The Government of Prince Edward Island is looking at options for establishing a rural transit service for the province. Part of this work involves conducting a public survey to gather feedback on what Islanders expect out of a service like this, what the uptake will be, and what features it should include.

Members of the UPEI community are invited to participate by visiting: https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/news/input-wanted-from-islanders-on-rural-public-transit

The feedback from this survey will ultimately help shape how the service looks and functions and will be integral in ensuring that a solution is developed that meets the needs of those who will use it. The survey will be open until June 21.

UPEI Research Services and the Office of Commercialization, Industry, and Innovation are pleased to host a virtual session with Niraj Shukla, Mitacs Director, Business Development and Team Lead, Atlantic. Niraj will provide details on the recent updates to the Mitacs programs.  The virtual presentation will be held on Tuesday, June 22, 2021, from 10- 11 am. With recently announced funding increases, several key programs have expanded partner and student eligibility.  This session may be of interest to any researchers hoping to develop or expand partnerships with industry, not-for-profit, or other partners.

Please pre-register to attend the session by emailing: researchservices@upei.ca.

June is Stroke Awareness Month.  Stroke is a medical emergency and recognizing the signs of a stroke can mean the difference between life and death, or the difference between a full recovery and a lasting disability.  Strokes can happen to anyone:  babies, teenagers, young adults to older adults.

FAST is an easy way to remember the most common signs of stroke.  FAST stands for Face - is it drooping? Arms - can you raise both? Speech - is it slurred or jumbled? and Time - to cal 9-1-1 right away!!

Do not drive to the hospital - take an ambulance.

Don and Marion McDougall Hall and Atlantic Veterinary College

Wildwood Masonry will begin brick repointing on the east side of Don and Marion McDougall Hall (original building) on Monday, June 21, 2021 it is expected to take approximately 6 weeks to complete the work (weather dependent).

Following the completion of Don and Marion McDougall Hall they will relocate to the Atlantic Veterinary College and complete the east and north east walls of the South Barn. This work is expected to take approximately 4 weeks to complete (weather dependent).

The grinding work will cause some dust; therefore, the contractor will be using a dust extraction system.

The windows in the area should be kept closed during the work to keep any dust outside of the building.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jackie MacPhail at jmacphail@upei.ca or 902-566-6034.

UPEI has developed and implemented a comprehensive Hearing Conservation Program (HCP).

Fortunately, noise exposure can be controlled. Every effort should be made to use quieter processes, machinery, or equipment.

As part of the UPEI HCP, audiometric testing will take place the morning of July 5, 2021 and the afternoon of July 8th, 2021 at the Kelley Memorial Building Room 313. These tests take approximately ten minutes to complete.  It is important to have your hearing tested annually. All are welcome to attend.

Please pre-register for audiometric testing by contacting Shelly Kavanagh at shkavanagh@upei.ca  or 902-566-0901.

Learn more about UPEI's Hearing Conservation here.

This presentation provides an introduction to workplace mental health and safety. It includes a high-level introduction to mental health awareness and responding to some common issues, as well as accommodation, return to work, and the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Consider mental health and safety as an important part of overall health and safety.

• Better understand mental health and common mental health problems in terms of balance.

• Better understand the mental health accommodations and the National Standard.

Facilitator:  Les Wagner, Canadian Mental Health Association

Tuesday, June 22   9:00 am - Noon

Location:   Zoom or in person at AVC Lecture Theater A 201N

To register for this workshop please contact Sondra Gantner at sgantner@upei.ca or Angela Marchbank at amarchbank@upei.ca.  This workshop provided by Healthy Campus Committee via UPEI Employee Wellness Strategy.

This presentation provides a high-level overview of how mood impacts work.  it takes a particular focus on depression in the workplace and guides participants through the Mental Health Works 3-gear method of addressing it.  By the end of this sessions, participants will:

- Be exposed to an accessible and evidence based introduction to mood and depression

- Begin to see mood and depression in terms of balance and barriers

- Start to understand how to talk openly about depression.

Facilitators Amanda Gallant-Squires and Sarah MacEachern, Canadian Mental Health Association

Thursdays, June 17, 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Location:  By zoom or  AVC Lecture Theater A 201N

To register: Please contact Sondra Gantner  at sgantner@upei.ca or Angela Marchbank at amarchbank@upei.ca.  Session provided by the Healthy Campus Committee via UPEI Employee Wellness Strategy.

June is Pride month and this provides us with opportunities to support our LGBTQ2+ communities.  Pride was originally started to recognize the Stonewall Riots in New York on the one-year anniversary of the riots.  It has since spread across the world and has a month dedicated to raising awareness of issues in our LGBTQ2+ communities.  

The Transgender Community is one of those communities and at the UPEI Health & Wellness Centre, we provide Gender Affirming Care to faculty, staff, and students as well as patients across PEI who are struggling to find a primary care physician/NP to provide Gender Affirming Care.  We are located on the 2nd floor (North end) of the Murphy Building.  You can telephone us at 902-566-0616 or email us: healthcentre@upei.ca to make an appointment. 

WhatsApp is one of the worlds most downloaded apps in the world, but most users don't know you can search your messages like Google. For iOS versions, there’s a search bar; for Android, there’s a search icon. Either way, find words unique to a specific conversation to narrow down the exact message you’re looking for.

UPEI has developed and implemented a comprehensive Hearing Conservation Program (HCP).

Fortunately, noise exposure can be controlled. Every effort should be made to use quieter processes, machinery, or equipment.

As part of the UPEI HCP, audiometric testing will take place the morning of July 5, 2021 and the afternoon of July 8th, 2021 at the Kelley Memorial Building Room 313. These tests take approximately ten minutes to complete.  It is important to have your hearing tested annually. All are welcome to attend.

Please pre-register for audiometric testing by contacting Shelly Kavanagh at shkavanagh@upei.ca  or 902-566-0901.

Learn more about UPEI's Hearing Conservation here.

The Government of Prince Edward Island is looking at options for establishing a rural transit service for the province. Part of this work involves conducting a public survey to gather feedback on what Islanders expect out of a service like this, what the uptake will be, and what features it should include.

Members of the UPEI community are invited to participate by visiting: https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/news/input-wanted-from-islanders-on-rural-public-transit

The feedback from this survey will ultimately help shape how the service looks and functions and will be integral in ensuring that a solution is developed that meets the needs of those who will use it. The survey will be open until June 21.

An acquired brain injury (ABI) is damage to the brain occurring after birth and not related to a degenerative or congenital condition. The two type types of ABI are traumatic and non-traumatic.

Traumatic:  caused by something outside the body (e.g. assault, sports injury, fall, etc.).

Non-traumatic:  caused by something inside the body (e.g. aneurysm, tumor, ischemic stroke, opioid overdose, etc.).

Did you know there is a Concussion Clinic at UPEI?  If you have had a concussion (ABI) and continue to have concussive symptoms (physical, cognitive, or emotional) this clinic may be for you.  For more information or to request an appointment, contact concussionclinic@upei.ca

Have you heard? Summer hours at the Campus Foodbank are Wednesdays 2:00 - 7:00 pm for June, July and August. New volunteers can read this How to Guide for easy step by step directions.  

Check available spots here for every Wednesday this summer. Monthly tabs are at the bottom of the page.  

Thanks to the many who have supported the Campus Food Bank this year.  

Have you ever been impacted by extreme weather or natural disasters on PEI? Were you able to get the information and the help you needed at the right times? 

We are looking for interview study participants who will share their experiences about how they prepare and respond to these types of events. The information you share with us feed into a design process to create new interactive technologies to help citizens during storms, flash floods or other types of disasters that we increasingly need to respond to in 2021.

We are looking for people who are: fluent in English, 18 years of age or older, live or have lived on PEI  and have experienced an extreme weather or natural disaster event on PEI they would be comfortable speaking about.  Participants for this study also must have reliable internet connection as interviews will be conducted online.  

Interviews will take about 30 minutes to complete and participants will be compensated with an 8Gb USB key worth approximately $12 for their time.  Participants will also be given the opportunity to join in future community co-design sessions for the new technology!

If you would like to improve preparedness and response of Islanders to natural disasters, please contact Choyce Chappell (cachappell@upei.ca) or Christopher Power (cdspower@upei.ca) to set up an interview between 1 June 2021 and 15 July 2021.

