A workshop on  “Meta-analysis as a tool in literature review” will be given later in this term by Dr. Marcin Baranski of the  University of Life Sciences, Warsaw.
Dr. Baranski (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marcin_Baranski)  has several publications focused on meta-analyses and is currently involved in the following two projects:

• Ekhagastiftelsen project 2018-1: Promoting human health and well-being by maintaining matrix related organic food qualities from field to fork.
• Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership, 2018-1-PL01-KA203-051124: Transformation of European Food Systems towards Sustainability by Transnational, Innovative Teaching (TEFSI).

The workshop will be held on Nov 13, 14, and 15 from 9:00 – 12:00.  Please review the workshop details below.  If you are interested in attending, please complete the information at  Meta-Analysis Workshop Registration.  Your response is needed by Oct 31, 2019.  

If you have further questions, please email christine.scaman@ubc.ca

________

Workshop:  Meta-analysis as a tool in literature review
For who: Senior undergraduate and graduate students. Please note that enrolment will be limited to 20.
Pre-requisite:  Completion of an introductory statistics course ( e.g. LFS 252, FRST 231 or equivalent)

Topics covered will include:

1. search and meta-analysis,
2. fixed vs random effects model,
3. statistical heterogeneity of the data,
4. meta-regression,
5. publication bias,
6. critical appraisal in evidence synthesis,

The workshop will have practice and ‘homework’ including:

1. introduction to R statistical software,
2. meta-analysis protocol writing,
3. dataset inspection and problems solving,
4. conducting meta-analysis in R using various methods and visualisation of the results,
5. designing meta-regression,
6. inspecting for publication bias,
7. assessing of the strength of evidence

Workshop format – 9:00 – 12:00, on three consecutive days
Day 1: Theoretical background on importance of systematic literature search and meta-analysis, steps in meta-research, the citation universe through scientific literature database Web of Science, search phrase composing.
Practical tasks: participants choose a meta-analysis topic, select key words for a search, run a search in Web of Science, report a number of identified references, screen through a couple of pages and select relevant publications.
Day 2: Theoretical background on fixed vs random effects model in meta-analysis, statistical heterogeneity of the data, meta-regression, publication bias, sensitivity analysis, critical appraisal in evidence synthesis, introduction to R statistical software.
Practical tasks: participants download and install R software and conduct basic data management and calculations.
Day 3: Theoretical background on dataset inspection and handling, problems solving, meta-analysis in R using various methods, visualisation of the results, meta-regression, meta-analysis protocol writing.
Practical tasks: dataset inspection, meta-analysis and heterogeneity calculations, detection for publication bias, assessments of the strength of evidence.

Christine Scaman  PhD
Associate Professor, Food, Nutrition and Health
The University of British Columbia | Vancouver Campus | Musqueam Traditional Territory
Room 247, 2205 East Mall | Vancouver British Columbia | V6T 1Z4 Canada
Phone 604 822 1804 | Fax 604 822 5143
christine.scaman@ubc.ca
https://www.landfood.ubc.ca/christinescaman/

Updated competition announcement: Google PhD Fellowship award opportunity

Addition – Eligibility Requirements:

• New: Completed graduate coursework by the Fall of the award year, when the Fellowship begins. This is usually the 3rd year for US and Canadian students.

Addition –  Application Requirements:

• New: Student essay response (350-word limit) to: Describe the desired impact your research will make on the field and society, and why this is important to you. Include any personal, educational and/or professional experiences that have motivated your research interests.
• New: Student essay response (350-word limit) to: Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.

The application deadline for this opportunity is November 6, 2019 at 4:00 pm PST.  Note: Applicants apply directly to Graduate Awards; graduate programs do not submit nominations.

For more information, please see this link: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/google-phd-fellowship.

Join the next LFS Research Café on Wednesday, November 6!

Barbara Stefanska, Assistant Professor, Food, Nutrition, and Health, will discuss some of her research findings in a presentation titled “Eating the right foods to prevent disease: how your diet impacts DNA and gene functioning, and the link to long-term health outcomes.”

Everyone is welcome to this free event! Light refreshments will be served, but feel free to bring your lunch.

Details:
Wednesday, Nov. 6, 1019 (add to your Outlook calendar)
12:00pm – 12:50pm
Life Sciences Institute, room 1003, 2350 Health Sciences Mall

Click here to let us know if you’re coming!

My name is Berenice Romero and I am writing on behalf of University of Saskatchewan´s PSGSA. As we all know, next year´s Annual Plant Science Graduate Student Symposium will be taking place in Saskatchewan.

I would like to invite UBC graduate students to join us there and provide them with more information on when and where the symposium will be held.

U of S´s PSGSA has determined that the 2020 symposium will be occurring on Friday, March13th and Saturday, March 14th, at the U of S campus, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. As for abstract submission, the deadline will be February 1st. We are still working on our website so that students can submit their abstracts through it, but as soon as we finish it, I will get back to you with the link.

Registration is free and food will be covered by our organization.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.

I look forward to seeing you there

Invitation 2020 Symposium- UBC

Berenice Romero, MSc. candidate

Office 4D22,

Department of Plant Sciences,

College of Agriculture and Bioresources,

University of Saskatchewan

Cell: (306) 227-8702

NOTE: please notify Lia (lia.maria@ubc.ca) about your intention of applying ASAP but not later than Friday, November 22nd.

You may consider working on your CGS-M or Affiliated Fellowship application with your supervisor. Or at least have it reviewed by your supervisor before submit it. Once submitted, no corrections/updates would be possible. 

Please review the eligibility criteria, make sure you meet the requirements and have achieved a first-class average in EACH of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent) before submitting an application.

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UBC Affiliated Fellowships-Master’s

The UBC Affiliated Fellowships Master’s competition runs in concert with the Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s (CGS-M; see below) competition. Approximately 50 fellowship with values ranging from $175 to $16,000 are offered through this competition. Current and prospective full-time UBC graduate students can apply regardless of citizenship or visa status. Students who are eligible for CGS-M must submit a CGS-M application instead.

Detailed Affiliated Fellowships-Master competition information with links to application and reference forms is available at: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/affiliated-fellowships-masters-program

Tri-Agency Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR)

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) – Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) – Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) – Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships

General Guidelines for the Eligibility of Subject Matter

• SSHRC
• NSERC
• CIHR

Applicants for Tri-Agency CGS-M competition must be domestic students (citizen or PR) who are applying for or enrolled in graduate studies anywhere in Canada. Each applicant can apply to up to 3 universities with the same application. To be considered for a CGS-M at UBC, they must select The University of British Columbia as one of the 3 available institutions.

Details about this award opportunity, including eligibility and evaluation criteria, are available at http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/PG-CS/CGSM-BESCM_eng.asp and our site at https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/canada-graduate-scholarships-masters-cgs-m-program

Students who apply for CGS-M awards will automatically be considered for open Affiliated Fellowships. To be considered for criteria-based affiliated fellowship, students should fill out and submit to their graduate programs the checklist available at https://www.grad.ubc.ca/forms/list-criteria-based-affiliated-fellowships

UBC Deadlines for the Tri-Agency CGS-M / Affiliated Fellowships Master’s Competitions

Applicant deadline: 5 PM on Monday, 2 December 2019
Graduate program deadline:  4 PM on Friday, 31 January 2019

• Stress the importance of the deadline – CGSM applications cannot be submitted or edited after the application deadline. The portal has crashed around the deadline a couple of years ago because too many students were submitting at the last minute. Submitting earlier (even on the day) will help.
• Ask for reference letters early and send the instructions to your referees http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ResearchPortal-PortailDeRecherche/Instructions-Instructions/CGSM_REF-BESCM_REF_eng.asp
• Order official transcripts for all previous studies (including transfer credits). If the official transcripts you have on file are up to date, I can provide you a PDF copy upon request. Note that UBC transcripts are required for students who had any studies at UBC before 2 December 2019, including September 2019 starts.
• Grad Studies will accept printouts of Academic History from SISC in place of official UBC transcripts
• They cannot accept any other unofficial transcripts
• Note that the SISC academic history may not be accepted by other universities in Canada, so students applying elsewhere should order UBC transcripts

It would help us greatly if applicants used the same email as their portal login as in eVision or SIS. This is absolutely not a requirement, but it helps route the applications to correct programs quicker.