Media releases

• Community invited to attend Distinguished Grad Series with accomplished Accounting alumnus

  Thursday, November 12, 2020 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 11 November 2020 – R0172

  With decades of experience under his belt, including overseeing billions of dollars in company revenue, Distinguished Graduate Sean Washchuk (BAcc ’96) is a wealth of financial industry knowledge.

  The Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of CLL Industries Inc., the world’s largest label company, will share industry insight during a virtual roundtable discussion hosted by Brock University’s Goodman School of Business.

  Held as part of Goodman’s annual Distinguished Graduate Series, the public event on Friday, Nov. 20 will see Washchuk join Goodman Dean Andrew Gaudes from 10:30 a.m. to noon to discuss his accounting education, career accomplishments and advice for aspiring and current business professionals.

  Participants will also have the opportunity to ask Washchuk questions. Register by Monday, Nov. 16 to secure a seat at the virtual table.

  Washchuk’s decades of experience as a chartered accountant and accomplished CFO include financial reporting, treasury, corporate finance, tax planning, international financing structure, acquisitions and investor relations in a business-to-business environment.

  Throughout his career, Washchuk served in a variety of financial roles with increasing responsibility, including nine years in his current role at CCL Industries and 11 years at Vitran Corporation Inc. as Vice-President, Finance; CFO; and Corporate Controller. Prior to Vitran, Washchuk was Controller for Nexcycle Plastics Inc. and acquired auditing experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

  CCL Industries manufactures specialty packaging and labeling solutions for the health-care, automotive and consumer packaging industries. Over the nine years Washchuk has worked for CCL Industries, he has helped grow the company from $1 billion in revenue to more than $5.5 billion, returning more than 1,000 per cent to its shareholders.

  CCL Industries employs more than 21,000 individuals and operates more than 180 production facilities in 40 countries, with corporate offices in Toronto and the United States.

  Washchuk was officially honoured as the 2020 Goodman School of Business Distinguished Graduate as part of Brock University’s virtual Homecoming celebrations in September.  

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock awarded $200,000 for equipment to research cell biology of COVID-19 infection

  Monday, November 09, 2020 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 9 November 2020 – R0171

  A Brock University research team has received a grant that will enable them to research how humans react to COVID-19 and a possible therapy to treat infection.

  The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) awarded immunologist Adam MacNeil and medical entomologist Fiona Hunter $200,000 to purchase high molecular and cellular resolution equipment for this work.

  “We are excited and honoured that the Canada Foundation for Innovation has equipped us with outstanding and sophisticated tools capable of analyzing and imaging virus-host interactions at the molecular and cellular level,” says team leader MacNeil, Associate Professor of Health Sciences.

  The Brock research teams will study how cells respond to infection, the impact of acquired immunity toward coronaviruses, and how interactions between the immune system and cells lining the lungs shape the inflammation characteristic of severe COVID-19.

  They will also look at if and how a molecule called a peptide could be used to reduce the replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, acting as a possible therapy.

  The new equipment will be housed in Brock University’s Level 3 containment laboratory (CL3), which MacNeil says is the ideal location.

  “These tools will be used to directly investigate the biology of virus-host interactions and identify potential paths toward viral inhibition by equipping us with high-impact tools for work with live infectious samples within the safe confines of the CL3,” he says.

  Level 3 enables Hunter, Professor of Biological Sciences, and her team to study arboviruses such as the Zika and West Nile viruses transmitted by mosquitoes, as Brock’s CL3 lab is the only one at a Canadian University that is equipped with an insectary.

  “In Brock’s CL3, Dr. MacNeil and I have graduate students who will study the effects of co-infection and super-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and a second virus such as influenza virus and will work on antibody dependent enhancement (ADE) of SARS-CoV-2 due to prior exposure to other coronaviruses,” she says.

  Hunter says the new equipment is “critical” for the team’s coronavirus research and will be useful for other Brock researchers for testing the effectiveness of potential anti-viral compounds.

  The financial support comes from a special CFI program called the Exceptional Opportunities Fund — COVID 19.

  On Friday, Nov. 6, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the CFI award recipients from Brock and other universities across Canada.

  “It’s an important development to have secured funding from this highly competitive national program,” says Brock University Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon. “This award recognizes the world-class research of Dr. MacNeil and Dr. Hunter, the tremendous contributions they have made in their fields, and the state-of-the-art facilities available at Brock to carry out such promising and impactful research.”

  The Exceptional Opportunities Fund — COVID-19 program invests up to $25 million with the objective of supporting urgent needs for equipment for ongoing research related to COVID-19.

  MacNeil says the timing of this funding and resulting equipment is spot-on.

  “We are heading into an uncertain winter season and we see evidence of ‘COVID-fatigue’ creeping in,” he says. “Science is a methodical and objective process, and the pursuit of solutions to deal with emergent pathogens like SARS-CoV-2 takes time.

  “This underscores the importance of each of us doing our part to remain vigilant by following public health guidelines and even going above and beyond when possible to minimize virus transmission, protecting our families, neighbours and community.”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases