Beier Lab

Archive

December 22nd, 2011

Happy Holidays from everyone in the Beier lab! Beier lab members and alumni alike gathered together to celebrate another exciting and productive year. We raffled off not one but two iPads with the proceeds going towards arthritis research and other charities. Congratulations to all our winners and all the best to everyone in the new year!

Beier Lab Christmas 2011

Beier lab members at christmas lunch Beier Lab members share christmas lunch Lab alumni too! Lab iPad draw
 

November 18th, 2011

 
This year's Charles W. Gowdey Lecture and Research Day was a resounding success, featuring lectures from UWO Scientists Dr. Brad Urquhart and Dr. Qingping Feng. Gowdey lecturer Dr. Brenda Gallie passionately described “One Retinoblastoma World: Science and the Children” and Physiology/Pharmacology students presented fantastic posters on their research. 
The Beier lab's own Ryan Gillespie (back row, left) was recognized for his hard work in the Physiology Department with the Phys/Pharm Graduate Student Council Leadership Award. Congratulations Ryan!

Members of the Beier Lab attend the Gowdey dinner

September 20th, 2011

Members of the Beier lab attended the OARSI 2011 World Congress on Osteoarthritis in San Diego. 

Shrine and Mike at OARSI

Shirine and Mike take in the local skeletal biology in San Diego

August 17th, 2011

Congratulations to Emily LeBlanc for successfully defending her M.Sc. thesis on "PPAR delta and AMPK pathways in Cartilage". She will be be starting Physiotherapy at McMaster University in September! Yay!

 

Emily before defense

Emily getting ready for her defense

Emily and Goblet

Emily and the well-earned Goblet of Knowledge

Cool beier boys

Cool Beier boys

August 12th, 2011

Congratulations to Mike Pest for obtaining a Graduate PhD/Pfizer Scholarship for three years from the Canadian Arthritis Network (CAN) and The Arthritis Society!

August 10th, 2011

Congratulations to Ryan Perlus for successfully defending his M.Sc. thesis on "The role of Ror alpha in chondrocyte differentiation". He will be be starting medical school at The University of Limerick in September!

Ryan before defense

Ryan, prepared for his defense. 

Ryan and goblet
Ryan drinks from the goblet of knowledge
grad glub1
The lab celebrates at the grad club
Techs celebrating!
Our techs joined in the celebration!

 

Congratulations to Lauren and Alex
July 5, 2011

We are pleased to announce that Lauren Solomon and Alex Crawford were married this past week in London. Congratulations to you both! 

Lauren and Alex
The ceremony was followed by drinks at the Grad Club. 

 

Walk to fight Arthritis
May 15, 2011

Despite the miserable weather, the "Walk to fight Arthritis" was a great success.  Team Bernier, which included many of our lab members, collected more than $6,000, and in total the London walk raised close to $70,000!

 Team Bernier - Researchers in Motion

Team Bernier - Researchers in Motion

 Tom and Friends

Cheryl, Emily and Shirine share an umbrella with Tom

Walk for Arthritis 

Not to be stopped by the rain!
Emily and shirine
Bright smiles on a cloudy day

 

OGS Awards
May 13, 2011

We are pleased to announce that Lauren Solomon received an OGS scholarship in this year's competition.

Dr. Suzanne Bernier Memorial Award
May 13, 2011

Congratulations to Ryan Gillespie who won the 4th annual Dr. Suzanne Bernier Memorial Award in Skeletal Biology. He is the third member of the lab to win this award (after Veronica and Shirine). 

Ryan Gillespie

Ryan with Members of Suzanne's family and the keynote speaker Dr. Olsen

Bernier Memorial Reception

Lab members at the reception

Beier Lab Fights Arthritis
May 12, 2011

Most lab members will participate at the 'Walk to fight Arthritis', a fundraiser for The Arthritis Society on May 15. We are walking as part of 'Team Bernier: Researchers in Motion', in memory of Dr. Suzanne Bernier. The team has raised over $5,000 so far and is aiming for more. 

