Brock News Briefs

H1N1 video releasedOn Nov. 13, Niagara Region Public Health, in co-operation with Brock students, launched its H1N1 awareness video titled "H1N1 Boom Boom Pow". The video was designed to encourage high school, college and university students to get their H1N1 vaccination.
Although the video was produced two weeks earlier, its release was postponed until students became included in the group of people deemed to be at "high risk" of getting the flu.
The video itself was shot on the Brock campus, and features Brock students. It depicts some of the locations where the H1N1 virus is most commonly transmitted between individuals.
Niagara Region Public Health's campaign targets youth, as they are more often put in close quarters, where they are at high risk of getting the virus. These include residences, classrooms, buses, bars and restaurants.
According to Public Health, the average age of confirmed H1N1 cases in Niagara is 16. They also said that youth are at risk because they have not been exposed to similar viruses in the past, unlike those who may have built immunity to the virus in the 1950's.
A youth-friendly Web page, which accompanies the release of the video, promotes the vaccine and states that being young and healthy does not mean individuals are protected from the virus, that the vaccine is completely safe and does not give them the flu.
An online video was chosen as a form of spreading awareness partly because of the rise of social networking. Public Health officials believe that the best way to distribute the video was to allow youth to spread it themselves through the internet.
A link to the video is posted on the Niagara Region Web site, and it can be found on YouTube, where officials hope it can be quickly and easily spread among the youth audience.
To view the video, search "H1N1 Boom Boom Pow" on YouTube, or visit [youtube.com/watch?v=2NUK-1oDUK4]
Brock professors get funding for innovative research

Three Brock researchers were recently recognized for the innovative work they are doing, as they were granted $122,000 from the Ontario government. This investment was made as part of Ontario's Innovation Agenda - a province-wide strategy to support research in 14 cities.
Martin Lemaire, Assistant Professor of Chemistry received $25,000 to assist in the production of tiny magnets that can boost the power capacity in generators, medical devices, data storage and computer systems.
The magnets Lemaire works with are unlike the magnets many are familiar with. These are on the scale of single molecules and are referred to as nanomagnets.
Ping Liang, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences and Canada Research Chair in Geonomics and Bioinformatics received $32,000 for equipment for his research program in bioinformatics - the application of information technology to molecular biology.
Liang, who came to Brock after establishing himself as a leading researcher at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY, examines genetic diversity using human grapevine models for agricultural and medical applications.
Cheryl McCormick, Professor of Psychology and Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience, received $65,000 for lab equipment to support her research of life stressors that affect ongoing brain development during adolescence.
Her work looks at how stress experiences early in life affect the development of stress-related physiology and behavior.
"Investing in innovation helps universities discover new opportunities for their communities, and ultimately help transform Ontario's economy," said Brock President Jack Lightstone.