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NOSM University research team collaborates on space research

NOSM University researchers and the Life Sciences Laboratory at SNOLAB have partnered with NASA Ames Research Center to study the effects of space cosmic radiation on genetic material and travelled to the Kennedy Space Center to observe and celebrate the launch of the Artemis I.

Drs. Chris Thome and Doug Boreham and graduate student Mike Lapointe from NOSM University received a two-year $150,000 grant from the Canadian Space Agency in collaboration with Dr. Marianne Sowa, Chief of the Space Biosciences Division at the NASA Ames Research Center in California.

Life in space and on the moon and Mars has many challenges, including the genetic damage caused by cosmic radiation. Cosmic radiation comes from the nuclear reactions that power stars and the sun. The universe is filled with galactic cosmic radiation but on Earth, our atmosphere shields and protects life from the harmful effects.  The shielding effects of the atmosphere can be seen at night as light—the Northern Lights—when cosmic radiation interacts with the atmosphere.

“To understand the biological effects of the cosmic radiation in deep space, our collaborators at NASA Ames Research Center are conducting an experiment in which live BioSentinel desiccated yeast—Baker’s Yeast or Saccharomyces cerevisiae—samples are travelling 40,000,000 km into deep space in a small spaceship called 6U Cubesat,” says Dr. Boreham, Professor and Division Head of Medical Sciences at NOSM University. “The 6U Cubesat will be a payload onboard the rocket Artemis I mission, which is set to launch in the coming weeks.”

Researchers at NOSM University and NASA are utilizing the same BioSentinel yeast in Sudbury’s SNOLAB, two kilometres underground in a Life Sciences Laboratory. Shielded from cosmic radiation in an ultra-low radiation environment, this experiment will compare and assess the impact of the absence or presence of high levels of natural cosmic radiation on living cells’ genetic material.

“The research is aimed at understanding how living cells can respond and adapt to the harsh radiation environment in outer space,” says Dr. Thome. “These experiments will build our knowledge on the potential risks inherent to future crewed missions to the moon and Mars and help develop new methods for extra-terrestrial protection of living organisms.”

NOSM University researchers and their NASA partners travelled to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on August 29 to observe and celebrate the beginning of exciting research with the upcoming launch of the Artemis I rocket and deployment to the moon of the BioSentinel yeast project. The mission has again been delayed due to Hurricane Ian. Launch details can be found on NASA’s Artemis blog.

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NOSM University is Canada’s first independent medical university and one of the greatest education and physician workforce strategy success stories of Northern Ontario. More than just a medical university, it was purpose built to address the health needs of the region. While advocating for equitable access to care, the university contributes to the economic development of Northern Ontario. NOSM University relies on the commitment and expertise of the peoples of Northern Ontario to educate health-care professionals to practise in Indigenous, Francophone, rural, remote and underserved communities. With a focus on diversity, inclusion and advocacy, NOSM University is an award-winning, socially accountable organization renowned for its innovative model of distributed, community-engaged education and research. NOSM University connects researchers, learners, teams and their findings to research entities, provincial health teams, research institutes, academic health sciences centres and health-care organizations. The university strengthens research capacity in Northern Ontario, improving performance and measurable outcomes in health services, quality health care, health and biomedical research and knowledge translation.

For further information, please contact: communications@nosm.ca

In the Spotlight

Two new enhanced skills residency programs launched at NOSM University

NOSM University is launching two new enhanced skills medical residency programs in Addiction Medicine and Sport and Exercise Medicine.

Resident doctors who have completed a two-year family medicine program can now apply to a third year of family medicine training in the Addiction Medicine and Sport and Exercise Medicine programs. Available to resident doctors from across Canada, the programs will help improve equitable access to health care for Northerners.

“By adding these fields of study to our residency programs, we are providing more learning opportunities for new family physicians to expand their expertise,” says Dr. Rob Anderson, Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education and Health Sciences. “For Northern Ontarians, there are often barriers to accessing health care from specialists. Enabling family physicians to expand their scope of practise will benefit Northerners who are often required to travel to urban centres to gain access to Sport and Exercise Medicine or Addition Medicine services.”

