Media releases

• Golf tournament supports scholarships for Brock student-athletes

  Tuesday, May 28, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 28 May 2019 – R00089

  An incredible $75,000 was raised for Brock University student-athlete scholarships at the 17th annual President’s Golf Classic held at St. Catharines Golf and Country Club on Monday, May 27.

  Nearly 150 golfers showed their support for the Brock Badgers at the event that has become a long-standing University tradition.

  “It’s an outstanding day. Athleticism and sport is alive and well at Brock,” said University President Gervan Fearon. “This tournament is important for our students and the University. It brings together sponsors, but also allows us to showcase the outstanding accomplishments and character of our student-athletes to our community in Niagara.”

  The tournament, founded by former Brock President David Atkinson and the late David S. Howes, raises funds to help Brock’s student-athletes, who face the daunting task of balancing athletics and academics.

  “Funding like this takes a big stress off of us as student-athletes,” said wrestler Jevon Balfour, who was named this year’s Brock Male Athlete of the Year. “We can optimally use our time to get better and it also takes stress off the coaches as well. The mental boost it provides is unparalleled.”

  Student-athletes at Brock not only make a significant contribution to the University with their leadership and community engagement, but also across the country, said Brian Hutchings, Vice-President, Administration.

  “This event has a major impact and we’re overwhelmed with joy to see this show of support from the community,” he said. “The OUA and U SPORTS are full of talented student-athletes who don’t receive enough recognition. The level of commitment to athletics and academics by Canadian student-athletes is second to none.”

  For the third consecutive year, Rankin Construction was the presenting sponsor.

  Other major sponsors include: Whiting Equipment Canada; AllianceBernstein Canada Inc.; Sullivan Mahoney LLP; Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP; Cinema Stage Inc; CDW Canada; Brock Plaza Corporation; Mawer Investment Management; Garda Canada Security Corp.; Commercial Cleaning Services; Brock University Alumni Association; PepsiCo; Attridge Transportation; Quartek Group Inc; McCallum Sather Architects; Deloitte; E.S. Fox Limited; Scotiabank; Canadian Tire Bank Group; Sodexo; Barings; Jackson-Triggs Niagara; WSP; Telcon Datvox; Aquicon; Niagara Falls Business Events; and T. Litzen Sports Ltd.

   

  To learn more about how to support Brock Badgers student-athletes, visit gobadgers.ca/DonateNow

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock University awarded $2.2 million in NSERC funding

  Monday, May 27, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 27 May 2019 – R00088

  If older adults are afraid of falling when standing on an unstable platform or walking on an icy sidewalk, will that fear and anxiety cause them to lose their balance and fall?

  Brock Associate Professor of Kinesiology Craig Tokuno is aiming to answer this and other questions through his research on how the brain, spinal cord and muscles work to maintain balance under various conditions.

  Tokuno’s work will be aided by funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). He is one of 14 faculty researchers, as well as six students, from Brock University receiving a total of $2.2 million in this year’s NSERC funding round, which was announced last week.

  Tokuno will use his Discovery Grant to examine anticipatory postural adjustments (APA), a strategy that the central nervous system uses to allow us to remain stable when we stand.

  The central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord, generate APAs which, in turn, cause certain muscles to contract at various intensities prior to an upcoming movement.

  This occurs when an action is initiated, such as grabbing a door handle, or when a situation is expected that will cause the body to lose stability, such as extending your arms to stop a swinging pendulum from hitting you.

  But older adults are less able to regulate the size and timing of their anticipatory movements when initiating or reacting to actions, which “may explain why falls in daily life often occur as a result of an incorrect shifting of body weight during movement preparation,” says Tokuno.

  In a series of experiments, he plans to better understand the generation and trainability of APAs across the lifespan. Among other things, he’ll be looking at the role that fear and anxiety play in older adults’ balance control.

  “Scientific discoveries help us better understand the inner workings of our bodies and minds as well as the world around us,” says Vice-President, Research, Tim Kenyon. “NSERC’s research funding is vital for us to investigate these areas in which we can make valuable contributions to society.”

  Tokuno says he is pleased with his NSERC funding.

  “This research will expand our fundamental understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying human anticipatory balance control and provide insight into how and why these processes become altered with advanced age,” he says. “This research may also help to improve our ability to determine why falls and balance deficits arise due to aging.”

  Brock University researchers awarded funding in the latest NSERC round include:

  Discovery Grants

  • Stephen Anco, Mathematics and Statistics: “Symmetries, conserved integrals, Hamiltonian flows, and integrable systems”
  • Michael Bidochka, Biological Sciences: “An integrated study of Metarhizium–plant interactions”
  • Robert Carlone, Biological Sciences: “Regulation of neural stem cells by retinoic acid and Notch signalling in the regenerating axolotl spinal cord”
  • Jens Coorssen, Health Sciences: “Proteomes of proteoforms — improving routine top-down proteomic analyses”
  • Kimberly Cote, Psychology: “Investigating the functional role of sleep in waking cognitive and emotion processing”
  • Travis Dudding, Chemistry: “Applications of cyclopropenylidene metal complexes and thioureas in catalysis”
  • Stephen Emrich, Psychology: “Neural mechanisms of the representation, prioritization, and manipulation of visual working memory”
  • Val Fajardo, Kinesiology: “Examining the role of neurogranin in calcineurin activation in rodent skeletal muscle” (plus a Discovery Launch Supplement)
  • William Marshall, Mathematics and Statistics: “Integrated information — theory, estimation, and application” (plus a Discovery Launch Supplement)
  • Craig Tokuno, Kinesiology: “Neural processes underlying human balance control”
  • Rene Vandenboom, Kinesiology: “Estrogen, myosin phosphorylation and muscle thermogenesis”

   Discovery Development Grants

  • Allan Adkin, Kinesiology: “Emotional and cognitive contributions to human postural control”
  • Mei Ling Huang, Mathematics and Statistics: “Nonparametric inference for extreme value analysis”

   Research Tools and Instruments Grants

  • Cheryl McCormick, Psychology: “Equipment to investigate social brain development in adolescence in rats”

  Graduate Student Awards:
  Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships

  • Kristen Baker, Psychology: “Investigating the mechanisms of face learning: The role of variability, expectation, attention and experience”
  • Brent Pitchford, Psychology: “Reward responsiveness as a potential moderator of the effect of mental effort on attentional breadth”
  • Kate Wickham, Applied Health Sciences: “An investigation of sex differences in the physiological responses to acute cold exposure”

  Postgraduate Scholarships

  • Bradley Baranowski, Applied Health Sciences: Mechanisms of exercise on BACE1 regulation and amyloid precursor protein processing in the brain mediated through BDNF signaling”
  • Garrick Forman, Applied Health Sciences: “Investigating the neuromuscular effects and mechanisms of forearm muscle fatigue on ipsilateral and contralateral fine motor function”
  • Sarah Walker, Biological Sciences: “Investigating the role of microRNAs in axonal pathfinding”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases