2010 CRE-MSD Research RetreatQueen's University
June 8th & 9th, 2010

Thanks to Joan Stevenson and her students, the 2010 CRE-MSD Research Retreat at Queen’s University was a great success. The evening panel on June 8th was made up of Pierre Bilodeau from NSERC, Robert Walker from the Department of Defence, Sylvia Rhodes, president of L. Ritchie Cartage, and CRE-MSD’s Associate Director, Research, Jack Callaghan. Due to time constraints, only the first two gave presentations. The strong call to action from Robert Walker was that researchers need to reframe their relationship with government so they are not only coming to government for money. This has led to government regarding researchers as yet another interest group that needs money. If researchers came to government to help solve government’s problems by offering solutions (and we need some money to get you there), there would be a major shift in the dialogue between academia and government.

Without doubt, the highlight of the evening was when all four of the panellists came forward to answer questions from the audience. Some of the questions were pretty challenging, such as how can researchers persuade government to fund long-term longitudinal studies when their perspective is only four years long, and others were on the experience of researchers collaborating with industry and industry collaborating with researchers.

Panelist Biographies
Pierre Bilodeau
Robert Walker
Sylvia Rhodes
Jack Callaghan

About 40 researchers and their students attended the full-day workshop on June 9th. Ten researchers presented their experiences conducting research with industry: Tammy Eger; Dave Andrews; Clark Dickerson; Patrick Neumann; Joan Stevenson; Stu McGill; Phil Bigelow; Syed Naqvi; Ted Haines (presented by his students); and Desre Kramer. Here are some points that were hightlighted:

  • Building a relationship is time consuming but essential
  • Use this time to define roles and expectations
  • You need to find a “passionate partner” amongst the stakeholders who can keep the impetus of the workplace research going
  • There is a wide range of methodologies appropriate for workplace health intervention research from randomized control trials to observational case studies, and this choice will determine multiple factors in the research including the kinds of questions you ask, the intervention, and your data collection
  • You need to be flexible and responsive to the stakeholders’ needs
  • The role of intermediaries such as health and safety associations can be very helpful
  • The culture of evidence is very different for researchers and stakeholders; the need for “practical solutions” vs. research
  • The workplace environment is so changeable that you do need to have a Plan B which could be some lab research as a backup for students
  • You have to make sure that it is a win-win for both researchers and stakeholders
  • Young researchers need to make sure that the research you do will enhance your academic career, especially if you are up for tenure


Research Retreat Program


Presentations



Panelist Biographies

Pierre Bilodeau
Dr. Pierre Bilodeau, Director, Bio-Industry Division, Research Partnership Programs, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).
Dr. Bilodeau joined the Bio-industry division at NSERC in May 2008. His main responsibilities are to develop, establish, deliver, and promote policies and programs to foster university-industry research collaborations. His portfolio covers a wide range of sectors including biotechnology and bioprocessing, pharma, biomedical technologies, agriculture (animal and plant), chemistry and polymer engineering, food sciences and technologies, fisheries and aquaculture. Dr. Bilodeau serves on many committees including BIOTECanada Industrial Environmental Committee, NRC-AAFC-NRCan National Bioproduct Program Advisory Committee, and the Canadian Biomass Innovation Network Executive Committee. Prior to this, he served as Director, Scholarships and Fellowships at NSERC (2005-08) and in various capacities at Medicago Inc (2001-05), a biotech company in Quebec City. While at Medicago, he was adjunct professor in the department of Plant Sciences, at Université Laval. He received his Ph.D in Plant Sciences from the Australian National University in 1997.

Robert Walker
Dr. Robert Walker is the Assistant Deputy Minister (Science and Technology) of the Department of National Defence and the Chief Executive Officer of Defence Research & Development Canada.
Dr. Walker has functional authority to oversee the Department of National Defence's S&T investment, and is the principal Canadian representative to the NATO Research and Technology Board and the Technology Cooperation Program (TTCP). He also provides departmental input to national issues in defence and security science and technology by sitting on a number of interdepartmental committees of assistant deputy ministers.
In his capacity as CEO, he leads Defence R&D Canada, which consists of a national network of seven defence research centres with an annual budget of $350 million and a staff of 1600 people in programs addressing a broad range of defence technologies. Defence R&D Canada provides national leadership in defence and security science, and provides scientific advice and products to the Canadian Forces and the Department of National Defence. The defence S&T network extends beyond the Defence Research Centres to encompass partnerships with Canadian industry, universities, and allied defence S&T organizations.

Sylvia Rhodes
Ms. Sylvia Rhodes, MBA. is the President of L. Ritchie Cartage Limited.
L. Ritchie Cartage Limited is a full truck load carrier founded in 1954. Their offices and warehouse are located in Scarborough, Ontario. The primary transportation services L. Ritchie provides includes long distance trucking, local cartage and rentals across United States and Canada. The company was founded in 1954 by Lloyd Ritchie, since that time, L. Ritchie Cartage has grown to a fleet of about 40 tractors and 80 trailers. Sylvia Rhodes was on the Steering Committee of a three-year transportation research study conducted by CRE-MSD that led to recommendations on best practices in the transporation sector on reducing the risks of MSDs.

Jack Callaghan
Dr. Jack Callaghan is a Professor in the Kinesiology Department at the University of Waterloo.
Dr. Jack Callaghan is CRE-MSD's Associate Director, Research and holds the Canada Research Chair in Spine Biomechanics and Injury Prevention. He completed his undergraduate education at the University of Ottawa and his Masters and Doctorate degrees at the University of Waterloo where he specialized in spinal biomechanics. His area of research focuses primarily on spine injuries from cumulative loading exposure. His research is concerned with the etiology of spine injuries at the tissue level from exposure to cumulative loading scenarios. He is currently funded by NSERC, CIHR, WSIB and AUTO21.