 

Congratulations to Emily
 May 12, 2011

Congratulations to Emily whose abstract was selected for oral presentation at the Canadian Connective Tissue Conference in Montreal http://cctc2011.com/

 

Welcome to our new members
May 12, 2011
A busy summer for the lab. Ryan P., Ryan G.,  Jen and Emily are all planning to graduate. Gun Woo will complete his visit and return to South Korea, while Guoyan returns to London after her leave. Lots of new people are joining the lab, and two of our PhD graduates, Claudine and Tom, will start their residencies in London - we hope to work with them on translational aspects of our projects

Welcome to our new summer students Margaret Sun, Lyuba Lytvyn and Paxton Moon. Margaret won a CIHR/IMHA summer studentship and will continue to work with Ryan P on the role of nuclear receptors in chondrocytes. Lyuba will work with Jason on CTCF function in chondrocyte differentiation. Paxton won a JuMP summer studentship and will examine the regulation of protease expression in chondrocytes, with Emily and Mike.

Laura Aubrey also joined our lab this month, for now as summer student but continuing as a graduate student in the fall. Her project will address the role of GSK-3 proteins in limb and cartilage development.

 

Beier Laboratory Osteoarthritis Research Profiled by CIHR
September 7, 2009 9:55 PM

Ask any arthritis sufferer what they find most difficult about their illness, and they'll tell you it's the constant physical pain. According to a National Population Health Survey, 80% of people with arthritis take some type of painkiller. And yet, there has been very little research examining why arthritis hurts so much.

Click here to read the full article.

Several Beier Laboratory Members Rewarded for Efforts 
July 15, 2009 10:48 AM

Another season of scholarship and grant applications has arrived and the Beier Laboratory members have been recognized for their excellent research efforts again. This year, several new students have joined the lab and were also awarded recently. Among the awardees are Jen Li, MSc candidate, who won a CIHR Masters Award and Christina Fung, summer student, who received a CIHR Summer Studentship. Qian Yan and Ryan Gillespie, both PhD candiates in the lab received travel awards to attend the 2009 Gordon Research Conference 'Bones and Teeth'. A recent PhD graduate from the lab, Dr. Veronica Ulici, also received a travel award to attend the OARSI 2009 World Congress in Montreal, QC in September. Finally, Dr. Tom Appleton, a post-doctoral research associate and medical student, received a Canadian Arthritis Network Summer Studentship for Medical and Allied Health Professionals.

 

 

  • We are pleased to announce the following successful grants have been awarded to Dr. Frank Beier in the recent CIHR Operating grants competition:

    1. 04/2008-03/2013 “Rac1 function inendochondral ossification”, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR),$123,371/year (Principal Investigator) 

    2. 04/2008-03/2011 “Transforming growth factor alpha in a rodent model of osteoarthritis”, Canadian Institutesof Health Research (CIHR), $101,855/year (Principal Investigator)

  • Dr. Beier has also successfully received funding in a recent Western Innovation Fund competition:

    1. 01/2008-12/2008 “TGFa as therapeutic target inosteoarthritis”, Western Innovation Fund, $49,352 (Principal Investigator)

Posted: January 31st, 2008

 
  • From CANnections: "A group representing CAN recently travelled to Japan to attend the International Symposium on Advanced Bone and Joint Science (ABJS). The Symposium was hosted by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) in partnership with CAN through the International Partnership Initiative (IPI). CAN speakers included Drs. Jane Aubin, Bill Stanford and Michael Underhill, consumer Jean Légaré, trainee Anita Woods, and Johnathan Riley of the CAN office. CAN members were very well received at ABJS and potential outcomes from the event include Canadian-Japanese research collaborations and a Japanese consumer program modelled after CAN's Consumer Advisory Council."

    (Courtesy: The Canadian Arthritis Network)

    Posted: December 21, 2007 

 
  • Congratulations to Laura Kennedy for winning the Physiology & Pharmacology Research Day Poster Constest in the Skeletal Biology Category!

    Posted: October 31, 2007

 
  • We are pleased to announce Claudine James as the winner of the 2007 Esme Walker award in Physiology for having the top PhD thesis! Congratulations to Claudine!

    Posted: October 17, 2007

 
  • Congratulations to Team Francine, led by Dr. Graeme Hunter, who particpated in the CIBC Run for the Cure fundraising event this September. Team Francine raised over $10,000 for cancer research! Way to go! 

    Posted: September 23, 2007

Team Francine

 

 
  • Dr. Beier will present a lecture in Toronto, Ontario at the Workshop of the Center for Modeling Human Diseases on December 10th, 2007. The lecture will be titled: "Rodent models of skeletal diseases". 

    Posted: October 17, 2007

 
  • We are pleased to announce Claudine James as the winner of the 2007 Esme Walker award in Physiology for having the top PhD thesis! Congratulations to Claudine!

    Posted: October 17, 2007

 
  • Congratulations to Tom Appleton who successfully defended his PhD thesis on July 19th! The title of Tom's thesis is 'Molecular mechanisms of articular cartilage degeneration in experimental knee osteoarthritis'. 

    Posted: August 2nd, 2007

TomA PhD

  • We are pleased to announce that Ryan & Sarah Gillespie were married this past weekend in Canton, Ohio. Congratulations to you both and we wish you the best in your future together! 

    Posted: June 15th, 2007

 
  • Congratulations to Claudine James! Claudine successfully defended her PhD thesis this morning. Claudine has worked in the Beier lab for the past several years. 

    Posted: June 8th, 2007

Claudine_defense

   
  • We are pleased to announce that Daphne Pala won Best Oral Presentation at the Canadian Connective Tissue Conference held in Toronto this past weekend! Daphne's talk was entitled: "CTGF is required for chondrogenesis".

    Posted: May 29th, 2007

Daphne Pala

  • We are pleased to announce that Laura Bursell successfully defended her Master's of Science thesis today! Laura has worked in the Beier Lab on signaling proteins in cartilage development for the past two years. 

    Posted: May 16th, 2007

Laura Defense
Laura Kennedy, Laura Bursell, Fak-/- mouse (Daphne Pala) and Mistre Alemayehu following the defense!

 
  • Congratulations to Tom Appleton in the Beier lab for winning a Graduate Student Teaching Award!

    Posted: May 16th, 2007

Tom Appleton

  • We are pleased to announce that Jennifer Li will continue to work in the Beier lab this summer and has received a summer studentship from the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis for her project entitled: "PPAR-gamma in chondrocyte differentiation"

    Posted: April 12th, 2007

 
  • Congratulations to Jennifer Lam for winning the Western Athlete of the Year Award!

    Posted: April 10th, 2007

 
  • We are pleased to announce that Tom Appleton and Ryan Gillespie received OGS scholarships in this year's competition.

    Posted: April 10th, 2007

 
  • Congratulations to Daphne Pala (Beier/Leask labs) for her successful MSc defense yesterday!

    Posted: April 3rd, 2007

 
  • Please congratulate Veronica Ulici (Beier Lab) on her successful completion of her PhD comprehensive exams.

    Posted: February 10th, 2007

 
  • Congratulations to Dr. Frank Beier on a recent successful grant application. Dr. Beier has been awarded a 3 year (2007-2010) grant to investigate "Regulation of endochondral bone development by glucocorticoid signaling" valued at $101,855/year.

    Posted: February 1st, 2007

 
  • We are pleased to announce that Ryan Gillespie (Beier Lab) has received a 3-year graduate scholarship from the Canadian Arthritis Network to complete his PhD in Dr. Beier's lab.

    Posted: January 9th, 2007

Ryan Gillespie

   
  • Congratulations to Dr. Frank Beier for receiving the promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure! Frank currently holds the Canada Research Chair in Musculoskeletal Health and holds an appointment in the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology. This is truly a milestone achievement. 

    Posted: December 18th, 2006

Frank Beier

   
  • Tom Appleton (Beier Lab) sucessfully completed his PhD comprehensive exams on December 15th. 

    Posted: December 18th, 2006

 
  • Congratulations to Dr. Anita Woods and her supervisor Frank Beier for successfully defending her doctoral thesis. The defense took place on December 14th. Dr. Rocky Tuan, visiting from the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland, served on Anita's examination committee as external examiner. He also gave a great lecture the following morning. Thanks again to Rocky for this!

    Posted: December 15th, 2006

Anita Defense

   
  • Tom Appleton received a Graduate Thesis Research Award from the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology.

    Posted: December 12th, 2006

 
  • Veronica Ulici also received a Graduate Thesis Research Award from the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology. Congratulations!

    Posted: December 12th, 2006

 
  • Hanga and Anita received their Physiology awards at the Stevenson Banquet on Wednesday evening. Photos are from the dinner.

