August 29, 1997

New Faculty enjoy the Alberta frontier

We stop our cars for pedestrians, whether they want to cross the street or not.

We give strangers on airplanes our phone numbers.

Our philosophers are so contemplative they don't have phones in their offices.*

Dr. Moira Glerum and Dr. David Kahane taking in the Fringe Festival.

The dormitory windows/doors opening into HUB Mall are probably unique in the world.

And we're far more cosmopolitan and multicultural than you might think.

These are only a few of the observations new U of A professors have of life in Edmonton and on campus.

Dr. Moira Glerum and Dr. David Kahane are two of 112 professors hired since January as part of a faculty renewal program that will see 400 new professors on campus by 2000.

Kahane, assistant professor, philosophy, is originally from Montreal, did graduate work at McGill, a PhD at Cambridge and spent the last two years in post-doctoral work at Harvard.

"I've never lived this far west," says Kahane. "I'm quite surprised at how much I'm enjoying Edmonton. It's much more cosmopolitan and multicultural than I expected... People here are absurdly friendly."

Kahane says that of all the departments he interviewed, the philosophy department at the U of A was the best-both intellectually and "friendly-wise." The emphasis on interdisciplinary work was also an important factor in his decision.

"I'm living in a different political climate than I'm used to," says Kahane, who studies democracy and cultural pluralities. When a colleague at a national conference heard Kahane was heading to the Alberta frontier, he leaned over intently and said, "You have to come to grips with populism!"

Glerum, assistant professor, medical genetics, has been here since May 1 and is already immersed in her research on mitochondrial disease.

She notes the extreme civility of drivers here, and more impressively, the cooperative nature of her research colleagues who are eager to do collaborative research. "People seem to be genuinely enthusiastic, says Glerum. "I think that's something that's not present everywhere."

Glerum completed undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Toronto, completed three years of post-doctoral studies in Switzerland, and spent the last four years of post-doctoral studies in New York at Columbia University.

"I wanted to come back to Canada," says Glerum, who was drawn to the U of A primarily through the scientific grapevine. "There seemed to be a stronger effort to support new investigators. And the availability of funding from The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research was an important draw.

Equally important, though, was the chance to work in the new department of medical genetics with Dr. Diane Cox.

After arriving in May, Glerum dove into her research with some faculty start-up funds. (The application to AHFMR is in the works). She hired a summer student and a technician and will be working with both a graduate and undergraduate student this fall.

She's investigating the little-understood assembly of the enzyme cytochrome oxidase, the last of the series responsible for generating energy in mitochondria and the one most often defective in neurodegenerative diseases.

If her research dreams come true, she will eventually be able to describe some molecular defects or mutations, opening the possibility for other people to develop molecular diagnostics.

* Kahane says he's been assured phones for philosophers are on the way.

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