Highlights for this issue

• NEW — Scholarship Information Sessions: Fourth-year undergraduate and current graduate students are invited to information sessions about external scholarships. The sessions will focus on the application process and deadlines for NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR and OGS.
Go to the FGS External Scholarships and Awards website for a list of dates, times and locations of the sessions.

• NEW — Graduate student awards: Lists of the 2015 Brock recipients of Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS) and Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarships in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST) are posted on the FGS Graduate Student Awards website.

• NEW — Register for graduate level non-credit courses: The Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation are pleased to offer the following non-credit grad level courses. The courses are open to graduate students from all Faculties. The completion of a GRST course appears on the Brock academic transcript.
Information is posted online.
For information on how to register for the courses, students should contact Lorraine Sciamonte at x3239.
          The Theory and Practice of University Teaching (GRST 5N01)
Instructors: Jill Grose and Lianne Fisher, CPI
Commences: Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2 to 4:30 p.m., TH253 e-classroom (classes continue every second week; when there is a university closure the class will resume the following week)
The non-credit course explores the theories and practices of teaching in the post-secondary environment. Students will engage in experiential approaches to course planning, instructional methods, evaluation and assessment, and reflective practice.
          The Theory and Practice of Service-Learning (GRST 5N02)
Instructor: Prof. Madelyn Law
Commences: Monday, Sept. 21, 3 to 4:30 p.m.; as of Monday, Jan. 11 classes will be held 9:30 to 11 a.m., TH253 e-classroom (classes continue every second week)
The non-credit course provides students with the opportunity to learn about best practices in academic and community collaborations and partnerships while gaining valuable real world experience. Students will meet bi-weekly throughout the year to discuss core principles in service learning and will engage in a community-based project in their field of interest.

• NEW — Copyright announcement: Brock University has officially given notice that it will not be renewing its copyright licence agreement with Access Copyright. The licence was determined to be unnecessary to meet Brock's copying needs, and is in accord with the similar decisions of most other Canadian universities. The licence will expire as of January 1, 2016. Over the coming months, Brock will be implementing awareness and compliance initiatives intended to ensure that Brock faculty, instructors, and staff have access to, and use of, copyright-protected materials while meeting their legal obligations to comply with copyright law. More information will be forthcoming. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jordan Snel, Legal Advisor, Research and Copyright at jsnel@brocku.ca

• NEW — Campus store announcement: A dynamic pricing model will be released with the fall booklist on Aug. 18 — a move which includes lowering prices on many of the hundreds of textbooks offered by the Campus Store, and supports a commitment to provide affordable options for students. Read the Brock News story for more details.

• NEW — The Brock Student Sexual Violence Support Centre (A Safer Brock): The centre provides an array of free and confidential support services, resources, training and public education to the Brock community. Academic programs and administrative departments are invited to share the centre's services and resources by adding information to class syllabi, Sakai sites and faculty, staff and student orientation guides/manuals.
The centre is currently booking public education workshops for the upcoming academic semester.
Visit their website for complete details or contact the centre at 905-397-7671.

• REMINDER - Brock's Bioscience and Social Science Research Ethics Boards recruiting graduate student members: These dynamic volunteer boards provide a unique opportunity to gain insight into human research ethics. The REBs are responsible for reviewing and assessing protocols for research involving human participants within the University or under University auspices. The REBs ensure that the physical safety and personal integrity of human participants in research are respected and protected by interpreting and applying the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS2) and relevant legislation.
We are currently looking for Masters or Doctorate level students to serve a one or two year term. Interested applicants should submit a current C.V., a written academic reference (attesting to their ability to handle the extra work load), and a cover letter outlining their research interests and why they are interested in joining the Bioscience REB (BREB) or Social Science REB (SREB).
Applications should be sent to:
Research Ethics Office
Office of Research Services
Mackenzie Chown, D Block
reb@brocku.ca
Deadline: Applications due Friday, Aug. 21
Information: Contact the Research Ethics Office at (905) 688-5550, x3035, email reb@brocku.ca or see details online

•Student Health Services (SHS): SHS is closed for the summer and will reopen Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 8:45 a.m. Go online for more information.

• REMINDER - e-Bulletin:  The e-Bulletin’s regular distribution of every other week is expected to resume on Thursday, Sept. 3.

The e-Bulletin is also posted online.
Previous issues of e-Bulletin are posted online.

TAKE NOTE
Deadlines or events that will occur between this issue and the first week of the next issue are highlighted for your immediate attention.

Scholarships/Awards/Grants

• NEW — Alzheimer Society Research Fund: Graduate students are invited to apply for funding from the society in three categories: research (max $5,000), publication (max $2,000) and travel (max $500).
Deadline for applications: Oct. 1, 2015 (The awards are available twice a year with next deadline of April 1)
For more information, contact JoAnne Chalifour, joanne.chalifour@alzda.ca or 905 529 7030 x212 or go to the Alzheimer Society website.

• Foreign Government Awards ‐ Mexico: The Government of Mexico, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has opened the 2016-2017 competition for scholarships to Canadian students and researchers. The scholarships are aimed at Canadians wishing to study or conduct research at the master's, PhD and postdoctoral level or for medical specialization and sub-specialization at participating post secondary institutions in Mexico.
The scholarships generally include airfare, approved tuition and compulsory fees, and a monthly living allowance. Applicants who do not meet Spanish language requirements may also be eligible for up to six months (or half the period of the scholarship) of Spanish language training.
Please visit the website, Foreign Government Awards Program - Mexico, for full program details and to submit an online application. All inquiries regarding this scholarship program should be directed to: scholarships‐bourses@cbie.ca.
Deadline: Monday, Sept. 21

• The Mitacs Accelerate Program: Funding is provided to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to apply his or her specialized expertise to business-related research challenges. Partners can be either for-profit businesses or not-for-profit organizations. Note that after August 31, 2015, this program will become the primary delivery agent for federally supported graduate-level industrial research and development internships and will replace the NSERC Industrial Postgraduate Scholarships program.
For more information contact Louisa Ho, Commercialization Research Officer, at lho@brocku.ca

• NSERC Industrial Postgraduate Scholarships (IPS) Applications Accepted until August 31, 2015: NSERC has announced that the Mitacs' Accelerate program will become the primary delivery agent for federally supported graduate-level industrial research and development internships. NSERC's Industrial Postgraduate Scholarships Program will be wound down following the fulfillment of current commitments. NSERC will continue to accept new applications until August 31, 2015, and will honour all commitments under the existing terms and conditions. Visit the NSERC website for more details.

• Ontario's TalentEdge Fellowship Program (TFP): The program provides support for Ontario-based PhD graduates and Postdoctoral Fellows (PDFs) to work on industry-driven research and development projects. This program is open to PDFs across all disciplines and areas of specialization. Fellowships may be academic (college or university), or company based.
Each 12-month TalentEdge fellowship is valued at $85,000.
Applications may be submitted at any time and will be reviewed throughout the year.
For more Information visit the Ontario Centres of Excellence website

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research IHSRP Travel Awards: IHSPR will provide travel awards in 2014-2015 for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and new investigators to attend and present their research at meetings, conferences (including international conferences) and/or symposia that align with the Institute's mandate and advance their professional development and/or knowledge translation initiatives in health services and policy research.
See more information visit the Canadian Institutes of Health Research website

• Student international funding opportunities: Visit Brock International for a listing of scholarship and awards programs

• Brock Library Open Access Publishing Fund: Open to Brock faculty, graduate students and postdocs. The purpose of this grant is to assist researchers in disseminating their research broadly via an Open Access (OA) journal. A minimum of four awards will be granted, to a maximum of $2,500 each [Total funds = $10,000]. This Grant is intended to support researchers with limited or no funding. If an alternate funding source is available that permits payment of submission fees (e.g. a research grant), that source must be used before applying to the OA Publishing Fund.
For more information contact: Barbara McDonald, Ext. 3949

• Fulbright Canada - Awards for Canadian Students: The Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program provides the opportunity for outstanding Canadian students to study and/or conduct research in the United States. Award recipients include Canadian citizens who are graduate students, prospective graduate students, or junior professionals.
Applicants can apply for:
Traditional Fulbright student awards: Awards of $15,000 (U.S) for one nine-month academic year. These all-discipline awards can be taken up at any college, university, think tank, or government agency in the United States.
Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Programs: Grants allow students to live in the United States for a period of 10 months. The award includes a $400 to $600 stipend per month (commensurate with average cost of living in host city, room and board, visa services, health insurance, and a bursary) to complete two courses per semester that are most beneficial to the student's teaching career.
The competition is for awards taken up for one nine-month academic year starting September 2016.
See details on the Fulbright-Canada website.
Deadline: Sunday, Nov. 15

Vitae: Essential Skills for Graduate Students

Academic and professional development program for graduate students provided in partnership with nine campus units.

Campus Partners Presents:

• Calling all Writers! We are recruiting graduate level students (Masters/PhD) for volunteer writers: contributing creative and stimulating blog content. Writers will have some editorial range yet provide a voice for the graduate student experience. Writers must submit sample of writing. For more details, please contact kperry@brocku.ca

Please continue to visit our website for professional development programs and workshops.

Conferences and Events

GSA

Visit the GSA website for news and events.

‪• NEW — Call for graduate students volunteers: Brock University Students' Union (BUSU) is looking for several graduate students to help facilitate sessions at the Aug. 19 SPARK Youth Leadership Summit being held at Brock. See conference details.
Graduate students interested in this opportunity may contact Aidan Smyth gsapresident@brocku.ca

• Student Visa travel requests: There is a new online application form to request a benefit confirmation letter for students applying for travel visas to other countries – see application online at Student VIP Visa Letter Request

• GSA Health and Dental plans continue for summer: Just a reminder that the 2014-15 GSA Health and Dental plans are in effect until August 31. Coverage also includes Travel Insurance, in case students are travelling out of the province or country for pleasure and/or research work (up to 120 days per visit) this summer. See details online.

