Dr. Robert Deupree

New Frontiers

Canada Research Chair in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Saint Mary’s University’s Institute for Computational Astrophysics (ICA) is one of only a few institutes in the world dedicated to investigating frontier research problems in astrophysics through high performance computing. Dr. Robert Deupree is the first director of the ICA, he is also one of six Saint Mary’s University Canada Research Chairs (CRC). The federal government’s Canada Research Chair program will commit $1.4 million over seven years to establish a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Before coming to Saint Mary’s, Dr. Deupree was a senior staff scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. He is an international leader in the field of stellar hydrodynamics and has received numerous awards including a United States Department of Energy (DOE) award, the Los Alamos award and a NASA grant. Dr. Deupree is developing methods to calculate the structure and evolution of stars, perform simulations and better understand how they work. Dr. Deupree says, “With the arrival of Dr. Joseph Hahn as the CRC Tier 2, the post doctoral candidates, and three new graduate students who eventually may become the first entrants into the newly approved PhD program in astronomy, the ICA is well on its way to becoming the high quality research institution that we all picture.”

Offshore R&D Saint Mary’s Geology professor, Dr. Georgia Pe-Piper is leading a team that is developing ways of using minerals to trace source areas of ancient rocks where offshore oil and gas are found. Dr. Pe-Piper’s work is establishing Saint Mary’s as a leader in petroleum related education and research and advancing Nova Scotia’s hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir development. Dr. Pe-Piper will receive $369,363 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) over the next four years. Her work is also being funded by Sable Offshore Inc. (ExxonMobil) and Petroleum Research Atlantic Canada.

Canada Research Chair in Atlantic Canada Studies

Dr. Peter Twohig, Saint Mary’s University’s Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Atlantic Canada Studies (ACS) takes a dual approach to his research on Canada’s health care system.

Dr. Twohig has focused on both the history of health care in Atlantic Canada and contemporary health care. His research has highlighted the role of health care professionals and their impact on clinical practice.

As the ACS Canada Research Chair, Dr. Twohig plans to continue his interdisciplinary and community based research. This will include a history of public health in Nova Scotia and a comparative analysis of health care workers from the 1900s to the late sixties. He will also be studying evidence-based medicine and how it can be applied to day to day practice.

Cover Photo: Saint Mary's University's C-BAHR group (L-R) Dr. Madine VanderPlaat, Chair of Saint Mary's Sociology and Criminology Department; Dr. Gene barrett, professor, Sociology and Criminology Department; Dr.Najma Sharif, professor, Economics Department; Jackie Logan, project manager, Gorsebrook Research Institute, Dr. Jim Cameron, professor, Psychology Department; Dr. Peter Twohig, Saint Mary's University's Canada Research Chair in Atlantic Canada Studies

A Community Based Approach to Health Research

A multidisciplinary team of Saint Mary’s researchers are pursuing diverse community based health research with a $100,000 development grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The grant was shared between Saint Mary’s CN Centre for Occupational Health and Safety and the Community Based Approaches to Health Research (C-BAHR) group.

The C-BAHR group has used the funding to develop an extensive network of inter-sectoral institutions and organizations interested in collaborating on community based approaches to health. In the year since its inception, four workshops and more than a dozen proposals have emerged from the collaboration. Government departments include Health Canada and the Family Mosaic Project and Nova Scotia Department of Community Services. Community organizations include the Metro Immigrant Settlement Association, the Western Valley Development Authority and the Cape Breton Family Resource Coalition to name but a few. Gage Health Systems and Aquavitae feature as industry partners. International research partnerships have been developed with the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco in Brazil; the National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation also in Brazil; the University of Medicine in Hanoi; the Vietnam National University; Xiamen University in China; and the University of Cienfuegos in Cuba. Locally, proposals have been submitted in collaboration with researchers at Dalhousie’s International Health Unit and Department of Community Health and Epidemiology and The Nova Scotia Agriculture College’s Rural Research Centre.

Examples of health research that are being proposed and pursued by Saint Mary’s C-BAHR group include children, families and communities; health care and rehabilitation; community and the environment; and the economic and social implications of child disability among immigrant families.