New discoveries, whether it’s the development of new drugs or the design of new techniques and inventions, follow a circuitous route before we can find them on the shelves of our pharmacies or in our day-to-day workplaces.

The long road to take research from the laboratory to the marketplace will be explored March 3 at Research Café II, Curing What Ails Us – from Discovery to Market. Researchers from the Faculties of Applied Health Sciences, Business, and Mathematics and Science will lead the café journey – from the cutting-edge world of science to testing and trials, and from acquiring funding and capital to marketing and promotion.

This is the second of two research cafés presented by the Faculty of Graduate Studies, Brock Research and the Graduate Students’ Association as part of the 2009-10 Mapping the New Knowledges conference.

The free event takes place in Pond Inlet, starting with a reception and light refreshments at 4:30 p.m. The presentations will take place between 5 and 6:30 p.m., to be followed by group discussion.

Marilyn Rose, Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies, says this is a unique opportunity to follow the motion of new discoveries as they make their way to important commercial applications.

“We always talk about research that makes a difference to the health and well-being of communities around the world – how does that happen? It’s an interesting conversation to have given the recent H1N1 situation,” she says. “This café will highlight the multiple perspectives and stages of research to market. It’s a journey that involves the commitment and dedication of research partnerships connecting faculty, graduate students, industry and business.”

The café will be moderated by Ian Brindle, Vice-President Research. It will feature the following lead researchers:

• Martin Tammemagi, associate professor, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences
• Dirk De Clercq, associate professor, and Narongsak (Tek) Thongpapanl, assistant professor, Faculty of Business
• Jeff Stuart, associate professor, Faculty of Mathematics and Science
• Yousef Haj-Ahmad, professor, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, and founder of Norgen Biotek Corp., a biotechnology company based in St. Catharines

Several graduate students will take part in the presentations, including Ellen Robb, a PhD student who works with Stuart. Robb is pursuing studies into the cellular mechanisms underlying the positive health effects of resveratrol, an active ingredient in red wine. Last year, she received a prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship to support her work.

“There is a strong health objective to Ellen’s work and it’s very relevant to the wine industry,” says Stuart. “Her research is a good example of the role of graduate students in driving discovery and innovation.”

For information on the research café or to register, send an email to mapping@brocku.ca

The 2009-10 Mapping the New Knowledges conference will wrap up on April 22 with a full-day program featuring oral and poster presentations from Brock graduate students. The deadline for master’s and doctoral students to submit oral and poster proposals is March 8.

For more information on the student conference day, which includes GSA workshops, visit the call for proposals page.

The first café in November, “Research for a Changing World,” offered a diverse menu of research topics that address the challenges of today’s world and the impact on daily life – from how we play and learn to how we sleep and function.