    Posted: November 18th, 2006

Hanga Stephen . Hanga Claudine

Stevenson Banquet

  • We are pleased to announce that Holly Dupuis from the Beier lab gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on November 9th! Saydie Wilson Dupuis is now at home with mother and father, happy and healthy. Congratulations to Holly and her new family!

    PostedNovember 16th, 2006

Holly Baby

  • Veronica Ulici was one of only 5 trainees, and the only trainee traveling from Canada, to be invited to the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons Symposium on Developmental Biology & Orthopaedics. The symposium will be held in Toronto, ON, on October 26th-28th, 2006.

    Posted: October 23rd, 2006

 
  • Anita Woods (Beier Lab) has received a Western Graduate Research Award for her trip to the Conference on the Growth Plate, held in Washington, DC this past June.

    Posted: October 23rd, 2006

 
  • Congratulations to Anita Woods (PhD - Physiology) in Frank Beier's lab on being this year's recipient of the Gordon Mogenson Award.

    Posted: October 23rd, 2006

 
  • This year's Bill Bottom Award recipient is Hanga Agoston (MSc - Physiology) from Frank Beier's Lab. Congratulations Hanga!

    Posted: October 23rd, 2006

 
  • Tom Appleton won 'Best Presentation' at the annual Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation meeting last week. The meeting was hosted by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Ottawa. Congratulations!

    Posted: October 1st, 2006

 
  • Hanga Agoston won second prize for her oral presentation on CNP in endochondral ossification at the European Cells & Materials Conference on Cartilage and Joint Diseases in Davos Switzerland!

    Posted: July 7th, 2006

 
  • Congratulations to Hanga Agoston for sucessfully defending her MSc thesis. Hanga will continue to work in the Beier lab over the summer. 
    Posted: June 7th, 2006

 
  • Tom Appleton received the Best Poster award at the Canadian Arthritis Network Consensus Conference on Pre-Clinical Models of Osteoarthritis, held in Montreal. 
    Posted: May 20th, 2006

 
  • Anita WoodsGuyoan WangLee-Anne Stanton, andClaudine James will be attending the Growth Plate conference in Portland, Oregon starting Monday, June 13th, 2006. They will each be presenting posters. 

    Posted: May 17th, 2006

 
  • Tom AppletonVeronica Ulici, and Hanga Agoston will be attending the European Cells & Materials Cartilage and Joint Diseases Conference in Davos, Switzerland starting June 25th, 2006. They will each be delivering platform presentations.

    Posted: May 17th, 2006

 
  • Tom Appleton won the Dean's Award for Research Excellence for first place in the Western Research Forum 2006 - Biological Sciences Division.
    Posted: April 21st, 2006

 
  • Congratulations to Shirine Usmani in the Beier Lab! Shirine won a CIHR summer studentship from the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis and will continue working in the Beier lab this summer. 
    Posted: April 17th, 2006

 
  • Congratulations to Tom Appleton who won a travel award to the Consensus Conference on Pre-clinical Models of Osteoarthritis.

    Posted: April 17th, 2006

 
  • Congratulations to Anita Woods for winning a CIHR Doctoral Award.

    Posted: April 17th, 2006

 
 
 
  • Congratulations to Laura Bursell who recently received a scholarship from the Canadian Arthritis Network!
    Posted: February 4th, 2006 

 
  • Welcome to Ryan Gillespie who started his PhD studies in our lab in January.
    Posted: January 20th, 2006

 
  • Claudine will be busy travelling for the next little while. She will spend most of February in the lab of Jan Tuckermann, Jena, Germany, for some collaborative experiments. She also received a prestigious Keystone Symposia scholarship to present her data at the "Keystone Symposium on Systems Biology: Integrating Biology, Technology and Computation" in March in Taos, New Mexico.
    Posted: January 20th, 2006

 
  • Tom will be attending the Canadian Arthritis Network Arthritis Pain Workshop at the end of January to examine the problem of arthritis pain from a multidisciplinary perspective and to devise new strategies to better control joint pain in the community.
    Posted: January 20th, 2006

 
  • Guoyan, Hanga, Veronica, and Frank will attend the Great Lakes Mammalian Development Conference in Toronto, Ontario in March.
    Posted: January 18th, 2006