Tag Archives: UBC

Introduction

 

My name is Pardis Lakzadeh and Im a graduate from the Faculty of Integrated Sciences in the area of Human Nutrition and Immunology. My focus was on understanding the impact of Nutrition on overall health and more specifically the relationship between nutrients and the immune system. I was first introduced to this area of research in FNH 355 International Nutrition, taught by Judy McLean herself! I was immediately taken in by the complexity of the problems surrounding nutrition globally, and was very impressed with the innovative solutions offered. This new found interest motivated me to follow up this course with FNH 455 Applied International Nutrition, and it was here that I first learned about Fish on Farms. I knew immediately that I would like to be involved and here I am 6 months later. Over the next few months together with Hellene Sarin I will be updating the blog posts and twitter account, to keep you updated on the exciting progress of Fish on Farms.

My name is Hellene Sarin and I will be working with Pardis Lakzadeh over the next few months. I am from Phnom Penh, and a fourth year student majoring in Natural Resources Conservation in the Faculty of Forestry at UBC. Building on my experience from last summer in Cambodia where I was involved in the research evaluation of a voucher program for reproductive health, through qualitative research that has a strong focus on gender analysis with FoF, I hope to gain a better understanding of the problems that surround nutrition issues in a developing country. I am also really excited to learn more about Participatory Rural Appraisal tools throughout the project and how the integration of aquaculture into homestead food production works to improve nutrition and livelihood of the people.

Blood Analysis: Part 2

Picking up from where we left off…

Once the blood arrived at the NIPHL from the field via the Blood Taxi, one of two things happened.

1. For the blood collected in the 4.5 mL tubes containing the EDTA:  a complete blood count (CBC) was conducted. This provides information on the total number of red blood cells, hemoglobin, white blood cells, and platelets present in a person’s bloodstream. The red portion undergoes gel electrophoresis  for hemoglobinopathy testing. This separates proteins in the blood so that the amount and type of hemoglobin can be determined. Low levels of hemoglobin indicate anemia.

2. For the blood collected in the 7 mL trace element free tube: the samples were prepped and sent to UBC. Researchers at UBC will be performing a serum analysis to trace ferritin, vitamin B12, folate, serum retinol (vitamin A) and carotenoids (another form of Vitamin A), and zinc. The data collected should provide us with a clear picture of how much iron, vitamin A, vitamin B12, folate, and zinc was present in a woman’s diet before and after we introduced HFP and aquaculture. These biochemical indicators will allow us to quantify some of the results of our intervention.

Here are some pictures I took in the lab:

Our Website has Launched!

…and it looks great! Check it out at fishonfarms.landfood.ubc.ca

You can find: an overview of FoF, profiles of our people, reports, media, pictures, and links to our partners.

Getting Started

Welcome to the Fish on Farms blog! This blog will be chronicling the very exciting Fish on Farms (FoF) project, which is being jointly conducted by the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Helen Keller International (HKI) in the Prey Veng province of Cambodia.

First, a brief introduction to your blogger over the next few months. My name is Carly Isman, and I am a 4th year student in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at UBC, studying  Food, Nutrition, and Health. I’m in Cambodia from June through August to cover everything FoF-related, from press coverage to our baseline survey, which is coming up very soon! For those of you with shorter attention spans, I will also be tweeting.

In the short week that I’ve been here, a lot has happened. Most importantly, I met Dr. Christopher Charles and Ms. Kyly Whitfield, two people from UBC who will be here in Cambodia to work on the project and who have already been hard at work to get FoF organized. I attended my first Nutrition Working Group meeting, where I got to hear about several projects relating to nutrition that are currently underway in the country. I’ve been to HKI’s offices twice to meet the people who are working on FoF and to hammer out the details for the baseline survey. On top of all of that, I’ve been exploring Phnom Penh and learning about the city’s charming idiosyncrasies.

FoF has been in the press twice in the past week, which we’re very excited about! The International Development Research Center announced our project in a press release, while The Vancouver Sun wrote an article about our project. I’ll be discussing these in more detail later, but right now it’s dinner time (both for me, and for the mosquitoes who will inevitably eat me while I’m eating).