A win-win for UBC researchers and seniors in the community

UBC graduate students and postdoctoral fellows share their research in a new Masterclass seminar series at Tapestry Wesbrook Village.

In January of this year, UBC Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies was approached by Shawna Lawson, Program Assistant at Tapestry  Wesbrook Village, a vibrant seniors retirement community just South of campus. A partnership grew around the desire for UBC graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to present their research to Tapestry residents as part of a regular seminar series.  These seniors have a unique and established history with UBC, as many are retired Professors, Emeriti or Faculty, and Shawna saw this program as an opportunity to connect these life-long learners with leading edge research at UBC.

The idea came to fruition this month as the first of the Masterclass Speaker Series was held at Tapestry at Wesbrook Village. Active Aging was the topic and featured PhD Candidate Erin Macri (knee osteoarthritis), and postdoctoral fellows Dr. Glenn Landry (sleep quality) and Dr. Brodie Sakakibara (mobile-health to improve self-management) from the Faculty of Medicine.

With 60 residents attending, not a single seat was left empty. The residents asked pertinent and pointed questions during the Q&As, and kept the speakers for nearly 30 minutes after the lecture ended to answer even more questions. By all accounts a huge success!

UBC graduate students or postdocs interested in presenting in the series should email jacqui.brinkman@ubc.ca Manger, Graduate Pathways to Success Program.

The Masterclass Speaker Series takes place monthly (with the possible exception of July and August) at:

Tapestry at Wesbrook Village


3338 Wesbrook Mall

Vancouver, BC V6S 0A6

T: 604-225-5000

www.discovertapestry.com

Thursday, 07 May 2015