CHANGE is a lifestyle intervention developed by Metabolic Syndrome Canada for individuals living with or at risk of Metabolic Syndrome. This year-long program supports people who have 2-3/5 of the following conditions: diabetes (or prediabetes), high blood pressure, carry excess weight in their abdomen, have low "good" cholesterol (HDLs) or high "bad" cholesterol (LDL's).  The program is being offered across communities in PEI and is free. You will spend 2.0 hours per week initially with a registered dietitian and kinesiologist. After the first 12 weeks, you will meet bi-weekly for 12 weeks, tri-weekly for 12 weeks, and then every 4 weeks until the program is completed at week 52. At 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months you will have detailed assessments including a walk test, strength/flexibility tests, diet scores, measurements of biometrics such as blood, weight, BMI and mental health questionnaires. The program focuses on your individual level of health and supports you to adopt a healthy Mediterranean Diet as well as incorporate exercise into your routine.

For more information email CHANGE@upei.ca or telephone 902-620-5156.

UPEI Research Services is hosting a virtual grant writing webinar on June 17, 2021, from 1 - 3 pm.  This webinar is open to all UPEI researchers across all disciplines. In addition, the 2019-2023 UPEI Strategic Plan outlines UPEI’s commitment to identifying resources and supports to enhance institutional support to assist researchers in effectively identifying and pursuing research funding.

Dr. Nicole St. Denis of High-Fidelity Science Communications (https://www.hifiscicomm.ca/) will present this session. Topics covered will include choosing funding opportunities, planning the proposal, writing each section of the proposal, and revising and improving the draft proposal. Dr. St. Denis has been editing professionally since 2017. Since then, she has edited hundreds of manuscripts and has demonstrated success assisting clients obtain research funding.  

For those interested in attending, please pre-register by email: researchservices@upei.ca.

This presentation provides a high-level overview of how mood impacts work.  it takes a particular focus on depression in the workplace and guides participants through the Mental Health Works 3-gear method of addressing it.  By the end of this sessions, participants will:

- Be exposed to an accessible and evidence based introduction to mood and depression

- Begin to see mood and depression in terms of balance and barriers

- Start to understand how to talk openly about depression.

Facilitators Amanda Gallant-Squires and Sarah MacEachern, Canadian Mental Health Association

Thursdays, June 17, 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Location:  By zoom or  AVC Lecture Theater A 201N

To register: Please contact Sondra Gantner  at sgantner@upei.ca or Angela Marchbank at amarchbank@upei.ca.  Session provided by the Healthy Campus Committee via UPEI Employee Wellness Strategy.

Ethics protocols that involve ‘more than minimal risk’ must be reviewed by the full UPEI Research Ethics Board (REB).  The next deadline for submitting these protocols is Friday June 25, 2021.

Other ethics protocol submissions, including new applications that do not involve ‘more than minimal risk’, renewals, and amendments may be submitted at any time. They will be sent for delegated review as soon as all necessary forms are received.

All research compliance applications, including Research Ethics Board application forms, must be submitted through the Researcher Portal. This online system is paired with electronic approvals to replace the hard-copy signatures process.

Information about the Researcher Portal, including instructions for using the site, is available at https://www.upei.ca/research-services/forms. Contact researcherportal@upei.ca if you have any questions about accessing or using the Researcher Portal.

For more information about the REB review and approval process please contact Joy Knight (Compliance Coordinator) at mknight@upei.ca

The next deadline for submitting Biosafety applications including new applications, renewals and/or amendments is Friday June 25, 2021. These applications will be reviewed at the July 2021 meeting.

All research compliance applications, including Biosafety application forms, must be submitted through the Researcher Portal. This online system is paired with electronic approvals to replace the hard-copy signatures process.

Information about the Researcher Portal, including instructions for using the site, is available at https://www.upei.ca/research-services/forms. Contact researcherportal@upei.ca if you have any questions about accessing or using the Researcher Portal.

For more information about the IBC review and approval process please contact Joy Knight (Compliance Coordinator) at mknight@upei.ca

UPEI Research Services is hosting a virtual grant writing webinar on June 17, 2021, from 1 - 3 pm.  This webinar is open to all UPEI researchers across all disciplines. In addition, the 2019-2023 UPEI Strategic Plan outlines UPEI’s commitment to identifying resources and supports to enhance institutional support to assist researchers in effectively identifying and pursuing research funding.

Dr. Nicole St. Denis of High-Fidelity Science Communications (https://www.hifiscicomm.ca/) will present this session. Topics covered will include choosing funding opportunities, planning the proposal, writing each section of the proposal, and revising and improving the draft proposal. Dr. St. Denis has been editing professionally since 2017. Since then, she has edited hundreds of manuscripts and has demonstrated success assisting clients obtain research funding.  

For those interested in attending, please pre-register by email: researchservices@upei.ca.