By Michael Regenstreif
On the last Sunday evening in October, I joined about 50 people, mostly drawn from the scientific and academic communities – including the University of Ottawa, Carleton University and Canadian Friends organizations of some of Israel’s top academic centres – in attending a reception at Kinneret, the official residence in Ottawa of Israel’s ambassador to Canada.
Ambassador Miriam Ziv hosted the reception in honour of two renowned scientists – Howard Cedar, MD, PhD, and Aharon Razin, PhD, of the Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem – who were visiting Canada as recipients of the 2011 Canada Gairdner International Award. They received the award at a gala dinner, October 27, hosted by the Gairdner Foundation at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
The Gairdner International Award recognizes and rewards “the achievements of medical researchers whose work contributes significantly to improving the quality of human life.” The Gairdner is Canada’s foremost award for medical research and is often a precursor to the Nobel Prize. Since 1959, 298 scientists from 13 countries have received the Gairdner and 76 of them have later added the Nobel to their distinguished resumés.
Collaborators Cedar and Razin received the Gairdner for their “pioneering discoveries on DNA methylation and its role in gene expression.”
For more than three decades, Cedar and Razin have worked together on DNA methylation at Hebrew University. Their discoveries have had important implications in explaining “how genes are regulated and have led to better understanding of human development and the molecular basis of many diseases,” particularly various forms of cancer.
Their work will almost surely advance the treatment possibilities for cancer and other diseases in the years to come.
Israel is probably in the news more than any other country, relative to its size, in the world; mostly because of the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians. What too often gets overlooked is that Israel, also relative to its size, may well be one of the world’s most accomplished countries in such areas as arts and culture, and is most certainly one of the world’s most accomplished countries in scientific, medical and technological research and development.
Israel has a remarkable record of such achievement that affects all of us, from day-to-day ways, like how we use our computers and cell phones, to more profound life-saving and life-altering ways made possible by the work of such scientists as Cedar and Razin.
Library and Archives Canada
I’ve attended many events in the lovely auditorium at Library and Archives Canada, including some excellent concerts, film screenings, lectures and panel discussions.
It’s a great space, and a popular one, booked solidly about 350 days per year, mostly for events sponsored by a wide variety of non-profit community groups and organizations.
The news broke this month that it would soon become much harder for such groups to use the auditorium. Each event would have to receive ministerial approval from Public Works and Government Services Minister Rona Ambrose and, even if ministerial approval was forthcoming, groups would have to pay much higher fees to use the space.
At first, the new policy was to take effect at the beginning of 2012. That has now been put off for a year to 2013.
The government should reverse this action. The space should remain accessible – it is an important facility – and its day-to-day use should not be subject to the complicated process of ministerial approval or even the possibility of political whims.
Farewell to Alan Echenberg
As our long-time page 7 columnist Alan Echenberg notes in his swan song below, he is making a career change, which will preclude him from writing for newspapers.
Speaking as a fellow “Canadian politics geek” (I primarily focused on Canadian politics while doing my MA in public policy), I have always enjoyed reading Alan’s takes on some of the issues that have dominated our political scene in recent years – as well as on the other topics he’s written about over the years – and am sorry to see him leave us.
On behalf of all of us at the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin, I wish Alan well in his new job.
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