University of Lethbridge highlights for the week of October 19 to 24

Monday, October 19, 2015

The University of Lethbridge has a number of events lined up this week that may be of interest to your readers, viewers and listeners. Members of the media who are interested in covering these events are encouraged to contact the individual event organizer directly.

Department of Modern Languages speaker series — How to Look at Billboards #2, Gilles Mossiére

Monday, Oct. 19, 3 to 4 p.m. D634 University Hall

Mossiére, Chair of the Department of Languages and Cultures at Mount Royal University, delves into the messages, values, culture and stories behind billboard advertising.

Contact: Alain Takam, 403-329-2561, alain.takam@uleth.ca

Canada Gairdner Symposium— Dr. Lynne Maquat

Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2 to 3 p.m., Students’ Union Ballroom

Dr. Maquat was awarded the 2015 Canada Gairdner International Award in recognition of her achievements in RNA research. In her keynote address, Maquat will discuss her work with nonsense-mediated mRNA decay, which works to reduce errors in gene expression, and its implications for human health and disease.

Media availability scheduled for 11 a.m., B610, Office of Research Services.

Contact: Adam Smith, 403-332-4544, adam.smith4@uleth.ca

Weldon Rising

Tuesday, Oct. 20 to Saturday, Oct. 24, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., University Theatre

Weldon Rising is the drama that opens the U of L Mainstage theatre season. It tells the story of four New Yorkers who witness a hate crime during an extreme heat wave.

Contact: Katherine Wasiak, 403-329-2227, katherine.wasiak@uleth.ca

Doing Science in the Open — Dr. Rosie Redfield

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 3 p.m., U of L Library Alcove Level 10

Redfield, a zoology professor at the University of British Columbia, gained fame by critiquing a NASA-sponsored paper that claimed a bacteria had substituted phosphorus for arsenic in the backbone of its DNA, proving there was a different way of being alive. She led a team that showed the finding could not be replicated. Writing on her blog, she argued there was no convincing evidence that arsenic had been incorporated into the DNA.

Contact: Devin Rafferty, 403-329-2166, devin.rafferty@uleth.ca

F.E.L. Priestley Lecture Series — Douglas Gibson

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., TH201, Turcotte Hall

In this free public lecture, Gibson will be performing a stage show based on his new book, Across Canada by Story, A Coast-to-Coast Literary Adventure. He’ll share stories about Guy Vanderhaeghe, Robertson Davies, Jack Hodgins, Michael Ondaatje, Alice Munro and many others.

Contact: Catharine Reader, 403-382-7154, catharine.reader@uleth.ca

PUBlic Professor Series — Dr. Olga Kovalchuk

Thursday, Oct. 22, 7 to 9 p.m., City Hall

Kovalchuk will talk about the roles of epigenetic changes in health and disease, with a focus on cancer. Just as no two people are alike, no two cancers are alike and variation can be found within the same tumor. Ideal therapeutic measures that target every cancer cell in the body must be tailored to each individual patient. Kovalchuk will also discuss how epigenetic profiling can be used in personalized medicine.

Contact: Catharine Reader, 403-382-7154, catharine.reader@uleth.ca

U of L Art Collection Tour

Thursday, Oct. 22, 7 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 24, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., W600, Main Gallery, U of L Centre for the Arts

Drawings from the U of L Art Collection will be featured in this showing. Gallery staff will be available to give a behind-the-scenes collection tour and show a range of drawings from the collection.

Contact: Art Gallery, artgallery@uleth.ca

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Contact:

Caroline Zentner, public affairs advisor

403-394-3975 or 403-795-5403 (cell)

caroline.zentner@uleth.ca