Dr. Mike Franklyn, inaugural Program Director, Addiction Medicine and Assistant Professor, is a dedicated physician based in Sudbury with extensive experience in primary care, addictions, and mental health, both within the community and at provincial and national levels. Outside of his clinical work, Dr. Franklyn has a significant role in projects related to the unhoused, poverty, addiction, mental health, and harm reduction for patients and primary-care physicians. He completed medical school at McMaster University and completed his residency in Sudbury through the University of Ottawa. A faculty member with NOSM from its inception, Dr. Franklyn has been an active leader in medical education.

Dr. Bryan Lemenchick, inaugural Program Director, Sport and Exercise Medicine and Assistant Professor, is an established community sport medicine physician based in North Bay. He completed medical school and family medicine residency at the University of Ottawa followed by a third-year fellowship in Sport and Exercise Medicine at Western University and the Supplemental Emergency Medicine Experience through the University of Toronto. Dr. Lemenchick is eager to begin developing NOSM University’s Sport and Exercise Medicine program—one he calls a very much wanted and needed program for the Northern Ontario medical community.

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Northern Ontario leaders invest in NOSM University future doctors 

$600,000 raised to support MD students while endowments remain in flux for 2022

A group of leaders made up of prominent Sudbury families, corporations with ties to the North, and philanthropists came together to raise $600,000 for NOSM University students for the 2022 academic year.

“We are extremely grateful to these community-minded leaders who have stepped-up to help NOSM University students—your future doctors and allied health professionals—at a critical time,” says Dr. Sarita Verma, President, Vice-Chancellor, Dean and CEO of NOSM University.

Following the Laurentian University Creditors Vote on September 14, 2022, NOSM University is also assured that the Plan of Arrangement from the CCAA proceedings accounts for the return of approximately $14.6M in endowments for future allocation of student bursaries.

“This is good news for NOSM University and for our future students,” says Dr. Verma. “NOSM University bursaries have been frozen to students in northeastern Ontario since the proceedings began in 2021. Without the quick commitment and support of these compassionate leaders, our students would not have had access to bursaries this year. My sincere thanks to all of them, with the guidance of Dr. Rayudu Koka and Mr. Gerry Lougheed Jr. Our students will benefit from your generosity.”

The group consists of the FDC Foundation, Lougheed Family Foundation, Métis Nation of Ontario, Gerry Perdue, Power Corporation of Canada and Technica Mining.

NOSM University MD students graduate with nearly double the debt load of other medical school graduates across the country. As part of the University’s social accountability mandate, students are in large part recruited from the North, for the North, and often do not have access to the same financial and social means as students in the south.

Now that NOSM University has the green light from the province to add another 30 medical degrees and 41 residency spots over the next five years, building a robust Student Endowment Fund is all the more urgent.

Since 2005, NOSM University has been delivering on its mandate. It has produced 838 MDs, 65 of whom self-identify as Indigenous and 171 of whom self-identify as Francophone. More than half of these health-care practitioners have stayed in Northern Ontario. It is estimated that 340,000 people have received care from a NOSM graduate.

Although there is much to show for its short history, the need for doctors in Northern Ontario is still great with a shortage of more than 350 physicians today.

To support NOSM University student financial aid, please visit nosm.ca.

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NOSM University is Canada’s first independent medical university and one of the greatest education and physician workforce strategy success stories of Northern Ontario. More than just a medical university, it was purpose built to address the health needs of the region. While advocating for equitable access to care, the university contributes to the economic development of Northern Ontario. NOSM University relies on the commitment and expertise of the peoples of Northern Ontario to educate health-care professionals to practise in Indigenous, Francophone, rural, remote and underserved communities. With a focus on diversity, inclusion and advocacy, NOSM University is an award-winning, socially accountable organization renowned for its innovative model of distributed, community-engaged education and research.

For media inquiries or further information, please contact: communications@nosm.ca.

NOSM University