Outcomes 2004-2012

2004 January to 2009 June

  • 66 senior science co-op students from 105 applicants were placed; 14/38 secondary schools, 1 private school and 1 adult education centre participated.
  • 80 health researchers have been active in the first five years of the program.
  • 28 co-op teachers, many science teachers and 5 learning coordinators have contributed to the program.
  • Each summer PEL co-op students have been employed in summer internship programs in health research.
  • PEL is represented on the CIHR STP CaRTT Program Advisory Committee by its director.
  • PEL has contributed to teacher and student orientation seminars, tours of the cancer research laboratories for teachers, teacher professional activity days, classroom connections and an international conference.
  • PEL contributed to the grant renewal of the CIHR STP CaRTT (2009 – 2015) based on a 5 year educational partnership with the original program.
  • PEL collaborates with the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario to deliver the Secondary School Gairdner Event in October of each year.
  • PEL students take part in the annual Research and Education Day of the CIHR STP CaRTT and the UWO Department of Oncology and the monthly seminars sponsored by the CIHR STP CaRTT in conjunction with the Pamela Greenaway Kohlmeier Translational Breast Cancer Research Unit.
  • PEL has received CIHR Synapse Grants for the creation of educational partnerships with the STPs in Vascular Research and Primary Health Care and Virtual Researcher On Call (2007) and the Lawson Health Research Institute (2008).
  • Dr. James Koropatnick, Director, CIHR STP CaRTT and Rodger Dusky, Director, PEL became members of the Ontario Provincial Partnership Council (2008).
  • CaRTT and PEL offer six $1500.00 2010 summer studentships to PEL co-op students who are sponsored by their CaRTT mentors with matching funds to compete in a competitive application process for a summer research position in the mentor’s lab.
  • In the spring of 2009, PEL began discussions with TVDSB regarding support for the delivery of the experiential learning component of a new Specialist High Skills Major initiative in Health and Wellness.
  • PEL contributed to the CIHR renewal of CaRTT from 2009-2015.

2009 July to 2011 June

  • In September 2009, PEL initiated a design and development process to partner with the University of Western Ontario Indigenous Services Mini University and offer a First Nations Summer Residential Program in cancer research for 4 First Nations secondary school students.
  • First Nations students from H.B. Beal Secondary School, Saunders Secondary School and Strathroy District Collegiate Institute were placed in the cancer research laboratories for a pilot experiential learning opportunity with cancer researchers during the first week of 2010 July. The experiences shared by the students and researchers provided valuable information to support a proposal for a First Nations, Métis and Inuit Summer Mentoring Program (FNMI SMP). • A partners in education initiative supported by PEL, CaRTT, TVDSB and the Indigenous Education Coalition (IEC) was launched and it is hoped that the curriculum connections, co-curricular components and funding will be in place for implementation of the program in 2012 July.
  • PEL placed 36 co-op students from 10 secondary schools in the 2009-2010 school year.
  • 2010 was the 4th year that PEL was invited to coordinate the secondary school outreach event of the Annual Gairdner Awards celebration in London http://www.gairdner.org/. The Robarts Research Institute in partnership with the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and PEL presented the Robarts Research & Education Day on Monday, October 25, 2010 from 9:00am -1:30pm. The opening lecture by Dr. Quim Madrenashttp://www.robarts.ca/madrenas/profile.html was followed by a public lecture by Dr. Peter J. Ratcliffe, a 2010 Gairdner Awardee http://www.robarts.ca/gairdner-lecture and lunch and a question and answer period for secondary school students, teachers and guests with the Gairdner recipient. Dr. Ratcliffe came to London ON from the University of Oxford, Oxford, England in conjunction with the Gairdner Awards dinner in Toronto.
  • PEL placed 33 co-op students from 9 secondary schools in the 2010-2011school year.
  • 2011 was the first year that the PEL Information Seminar was hosted outside of the Cancer Research Laboratory Program. On March 3, the dean of Western Engineering hosted the seminar in the Spencer Engineering Building. Dean Hrymak, Drs. Wan and Koropatnick provided valuable information to our students, parents and teachers. Western undergraduate engineering and graduate biomedical engineering and academic pathways to careers in research were described in a way that would facilitate informed decision making about secondary school experiential learning opportunities and steps along future academic pathways.

2011-2012

  • During the 2011-2012 secondary school registration period, the PEL Information Seminar and the promotional activities in the schools produced a significant increase in PEL applicants which necessitated the creation of a set expectations to ensure that applicants were committed to the program. Online registration for PEL, teacher approved applications, an interview by PEL administration and attendance at the Oncology Research and Education Day, PEL Orientation Seminar and Annual Secondary School Gairdner Event were mandatory requirements for participation. PEL applicants responded positively and met expectations which resulted in 56 students from 17 secondary schools being placed in health research environments.
  • Significant growth in registration initiated a discussion which addressed growth and succession planning.
  • The Robarts Research Institute in partnership with the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and PEL presented the Secondary School Gairdner Event on Monday, October 24, 2011 from 8:45am -2:00pm. Drs. Ravi Menon and Lynne-Marie Postovit opened the event followed by a public lecture by Dr. Adrian Bird, a 2011 Gairdner Awardee http://www.gairdner.org/awardrecipients/2011recipients/adrianpeterbirdphd. After lunch there was a question and answer period for secondary school students, teachers and guests with the Gairdner recipient. Dr. Bird came to London ON from the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh,Scotland in conjunction with the Gairdner Awards dinner in Toronto.• In 2011 December, PEL submitted a FedDevON STEM Application for funds to support it’s goal to give the most promising STEMM students early, long-term, personal connections to expert mentors, sustaining them to leadership roles in STEMM careers. Unfortunately the federal funding was withdawn before our proposal was evaluated.
  • On February 29, PEL hosted an information seminar for teachers, parents and students at the LHSC-Victoria Hospital, North Tower, Sumner Auditorium. Lawson mentors Drs. Koropatnick, Allan and Carson introduced health research at the Lawson Health Research Institute and Meryl Hodge a past PELco-op student described the value of an academic co-op experience to a first year university student in the sciences. This seminar was followed by a mandatory session on April 11 for co-op teachers who planned to partner with PEL for 2012-2013.