as regular walks can help people living with Type 2 diabetes control inflammation.
Researchers from UBC Okanagan are looking at how exercise can help balance the immune system and reduce chronic inflammation—a known contributor to the development and progression of various chronic diseases.
Associate Professor Dr. Jonathan Little, and postdoctoral researcher Dr. Hashim Islam, both with UBC Okanagan’s School of Health and Exercise Sciences, are studying how chronic inflammation can create an imbalance that prevents a person’s immune system from protecting them. And how exercise might be the answer.
The immune system, explains Dr. Islam, is critical for preventing infections, removing pathogens and repairing damaged tissues during recovery from an illness or injury. But when immune cells become overactivated, they can overproduce and release small hormone-like molecules called pro-inflammatory cytokines.
An over-abundance of those cytokines can impair the normal function of vital tissues and organs in the body, Dr. Islam explains. This means a person might be susceptible to a number of diseases including Type 2 diabetes.
“This persistent state of immune cell overactivation is known as chronic inflammation and is linked to the development and progression of various long-lasting illnesses that are commonly found in modern society. These include cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension or stroke and Type 2 diabetes—and we’re particularly interested in studying the Type 2 diabetes aspect,” says Dr. Islam.
Lifestyle factors such as imbalanced nutrition, weight gain, obesity and physical inactivity can aggravate chronic inflammation, adds Dr. Little. These conditions increase a person’s chance of getting various cardiometabolic diseases. On the other hand, exercise and diet-induced weight loss are effective for reducing chronic inflammation in the body and lowering the risk of developing cardiometabolic disease.
The researchers are specifically looking at interleukin 10, a molecule that normally acts to inhibit inflammation. Earlier research, in collaboration with colleagues at UBC’s Vancouver campus, demonstrated that immune cells isolated from people with Type 2 diabetes were less responsive to the anti-inflammatory actions of interleukin 10—something that typically acts as a brake or fire extinguisher to prevent immune cell overaction.
The inability of interleukin-10 to inhibit inflammation was linked to elevated blood sugar levels, suggesting that interventions that normalize blood glucose levels may be effective for restoring anti-inflammatory cytokine action in people with Type 2 diabetes.
“Chronic inflammation is when there is an imbalance of pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules in your body. We use the example of a slow-burning flame, or a brake, in the context of chronic disease,” explains Dr. Little. “Most people study the pro-inflammatory molecules and how to reduce them—which is similar to taking the fuel off the fire. Our work, which is quite novel, is looking at how to make anti-inflammatory molecules like interleukin-10—similar to a fire extinguisher—work better and stop the inflammation.”
Dr. Islam is further exploring the mechanisms that may explain why and when interleukin-10 is not working well to inhibit inflammation for people with Type 2 diabetes. His goal is to implement a practical lifestyle intervention that will involve short, frequent bouts of activity—post-meal walking or exercise snacking—throughout the day to improve blood glucose and restore the anti-inflammatory actions of interleukin-10.
“This approach has demonstrated glucose-lowering benefits in people with Type 2 diabetes,” says Dr. Islam. “Given the earlier-identified link between hyperglycemia and impaired interleukin-10 action, this may be a viable non-pharmacological strategy to restore anti-inflammatory cytokine action in people with Type 2 diabetes.”
The research was covered in a recent review article published in the Journal of Physiology and is funded by a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Trainee Award and a Killam Accelerator Research Fellowship.
UBCO doctoral student Debasmita Mukherjee, with the School of Engineering’s Advanced Control and Intelligent Systems Laboratory, is looking at ways to program robots so they can work safely alongside people.
Using autonomous vehicle guidelines, a team of UBC Okanagan researchers has developed a system to improve interactions between people and robots.
The way people interact safely with robots is at the forefront of today’s research related to automation and manufacturing, explains Debasmita Mukherjee, a doctoral student and lead author of a recently published study. She is one of several researchers at UBC’s Advanced Control and Intelligent Systems Laboratory who are working to develop systems that allow humans and robots to interact safely and efficiently.
“It is incredibly important for robots in manufacturing to perform their tasks in the safest and most efficient method possible,” Mukherjee says. “In order to make these automated machines as smart as possible, we are developing systems that perceive their environments and carry out tasks in a similar manner as their human partners.”
To develop such systems, researchers are using artificial intelligence and machine learning to help guide the machines. Mechanical Engineering Professor Homayoun Najjaran says the process is not as straightforward as it seems.
“Robots don’t think or feel, so they need systems that capture and analyze their environment enabling them to respond,” says Dr. Najjaran. “Often those responses need to be in hundredths of a second to ensure the safety of humans in their vicinity.”
Traditionally, industrial robots have been fixed and programmed to operate at high speeds and perform tasks such as welding, painting, assembly, pick-and-place and material handling. Social robots, on the other hand, are built to assist people in service industries. They are typically mobile, lightweight and programmed to work in a variety of environments.
The field of research taking place at UBCO’s School of Engineering is called human-robot collaboration (HRC), and it is gaining steam in manufacturing. Owing to the complementary nature of robot and human capabilities, there is an increased interest towards a shared workspace for people and robots to work together collaboratively, forming the motivation behind HRC.
HRC in an industrial setting blends the requirements of both domains in building intelligent, mobile robots that are aware of their surroundings and the human partner. The researchers are working with several organizations around the world to assimilate autonomous systems and machine learning technologies into HRC-focused robotics.
However, Mukherjee says adapting to uncertainty within an industrial setting is the biggest hurdle. Using autonomous vehicle guidelines, she introduces some rules for functionality between humans and robots in industrial settings and tests their effectiveness.
“Increasing automation levels is standardized and accepted by the automotive industry, but other industrial settings, while relatively static, don’t have the same standards,” she says. “In the future, not only will industrial automated systems continue to use sensors to enable perception and communication similar to human capabilities, but they will also be adapting and communicating in real-time with their surroundings.”
Mukherjee says this means robots will be able to predict what humans and other robots will do and can then respond accordingly.
As a next step, the researchers are turning their attention to developing systems that can enable robots to function and respond outside of a prescribed environment like a factory. The endgame is to achieve the seamless team dynamics and communication fluency of an all-human team while using robots.
“In an ‘open-world,’ robots will need to deal with unexpected variables like people, structures, machines, and wildlife,” she adds. “We need to ensure they can do this correctly, efficiently and safely.”
The research was published recently in Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing.
UBC Okanagan researchers are teaming up with Interior Health clinicians to ensure children and young people with Type 1 diabetes in the region are getting the best patient care possible.
A new UBC Okanagan and Interior Health research collaboration is examining the quality of patient care for children and youth with Type 1 diabetes in the BC interior.
Researchers with the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management (CCDPM) and Interior Health are undertaking an extensive review of patient outcomes and treatment plans for young people with diabetes, reported over a five-year timeframe.
“Diabetes is one of the most common chronic conditions in children,” says Dr. Christine Voss, CCDPM investigator and assistant professor with UBC’s Department of Pediatrics. “Access and proximity to specialized care, adherence to treatment plans and individual circumstances all factor into successfully managing the disease long-term.”
In BC, more than 2,200 young people live with diabetes, which equates to about two to three of every 1,000 children being affected by this life-threatening disease, says Dr. Voss.
She also notes that patients with Type 1 diabetes must undergo ongoing insulin therapy, frequent and invasive testing and regular appointments with health-care teams. They also have an increased risk of developing other chronic conditions such as thyroid disease.
Interior Health currently has seven Diabetes Education Centres with pediatric services situated across the region that support more than 350 young people with Type 1 diabetes.
Researchers are studying numerous factors that may impact care including clinical treatment options, gender and age differences, socio-economic factors and other environmental influences.
“The research will provide an in-depth picture of how clinical practice guidelines are applied across our health authority,” says Dr. Tom Warshawski, IH medical director for children and youth and the study’s co-principle investigator. “Our ultimate goal is to optimize health and quality of life for children and youth with diabetes.”
The new study is a direct result of the CCDPM’s Clinical Research and Quality Improvement Incubator that supports opportunities for clinicians and allied health professionals to engage in research and quality improvement projects.
“We are thrilled to work with IH clinicians and their research department on projects that will directly impact patient care,” adds Dr. Voss. “The new study also provided opportunities for medical and undergraduate students to collaborate on clinical research.”
The clinical study is also partially funded by a new fellowship from the Colin & Lois Pritchard Foundation. The fellowship supports an undergraduate student while working on a clinical research project with a UBC Okanagan investigator and an Interior Health clinician.
UBCO researchers are looking for insight about the impacts of cannabis use among Indigenous people since cannabis was legalized three years ago.
As Canada passes the three-year mark since cannabis became legal, an Indigenous-led research team at UBC Okanagan is looking at cannabis use among Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island.
The team has partnered with Woodland Cree First Nation and Indigenous Bloom—an Indigenous cooperative of cannabis retail and cultivation—for insight into the impacts of cannabis use since legalization. The study will examine motives of use, especially when it comes to pain management or substitution of other substances, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Farrell, an adjunct professor in UBCO’s psychology department, says the predominantly Indigenous research team hopes to put a new lens on the motives for cannabis use and its potential harm-reduction benefits among Indigenous populations. She has spent the last several years working to advance cultural safety, the process of truth and reconciliation as well as supporting improved health and wellness outcomes for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples within academic health research and health-care settings.
Dr. Farrell works with co-principal investigator Dr. Zach Walsh, a psychology professor in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. He describes this Indigenous-led research as among the first of its kind in Canada.
Dr. Farrell discusses why this study, Cannabis Use among Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island (CUTI), is unique and why this research matters.
To date, much of the research on cannabis use has centred on non-Indigenous populations in what is currently called “Canada,” and historically Indigenous Peoples have been excluded in cannabis research.
Ensuring equity and inclusion in cannabis research is important. When it comes to understanding motives for cannabis use among Indigenous Peoples—including assessing both risk for problematic use and potential benefits of therapeutic use for symptoms of chronic pain, anxiety, sleep and substitution—there is much to learn that can support health and wellness in Indigenous communities and inform public health programming.
Absolutely. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing increases in alcohol use and a record-high number of opioid-related overdoses and overdose deaths in the Canadian general population. We are battling multiple public health emergencies right now and it’s important we know about the impacts of COVID-19 and patterns of substance use in Indigenous populations, and whether as in previous research, cannabis is having a harm reduction benefit.
This work is in partnership with Woodland Cree First Nation and Indigenous Bloom, which is a co-operative of First Nations and Indigenous Peoples. It’s also Indigenous-led with a predominantly self-identified Indigenous research team. Because of this, we’re able to put a different lens on our approaches to this work and ensure we’re not only supporting self-determinism in the health and wellness of Indigenous Peoples, but also creating research and mentorship opportunities for self-identified Indigenous undergraduate and graduate students at UBC.
If you self-identify as Indigenous—that is, First Nations (status/non-status), Inuk or Métis—are 18 years or older, use cannabis, and are interested in learning more or participating in the CUTI project, please reach out to walsh.lab@ubc.ca
Entries are open to fiction writers in the southern interior of British Columbia for the 2021 Okanagan Short Story Contest. Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash
Emerging writers are urged to submit their entries for the annual Okanagan Short Story Contest.
This year marks the 24th year of the contest, which has a long tradition of introducing budding writers to the Okanagan community. Previous winners have gone on to publish with Penguin Random House, Arsenal Pulp Press, NeWest Press, as well as numerous national and international magazines and journals.
Entries are open to fiction writers in the southern interior of British Columbia in a region stretching east of Hope, west of the Alberta border, north of the US border and south of Williams Lake.
“The annual short story contest is one way for developing writers to gain their foothold in the literary world. I’ve seen winners of story prizes use them to find literary agents and book deals,” says Kevin Chong, author and creative writing professor in UBCO’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS).
The entries must be original stories, between 1,000 and 4,000 words, and writers are welcome to submit as many as they choose. There is a $20 entry fee for each story but no charge for students in the high school category. All proceeds will go towards FCCS creative writing scholarships for UBC Okanagan students.
FCCS is offering cash prizes to writers of the top three stories—$1,000, $400 and $200. The first prize winner also wins a one-week retreat at The Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre in Kelowna. And the top short story by a high school student receives a $200 prize.
Entries must be received by 11:59 pm on Friday, January 31, 2022.
All stories will be judged by UBCO creative writing faculty as well as celebrated novelist, critic and screenwriter Naben Ruthnum.
Ruthnum is a Mauritian-Canadian author with a master’s degree from McGill University. Now living in Toronto, he was raised in Kelowna and won the Journey Prize in 2013 for his short story “Cinema Rex.” He’s since published Curry: Reading, Eating and Race, a collection of non-fiction essays exploring immigrant experience and identity through food and literature. His thriller novel Find You in the Dark, was published under his pseudonym Nathan Ripley. His newest work, A Hero of Our Time, will be published in January 2022.
Winners of the short story contest will be announced in March at a public event where short-listed authors will be invited to read from their work. For a full list of contest details and rules, visit fccs.ok.ubc.ca/short-story
