Dr. Roger Strasser, Dean of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, has been reappointed for a non-renewable five-year term as Dean beginning on July 1, 2014 and ending June 30, 2019.

Dr. Strasser’s renewal was recommended by a 14 member Review Committee composed of members nominated by the Boards of NOSM, Laurentian University and Lakehead University, the Senates of Laurentian University and Lakehead University, NOSM’s Academic Council, and NOSM’s Executive Group.

The recommendation to renew Dr. Strasser for an additional five-year term was approved by the Boards of NOSM, Laurentian University and Lakehead University.

Since taking up the position as NOSM’s Founding Dean in September 2002, Dr. Roger Strasser has led the development of an innovative model of distributed, community-engaged medical education and research that draws on the commitment, expertise, and generosity of people in communities across the North. Training and graduating physicians and health professionals with a particular understanding of, and affinity for, people in Northern, rural, and remote settings is a key component of the School’s mandate to be socially accountable to the cultural diversity of the region it serves.

“I extend my sincere congratulations to Dr. Roger Strasser on his reappointment as Dean of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine,” said Dominic Giroux, Chair of NOSM’s Board of Directors and President of Laurentian University. “In just eight years, NOSM has grown from being Canada’s newest medical school to a national and international leader in innovative health professional education. As NOSM moves into the latter part of this decade under Dr. Strasser’s leadership, we look forward to the development of the future strategic directions for the School, as well as exciting momentum in research and fundraising. This will require the active engagement of our internal School community, as well as of communities from across Northern Ontario.”

“It has been very rewarding to witness the difference NOSM is making to the health of people and communities across Northern Ontario,” said Dr. Brian Stevenson, Vice-Chair of NOSM’s Board of Directors and President of Lakehead University. “I am pleased to congratulate Dr. Roger Strasser on his reappointment, and look forward to the continued success of NOSM under his leadership.” Dr. Roger Strasser is honoured and humbled to continue his post at NOSM.   “It has been simply amazing to be part of something as special as the Northern Ontario School of Medicine,” he said.  “What is most rewarding is witnessing the collaboration and support of so many individuals and organizations across the North, who have all come together to make NOSM a dream come true.  I am committed to advancing the important contributions NOSM and the brilliant staff, faculty, and learners are making in my next and final term at the School.”

Dr. Roger Strasser came to Canada from Australia where he was Professor of Rural Health for Monash University and Head of the Monash University School of Rural Health in, and around, Melbourne. Dr. Strasser has been awarded a number of prestigious awards including: Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of General Practitioners in recognition of his world leadership in the field of rural health; the Louis Ariotti Award for excellence and innovation in rural and remote health in Australia; Fellow of Wonca in recognition of his outstanding service to Wonca and family medicine around the world; the inaugural Small, Rural and Northern Award of Excellence by the Ontario Hospital Association; and, the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine Life Fellowship Award for outstanding and meritorious service to Rural and Remote Medicine in Australia. In 2011, Dr. Strasser was honoured with the prestigious Order of Australia for service to medicine, through improving the health care of people living in rural and remote communities in developed and developing nations as an educator, researcher, and practitioner.

From October 7-9, 2013, NOSM hosted a delegation of medical educators and health service administrators who travelled from Northern Sweden to learn from NOSM’s successful model of distributed, socially accountable medical education and research.

Communities in Northern Sweden are experiencing severe shortages of health professionals. The north of Sweden encompasses 50 percent of the country’s geography, but holds only 10 percent of the population. Approximately 30 to 40 percent of family physician positions are vacant in the region – a problem that educators and administrators are having a difficult time addressing.

Comprised of medical leaders from Umeå University, the northern-most university in Sweden, and leaders from health organizations in Sweden, the delegation came to learn about many aspects of NOSM’s educational model. Most notably, they were interested in how NOSM collaborates with local communities and health services to recruit local students, how NOSM grounds its model of education in the Northern/rural context, and how NOSM supports learners in developing the skills and the desire to practice in rural and underserved areas.

“We heard Dr. Roger Strasser speak about the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Sweden about a year ago,” says Dr. Herbert Sandström, Associate Professor at Umeå University. “His talk about the School really piqued our interest in what you are doing here, and how it can help us in Sweden.”

The group met with educational and administrative members of the organization, toured the School to learn more about the curriculum, and visited some of NOSM’s partner communities.

“Many countries around the world struggle with providing equitable access to health care, especially in rural and remote communities,” says Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean. “We were pleased to host our Swedish guests, to share our expertise, and to introduce them to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s unique model of education.”

“We work in different conditions than yours, but we hope that we can bring the essence of NOSM’s distributed model of education back to Sweden,” says Dr. Olav Rolandsson, Head of Family Medicine at the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine at Umeå University.

Cyanobacteria, known commonly as blue-green algae, pose a significant health risk for Northern Ontarians, especially for those who draw on lakes for summer recreation or drinking water. Exposure to cyanobacteria can cause vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, dizziness, and numb limbs, among other symptoms. For these reasons, many waterways in Northern Ontario face closures due to the growth of blue-green algae blooms.

Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) researcher Dr. Joe Eibl, in collaboration with Gerry Dignard of Canadian Shield Consultants, are currently developing a new, faster method of screening lakes and waterways for blue-green algae blooms. Their research suggests that blue-green algae can be identified aerially, using photographic technology that can visualize pigments of the live bacteria.

Although the research is still in its validation stage, Eibl and Dignard have had great success in identifying blue-green algae blooms in Lake Nipissing in St. Charles, Ontario. This new screening method is faster than the current system of screening for blue-green algae, wherein samples are collected from approximately a dozen local lakes, analyzed in Toronto, then returned to Northern Ontario where the information is disseminated. In the current system, there is approximately a week between the time the water is tested, and the time the public is notified of a problem.

The project has been piloted with positive results. “We are able to detect the blue-green algae by repurposing technology which is used in the resource industry,” explains Dr. Joe Eibl, Northern Ontario School of Medicine Researcher and principal investigator in this project. “The chlorophyll in the blue-green algae is picked up by this photographic technology, allowing us to identify at-risk areas very quickly.”

In addition to providing community members with faster, more comprehensive information regarding blue-green algae bacteria in local lakes, Eibl and Dignard feel that this is the first step in ongoing research.

“The work still ahead of us is to come up with a technology or strategy to identify areas of concern at the early stage when the nutrients are starting to grow – before the algae really blooms,” explains Gerry Dignard, CEO of Canadian Shield Consultants. “Once we can identify potential areas of concern before they become a problem, then we can work towards solving the problem itself.”

Eibl and Dignard are currently in the process of narrowing the parameters to identify the ideal conditions for photographing lakes to provide reliable data. They plan to turn this into an off-the-shelf technology that can be used broadly across the North.