• GSA Facebook group: Students are invited to join.

Upcoming Thesis Defences

Check Faculty websites for notices of upcoming thesis defences.

• NEW — Cameron (Cam) Thompson, MSc student Applied Health Sciences (Health Sciences), will defend his thesis on Friday, Aug. 14, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Walker Complex 203.
Title: "Predicting the risk of lung cancer in never-smokers"

• Kiel Ormerod, PhD student in Biological Sciences, will present his thesis defence on Monday, Aug. 17, 12:30 p.m., CRN 207.
Title: "Cell-selective modulation of the neuromuscular system in Drosophila"

• NEW — Sathya Amirthavasagam, MA student Applied Health Sciences (Community Health), will defend her thesis on Monday, Aug. 17, 1 to 4 p.m., in East Academic 306. Title: "Moderators of the relationship between family caregiver proxy ratings and person with dementia self-ratings of quality of life"

• NEW — Jordan Bunda, MSc student Applied Health Sciences (Kinesiology), will defend his thesis on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 1 to 4 p.m., Walker Complex 203.
Title: "Myosin regulatory light chain phosphorylation and its effect on the contractile economy of mouse fast muscle"

• Holly May, PhD student in Biological Sciences, will present her thesis defence on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 1 p.m., CRN 207.
Title: "Responses to reflection in two invertebrate species"

• NEW —Arnoosh Golestanian, MSc student Mathematics, will defend her thesis on Thursday, Aug. 20, 1 p.m., in WH147.
Title: "Backbone colouring of graphs"

• NEW — Maral Zibamanzarmofrad, MSc student Applied Health Sciences (Health Sciences), will defend his thesis on Monday, Aug. 24, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., in Walker Complex 203.
Title: "The role of membrane lipid composition on acute and chronic skeletal muscle damage in the rodent model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy"

• NEW — Stephen Klassen, MSc student Applied Health Sciences (Health Sciences), will defend his thesis on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., in South Block 361.
Title: "The influence of sex on the relationship between arterial mechanical properties and cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity"

• NEW — Michelle Zahradnik, MSc student Applied Health Sciences (Health Sciences), will defend her thesis on Monday, Aug. 24, 1 to 4 p.m., in Walker Complex 203.
Title: "Identification of network-based risk factors associated with gonorrhea"

• NEW — Michael McApline, MSc student Applied Health Sciences (Health Sciences), will defend his thesis on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., in Walker Complex 203.
Title: "Investigation of the time dependent influence of extracellular osmotic stress on protein turnover in skeletal muscle cells"

• NEW — Jessica (Jessy) Moore, MSc student Applied Health Sciences (Health Sciences), will defend her thesis on Monday, Aug. 31, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., in South Block 361.
Title: "Investigation of the biological effects of rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis L.) extract in human lung cancer cells"

• NEW — Robert (Bob) Montgomery, MA student Applied Health Sciences (Leisure Studies), will defend his thesis on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 1 to 4 p.m., in South Block 361.
Title: "Métis or Moniyâw: Explorative stories of decolonizing my Métis identity"

• NEW — Cody Watson, MSc student Applied Health Sciences (Kinesiology), will defend his thesis on Thursday, Sept. 3, 1 to 4 p.m., in Walker Complex 203.
Title: "Effects Of cerebral blood flow And PETCO2 On cognitive function during passive heat stress"

• NEW — Tracey Schenck, MA student Applied Health Sciences (Community Health), will defend her thesis on Friday, Sept. 4, 9 a.m. to 12 noon, in East Academic 308.
Title "Sustaining Health Care Practice Change: The experience of best practice spotlight organizations implementing and sustaining RNAO best practice guidelines"

• NEW — Magdalena Dobosiewicz, MA student Applied Health Sciences (Nursing), will defend her this on Thursday, Sept. 10, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., in East Academic 308.
Title: "Registered nurses' perceptions about facilitators and barriers to maternal skin to skin contact in the operating room"

• Search Brock theses on Theses Canada Portal: Brock's graduate student theses are now fully integrated into the Library and Archives Canada's AMICUS system. This means that approximately 2,000 Brock graduate student dissertations have been added to the definitive digital collection of Canadian theses, and are thus available to scholars across the country and the world. Visit the Theses Canada Portal for full details.

News

• NEW — Course taps into benefits of service-learning

• NEW — Grad course a 'gathering of community of practitioners'

• NEW — Aly Bailey - Brock PhD student to carry ParaPan Am torch

• NEW — Emma Stares - Chemistry PhD student's work a study in contrast

• NEW — Thalia Semplonius - Research compares well-being in young and older populations

• NEW — Naomi Johnson - Graduate student in Applied Disability Studies recognized by community

• NEW — Top 10 Life Affirming and Career Ready Tasks for Grad Students

The Faculty of Graduate Studies e-Bulletin is distributed every two to four weeks. Past issues are posted online.