Left to right: Dr. Rachel Fernandez; Dr. Aly Karsan; Dr. Jennifer Grants; Dr. Ross MacGillivray; Mr. Roger Page; Ms. Hourik Khanlian.
On Wednesday October 17th, Dr. Jennifer Grants was presented with the 2018 Michael John Page Postdoctoral Fellow Award by the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (BMB) and the Centre for Blood Research (CBR). This award was developed by BMB and CBR in memory of Dr. Page who received his Ph.D. from UBC in 2004. After postdoctoral work in St. Louis, Dr. Page was a faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco before dying suddenly in 2013 at age 36. Dr. Grants’ presentation was attended by Mr. Roger Page (Michael’s father who flew in from Thunder Bay), Dr. Leonard Foster (Head, BMB), Dr. Ed Pryzdial (Acting Director, CBR), Dr. Aly Karsan (Professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Dr. Grants’ postdoctoral supervisor and a member of the CBR) as well as Dr. Rachel Fernandez (Associate Dean, Postdoctoral Fellows Office & Student Professional Development) and Ms. Hourik Khanlian (Manager, Human Resources and Postdoctoral Affairs) from the UBC Faculty of Graduate + Postdoctoral Studies.
Reflecting Dr. Page’s attitude to life, the Michael John Page Postdoctoral Fellow Award recognizes academic excellence as well as extracurricular activities. The Award is funded through an endowment set up by the Page Family in addition to contributions from BMB and CBR. Dr. Grants presented a very clear summary of her research starting as an undergraduate at the University of Victoria, her graduate work under Dr. Stefan Taubert’s supervision at the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics and her current studies with Dr. Karsan at the BC Cancer Agency. Dr. Grants has studied transcriptional regulation in various model systems including blood cells. She presented evidence linking inflammation, ageing and myeloid malignancy using transgenic mouse models for specific blood cancers. Following her scientific presentation, Dr. Grants explained the important role of music in her life including her training in piano, violin and voice. She capped off an entertaining seminar by playing Edward Elgar’s Salut d’Amour on her violin. Following her presentation, Mr. Roger Page presented Dr. Grants with the 2018 Michael John Page Award (a memorial plaque plus a $3,000 prize). A splendid time was had by all!